Teravail Rutland 700c X 42mm Tires- Quick Review – by Guitar Ted
The Salsa Cycles Stormchaser came set up with Teravail Rutland tires, which were new to me. So, I thought it might be useful to break out that component of the Stormchaser into its own review. Let’s take a closer look…..
What It Is: The Rutland is a newer model from Teravail. It is offered in Teravail’s gravel line up of tires as a 700c X 38mm and 700c X 42mm alongside of a 650B X 47mm size. Teravail introduced the Rutland in an article on their website in March, saying the following:
“The Rutland was inspired by riding and racing on coarse gravel and is the perfect tire when you don’t want bad weather to change your ride plans. It excels in muddy gravel and other conditions that would overwhelm lighter, faster-rolling tires. The tread pattern features angled lugs with open and deep lug spacing to keep mud out of the tread and maintain predictable handling in conditions from hardpack singletrack to muddy gravel. “
According to Teravail, all Rutland models are available in a “Durable” or “Light and Supple” casing options with the difference being a woven nylon composite reinforcement under the rubber and over the casing from bead to bead, with an additional layer of puncture protection under the tread cap. Tan wall Rutlands are only available in Light and Supple while the black wall versions are available in both casing variants. That’s a total of nine variants with all the sizes, tread protections and side wall options.
Of course, we’ve noted the other Rutland options that weren’t mentioned in the March article on Rutland gravel tires. We’re especially interested in the 700c X 47mm version, but as of this writing, I’ve no idea when, or if, that tire might be available. I’ll update this if I can ferret out an answer.
Back to the matter at hand…. Our examples of the Rutland have the Durable casing, so that means the extra woven layer and tread cap layer are in this tire. These puncture protection features come with a weight penalty and we weighed out the Rutlands on the digital scales here at 540 grams a piece which is right at what Teravail claims for this version of the Rutland. Our width measurements also lined up with the claimed 42mm width as well. Teravail recommends a 23mm inner rim width on the Rutland as well.
Ride Performance: This is not my first rodeo with Teravail tires. I tested the Cannonball and own a set of Sparwood model Teravail tires, so I am well acquainted with those earlier efforts. Those tires were, in my opinion, over-built to withstand severe use. As a result, they did not ride well, and in loose, crushed rock, they were a handful to herd down the road. So, I was shocked to find that these Rutlands, with a Durable casing no less, were actually pleasant to ride in comparison. In fact, they actually aren’t bad riding tires at all.
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 Durable casing isn’t going to ride quite as nice as the Light and Supple, and that said, that Durable casing is no where near as harsh as Teravail’s previous efforts. The tire does roll okay, but yes- there are faster tires that you could get. However; those faster tires may not shed mud as well, nor have the traction that a Rutland has.
At The Finish: The Rutland is Teravail’s best gravel tire effort to date. I’m impressed by the massive improvement in ride quality and handling that the Rutland has over the preceding Cannonball and Sparwood models I tried from Teravail. The Rutland rolls decently fast, handles mud, sand, and loose gravel well, and lives up to the tough, all-rounder badge Teravail pegs to this tire. While it is pretty heavy, at 740 grams for the Durable cased versions, it should be a bit more reasonable for the Light and Supple version.
I’m intrigued enough by the attributes of the Rutland so far that the 700c X 47mm and 29″er versions of this tire seem appealing. If the Light and Supple casings are even better riding tires than what I’ve tried, and lighter in weight as I would expect, then I think the Rutland should be on the radar for anyone looking for one tire that can cover a lot of situations well.
Note: The Teravail Rutland 700c X 42mm tires came on the Salsa Cycles Stormchaser review bike sent to Riding Gravel at no charge. We were not paid, nor bribed for this review, and we will always strive to give our honest thoughts and views throughout.
If you are interested in purchasing the Rutlands and want to support Riding Gravel you can get them right HERE and we get a little bit from referring you to this link. We do not produce content in attempt to sell you the product. Our goal is to provide you honest thoughts and give you the link if you’re interested. Thanks!
**FOLLOW UP 5/18: Guitar Ted discusses the Rutlands in the latest podcast. If you’d like to listen in, check out at minute 27 below: