Barrettscv 

Compass has been marketing the 700x28 Grand Bois Cerf for a few years. Compass has recently introduced the Chinook Pass, a Ultralight tire.

I intend to use the tires for suburban streets and well maintained, good quality gravel roads.

Has anyone tried one or both of these tires? Any opinions on ride quality, rolling efficiency, flat resistance and durability?

Six jours

I have a thousand miles or so on the Cerfs. Light, fast, great ride quality, fairly poor wearing characteristics by the look of the rear one, and poor flat protection. I expect the Chinook pass (and the rest of that lineup) to be the same on all counts, except moreso.

I think they are great tires and I'm very happy with the whole line-up, but IMO they're at their best on good quality road surfaces. I use them on gravel and dirt on occasion but always with the expectation of damaging them - although to be honest, I haven't yet.

RR3

I have used the Compass 28mm and 32mm tires in the extra leger version.

I rarely get flats so, my lack of flats on two sets of these may not be representative. I live in the country and am careful about where I place my tires when riding

They are fast and comfortable. Very quiet. I use latex tubes.

Probably 2-3 times better treadwear than Challenge Parigi-Roubaix. Say 2500 miles on the rear tire. I consider this phenomenal for a performance tire. I think I have done about 2500 km on brevets this year on them. They are darned comfortable and frightfully expensive but well worth it in my view considering the importance of tires and compared to other activities, tires are cheap compared to other activities

Barrettscv 

I won't be doing the Kanza 200 with these, I'll be doing some well maintained trails and gravel roads that I've been able to travel on 700x25 Gatorskins. I'll use a different bike with touring duty tires on damaged roads that might eat a lighter tire.

Thanks for the posts. I am looking for a more durable tire my the Parigi-Roubaix, and slightly smaller size than the 30mm width of that tire. I'm looking forward to trying the Chinook Pass.

jeirvine 

Don't overlook Panaracer Pasela 28s. They are cheap but I have been very satisfied with the ride and durability.

Barrettscv 

The other Panaracer to consider is the Gravel King, the 700x28 is 28.5 wide and 270 grams: https://www.gravelbike.com/?p=2988

Any opinions?

fender1

I just did 70 miles (3400 feet of climbing) this past Sunday, using the Barlow Pass (38mm) Ultralight. The ride was over lots of beat-up black top, chip seal and gravel. The tires wroked great. So smooth and excelenet cornering. I have these tires on both of my bikes and have been very happy with them. No flats (knock on wood) so far and they roll great. I would reccomend them (I know the mine are a different size but the casing is the same).

FWIW, I had been using the Challenge Parigi Roubaix and had LOTS of flats with tem. I have a set on a bike I am finishing and will try running them at a lower pressure and see if that helps.

Dfrost 

I have the 28mm Grand Bois Cerf on the bike I use the most (Marinoni), 26mm Cerf on my wife's Erickson, and 32mm Cypres on the Rambouillet. I obviously really like these tires for their low rolling resistance, ride comfort, light weight (even without the Extra Leger versions), and wear seems about the same as any other quality tire I've used in the last 20 years - typically 2000+ miles on a rear after it had been on the front for that long. Flats are more about what we happen to ride over than the tires and these don't seem any better or worse than others. I will switch over to the Compass versions when I run out of inventory. I've had a few quality hiccups with a few of the GB tires, but since they're all made by Panaracer, my favorite tire manufacturer, those hiccups seem like just "one of those things".

i have a Panaracer Pasela, but haven't mounted it on anything yet, and when I needed a tire in an emergency away from home, and a Panaracer T-Serv (basically a folding, black sidewall Pasela TG) was the best available in the required size. It looks like a fine tire, too, if those characteristics work. The Erickson will probably get Panaracer Gravel Kings in the future, since my wife says she likes the black sidewalls on her bike. The T-Serv/Pasela tread feels like it will wear through gloves fast if you wipe your tires occasionally.

Pacific

I'm a super clyde (6'5, 255) and have been using the Chinook Pass EL on my road bike--and pumping them up to 110 psi, to boot. No problem so far, after a few hundred miles, and they are the most comfortable tire I have ever ridden--much, much more comfortable than a set of 700 x 38 Vittoria Randonneur Hypers I had on another bike. I have just ordered the Barlow Pass tires (700 x 38) in the EL version for a new build.

bibliobob

I have a pair of the Chinooks, and love them. No flats, but no time on gravel either....

