kimpw

Trying to decide between these two tires. I commute mostly pavement during the week, and like to go on single track trails on the weekend.

Switching out tires is getting tedious, and I don't really have the money to buy another wheelset for a tire switch.

Has anyone ridden both?

fxdgrjedi

This topic is relevant to my interests. I do pretty much the exact same, and switching tyres does kindof suck. I haven't any experience with either tyre you have mentioned, but I have had good luck with 40mm Clement Xplor MSOs. I pump them up to about 80 for weekday commuting, and drop them to 35 when I hit the dirt. Aside from very muddy conditions, they hook up very nice on the dirt. They don't roll to bad on the pavement either.

DirtRoadRunner

If you want something cheap, light, and fast, go with a pair of Continental Speed Rides:
Continental Cyclocross SPEED Ride 700c x 42 (38) folding (file tread)

$60 for a pair, which is about half the cost of the Soma's, BG's, or MSO's. Folding bead, 700x42c size, and 420 grams. They roll great on pavement at 85 psi (not much slower than a 28c road tire), and have good traction on gravel and dry singletrack at 45 psi. They aren't good on muddy trails, but more than make up for it in the dry. Road handling is good as well - they only have small lugs at either side of the tread, so you can take corners fairly sharp without that squishy feeling you'd get on a more lugged tire.

Granted - these are Indian-made tires, and aren't of the same quality as the MSO's or Panaracer-made Soma and BG tires. But, they are half the cost, and are more than half the tire, so they are really a great value.

flargle

+1 Clement MSO

Clement USH another great option

But dang if I could fit that Bruce Gordon tire under my bike I'd also be very interested

I'm like the effing Imelda Marcos of tires

Kopsis

I haven't tried the Cazadero, but I've raced CX on the Bruce Gordon on dry light singletrack and it performed beautifully. The BG and Cazadero are both Panaracer tires and may be nearly identical construction with different tread patterns (though, surprisingly, Soma doesn't list TPI). The tread pattern of the BG makes it feel more like a slick in cornering on asphalt or hardpack (no abrupt transition to aggressive side lugs). On muddy singletrack, the Cazadero might offer a little more grip as the wider spaced side lugs will clear mud better.

I suspect you'd be happy with either tire. If your off-road riding is mostly dry (like mine is), I'd pick the BG.

Gus90

Doubt you need that wide a tire, try Schwalbe Sammy Slicks or Hurricanes

Kopsis

All depends on where you ride. Here's part of the course for the Piggy's Revenge gravel grinder next month (the pigs have been busy). I'd actually consider going wider than the BGs if I had any more room



Yeah, maybe OP can ride his singletrack on something narrower, but if he can fit the wide tires, why not? Considering how fast the BG and Cazadero roll on asphalt and hardpack, the only real compromise from going wide is a little extra weight.

Gus90

OK riding that you may need as wide a tire as you can get. I stand corrected.

kimpw

I like riding wider tires these days. Even the Hetres I have on my 650b feels a bit skinny.

The only reason I ask between the difference is because I remember seeing something on internet bob about how the Cazadero were very fast on pavement. Looking at the tread, I feel like the BG's would probably be a better fit for single track purposes, but also heard from others that they were a bit slow on pavement. It's a trade off I suppose.

Kopsis

Not sure who's telling you the BGs roll slow on pavement, but I'd question what their reference is. The first test ride I did with mine was on the road and I was amazed that a tire that wide and with that kind of tread could roll so fast. Are they going to roll like a 28c semi-slick? No, but no tread pattern can overcome the fact that a wider contact patch is going to have more rolling resistance (in exchange for more traction).

Kobe 

+1 on the Bruce Gordons rolling nicely on pavement. My road bike has 32c Panaracer Pacelas and the BG's roll just as well as them and are outstanding on gravel.

edussanchez

I'm also trying to decide between these two tires for my new gravel bike. Here there is an user stating that the cazaderos are Silent compared to the BG https://groups.google.com/forum/#!to...0b/1B80Vpt1FgI
There is a cazadero review here: Soma Fab?s Cazadero 42mm Tires: Getting Rolling | ; And there are some Rock and road reviews around the web.

