for all my cynicism aimed at campagnolo's new ekar groupset a couple of days past, or, more specifically, at the perceived need for gravel bikes, i feel i may need to offer a smidgeon of explanation, lest you think me too disparaging. for having spent the majority of my saturday, hurtling through the undergrowth, skiting my way down gravellous descents and riding with fingers crossed that the long grass through which i was proceeding, hid no unexpected suprises, i may appear to be a bit of a hypocrite.
i'm not.
for though i still rail against the need for gravel bikes when there have always been cyclocross bikes, and i remain to be convinced that gravel specific' groupsets are a necessary thing, i do particularly enjoy a smattering of gravel riding myself. not only does it offer a fresh look at cycling, hone one's bike handling skills, and keep you well away from motorised traffic, it will also stop your legs from talking to you after nigh on 50km off-road.
the village of ballygrant is but a tad farther than five kilometres south of the ferry port at port askaig. riding from bowmore, it can be reached either by the main, a846 road, or by way of the singletrack glen road, exiting at the quarry. however, if on a bicycle, turn right off the glen road instead of left, and there awaits the entrance to ballygrant woods. the gravel track that wends its way past loch ballygrant all the way to the lily loch and on to dunlossit house, offers pretty much every type of surface you'd hope to find in pursuit of a gravel lifestyle.
there's loose gravel, sure enough, there are frequent muddy patches, and there are grassy surfaces. on a bright, sunny, but perishingly cold day like yesterday, the sunlight breaking through the trees and bushes, creates a dappled surface under tyre, frequently hiding the very pitfalls you'd prefer it didn't. i cannot deny that it's a style of riding with which i am less than familiar, having nailed by flag to the road-riding mast more often than not. but the arrival of a pair of rené herse, steilacoom 700 x38c gravel specific tyres, offered the perfect opportunity to see of what both they and i are made of.
i'll not fib; the track through the woods would scarcely register on the average mountain biker's 'to do' list, depending, of course, on how fast they approached its firmament. but i'm no mountain biker, a fact which probably did not serve those tyres well. the mtb lads' and lassies' dual-suspension farm gates, shod with rubber wider than two inches, probably eat ballygrant woods for breakfast. but, at present, gravel biking seems a tad more sedate, geared more towards a sense of safer adventure in the wilderness. at least, that's my take on the situation.
nobody calls me 'gnarly' and gets away with it.
however, the more things change, the more things change. several years ago, a perceived need for a footpath stretching between caol ila road end and ballygrant village, had the apparently well-meaning dunlossit estate, construct just such an edifice in their land, parallel to the a846. as owners of the quarry, 'twas but a snip to lay gravel the full five kilometre length of the path, offering walkers and cyclists a means of travel separated from ferry traffic. unfortunately, the gravel bore closer resemblance to boulders, and having created the path, the estate promptly left it alone.
if you didn't know it was there, you wouldn't know it was there. there is no signposting whatsoever, and many sections have either disintegrated, or become overgrown. in all the occasions i have used this path for reviewing tyres and 'cross bikes, i have only ever met four walkers; it is certainly not the pedestrian highway it was surely intended to be. and even with 28mm rubber, it is most certainly not suitable for any type of road bike. mountain, cyclocross and gravel only.
rené herse began his career in the 1930s, working on prototype aircraft, subsequently creating lightweight, stylish bicycle components. the current range of rené herse tyres and components hail from across the pond in the cascade mountains, stocked in the uk by dorset's sven cycles. i have previously given pixel room to rené herse 'hurricane ridge' 700 x 42c gravel tyres, rubber which pretty much flattened anything and everything in its path. their 38c steilacoom endurance version proposed a more refined ride through the hinterlands, which is pretty much what i got.
the steilacoom can be had in three variations: standard, lightweight and endurance. the latter is simply the lightweight version with strengthened sidewalls and puncture resistance and the version ridden by yours truly. all variations are tubeless compatible, but since i have no faith in the genre, mine were fitted with inner tubes. they are, to be frank, a flipping nightmare to fit. or at least they were until i employed the kool-stop tyre jack, which i would heartily recommend for all tyres, but specifically to ease fitting of rené herse tyres.
these are highly entertaining to watch when inflating. according to the explicit fitting instructions, the plumb-line that is intended to sit just above the wheel rim must do so around the full circumference of the sidewall. it's unlikely this will be the case on initial fitting, but as the tyre is inflated, that line starts to show itself from both sides of the wheel, eventually meeting in the middle with a soft 'pop' when complete. if its appearance stops at any time, it's a simple matter of pumping in a few more pounds of pressure. once visible on both sides of the tyre, you can adjust the desired pressure up or down as necessary.
i ran front and back at 40psi throughout the review. perhaps a tad high on soft ground, but just ideal on gravel or rock.
my lack of sensibility in the handling department ultimately meant that the steilacooms were given a hard ride, yet offered me the comfort i had hoped would be the case. the knobbly bits are well enough spaced to clear mud and gravel with ease, but close enough to offer a smooth ride on tarmac and on compacted grass. over loose gravel there was no sign of a propensity to wash out and while pedalling hard on steep, wet, grassy hills, the back tyre never once lost grip. their resilience in the face of adversity was highly impressive; though they're five millimetres wider than the sanctioned width for cyclocross tyres, i care not a jot.
these will be accompanying me on my explorations for a long time to come, and i may well come back with more when the ground gets soggy.
rené herse steilacoom tyres are priced from £71 each. those tested are priced at £87 each. i cannot deny that they're not the easiest tyres to fit, but they are well worth the effort. rené herse tyres are distributed in the uk by dorset's sven cycles.
sunday 27 september 2020
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