Category: Reviews

Teravail has a wide range of gravel and mountain biking tires available, but these three represent some of their better choices for gravel travel, along with the narrower Rutlands already reviewed.

In the intro’s ‘First Impressions’ segment I shared that I thought these tires were very damped feeling. This is to say that the Kraken really feels smooth and helps to cut down on vibrations. That to me is the best quality of this tire yet.

If you have a larger head size, as I do, now you have something that will not only fit better, but takes no prisoners in terms of protection, which previous “big-headed’ helmet options often did compromise on. Plus, it doesn’t cost a small fortune to buy into WaveCel with the Starvos. Well done, Bontrager!

It’s amazing how good gravel tires are today, and these new Continental tires are great examples of the progress we’ve made. They’re not much heavier than a road tire, yet are true 40c semi-knobbies that can confidently be ridden in nearly any gravel conditions.

What a mixed bag of results! The sealant is really top shelf stuff. Orange Seal has a high reputation with many riders and deservedly so. I can heartily recommend the sealant.

The tires feel light and pliable in the hand. The sidewalls on these are a bit more brown than tan, but the tires look handsome none the less. The resemblance to the Terreno Dry 40mm tires is unmistakable. This bodes well, in my opinion, because those tires are some of my favorites in that size class.

Teravail admits in its marketing that these are not the fastest rolling tires out there, but that they motor on though where those tires might fail. I think that summation of what the Rutland is about tells us all we need to know. The ride performance bears this out, in my opinion.

The Stormchaser’s mission is to perform well in the worst of conditions, and I think it has the characteristics to make a name for itself in those situations. But let’s face it- This bike also has to hold up as a gravel bike in normal situations as well. I feel that, besides a couple of quirks in the handling and fit departments, yes, this bike does gravel well.

There was no floor pump in existence that was going to seat that tire and it was air compressor time. But, the Tubibooster X came through like a boss.
Award it a silver medal.

I’ve been riding our 2020 Grade Carbon Pro long-term test bike for about eight months now, and it’s time to offer up my final impressions of the bike.