Hypno Toad

I know this will sound odd to many, but I'm planning a gravel century on my Pugsley. I'm planning to get new tires for the race, and I'm looking for feedback. I think the Black Floyds will be the best tire for gravel riding. Anybody on BF with experience riding gravel on a fatbike? Let me know what tires you like.

trail_monkey

Not gravel but a friend of mine rode his surly fat bike on ragbrai last year the whole distance so I see no reason you can't ride gravel with one.

HOWSER

I've never done it, but have seen plenty of fat bikes on 100+ miles gravel races. Even on the DK200 last year.

inlikeflynn32

my buddy has rode many of the 100km/100mile gravel events here in MN on 45nrth Husker Du's 27TPI. Way to much tread on those though, so an extra good training ride with them.

Hypno Toad

Right! I have stock Nates on my Pug. They have too much tread and weight. I'm leaning toward the Black Floyds. They will not be good in a high speed corner, but honestly there are few high speed corners to worry about.

Tim_Iowa

My friend rode Vee Speedsters all last year, and did fine. I understand that they have self-steer issues at lower pressures, and that the Black Floyd tires are superior.

Personally, I'd go with 120 tpi Knards, Husker Du's, or a similar lightweight tire with a lower profile tread.

And for high speed corners, I ride the inside crown like a banked turn.

jtbadge

One of our gravel team racers uses the Big Fat Larry on his Moonlander. Dude is freaky fast.

Hypno Toad

That's my thinking too, cornering is rarely an issue on gravel. I ran 700x28 T-servs last year and had most of my issues with the descents on soft gravel, not cornering.

I just found a page about fatbike tire weights (I'm NOT a weight weenie, but tires do count) - the Black Floyds are the lightest tires by a good margin - nearly 1/2 lighter than the Knards. That will make a different over the course of 100 miles.

On a sidenote - the Dillinger 4s are LIGHTER than my Nates!?!?

Tim_Iowa

Interesting chart, thanks for the link.

It looks like Schwalbe Jumbo Jims are about the same weight as Black Floyds, but obviously with more tread.

Hypno Toad

I missed that one, thanks! Nice to have an option if I'm leaning to more tread.

Tim_Iowa

FYI, these guys have the best prices on any Schwalbe tires. Schwalbe Jumbo Jim Evo LiteSkin PaceStar 26x4.80" Folding | MTB Tyres 26" - folding Shop

Skankingbiker

I use origin 8 captiv8ters (same as vee rubber speedsters I believe) and love them for this purpose. Have done multiple gravel centuries on them

FrozenK

I'd probably go with Knards over Black Floyd. Knards roll fast and they are a better all around thread, while the BF are pretty much pavement only.

If you want lightweight, the Kenda Juggernaut are the lightest fat tire on the market right now. About 850 grams, in the real world. And they aren't that pricey. The thread reminds me of an Endomorph, which should work in gravel.

Speaking of, an Endomorph could be a good option. You'd have to find them used, and they aren't specially light; but they are fast rolling and will last a long time. With some of those other tires (like Jumbo Jims) I'd be concerned about wearing them out on pavement. And yes, Dillingers are quite light for a studded tire. And a very nice option for mixed winter conditiona if you don't deal with deep snow too often.

Hypno Toad

Alright, I'm shifting my attitude to the Knards. Like you say, better for a wide range of riding. Additionally, if it's wet/raining at the Almanzo, the Black Floyds would cause be no fun.

I will remember to post an update in May after the race.

Hypno Toad

So I overthink everything, that's kinda my thing. I ended up going with "none of the above" and bought Panaracer Fat B Nibble. I feel like they were a good investment, they rolled well and gave nice grip and float.

Weather conditions this year we very tough, starting temp was 35F, got up to nearly 50F by the finish. And the WIND, it was constantly 15 to 20 mph and gusts near 30 mph.

Early in the race, with tailwinds, I was riding 20 to 25 mph with groups. I was able to descend at speeds over 30 mph and maxed out a 35 mph (some riders still passed me at these speeds, I'm just a wimp). On the climbs, I mostly held my own, not as fast as last year, but not bad. My unofficial finish time was roughly 7 hours 30 minutes, I finished last year with a typical gravel bike at just over 7 hours (and the wind wasn't an issue last year).

I will not use the Pugsley for all gravel grinders, but I LOVED it for the Almanzo 100 and I plan to bring it back for the 2017 Almanzo 100.

Here's the pre-race rig:



edit: afterthought, I was running the tires around 14 psi (rear) and 14.5 psi (front)

Banzai

How did you deal with the cockpit length with those drop bars?

Hypno Toad

That was an issue. I swapped the original stem (110mm) out for a short stem (70mm). Additionally, I never cut the steer-tube, the stem is mounted as high as possible. Very comfortable. Here's an actionshot from Saturday:


Photo credit - tmbimages