Tire for the Oregon Outback

[nathan]

I'm embarking on the Oregon Outback on my Crust Evasion in early June. 350 mi, 75% unpaved. Currently its wheels are WTB Scraper i45's, setup tubeless with 27.5 x 2.8" WTB Rangers. Those tires are great knobbies for rocky single track… but from what I've read they'll be overkill for most of the Outback, which mostly packed dirt/gravel and also partially paved. My buddy will be riding his Atlantis, likely with 700C x 50mm Cazaderos.

I'm 155 lbs and will be carrying 15-20 lbs of stuff.

There are so many gravel focused 650B options now! What tire/size would you use? Switchback Hill, Byway, GravelKing, Thunder Burt, G-One… something else?

Thanks,

Nathan

[Eric Nichols]

The Compass Switchback Hill is named after a climb on the Oregon Outback. You probably can't choose a faster or more comfortable tire for that event, if conditions are relatively dry. If it's wet enough to encounter significant stretches of mud, a tire with some small knobs might be faster over those sections, but you'll sacrifice speed and comfort over the firm stuff. 

Over the course of a year, I alternate between Babyshoe Pass 42s and Switchback Hill 48s.  As soon as spring hits, I take off the fenders and swap the BSP 42s for SBH 48s.  If a route is more dirt than pavement, I ride the 48s.  If a route is mostly road, I choose the 42s. If I could fit a fender over the 48s, they'd probably stay on the bike all year. 

Eric

[Mike Schiller]

The Oregon Outback has a lot of volcanic dust so a wider tire is better.  Maybe the new Vittoria Mezcal's in 2.6"?  Fast rolling and not too wide.  Your i45 rims will work OK with them too.  I wouldn't go smaller than 2.6" with those rims.  Another Idea is the Schwalbe G-one in 2.8".

~mike

Carlsbad Ca. 

[Eric Nichols]

Oh, yes I hadn't noticed how wide those rims are. Too wide for the SBH.  I have no experience with rims that wide.

Eric

[Nathan Spindel]

Thank you Eric, Mike, and Ken for the input!

You're right -- those i45 rims are too wide for the Switchback Hills. I hope to try those tires another day…

I think I'll likely go with one of the Schwalbe G-One options, it sounds like they fit the bill.

Cheers,

Nathan

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[Jeremy Tavan]

I'm putting together a 27.5+ bike with the 2.8" G-One Allround on i40 rims at the recommendation of my local shop, but haven't put it together yet, so no direct feedback available. One of the folks there rode them on the Oregon Outback, I believe, and liked them. Looking forward to hearing of your experience.

On Monday, April 16, 2018 at 4:14:05 PM UTC-7, nathan wrote:

Thank you Eric, Mike, and Ken for the input!

You're right -- those i45 rims are too wide for the Switchback Hills. I hope to try those tires another day…

I think I'll likely go with one of the Schwalbe G-One options, it sounds like they fit the bill.

Cheers,

Nathan

On Sun, Apr 15, 2018 at 5:59 PM, Eric Nichols <ericni...@gmail.com> wrote:

Oh, yes I hadn't noticed how wide those rims are. Too wide for the SBH.  I have no experience with rims that wide.

Eric

On Sunday, April 15, 2018 at 4:44:15 PM UTC-4, Mike Schiller wrote:

The Oregon Outback has a lot of volcanic dust so a wider tire is better.  Maybe the new Vittoria Mezcal's in 2.6"?  Fast rolling and not too wide.  Your i45 rims will work OK with them too.  I wouldn't go smaller than 2.6" with those rims.  Another Idea is the Schwalbe G-one in 2.8".

~mike

Carlsbad Ca. 

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[Nick Favicchio]

I did it with 650b x 2.0" and that was wonderful.

For a Scraper, I'd go lightest 2.6" I could find, so prolly Rocket Ron.

But for your size and that much stuff, even 2.6" seems over kill. If you're taking your time, rad. But if you're gonna do it in 3 days or so, you could do a big Thunder Burt on Scrapers I think.

[Eric Cardella]

Nathan,

I am also planning on riding the Oregon Outback this summer on some WTB Rangers (27.5 x 3"f/2.8"r). Are yours the Light/Fast or Tough/Fast model? I'll be interested to see what responses you receive from folks on this list.

Eric

[William Henderson]

The Switchback Hill could be an option, but I'd prefer something at least 2" due to the relatively low BB clearance on the Atlantis. Unfortunately the SBH is Compass's largest diameter 650b tire…

Best,

William

[William Henderson]

I *was* gonna ride 700c x 50mm Cazaderos, until I pulled the trigger on ordering parts for a 650b wheelset for the Atlantis. And then I ended up on this thread for tire recommendations 🤣.

William

On Sunday, April 15, 2018 at 9:35:50 AM UTC-7, nathan wrote:

[nathan]

The Oregon Outback was a wonderful route. It was gorgeous and fun dirt riding; I highly recommend it. Both of us chose the same tires: 27.5 2.25" Thunder Burts. Between the two of us we had: 0 flats, 0 sidewall issues, and 3 tiny punctures that quickly sealed up via the magic of tubeless. All in all it was a great ride, and is totally doable on 2.25" 650B tires. There were only a couple moments that I would've appreciated wider… though I'm glad I didn't go that route, because the Thunder Burts rolled quite nicely on the few sections of paved roads on the route.

