I put my 2.25 Thunder Burts on an ultra light set of wheels and have some more miles testing them out now. They measure 52-53mm on the 24mm IW (was 54-55mm on 32mm IW for previous Zipp XPLR wheels). This is a fun combination with the stiff, light wheelset.
The grip is fantastic. It has all I'll ever need from a gravel bike. I'm still trying to push the limits to find how much grip it has, but the grip of my previous tire (40mm Terra Speed) is still so engrained in my cornering speeds that it's difficult to push harder.
They roll very fast and float over everything. Line choice between deep and shallow gravel patches is no longer critical (which does take some technicality away from the riding; could be an upside or a downside depending on how I feel that day).
With all the windy days we've had recently, they do seem to be considerably worse than my previous 40mm Terra Speeds for aero. No surprise. Based on the riding I've done so far, I think they will overall be slightly slower on pavement and extremely smooth crushed gravel for my riding speeds. But as soon as there is any bumpiness or deeper gravel, you can feel the speed difference that the bigger volume provides.
The main advantage to running these tho is the local terrain that they open up, which I considered too uncomfortable for narrower tires. I also think this is the perfect tire for the rough mountain dirt roads in my area. And I will use them for racing any event where traction or flat protection is needed over the G-One Speed Pro 2.35.
by OUEngineer17
8 Comments
It’s a handsome tire too 😎
Front range represent!
>With all the windy days we’ve had recently, they do seem to be considerably worse than my previous 40mm Terra Speeds for aero.
Can you explain what you mean by this?
How do you like the Lauf? Are you running the suspension or rigid?
Good report! I’m about to pick up 303 XPLR’s for my Grizl and I’m debating tire choice. I’m in NoCo and I feel like there just isn’t that much rough gravel around here – the roads are all pretty nice. I am planning to do Ned though and I recall the roads being a little rougher up there. Thunder Burt 2.1’s are up there for me, as well as the 50mm or 55mm g1rs. Currently running the stock Schwalbe overlands in 45mm. They’ve been fine but I have no benchmark to know whether they’re good or bad or just okay.
Love the 2.25 burts
I’m switching to 2.25 thunderburts on my Lauf Seigla race e1 as well for this season.
The Terra Speeds aren’t exactly confidence inspiring in the loose corners, are they? I recently switched from Teravail Ramparts to Terra Speeds and I’ve found that I don’t feel as comfortable cornering as I though I would. Maybe it’s a perception thing where I had no expectation of the Ramparts being very good in loose corners, so I was taking easy. I’m not sure the Terra Speeds really offer much more traction though. I guess that’s not really the point of the Terra Speed.