Set and forget - let's talk PNW winter tires

[Jeremiah Woods]

Scenario: set it and forget it tires for November through May in the rainy PNW. 50mm - 55mm wide under fenders on a Gorilla Monsoon. Riding a daily mix that skews 60 pavement/40 gravel with weekend long rides adventuring on the rougher stuff - including light single track. Tubeless and only one wheel set. 

What would you run understanding nothing will be great at everything? Is there a Land Cruiser of tires?

Currently thinking:

• Herse Umtanum Ridge
• Ultradynamico Mars/Cava
• Schwalbe Thunder Burt (2.1)
• Conti Race Kings (2.2)

Appreciate you.

[David Dye]

Having ridden in the Seattle area year round, my pick would be the Conti Top Contact Winter II, which comes in 50 mm.

https://www.wheelworks.com/product/continental-top-contact-winter-ii-premium-650b-322390-1.htm

[Josiah Anderson]

Out of that list I'd go with the Umtanum Ridges, but I rode Babyshoe Passes through 5 or 6 PNW winters with absolutely no issues on pavement or gravel, so I would recommend those or Switchback Hills (48-584 slicks). Knobs and fenders are a recipe for disaster, IMO.

Josiah Anderson

now in Missoula, MT, where winter tires have studs, and fenders fill up with slush and freeze solid

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[lena...@gmail.com]

On Thursday, October 12, 2023 at 8:19:06 AM UTC-7 Josiah wrote:

Out of that list I'd go with the Umtanum Ridges, but I rode Babyshoe Passes through 5 or 6 PNW winters with absolutely no issues on pavement or gravel, so I would recommend those or Switchback Hills (48-584 slicks). Knobs and fenders are a recipe for disaster, IMO.

I am not a fan of fenders and knobs either. My winter bike wears Switchback Hills EL with TPU tubes. I am happy with this setup on pavement, dirt, and gravel. Unlike the op, I rarely ride singletrack. I do not think of tubeless as 'set and forget.'

Lena in the PNW

[Jack Loudon, Seattle WA]

I'm on my 5th set of Compass/RH tires and didn't have good luck with the earlier tires but the last three sets have been very good.  My Umtanum Ridge with endurance casing (tubeless) have had no issues and even hold air as well as tubed tires.  The knobs do pick up gravel and I hear it rattling under the fenders even with ~2 cm clearance so smooth tread might be safer, but I remove the fenders in summer when I do most of my off-pavement riding, and take my chances the rest of the year :).  Fender issue aside, I think Umtamums are hard to beat for an all-around tire with a combination of flat protection (tubeless with endurance casing) good rolling resistance, light weight, and decent traction on & off pavement.

I also have a set of Conti Race King 2.2s which got too many flats but otherwise were decently fast on pavement and good off pavement.  Mine were set up tubed so tubeless might have helped with flatting.

[Alistair Spence]

I'm surprised to hear that some people don't mix and match fenders and knobby tires and I'd be interested to hear more about why this combination doesn't work for them.

I've been running RH Humptulips Ridge tires in the wetter/colder months for the last couple of years, underneath Honjo fenders. I find this to be a great combination. No issues at all. They give me a more secure feeling on wet/gritty/leafy Winter roads than the Rat Trap passes that I run in the warmer months, and I definitely get less flats, compared to when I ran RTP's year round.

Fwiw I've got about 20mm of clearance between tire and fender, and I'm running both  models of tire in the extralight version.

Alistair Spence,

Seattle, WA

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Alistair Spence,

Seattle, WA.

[ericni...@gmail.com]

Re: fenders and knobbly tires. I think it depends on your environment. Here in the dense hardwood forests of New England, after a storm the roads and trails can become littered with sticks and branches. When that happens the risks of a stick-jam are greater. I’ve seen it happen with & without fenders, and with & without knobby tires. Knobs do tend to pick up more debris so the risk increases somewhat, but it’s not like there’s zero chance of it happening with smooth tires or no fenders. 

My allroad bike spends part of the year with fenders, and part of the year with knobs, and sometimes these two things overlap. I try to be extra cautious when running fenders over knobs when there’s debris on the road or trail. It’s a risk-management issue and everyone is going to judge that differently.

Eric in NH

[Will Boericke]

I learned this lesson (again) the hard way a month ago.  I put cross knobbies on my commuter because I had them, and picked up a stick on the 50 feet of off-road riding on my commute.  Front-loaded bike meant immediate OTB.  Wish I had footage :).  For my real gravel bikes, no fenders.  I have a plastic emergency set if I have to ride in the rain, but slicks underneath.

Will near Boston

[Josh Zielinski]

Yeah. Sticks happen.

There's the obvious safety issue and also the sounds of screaming death with knobbies dragging rocks and such through the fenders.

Still happens with slicks but in my limited experience it's far far less.

Maybe my fenders are closer than many?  They usually have to be pretty close due to my habit of maxing tire clearances (and then modifying the fenders to fit over that!)

Big enough slicks to ride with lowish pressures always feels more grippy and safe than knobs except in slippery mud.

-Josh

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[Sean, PNW]

These work pretty well and are cheap insurance to help minimize the risk of over the bar accidents and subsequent injuries if front fender debris &/or stick jamming is a concern:

https://ridepdw.com/products/full-metal-fenders-safety-tabs

[Josh Zielinski]

I forgot about these things!  

Do you know if these would work to slightly extend the fender struts?  (In addition to serving their primary function)  I have some VO fender struts that were cut a tad short and my clearance is tight.  I'd like to not replace them and put these on if I can just gain a little space with these alone. If that makes any sense.

Thanks,

Josh

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[David Cummings]

Josh,

They do slightly extend fender struts.  In fact, you may still need to cut them down a bit.  To reverse the process, you would need a new, longer strut.

I have them on both my wife's and my commuters and I am living proof that they work (emphasis on living).  Just popped off and I popped them back in! They are fairly unobtrusive - see if you can spot them in this photo from last spring.

David in MT

[Josh Zielinski]

Thanks for clarifying this! Nice stumpy!  You're right they are barely noticeable.

I was going to order new struts but I think I'll put these in and get the spacing I'd prefer.

-Josh

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[David Cummings]

I forgot to mention that the strut QR's have some adjustability as well - the set screw is about an inch from the mounting-point end allowing you to pull the strut back (if you didn't cut too much off again! ;).  Once you get a set, you'll be able to get a good sense of it.

David in MT

PS - thanks - she's mostly a commuter, but I also ride her all over the valley JRA-ing.