Compass 26" tires question - now a short ride report
 

I was wondering if anyone here has experience with these tires on their tandem. I have asked Santa for a set and don't know if I want the 26x1.5 or 1.75 on our Burley Rock N Roll. We do mostly club type road rides, 2-4 hours. Team weight is 290lb. Rims are Velocity Aeroheat. Currently running Serfas Seca 26x1.25. Any input is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!
Henry

We're running the same rims and tires as you, and I have been curious about the Compass tires also. Compass claims that they are made in Panaracer Pasela molds so I have wondered if I could tell much of a difference between the Compass and Pasela, considering that the Panaracer is cheaper and more readily available.

I emailed Jan Heine to ask for help choosing between the two sizes and he recommended the widest tire I could fit on my bike. That would be the 1.75, but I have this (perhaps) unfounded fear that the Aeroheat rim won't do well with something that wide.
I don't know the TPI on the Compass', but I know from riding 320TPI Vittoria Corsa Evos and Paves on my Serotta that I adore the performance and ride of supple tires.
We don't ride mega mileage on our tandem, so lack of durability isn't a factor in this case.
What size (Pasela or Compass) would you choose?

Since we are used to the 1.25 width, I would be reluctant to make too big of a jump in width and would probably go with the 1.5. My only reservation is the tire pressure - I always run at 100 psi and I don't how much a lower pressure would affect the performance.

I rub 650B 40MM (1.57 inches) tires actual width at 75-80 psi and get good performance compared to any 28c tire I have run. 290 lb team. Have not run Compass 26 " tires but 700c 35mm Pasela's felt ok but not great on another bike. I doubt they will slow you down but may not feel as quick.

Lower pressure had been a concern of mine in the past, but I've worked through it ;)
Jan Heine suggested starting at about 70psi and adjusting. That doesn't sound like enough, but I've come to the conclusion that I can get by with less air than I think I need, especially in a wider tire. On my single bikes I have experimented and found that 80-85 psi in my 700x25 Vittoria Corsa Evos yields a much nicer ride with no performance penalty that I can notice. I've also settled in at about 70 psi with 700x27 Pavés and 50 psi with 700x35 Clement X'Plors. FWIW, I have ridden the Clements @ 50 psi on some pretty serious technical descent and felt entirely comfortable. They are on a gravel/cross bike.
With that settled in my mind, I still can't decide whether I want the 1.5 or 1.75 ......

Santa brought a pair of these Compass tires in 26 x 1.50 for our Burley. This afternoon we took a short trial run and they felt very nice. We did about 90 minutes/25ish miles on flat ground. Surfaces range from new pavement to cracked, chunked up asphalt and I think that I can say that the ride quality is a definite improvement over the Serfas Seca 26 x 1.25 wire bead slicks @100psi that they replaced. A pressure of 70 psi was recommended to us by Jan Heine ("Mr Compass Cycles"), but I felt better with 75F/80R. My stoker reported a more compliant feel than the old tires and I will say that I agree with that observation. My worry was that they we would get the "balloon tire" "floatation" handling sensation and I can say that I did not experience that. My major issue with the Serfas Seca was that it never felt like it was enough tire for the weight of our rig. The 26x1.25 Secas always made me cringe going over anything rougher than hardy chipseal for fear of a blowout or pinch flat, even inflated to 100psi. I never had anything close to that feeling on today's little spin.
Another concern I had was that they would roll like a beach bike on tractor tires and I can say that that, too, was not the case. We usually average 16-17 mph on this ride and our average today was 16.7 mph. They roll nicely and certainly at least equal to our old tires
So, based on today's tiny sampling, I'm feeling pretty good about these tires being a nice match for our tandeming "style", or lack thereof :)

We are doing another ride tomorrow, this one with a few hills and descents. Will let you know how that one goes ....

Cheers!
Henry

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...4/IMG_2182.jpg

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...4/IMG_2187.jpg

We had our second ride on these tires today. About 25 miles with some good climbs and descents.

http://ridewithgps.com/trips/2131781

My assessment is .... I really do like the way these tires ride and perform. They roll well and handle great .... and the ride quality is sublime. I'm a believer.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...4/IMG_2191.jpg

Thanks for the report. Are you fine with the 1.5" tires, or do think that you could have gone with the 1.75"?

For me using 40mm wide tires there is a definite pressure below which handling starts to feel more vague. Just slightly above that pressure and the handling is great. It took a little expiermentation but now I know for us I like the pressure best above 75 or so. It seems at 70 we are just a fast but the handling doesn't feel quite as responsive.

We run panaracer pasela 1.5 tires and they are a huge improvement in ride over the 1.1 size tires from before.
I wonder if the Compass tires could be a further improvement?

The 26x1.5s seem totally sufficient. Coming from 1.25s, they looked "big" at first, but I got used to the look after just a few miles. They seem just right.
That said, I think that the 1.75s would fit ..... hmmmm ;)

I had 700x32 Paselas on a big steel touring bike that I had. These Compass feel much more supple than the Paselas did. A really nice ride. They are not unlike the Vittoria Corsa Evo Pave 320tpi tires that I have on my Serotta. However, the difference in size and the weight of the bike could possibly explain the difference between the two.

Are you guys very concerned about rotational mass with the larger tire sizes?
Where I ride there are hills and steeper hills. The 1.5 seem to be the right compromise of performance and comfort. I can't imagine lugging anything larger up these cliffs.

While this is an excellent point (and something to ponder), I think that in our 50 lb rolling "lab", the effect is nominal.

372 v 440 grams per tire per Compass web site.

HUP-

Now that you've had 6 months on these tires, do you have anything new to report? Are you more/less pleased than you last reported?

We also took the plunge into Compass 26" tires. When we first put the 1.5" tires on, we concluded that these were simply the best tires we had ever ridden. I stopped being banged around as stoker and thus could expend more energy pedalling; that alone made them faster than the 1.25" 100 psi Serfas Seca tires they replaced. Of course they roll like dreams. We found we preferred inflating them to just under 60 psi for our 300# team.

After Jan Heine suggested we should put the widest tires on that we could fit, we bought a set of the Compass 26X1.75. There is a large difference between these and the 1.5" tires, and not for the bettter. After about 500 miles, we figured out that they handle much better if we inflate them to only about 50 psi. Those first few rides were a bit like riding a tractor, but at the lower pressure they are fine, just not as nice as the 1.5".

The Compass 26" tires have a lot of rubber. They're apparently a supple tire casing with the rubber made in the same mold as a lower performance tire. Jan Heine maintains that there just isn't enough of a market for true high performance 26" tires to justify making new molds. That sounds odd coming from the person who has popularized the 650B size, but it's his call. On the bright side, we roll through a lot of glass and none of it seems able to penetrate all that rubber, although a small piece of motor vehicle tire steel belt did make it through once.

I'm not sure about people inflating these to 75 or 80 psi. They are marked for 65 psi max, and unless there is some error there it seems somewhat risky to overinflate, especially when they perform so much better when inflated below their stated max.

Six months with these tires and I can only give about 250 miles of review. My wife had foot surgery and our tandem riding has been non existent. I'm looking forward to her recovering so that we can ride more.
Interesting to read about the 26x1.75 observation from B. Carfree. Heine gave us the same advice to go as wide as possible. I guess I'm glad I chose the 1.5 width.

Riding conditions and styles differ. Since tires wear out regularly I suggest giving both a try before deciding on a preference.