Thanks for the intel! I’ll stick with 42s for now and when the time comes, find something in the 45 range that rolls as well. Was looking for something last minute for Rule of Three in Arkansas if I get in via waitlist.
Forget the waitlist, just go on the rule of three community FB page, people puttimg race entries up for transfer daily
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Amazing. thank you. I was wondering if they had something similar to what MidSouth had on FB but didn’t search that hard. I’ll join that tonight.
I rode them last night at probably a bit too high of a pressure. My Swamperos were 40s and when I took them off they were noticeably more “supple”, maybe just from over a year of use.
Handling of the Terra Speeds was very good, did a torn up no maintenance road with a ton of potholes and rocks to avoid or embrace and got a PR.
Black chili feels basically like it does on GP5000s. Knobs aren’t noticeable on tarmac, but I do find a 45mm tire feels hulking and somewhat heavy on pavement even vs a 40mm. First impressions are overall good, I can tell I like them more than Pathfinders immediately and they feel faster. But the Swamperos fit me like a glove, I will probably need some time to not miss those. Also maybe I just prefer 40mm to 45?
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I feel the same way on the 45, almost like the turn in on the pavement is weird. With that said I do feel like they are supple and give good road feel on the gravel. I have a set of 40mm but have never ran them vs the 45 to compare.
The Swampero is a wonderfully grippy tire that still rolls pretty darn well. Last weekend at BWR CA, I ran a Swampero 40 on the front, and a Thundero 40 on the rear. It was perfect for how I want my bike to respond. I was able to confidently blast through sections where others were being slow and cautious. On the road, I never felt like the tires were a hinderance. This has also become my normal every-day setup for local rides, which always include a mix of pavement, dirt roads, and singletrack.
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For me they ride almost identical to the pros minus the raised center, I’m sure there are faster tires out there but they seem to work well with my Crux and go plenty fast without puncturing.
I have had my eye on replacement for them as they seem to be wearing rather quickly, the IRC Boken Plus and the Rene Herse Snoquailmise pass keep popping up on my short list.
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I wanted the Thunder Burts but everywhere is sold out (ETA at BTD is mid-June and manufacturer site is sold out).
Even Thundero 48s are hard to find right now – I had to order mine from Denmark.
I ride the 700x44 Snoqualmie Pass tires and love 'em. They feel very responsive and really help to cushion the blows of a 112kg body on bad roads and gravel.
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Not surprising but pathfinders all over the place at Unbound. Pathfinder 47’s @ 30 PSI with Vittoria air liners for me, no flats or issues.
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Same for me…47’s, measured out at 45 on my wheels…~23-24 psi, no flats or issues. Never felt like I wanted / needed more volume.
Interesting podcast here on tire selection…some of Howes’ “testing” and theories seem a little suspect, but it was a decent listen.
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This was why I wondered if anyone knew what happened to him. After all that testing, did he have tire issues?
47 pathfinder pros with 28/32 psi at the start. As it warmed pressure went up to 30/32.
The mud in Egypt caused me to get dropped, my 3mm of clearance caught up with me. I sprayed hydration mix on it to dislodge the mud.
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“There are no solutions, only tradeoffs” 
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based on his IG post it sounds like no tire issues but just didn’t have the body/legs this year
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I’m digging my 42 pathfinder pros, but am leaning to wanting to go bigger. Problem is my 2021 Revolt is setup for 45s (claimed max) with a bit of clearance.
42s have been good for most CO gravel, but do want to experiment with something else. Especially for a course like Gravel Nats.
I’m also content with selling the Revolt and getting something that can go at least 50 mm since I believe most brands will be scrambling to make an updated frame that can go that large. Though, there isn’t much out there right now. I think this time next year we’ll have a slew of frames that easily run 50 or even 2.25 mtb tires.
Now that I think of it, I think the answer is just the newer Revolt which can run 52/53s in the long position.
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Ran Pathfinder Pro 42s in 2023 at Unbound and 47s this year. No flats either year. Did have Tubolight inserts and this year ran Silca Sealant and put 5 ounces in each wheel.
I had the 47s pumped to 26 psi front and rear before the race, so as the weather got warmer I’m sure the PSI would have gone up but I wasn’t motivated to put on the TyreWiz for the race to monitor. They felt great all day. Probably could have run even bit lower but was happy with what I did run.
I’m on a Checkpoint SLR, which is rated for 45mm clearance, but still has plenty of room in the rear with me running a 1x setup. Those on 2x will have less clearance. Fork has a ton of room.
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47’s for me this year as well. No inserts. 26/27ish on pressure @ ~165lbs. No flats. 42’s would have been totally fine this year with the conditions being relatively smooth/fast.
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Any thoughts on Airliners vs Tubolights?
Saw 6 guys flat, 3 with wrecked rims at my last race (field of ~50), following a fast, rocky descent (Cat 4 gravel) I made it through okay but seeing 2 of my buddies flat out, one with two spots where the rim would never be tubeless again. I do like to bomb down descents but after seeing all those people flat out, I picked my lines a little more carefully on the following rough descents.
I’m <60kg so generally don’t have a lot of issues with flats and rim damage but now that I’ve upgraded to carbon wheels on my XC and gravel bike would like to add some protection in the rear, to prevent rim damage, that won’t add weight or rolling resistance.
I know Air liner is not supposed to add rolling resistance, same situation for Tubolight? I think price wise as Tubolights only come as a pair, I can buy 2 rear airliners for less than 2 pairs of Tubolights given I don’t think I need the front for protection.
There’s a new gravel liner from Vittoria coming later this month. Howes said he was running the xc light liners.