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hutchinson tundra 700x40c gravel tyres

i am, as previously advised, a vegetarian, a dietary state of affairs that has existed since i was a tender 14 years old. if anyone else harbours intentions or desires of dietary change, i can recommend having your grandmother come to stay while your parents are on holiday, telling her that you no longer eat meat. on return of both parents, it's a simple case of informing them you haven't eaten meat for two weeks, and you've no intention of changing the situation.

in the early years, it was a choice that was often hard to survive, with hotels and restaurants intent on feeding me prawn salad, or simply the main course without the meat. on moving to the hebrides over thirty years past, health-food stores were few and far between, soya milk was almost non-existent, and the local averagemarket featured not a single veggie meal; at least, not one specifically aimed at those inhabiting a vegetarian lifestyle.

the difference arrived with the onset of veganism, a more extreme version of vegetarianism behind which the rationale doesn't always stack up. that said, one should scarcely look a gift horse in the mouth; veganism appears to have accomplished in a matter of minutes, what mere vegetarianism failed to achieve in decades. now it is possible to acquire a wide variety of foodstuffs that appeal to both vegetarian and vegan customers, though i'd be inclined to think the former outnumber the latter by quite some degree. it has, to put not too fine a point on it, offered increased versatility to those wishing to live a meat-free lifestyle.

though it's admittedly a bit of a stretch, the much-maligned gravel fad (mostly maligned by yours truly, to be fair) has now provided a remarkably similar level of versatility to the intrepid, gravellous rider. yes, we've all seen the youtube videos, showing velocipedinal stalwarts in the far corners of the globe, trekking through remote regions on their state-of-the-art gravel bikes, festooned with oddly-shaped bikepacking luggage, achieving pretty much what the crane brothers achieved, documented in their 1987 book, journey to the centre of the earth, except they did so on road bikes.

however, few of us, if any, have that level of derring-do, content, in most cases, to travail the uneven ground that once was the playpark of the mountain biking set, only now, this can be undertaken with bendy bars. of course, this could easily have been achieved on the already available, cyclocross bicycles, but why let truth stand in the way of a decent marketing campaign?

but uci regulations dictate that the maximum tyre width for cyclocross rests at 33mm, quite possibly more than adequate for any offroad excursion by the likes of you and me. but that hasn't prevented the gravel set from differentiating themselves by way of increased tyre width, rubber that, in many cases, will comfortably fit the cyclocross bicycle you already own. i do not own a gravel bicycle, and with luck, that is a happenstance unlikely to alter anytime soon, but i do own a brightly coloured cyclocross bicycle which, if i'm being very honest, is more likely to be found wearing gravel width tyres than 'cross's more minimal treads.

hutchinson tyres are distributed in the uk by windwave, co-incidentally, also colnago's uk distributor. they very kindly supplied a pair of the latest to emerge from the hutchinson factory in the shape of the 700x40c tundra. these tyres sport a tread pattern reminiscent of my long-past mountain-biking days, with a directional tread claimed to offer excellent traction on both gravel and mud, sufficiently open in design to easily clear the latter, even in the face of the gloopier variant. aesthetically it is a tyre that's very pleasing to the eye, with a brownish tan sidewall. i should mention, however, that clearance at the chainstays was minimal, to say the least, but in practice, proved no problem at all.

the tundra is tubeless ready, and windwave were generous enough to include a pair of tubeless valves to aid the review. however, i have had my fill of the tubeless genre, one that i find provides a great deal of unnecessary faff for no perceivable benefit. much like my dislike of the band runrig, i find myself in a minority in such matters, but nonetheless, i fitted both tyres with inner-tubes for my own peace of mind. your mileage may vary.

gravel tyres, particularly these, offer the itinerant rider a level of versatility with which a pair of 28mm road tyres just can't compete. i have demonstrated a predilection to ride my 'cross bike on saturdays, partly because i've no need of trying to keep up with anyone, and partly because i can take advantage of any brief offroad excursions that might present themselves along the way. despite the contentions of gcn's messrs beaumont and hank, islay is hardly awash with lengthy gravel tracks, or to be blunt, many lengthy offroad tracks of any description, but i do enjoy the options that tyres such as these provide.

not so very far from the croft exists a highly variable gravel track constructed to enable logging, just off the abattoirenberg road. logging has long since ceased, but the track's still there, in all its unadorned glory, mixing large, jaggy rocks, with the sort of gravel that regularly features in magazine articles. out and back, it possibly extends between four or five kilometres, offering a brief package of gravel fun, and on which the tundras excelled, despite my somewhat inept gravel-riding skills.

but just to be sure, i rode the tundras through mud and across wet grass, with nary a skitter from front or rear, as i channeled my enormous power through the sram rival cranks (a little hebridean humour there). when channeling that power over a short, sharp gravel climb, there was a noticeable lack of grip on the small, loose gravel that persisted at the edges. however, this only occurred when standing to climb; placing my bum back on the saddle, the grip was reinstated.

the only surface on which the tundras disappointed was, believe it or not, tarmac'd roads. though they were almost completely silent, entirely comfortable and ate several cattle-grids for breakfast, i cannot deny that they were a bit of a slog. it pains me to admit that the aforementioned enormous power could only return an average speed around four to five kph less than usual on the 'cross bike. however, given that smooth roads (more humour) are hardly their designated playground, i believe we can perhaps forgive them their one apparent demerit.

it would be foolish of me to think that i have already explored every trait available from the tundras, so this will likely be a two-parter punctuated by several weeks, but i have to say, it's looking good so far. if, like me, you're looking only for a smidgeon of versatility, or even if you're already completely down the gravel-sized, bike-packing hole already, on initial acquaintance, as a singular choice, these are very much what i believe is described as a 'no-brainer'.

hutchinson's tundra gravel tyres are available in 700x40c tan wall at a retail price of £49.95 each. | hutchinson tundra gravel tyres

monday 18 april 2022