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hutchinson 700x40c tundra gravel tyres part two

hutchinson tundra gravel tyres

until a matter of years ago, castlehill on islay, just off the high road and not that far from islay international airport, was notable for only one thing: peat. in 1985, there was a great spat over the ground at duich moss on the low road, when modern-day diageo announced they intended to increase the amount of peat they extracted from the peat moss. given that duich moss is, historically, an important site for overwintering geese, you can perhaps see the likelihood of confrontation between conservationists and the whisky industry.

hutchinson tundra gravel tyres

in fact, one of britain's higher profile conservationists, david bellamy, attended a somewhat belligerent public meeting, following which both he and several 'friends of the earth' supporters were effectively driven from the island by locals, concerned that bird life was being prioritised at the expense of local industry and employment. subsequently, duich moss was designated as a special protection area for birds and diageo were offered the alternative site at castlehill, for which they apparently hold an agreement with nature.scot allowing them to harvest peat until there is, quite literally, no more peat to be harvested.

hutchinson tundra gravel tyres

with the announcement last week that islay is one of six west coast islands intended to become carbon neutral by 2040, it should be interesting to see how that works out. and yet, at castlehill, there's more.

the contradictory nature of the site hadn't quite dawned on me until a recent visit, riding my specialized cyclocross bike, shod with hutchinson's excellent tundra gravel tyres. you see, once past the enormous peat extraction area, at the end of an intriguing and rugged gravel track, sits islay's sole commercial wind turbine, installed at the behest of islay energy trust, presumably as a tangible outward sign of their environmental intent. so along a single gravel ride, it's possible to view two entirely contrary means of energy generation; one a great deal less environmentally sound than the other.

hutchinson tundra gravel tyres

the gravel track offers a cornucopia of gravellous cycling, featuring gravel as you and i probably understand it, along with lengthy stretches infested with substantial amounts of peat dust, a material that can offer all manner of difficulties, depending on whether it's dry or wet. the apparently tough tan sidewalls on the tundras were a welcome safety net during my perambulations towards the wind turbine, and the tread was most favourable towards clearing that peat dust before accumulation made things all skitey.

hutchinson tundra gravel tyres

though the hutchinsons are designed to be run in tubeless mode, as mentioned in part one of this review, there's just too much faff involved for yours truly, so this particular pair were inflated via an old fashioned pair of inner tubes. it's more than likely that the tundras can be run at lower pressures in tubeless mode, but i found anything below 30psi to be a bit dodgy if traipsing across agressive sections of gravel, though on muddy, peaty sections, lower pressure gave increased grip, particularly up front. i rode the same peaty, muddy section with low pressure (30psi) and high pressure (45psi), the latter being predictably somewhat sketchier in places, almost to my physical detriment at one point.

hutchinson tundra gravel tyres

there's no real denying that the tundras are a bit of a liability when it came to riding the road to reach intersting sections of local gravel. and i gained the distinct notion that they could be ridden far quicker on gravel than they could on ostensibly, smooth tarmac. compared to the same bike shod with 33mm road-style tyres, my average speed was more than 5kph slower, and i was seemingly unable to do anything about it. however, since the tyres were hardly designed to aid mark cavendish in a giro sprint, this is surely of superficial interest?

hutchinson tundra gravel tyres

giving them a hard time across stretches of gravel, they were absolutely marvellous, holding their line particularly well at the hands of a gravel incompetent. it's only been a few weeks since i received the tundras, so tread wear is unlikely to show up this soon, and indeed, it hasn't so far. however, considering the wide range of gravellous surfaces across which they have accompanied me, a quick hosedown post ride, and you'd be hard pressed to tell.

i mentioned in the first part of this review, that the clearance between the chainstays was minimal at best, yet throughout all the gravel rides, including the occasional muddy splatter, that lack of clearance has presented no problems whatsoever. if gravel riding is your 'thing', it would be very hard to go wrong with a pair of hutchinson tundras, as long as you don't have a lengthy road ride to get there.

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

sunday 22 may 2022

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