Vee Speedster first impressions

[Ryan Watson]

Last Saturday I took the Speedsters out for their first real ride. Starting in Placitas, NM up Las Huertas Canyon (dirt road) to the Sandia crest road (paved) then up the Ellis trail (dirt road) to the top of the Sandia Peak Tram then back down the same way.
I've previously done this on Quasi Motos and I've also done most of it on Hetres and Trimlines.
The Speedsters felt quicker up the dirt than the Quasis, but the rear slipped a couple times when it got steep where the Quasis did not.
Up the paved section, they felt slower than the Quasi Motos, but I wonder if that's more in my head? The knobby Quasis look like they should be slow, but actually roll pretty smooth while the Speedsters smooth appearance may have given me higher expectations for faster road feel.
Because of the bit of slip I got on the climb, I was worried about the ride down, but they actually seemed as secure on the twisty dirt descent as the Quasi Motos. They handled nicely on the paved descent, much better than knobbies.
I think the air volume is similar, they're just skinnier without the knobs. They seemed almost equal to the Quasis in cushiness.

Overall, I'd say they're keepers.

Faster than expected in the dirt, a bit slower than expected on the pavement.
Much better handling than knobbies on pavement and corner almost as well as knobbier tires on dirt roads.

Cheers,
Ryan

[Eric Stocker]

Cool, thanks for the report Ryan.

I'm excited to get mine out on the trails.

Sent from my iPhone

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[Mike Schiller]

Good info Ryan, They sound like a great tire for mixed terrain rides. Have you had a chance to measure the width?  

oh... and were are the pictures to prove it all happened?

~mike

[Ryan Watson]

On Jun 11, 2013, at 22:58, Mike Schiller <mikey...@rocketmail.com> wrote:

> Good info Ryan, They sound like a great tire for mixed terrain rides. Have you had a chance to measure the width?

46mm with my very cheap calipers.
Narrower than I thought, so less volume than the Quasi Motos for sure, still quite comfy.
They've been mounted up for about 3 weeks now, 40 psi rear, 30 front on Velocity Synergies.

>
> oh... and were are the pictures to prove it all happened?

Sorry, no photos
You'll have to take my word for it ;-)


Ryan

[Eric Stocker]

I measured 48-49mm on Velocity Blunts. I'll get another measurement when I mount them on my CL25s, should be a little smaller.

[Eric Stocker]

Ryan, I'm curious, how true are your Speedsters? Mine came in and one of them is very wobbly, the other is slightly wobbly. The XCX tire I ordered is almost perfectly true, so I'm wondering if the Speedster mold was a bit wonky.

[Ryan Watson]

The front one is slightly wobbly, I can see it wobble but can't really feel it when riding. I haven't attempted to fix it yet. If the rear one wobbles, it's not enough to notice. 

Ryan