Byway Replacement

[dlovett]

650b owners, what the latest tyre of choice?

My Horizons and Byways have finally worn out after 6 years of loyal service.
I'm after a fast moving tyre for 75% road use that still has the ability to go anyway on any terrain and be grippy like the byways are.

Is there anything better on the market that I will be able to get hold of within the next few weeks?
TIA

[voodoo_simon]

WTB ventures in 47mm work well for me, seem fast enough on the road and good enough grip off

[yourguitarhero]

I have had good experiences with the Vittoria Terreno Dry tyres and the Panaracer Gravelkings - though not in the large volume slicks which puncture continuously, even on the road. The tubeless Semi Slick one they do is excellent and comes in 27.5*1.9 variety

[dlovett]

WTB ventures in 47mm work well for me, seem fast enough on the road and good enough grip off

Yep, I think they would be perfect for the long distance stuff, just concerned how draggy they might be for most of the their life on roads. Reviews I have seen tend to say heavy and draggy. How much normal road use have you had on them Simon adn how would you say they compare to other 650 tyres you have ridden for on road?

Cheers

[dlovett]

I have had good experiences with the Vittoria Terreno Dry tyres and the Panaracer Gravelkings - though not in the large volume slicks which puncture continuously, even on the road. The tubeless Semi Slick one they do is excellent and comes in 27.5*1.9 variety

Yep they both look a bit byway like. The byways were never quite as fast as the horizon's on road, but in wet weather or off road they were much better. I guess most tyres will work off road until they don't! As most of it's life will be on road I'm after the least draggy compromise I can find.

[faustus]

I've used Hutchinson overide 650x47 and they're decent on road. Not really to my needs as I prefer a bit more off road and they span out on the rear too often. They are also only £30 on merlin right now (the pic is a 700c tyre, they come up fairly fat and true to size). https://www.merlincycles.com/hutchinson ... ieshopping

It's the only tubeless tyre I punctured, but it sealed with a plug and they went on and inflated nice and easily on wtb rims.

[johnnystorm]

With the ~£20 or less pricing for most WTB Roadplus tyres on CRC I've gone for another pair of Byways for the Warroad and some Ventures on the Tandem (that sees more offroad use). One thing about the Ventures is that the "dinosaur scales" in the middle do seem to hold onto stones/stone chips so might be a pain if you ride in flinty areas.

I paid the couple of quid extra for the tougher SG2 versions to be on the safe side.

[PaulB2]

I was going to go for Pathfinder Pro but the Byways are half the price so it's hard to overlook those.

[dlovett]

yep Chains prices are very good at the mo. I might try the ventures for the NYM300 and if they feel too draggy perhaps try and get another pair of horizons for urban use.

[dlovett]

With the ~£20 or less pricing for most WTB Roadplus tyres on CRC I've gone for another pair of Byways for the Warroad and some Ventures on the Tandem (that sees more offroad use). One thing about the Ventures is that the "dinosaur scales" in the middle do seem to hold onto stones/stone chips so might be a pain if you ride in flinty areas.

I paid the couple of quid extra for the tougher SG2 versions to be on the safe side.

yep the sg2 version makes more sense in ventures.

[dlovett]

I've used Hutchinson overide 650x47 and they're decent on road. Not really to my needs as I prefer a bit more off road and they span out on the rear too often. They are also only £30 on merlin right now (the pic is a 700c tyre, they come up fairly fat and true to size). https://www.merlincycles.com/hutchinson ... ieshopping

It's the only tubeless tyre I punctured, but it sealed with a plug and they went on and inflated nice and easily on wtb rims.

Ta will have a peak at them.

[voodoo_simon]

[quote=voodoo_simon post_id=309863 time=<a href="tel:1686661210">1686661210</a> user_id=3402]
WTB ventures in 47mm work well for me, seem fast enough on the road and good enough grip off

Yep, I think they would be perfect for the long distance stuff, just concerned how draggy they might be for most of the their life on roads. Reviews I have seen tend to say heavy and draggy. How much normal road use have you had on them Simon adn how would you say they compare to other 650 tyres you have ridden for on road?

Cheers

Use my gravel back as road bike that can take on gravel stuff, think of rallying with special stages and that’s what I use it for (ie road section, gravel section, road etc). Don’t use my gravel bike as a replacement mountain bike but rather a replacement road bike that I can explore more with

Had the horizons in 47mm, Resolutes in 42mm and the Ventures in 47mm. Predictably, the ventures are the best all round tyre of those three.

I was actually impressed with the horizons and liked them. Fast on the road, hard wearing and two (maybe 3?) punctures in 18months (using tubes). Thought they were fast on the road and good on gravel roads that were straight, they were always predictable in terms of grips but in the dry, sandy loam stuff on Singletrack, they lacked the grip.