Chrome Molly 

I'd appreciate any experience/reviews of their 32/33's. Just to expand the thread a little...

gomango

Lovely tires.

I use these on my John Hollands, which is my most often used bicycle.

Limestone, country roads, cruddy St. Paul streets. It does it all and is a top notch performer.

Zero flats so far at 1,200 total miles.

gomango

I have the Stampede Pass on my Merckx x bike.

Great tire, not cheap.

No comparison to a Pasela, which I also have used on the Merckx, along with Fangos.

acoffin 

I am running this exact tire on the RB-1. Count me extremely satisfied.
Durable on gravel.
Casing is pretty darn supple (very close to Parigi Roubaix as compared to a Pasela).
Hold the road well.
Comfy.

Mind you, the Compass tires probably beat the heck out of these in all but the durability and cost departments.

gomango

I rode a friend's bike with these GKs for a few miles.

Hard packed limestone/gravel only mind you.

I liked them quite a bit.

I'm still curious about the 700x32 GKs.

Haven't even seen one yet or at least I don't remember it.

nlerner

I'm running the 32mm Compass Stampede Pass on one bike. I've only put about 100 miles on them, so no strong opinions yet. I'm hoping they feel similar to the Grand Bois Cypres, which are my favorite tires.

John E

My standing question for the reviewer of any tire: What is the actual width, which is often less than the callout size?

I currently have 700Cx28 Contis -- actual size 25mm -- on my Bianchi, which does not have enough clearance for real 700Cx28 tires, such as Specialized Armadillos.

MileHighMark

I have the 32mm Compass tires under test, and the ride is very nice. Too soon to comment on durability, etc, though. Right now they're on my commuter, so it'll be interesting to see how they hold up.

My go-to 28mm tire is the Panaracer Gravelking. Despite being durable and very puncture-resistant, the ride is quite lively. On 25mm HED rims, they measure approx 30.5mm, and offer plenty of flotation and traction on non-technical dirt and gravel. I've also ridden the 32mm Gravelking, which features a very different tread pattern/style. It's much smoother and faster than you'd expect, but it's not as fast as the 28mm version.

You can read my reviews of the Gravelking tires here:

First Impressions: Panaracer Gravelking 700×32 Tires | GRAVELBIKE.com

First Impressions: Panaracer Gravelking Tires | GRAVELBIKE.com

jeirvine 

Another tire to throw in the mix is the new Panaracer Fairweather 28mm that Velo Orange now stocks. I just got a pair, and will report back after I put some riding in. They also come in funky colors. Edit: 20% off sale going on at VO at the moment too.
Fairweather Traveler Tire, 700x28c, Black - Tires, Tubes & Rim Tape - Components

inkandsilver

I have a set of these and may be at about the same mileage as you are. I really, really like them, but it had been a year since this bike was in service, previously with Paselas. I loved the ride then. I love it even more now. Not even remotely a back-to-back comparison, so I hesitate to say it too strongly. But the first time I took a hard corner at speed I said "whoa!".

FWIW, way way down in the comments section on one of the Compass blog posts, Jan H. admitted that some of their (then new) tire offerings (including this 32) were almost identical to the GB versions, with only an "optimized tread pattern" as different. If I remember right they were most excited about the brand new 700x38, and some improvements they made over the Hetre in their 650x42. So I would expect that you'll have a similar experience to what you have had with the Cypres.

MileHighMark

All my tire reviews include actual widths (measured after the tire has been inflated to max psi for at least 48 hours) and actual weights.

djkashuba 

My Compass Chinook 28s measure 28 on MA2s and are much smoother on good and rough pavement than other 28s (panaracers and gatorskins) I have used. Great tires. No idea on longevity. No flats in the few hundred miles I have ridden so far.

Campagnolo Tipo and MA2 by djk762, on Flickr

-D

Dfrost 

Width of my 28mm GB Cerf is 28.5mm front, 29.5mm rear on 23mm wide H+Son TB14 rims, inflated to 75/90 psi after about 1000 mi. Rear was front previously, so about 3000 total miles on tire now on the rear. I obviously like them, and plan to use the Compass Chinook Pass EL next.

Six jours

Jan/Compass is pretty good about providing actual tire widths.

MileHighMark

The 32mm GK looks like this:



Whereas the narrower models look like this: