Category: Tires

A Quick Guide To Get Your Bike Ready For Sloppy Roads – by Guitar Ted Spring is here in North America and along with that…

The WTB Raddler is the newest offering for the off-pavement rider from the company that made the first tubeless gravel tires, the Nano 40’s. If…

This would make a very nice option for your gravel bike on that second set of wheels, the one you run for faster days on paved roads. Of course, the 30mm version is that as well, but this bigger version takes things up a notch when dirt or truly bad roads are on tap.

WTB says the Raddler is a gravel tire with the soul of an mountain bike tire. The Raddler certainly looks the part with its deeper tread pattern and blocky side lugs

I have to say that these are compelling tires for mixed surface riding in our So Cal conditions. The casing size is just enough, the tire is fast, it rides well, and has some side knobs for increased grip on looser corners. I like them very much.

After some time on them I think they might be the best So Cal dirt road tire I have tried from WTB.

At the cross roads I thought, “Huh. I could go a bit farther and drop down this winding canyon connector road.” OK, why not? And this rambling continued, even when the road choices kept coming along and even when I knew the conditions would be much more than any road bike would be comfortable in.

What do I expect from these new bits of rubber? WTB has a nice casing on their tires, or at least all I have been on. They ride well and have decent durability, running well tubeless. I expect the Byway to be a solid all-road tire, the Venture to be a grippy little thing on hard dirt and I have a 70 mile mixed surface loop in mind with tons of climbing that the 36c Exposure ought to be excellent for.

I just do not feel that they hook up exceptionally well on dirt paths, although as a mixed surface tire, and on smoother surfaces, they do OK. The strong points of the Overide are what seems to be a long life to the tread and a fast rolling nature.

Put these tires on if you have a lot of paved road in your gravel loops, or if the bike you have needs to do double duty as a commuter, or touring bike. Give the Strada USH smooth, dry, dirt of finer crushed rock to run on and you won’t be disappointed. In these scenarios the USH is at home. Plus, with the choice of a tan sidewall, it can class up the look of just about any bike.