Obligatory rig photos:

https://s3.amazonaws.com/e4kfht8/outback-evasion.jpg

https://s3.amazonaws.com/e4kfht8/outback-atlantis.jpg

Thanks for your tips and guidance towards the Thunder Burts!

Nathan

[Sukho Goff]

That's funny. I saw your title and mentally answered.. Tburts all day. Seems that's what you ended up using. And what I'll be using next Spring for the Outback. They really are great tires. The Liteskin versions are significantly lighter than Horizons and IMO roll better on both pave and dirt/gravel.

Sukho in PDX

[jack loudon]

Hey, that's a disc brake Atlantis in the photo!  This was probably discussed elsewhere in I-BOB Land but I missed it.  Looks like a very clean modification, like it came that way from the factory.  Very Cool!

[Hayden Biener]

What rear bag support is that on the Evasion?

On Monday, July 9, 2018 at 6:18:10 PM UTC-7, nathan wrote:

[Nathan Spindel]

Indeed, that’s the rare disc Atlantis! It was damaged in a crash, and repaired with disc tabs and a new fork. Works great.

Rear bag support is Nitto R10. I dig it, though I’m curious about the Tailfeather bag support.

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[rcnute]

That ride sounds uber-fun. Hope I can do that someday.  Thanks for the inspiration!

Ryan

On Monday, July 9, 2018 at 6:18:10 PM UTC-7, nathan wrote:

[mitch....@gmail.com]

What are the two small vertical bags hanging from the back of the handlebar on the Evasion? 

On Monday, July 9, 2018 at 7:18:10 PM UTC-6, nathan wrote:

The Oregon Outback was a wonderful route. It was gorgeous and fun dirt riding; I highly recommend it. Both of us chose the same tires: 27.5 2.25" Thunder Burts. Between the two of us we had: 0 flats, 0 sidewall issues, and 3 tiny punctures that quickly sealed up via the magic of tubeless. All in all it was a great ride, and is totally doable on 2.25" 650B tires. There were only a couple moments that I would've appreciated wider… though I'm glad I didn't go that route, because the Thunder Burts rolled quite nicely on the few sections of paved roads on the route.

Obligatory rig photos:

https://s3.amazonaws.com/e4kfht8/outback-evasion.jpg

https://s3.amazonaws.com/e4kfht8/outback-atlantis.jpg

Thanks for your tips and guidance towards the Thunder Burts!

 Great to know the Tburts worked well on OOB. Need to try them in 26" too now that Furious Freds are discontinued. 

--Mitch 

in Utah 

[Nathan Spindel]

Mitch: those small bags are Oveja Negra Chuckbucket and Randi Jo Pocket Tender. They're both pretty handy, although on a short TT geometry like this my knees kept bumping into them when I stood up on the pedals. For my next tour I may replace them and the front bag (L Fabios Chest) with a basket so that I can access clothing / etc more quickly.

--

[mitch....@gmail.com]

Thanks. The small bags seem great because they match your bar height above the top tube. How high is that on your evasion, by the way--it looks like your bar and saddle are even or almost. I'm now setting up an offroad/allroad bike with a similar bar height above top tube and might be able to do the similar arrangement. Good heads up on short TT and knee room with these bags. 

I like the symmetry and simplicity of Fabio's Chest bags front and rear, but agree that stopping to open the flap over and over is no good. People seem to do well with baskets on front. 

--Mitch

in Utah

[satanas]

@ Mitch: The bags behind the bars are sometimes referred to generically as "feed bags." I have the Revelate versions, and they've been very useful with flat bars. I've been reluctant to try them with drops due to worry my knees might hit them when standing.

They'll fit bottles, camera lenses, food, small clothing items, etc, and are very stable.

www.bikepacking.com/gear/bikepacking-stem-bags/

www.bikepacking.com/gear/make-your-own-stem-bag/

Later,
Stephen

[William Henderson]

Second all this. Could not have been more pleased with our choice of tires for this route. Thunderburts are perfect on gravel and trails, yet still so fun on pavement that to weeks later I still haven’t bothered to switch the Atlantis back to 700c slicks for my commute...

Also, this trip finally convinced me that tubeless isn’t a silly fad.

[Sukho Goff]

Yeah had the pleasure of seeing this sweet rig in the wild on my way home from work today. If ever Riv did a discer, boy this should be the prototype. That thing was sexi-licious. And nice to meet you William.

Sukho in PDX

[William Henderson]

Thunderburts, bringing bike nerd strangers together since 2013...

‘Twas nice to meet you too Sukho! And if my bike could read this thread it would be blushing at the headtube right now...

[Mark in Beacon]

I could be wrong, but I recall hearing a while ago that the T Burts were nixed in 26."  If you find a stash out there, please post, if not here, iBob. Thanks.

[Stephen Poole]

Last time I looked (a while back) the 26" TBs were widely available in Europe. Most of the usual suspects had stock, but it appears they might be all gone now. Conti Speed Kings are still around though, and I'd be surprised if Ritchey, etc, didn't still do semi-slicks.

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[Justin, Oakland]

They are discontinued. I have a pair that are unused that will be for sale soon.

-J