Schwalbe G-One (35 or 38)

Part (most) of the trouble w/the Fusions are the Campagnolo Eurus rims.  From what I understand, they are notoriously difficult to set up tubeless.  Fortunately I've not had a flat ever on one up until a few weeks ago.  And that was my fault as I hit some rocks that took out a sidewall.  Plus, the Fusions are 23c and are UST tires and not just "tubeless ready."

I've had both the S-One and the Pro-One 23c install by hand and seat with a floor pump.  The S-One was first on a set of DT Swiss XR 1501s and a pleasant surprise.  I didn't really expect the 23s to be the same as they were going on the Eurus rims.  But they went on the same way - by hand and seated w/a floor pump.  I was impressed.  And they are much lighter than the earlier Schwalbe One tubeless as well as the Hutchinsons.

So far we've been running parts of the route and I suspect that will continue.  We may attempt a full ride but probably not.  If so, we'll need more daylight   So far, I'm trying to get a lot of road riders that are new to dirt and accustomed to off-road riding.  So the pace has been a little slow but coming together nicely.  Plus, on some of the early rides, we got into a lot of mud.

Your Strava route looks like great training.

This is our ride from Saturday - the middle portion of the Waffle course.  But mostly road.
https://www.strava.com/activities/492930481

We've got a big ride planned for this Saturday including the beginning and ending parts of the course - 90 mi, 8,000' - should be interesting.

There is a new version (v8) of the course out with only minor changes:
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/973191539

So far, I've been training on the Schwalbe S-One in 30c.  And they have been great.  As of now, they're sold out on eBay so I bought a Pro-One in 28c for when I either wear out or destroy one of the S-Ones.  I got a bit of a gash in one of them so it could be sooner rather than later.  I definitely plan on testing them before the BWR and, if they hold up, will likely use them on the day of the ride.  but I expect the S-One to be more durable and they actually roll pretty good on the road.  Just a bit heavier.

If you plan to just do the Wafer distance then I'd check to see if you can change your registration.  I don't think you will get credit for finishing the Wafer if you sign up for the Waffle.  Plus it's a different route this year and not just the 1st lap of the Waffle.

Date change for this to Sat 27th Feb.

Saturday 27th I've put together a local ride for mixed road riding meeting at San Vicente and 26th in Santa Monca at 0800.  Open to anyone interested.

https://www.strava.com/activities/482267795

DrSpoke, thank you for the invitation! I'm from San Francisco Bay Area and that's where my training playground is. So envy of you training on the course. What I was trying to do is to find similar segments around here, thankfully the last year races are available 

Will try S-One for training starting next week.

For some reason I was thinking you might be up in the LA / Orange County area.  My daughter is up in the Bay Area but won't be up there until June.

For training, I would just say get in a lot of miles and a lot of climbing.  The course generally is very ride-able on a road bike so quite easy on a gravel bike.  There is only one short section of rocky singletrack that I know of and that can be walked.  There are a few short, steep dirt sections too so low gears will come in handy.  I put on an 11-36 before last weeks ride and liked it.  And I expect to use in on the BWR too.  A lot of the biggest climbs come near the end of the course.

I think you will like the S-One.  I think it would make a pretty good event tire too.

We're going to ride the Wafer course on Saturday.

Well, that's what I do - climbs, gravel, long rides. I also follow Strava Training Plan for 60 Minute Climb, I like it more than training plans I had for myself in the past. More focused on intervals, while my plans were more endurance inclined. I have compact crankset with 11-32 cassette, it works. Also, I don't think my derailler will take 11-36

It sounds like you're on a good training plan and will be ready.

I was running a compact w/11-32 also and it worked well most of the time.  But after trying the 36, I must say that it's nice to have 1 more gear at times.  And miles 115 to 140 of the BWR are pretty brutal.

I'm running a SRAM 11-36, 11-sp with an Ultegra med-cage RD and it works fine.  I just tightened the B-screw a little.  And there is the Wolftooth RoadLink if you need a little more clearance.

DrSpoke wrote:It sounds like you're on a good training plan and will be ready.

I was running a compact w/11-32 also and it worked well most of the time.  But after trying the 36, I must say that it's nice to have 1 more gear at times.  And miles 115 to 140 of the BWR are pretty brutal.

I'm running a SRAM 11-36, 11-sp with an Ultegra med-cage RD and it works fine.  I just tightened the B-screw a little.  And there is the Wolftooth RoadLink if you need a little more clearance.

What size rings are you running up front?
I've used 34/46 and the SRAM 11-36 with the Ultegra med-cage RD. Wondering if 34/50 would be too much?

My ideal rear cassette would be an 11-speed 12-34.

