Gravel / Gravé / Gnarmac / Groad / ATB

the WTB riddlers are a full pain in the arse when: trying to get them off the rims; or, trying to get seated if going tubeless.

they're pretty smooth/fast rolling though, for the size/weight.

I had one puncture in 800 miles on the rear (which I kept tubed because the tubeless failed day-1 of my tour.) this was when ripping it at 30mph+ down a windfarm access road full of 'chuckies'/'babyheads', so probably my own fault really

I've got a new track pump on the way and if I order one of these too I'll have pretty much every pump size option known to mankind, save for a compressor.

“Diversity is the one true thing we all have in common. Celebrate it every day.”

#pumpclusion

The Riddlers are pretty much a laughing point with some friends I ride with.
When I got my Arkose I switched them (mind you I switched the entire wheelset).

I like my riddlers, found em easy to get off and on but didn't go tubeless #fucktubeless. They are not super tough as have got punctures on normal lanes, but I have also done off road shit and some SDW on them without puncture too. Which is just standard correlation is not causation / one puncture does not a summer make etc, unlike gravelkings which were promoted on marketing bullshit as they are tyres made of cheese

what wheels did you switch to? think the stock arkose wheels are about 1.8kg? so it says on the evans page anyhow

Replaced the Nanos that came with my 8 with Gravelking SK - one slow picture in 1.5 years of grav grav and central London commuting so I'm happy with my choice.

11-50t was just about spot on for the B.C. mountain roads.

Slick 47mm tyres were plentiful especially at 30psi (tubeless).

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The Riddlers are pretty much a laughing point with some friends I ride with.

This.

Yann, my friend got his sidewall ripped by a rock after 12km, TBF his rims is VERY wide and the tyres is only 37mm.

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Which was a shame because they’re excellent to ride on, just the casing are way too fragile, compared to the super slick Teravail that handle the B.C. logging and forest road really well.

(Also both our bike have the same gearing, around 21GI allowing us to climb without wheel spin).

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Are those GB or Honjo mudguards?
They suit the bike really well imo.

PDW

You're an inspiration, Ed.

Cheers all. Looks like new tyres to be purchased on payday!

look like these ones maybe ? https://www.bikemonger.co.uk/pdw-full-metal-650-beast-fenders-55mm-18469-p.asp?gclid=CjwKCAjw2qHsBRAGEiwAMbPoDDgExn1QOEGCFpfnuj5tA0CL5lE25tXzg5dah5xLkJ7bq77AiOkYgBoCnfsQAvD_BwE

Indeed, it looks like those.
Hard to imagine what goes into the price which is twice that of a pair of GB..

Brexit. Pdw guards used to be £65.

I only really wanted the frame so switched most parts. I switched to my trusty Hunt 650b. They're absolutely solid. Can't rate them enough.

Pleased that my experiment with an x9 mech, force 22 shifters and 11-42 has worked out.

No #epicadventuring, but it's pretty fun on the farm tracks/bridleways/single-track around here.

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Riddlers are among the best things you can use for mixed terrain. Casing isn't that bad, my resolutes are about the same thing and didn't got a flat in hundreds of miles on badly maintained British "gravel".

PDW is way too expensive, I only got them for two reason; trade discount and appearance.

Always recommend the GB 60mm in 700c for 650b (up to 2.3 slick).

Did prolly come to shoot your trip?

Jesus Christ. How long has each one taken to get sorted? My bike got collected Wednesday.

About 2 weeks each time. I also fitted a sealed cable system, that they threw away and then refused to replace as they said they'd replaced the cables, well done CRC.

Looks very nice. Is the rear mech 10sp and the shifters 11sp then?

Yeah. As long as they're 'exaxr actuation' they should work, apparently. The 1x mechs are a different pull ratio, annoyingly. I'm going to order one of those wolftooth things anyway, but the jockey clears the 42 with the b screw about 75% in.

Wouldn’t bother with a wolf tooth when you can get hanger extenders for £5...