Transcontinental Race No. 7 - TCR7 - #TCRN07 - 2019

Perhaps the TL version with it's thicker sidewalls is an option though.

Sidewalls are important but my 5000TLs are not something you would want to fit more than you had to. Using them with tubes rather than tubeless gives you the drawback (hard to fit) without the benefit.

How do you get that road type split detail?

I'd consider running 38-40

I won't go that big. I have that size on my touring bike which I have basically used as a mountain bike, ridden up mountain trails in Albania, down river beds in Wales, etc. But they are slower on the road. I don't think the terrain this year will be that bad - it's just 100km of gravel or whatever out of 4000km which will mostly be better than UK roads.

CP2 parcours will start at Bosilegrad, Serbia and follow the 442 toward the summit of Besna Kobila, the route is mostly gravel of various grades. Please note the parcours leads riders up close to the weather station at the summit [42.529523, 22.230117] past the ski station affording breathtaking panoramic views. The parcours finishes just prior to the second control point hotel at Inn Zormaris-M on the outskirts of Vranje.

https://youtu.be/KXBtjU4EHoE?t=155

Looks pretty rocky, but without all the soft dust/powder that caused all the hike-a-bike at CP4. Looks like it'll do a number on some tyres. Spare tyre time?

As I said, I didn't look into it.

But I'd love to test 38c V 30c and see. I think at 22kmph the difference would be minimal.

There are better ones taken by people from bike cams.
This one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IA9ug0JiGms

https://www.bike24.com/p2322711.html

50 euro per piece.

It was just an idea. My only experience with TL is the Pro One and that was a piece of piss to fit.

Sure (and you know this so I don't know why I am trying to explain it to you!) but the 38s are mainly comfortable because they are at lower pressure. But lower pressure means they will be slower on smooth road. If you pump up the 38s to the same pressure as the 30s they won't be any more comfortable. And hard to get decent-rolling tyres in big sizes - I have Marathons on my touring bike.

Maybe there is a sweet spot where you have it a bit lower to get the benefits and minimise the downside, or you could be clever with adjusting the pressures depending on surface, but I just hate stopping to pump up a tyre, or let air out for that matter, unless I absolutely have to - I would rather suffer discomfort from high pressures than do that.

https://www.charliethebikemonger.com/teravail-rampart-tubeless-ready-13867-p.asp

£45.
That will soon be cheaper!

Spendy. I'd like to see rolling resistance data on them too.

Why cheaper?

I'm definitely pinch-flatting on that.

That’ll be fun in the dark

Cos £/€ is heading down all the time. £45 will soon be less than €50. Especially with shipping.

It's all a compromise isn't it...

I don't understand economics.
Let me know when they have a 3 as the first number and I'll think about them.

Sure, and it's really interesting to get your take as you have done it 4 times!

Sounds like you wish you had had something more robust last year to avoid having to do the boot and also being more comfortable? What did you have last year - GP4000 28s?

Yeah which came up at 30.

It was a nightmare on that gravel. And then I had to right to the finish with a sidewall tear taped up.

Less than ideal.

I rode nearly all of that climb though, because I refused to walk. So I didn't loose much time...

We had a few hundred kms of occasionally very rough gravel in NCT and Kai rode it with 25's. But it's risky and you'd be just trying to survive, while on the big tyres you'd be stoked shredding the gnar brraap

Anyway, there's many wide tyres that are probably fine, but they all seem to lack something. That conti gp urban and the teravail both seem very good, though 60tpi isn't that racy, though it's not the whole truth and probably tougher.
I did a 300 and 400 brevet recently with the hypers, didn't seem slow compared to others I was riding with. And hypers feel like road tyres, while for example the reasonably well rolling continental contact speed felt big and heavy compared to them.

Interesting twist here is the main gravel is early on, our tyres will still be relatively fresh.
It’s undoubtedly still the biggest quandary.

https://road.cc/content/review/190493-schwalbe-g-one

What will G-One's be like with tubes? Overkill for road? 35mm might be too big for the Mason anyway.

But then there's a bit at the end to make it annoying for anyone thinking of swapping tyres.

Kai rode it with 25's.

Weight is also a factor - Kai is pretty light (as well as hard!)

Lots of gravel close to the finish would be wonderfully cruel, as were already so broken that even decent roads feel hard.