From what I´ve read the Cazaderos roll better on pavement and the BG roll better Off road, but I have no personal Experiences with the tires, is the conclusion I draw from the few reviews out there and some comments in forums.

I will mount the tires tubeless and I have read some comments of riders with very good experiences riding tubeless with the BG but only one comment of the cazaderos (also a good experience). My fork is a Columbus Mud disc and I´m not sure if it have enough clearance for the BG. Anyone have tried it?

fietsbob

I liked Conti Travel Contact they have a 37, 42 and a 50, for 29ers .. in 622.. ( used the 26-1.75" version ) slick center , knobby fringed.

Continental Bicycle -Travel CONTACT

Six jours

I have no experience with the Cazadero, but I like the Rock N' Roads pretty well. They certainly work better for single track and such than the narrower cyclocross knobbies I had been using. They also are better than the 42mm Grand Boise Hetres that I love so much for road riding. Frankly, I can't see a reason in the world to stick to narrow tires for any off-road riding other than the smoothest hardpack. Wider tires are better for pretty much every other unpaved surface.

I'm not as enthusiastic about the R n' R tires on the road, though. They're not any worse than the average cyclocross tire, but they aren't nearly as good as a real road tire. I'm genuinely surprised that KOBE finds them as fast as his Paselas on the road. I'm several MPH slower on R n' Rs than I am on Hetres. I'm just not aware of anything that offers the best overall compromise for my needs.

vitaly66

+1 on the Conti SpeedRides.

I love these tires. Smooth, quiet, fast. Very comfortable.

The kevlar bead (folding) version is competitively light for such a fat tire.

Measure out as 38mm on a wide rim (Dyad).

If your bike can fit these, and if you aren't doing greasy mud, suggest to give these a try.

DirtRoadRunner

They measure 40 mm on my Velocity A23's, when they are fully inflated at 85 psi. They are actually fine on muddy roads - just not slick crap that is more than an inch or two deep. They do fine on dry/moist singletrack as well. Definitely the most versatile tire available at that price point (likely due to being made in India). I have TourRides on my grocery-getter hybrid as well, and they are actually good tires, considering I paid $13/each for them!

kimpw

Thanks for the input, I'll go BGs. They are a bit cheaper and it seems a bit more time tested, plus I like to have good handling in dirt.

another tire question for 26" bike...has anyone tried the schwalbe Big Ben's? I'm thinking of switching in my commuter to Big Bens or getting WTB Nanos.

p nut

For commuting purposes, I would try something other than RnR. The tires performed well, but they wore very fast. I sold them before they wore out, but I'd expect 1500-2000 mile tread life. The Cazadero's seem like they would wear better and roll better due to the solid center tread. The RnR's had a very noticeable hum while on pavement and I felt they rolled just slightly better than a knobby CX tire, but much worse than my Pasela's (700x32), Marathon (700x38), or Hetre's (obviously, since they're all slicks).

edussanchez

Anyone could tell US experiencies riding off road with the cazaderos compared to the BG?

Bill1227

I ordered a pair of Caz today the gummy walls hot me
I found them online from a camping supply place for about $55 which is the Max I am will to pay for such a tire, especially with no specs provided like tpi,compound,puncture belts etc

Mostly I went by Guitar Teds reviews btw he felt it was faster on pavement than B G R R also

I have been running Specialized 38m Triggers and 1.8" Renegades. Like other on off pavement crossers here, I seek the holly grail for my habitat as swapping tires grows old

The Triggers are fast on pavement,gravel and an awesome tread design but on tough industrial rubber with a wire bead. They also make them in 42 & 47. I nearly ordered 47 Triggers insted untill I found the Caz for a honest price. The Caz should roll as well as the Xplor on pave but less than the Spesh Triggers and Contis

I also Epect to get some good milliage (3k) out of them for the PRIMO price or I will be disappointed ( hope you read that Soma, no specs provided nor email inquiry return sucks!)

Funny how cross is. These are big to the down bar crowd and skinny,light to us crossers of the flat bar clan

Ordered Boyd wheels as well today for my Swiss army, jack of all, cross tourer

jtbadge

Obligatory WTB Nano post. (Nearly) continuous center bead - fast on pavement. Eats up singletrack. Sure-footed in loose gravel and sand.

||