Went on to the resolutes as I wanted more grip, the 42mm didn’t feel like they were lacking much speed over the Horizons, had way more grip but were very puncture prone, so ditched them pretty quick

Swapped to the ventures and have been pleased. As Johnnystorm highlights, the tread is a bit weird and stuff gets stuck in it but after a few rides, I forget about that. Also bought the SG2 version. Speed wise, I did a road ride last week and managed to do 40KM in less than 1 hour 20, so reckon I can average about 28-30KM/H on these, so happy with that. Good grip too and no punctures so far in 4 or so months (again, using tubes). I think they’re a good option for what I need them to be.

When I need to replace the tyres, I’d certainly be looking at the ventures again

[dlovett]

Gone for a pair of Ventures (Good value at the mo) for Special rides and will move the less worn byways to normal urban use.

Thanks for the suggestions.

[dlovett]

The Ventures seem very nice. They were quite easy to mount and popped on with a track pump and 80psi. Not Stan's them up yet, but they seem to be holding air quite nicely so far without it.

Hopefully I've not just cursed myself...

I'm aiming to take them out for a nice test ride down the midd section of SDW on Thursday to see how they feel.

[dlovett]

Just tried them out with the alpine drivetrain installed, they certainly don't seem draggy on road, cruised quite nicely in the high 20 km/h's. Tomorrow will hopefully be a proper all terrain test.

[voodoo_simon]

Just tried them out with the alpine drivetrain installed, they certainly don't seem draggy on road, cruised quite nicely in the high 20 km/h's. Tomorrow will hopefully be a proper all terrain test.

Good to hear

[dlovett]

Of course I made the school boy error of fitting them to check the fit and then add sealant. I have a new bottle of Stan's race or them and there is no way in hell I can now shift the bead to fill them! I'll have to go and buy some thinner sealant I can get through the valve with the core out.

[johnnystorm]

Of course I made the school boy error of fitting them to check the fit and then add sealant. I have a new bottle of Stan's race or them and there is no way in hell I can now shift the bead to fill them! I'll have to go and buy some thinner sealant I can get through the valve with the core out.

Sealant injector/syringe might help?

[dlovett]

Of course I made the school boy error of fitting them to check the fit and then add sealant. I have a new bottle of Stan's race or them and there is no way in hell I can now shift the bead to fill them! I'll have to go and buy some thinner sealant I can get through the valve with the core out.

Sealant injector/syringe might help?

Sadly the Race version will not go in through the valve with the core removed, it's just too thick and clogs up. I now remember why I only have used it once before instead of normal Stans.

We argued about it and it won. I ended up cleaning sealant off of everything close by....

[dlovett]

However the Ventures have now submitted and the bead popped off. Scary how much force I had to use to do it though. I was very generous with the Stan's as I don't want to have to do that again in a. hurry.

[jameso]

The Ventures seem very nice. They were quite easy to mount and popped on with a track pump and 80psi. Not Stan's them up yet, but they seem to be holding air quite nicely so far without it.

Hopefully I've not just cursed myself...

Doubt it : ) My experience with WTB tyres has been really good, always easy to seat and seal. They're a close fit, too tight for easy use on some rims though. And (as you found) they do need force to unseat even on WTB rims - I always put sealant in via the valves.

[PaulB2]

The Ventures seem very nice. They were quite easy to mount and popped on with a track pump and 80psi. Not Stan's them up yet, but they seem to be holding air quite nicely so far without it.

Hopefully I've not just cursed myself...

Doubt it : ) My experience with WTB tyres has been really good, always easy to seat and seal. They're a close fit, too tight for easy use on some rims though.

You must have the knack since I can't currently get my WTB tyres off my WTB rims (i19 so narrow by todays standards) - I had to give up for now, having spent my entire lunch hour attempting one tyre.

[jameso]

You must have the knack since I can't currently get my WTB tyres off my WTB rims (i19 so narrow by todays standards) - I had to give up for now, having spent my entire lunch hour attempting one tyre.

Have you tried water with a bit of washing up liquid to help move them? Generally I just grab the rim+tyre and force the sidewall inwards in a small area with my thumbs, kind of pulling the sidewall tight while pushing it away from the rim sidewall. They can be tight but they move with a good shove (Byways and Horizons on KOM I21 and I25 rims)

[voodoo_simon]

[quote=jameso post_id=310282 time=<a href="tel:1687444971">1687444971</a> user_id=3307]
[quote=dlovett post_id=310190 time=<a href="tel:1687267445">1687267445</a> user_id=3742]
The Ventures seem very nice. They were quite easy to mount and popped on with a track pump and 80psi. Not Stan's them up yet, but they seem to be holding air quite nicely so far without it.

Hopefully I've not just cursed myself...

Doubt it : ) My experience with WTB tyres has been really good, always easy to seat and seal. They're a close fit, too tight for easy use on some rims though.
[/quote]

You must have the knack since I can't currently get my WTB tyres off my WTB rims (i19 so narrow by todays standards) - I had to give up for now, having spent my entire lunch hour attempting one tyre.
[/quote]

Johnnystorm told me to stand on them and it works to pop the bead

Put the wheel on the ground, disc facing up (you’ll thank me later) and put one foot on the tyre and on the opposite side, force the rim down. Works a treat

[PaulB2]

It's the rear wheel so presumably I'd have to remove the cassette first...