The bike came with a standard compact 50/34 crankset and an 11-32 cassette.  And I'm still using the 50/34.  Previously I set up a set of road wheels w/an 11-28 cassette and I used the OEM chain.  When I installed the 11-36 I went to a chain that is 2 links longer.  Now it's too long for the 11-28 but I can use it for both the 11-36 and the 11-32 cassettes.  I did adjust the B-screw a bit to give me adequate clearance in the largest cog.  But there is room for more adjustment and I didn't have to resort to reversing the screw.

A friend of mine has a Specialized Diverge and he's running the same setup as you.  His bike also came with a 50/34 crankset but he changed it to a 46/34 when he bent the original.  And no issues for him either and that is w/some pretty short chain stays.  I also adjusted his B-screw for clearance.

Basically, I think most manufacturers are conservative when stating the maximum cassette size for a given RD.  So when they say 32 max I think most can handle a 36.  Some of it depends on the length of the derailleur hangar as well as other design features.  I did buy a Wolftooth RoadLink in case I had any clearance issues but haven't needed it.

I sort of agree w/you re the 12-34 cassette.  But it sort of depends on which crankset you would use it with.  At the high end a 46/11 is about the same as a 50/12.  So going to a 12t in the rear is the opposite effect as going to a 50t in front.  So not sure what you're looking for - are you looking for a higher top gear or a lower top gear?  Basically, a 1t change in front is approx. equivalent to a 3t change in back.  So going from 46 to 50 in front is about the same a 1t change in back.  In my opinion, it's probably not worth the effort as you as you gain very little on the high end.  And it sounds like you may not really need that.  For me, I try to make sure I have a low enough gear to get me up the hills and if I spin out coming down I'm ok with that.

Thanks much for your good info.
I'm after a low end, not worried about spinning out. Like smaller steps between gears hence the ideal cassette.

Also, may try the 50/34 with the 11-36. Was concerned about adequate wrap with the 14T gap up front rather than just 12. Would really simplify what's a once a year swap for that bike. The other one always has a 46/34 on it.

Back to tires ; )

You're welcome.  Sometimes I get a little wordy when a short answer will do so glad I was helpful.

As long as you already have the crankset I'd just throw it on there and try it.  I'm pretty sure it will be fine.  As far as cassettes, rather than wishing for a 12-34, I think you can swap back and forth as necessary between the 11-36 and the 11-32.  If you get the chain length right I don't think that will be a problem.

I must say I was pleasantly surprised on my first ride with the 11-36.  I'd been doing fine on the 11-32 and thought it would be too much.  But it was nice having that extra gear at times as I was able to spin up some climbs that had been more of a grind before.  And, on some climbs, I was walking sections that I think I'll be able to ride now.  That would be especially at the end of some very long rides.  I didn't really notice the ratio spacing much either.

This was our training ride from yesterday. Back on 28's.

https://www.strava.com/activities/503928440

 

Hitchhiker said: "Remember that BWR is at least 100 miles of road, I think ultimately lightweight and slick is the way to go. "\nThere is also another race with at least 100 miles of road, at some pretty high speeds too:\n"Sylvain Chavanel took fifth at Paris-Roubaix this year on the S- Ones."(2015)\n\nAll joking aside, to address another question, sizing for the S-one is consistent with Hutchinson Sectors . On my 21mm wide(internal) rims the Sectors are about 29.5 mm wide and as others have reported, the S-Ones are about 31.5 mm wide on the same rims.\n\nGetting the S-One on my Bontrager tubeless mtb rim was easy enough with some grunting and it aired up easily. Getting the bead to seat fully required a lot of time, lubrication and many attempts. This is mostly due to the Bontrager plastic rim strip though, because it has very pronounced 'shoulders', with a lower groove for the bead to seat in.\n

The G-One 35 went onto my Stans Iron Cross rim with some effort from my bare hands, but quit do-able. Airing it up was super easy, the beads pretty much closed against themselves, letting almost no air escape even from the get go, pumping them up was like pumping up a tubed tire, you could pump as slow as you wanted ain't didn't let any air escape.\n\nDue to this snug fit agains the rim shoulders, getting the tire to fully seat took some work, and but not nearly as much as the S-One on the Bontrager rim.\n\nWidth on the Iron Cross(21mm) is 37mm, after a few hours, same as reported by other users.

Since the MSO 36's are hard to come by my shop got me into a set of 35mm G One's a few weeks ago.  Initial impressions were very positive, roll fast on paved trails and fairly compliant on bumpy stuff.  Mounted to HED Belgium + rims with Stan's sealant, no issues, no leaks and fit fine on my 2015 Raleigh RX1.0 (canti brakes)

This past weekend I attempted TransIowa v12 on them.  I made it 209 miles before my knees cried uncle.  (from what I heard about the last 40 miles I made the right choice) 

Similar thoughts, they roll fast and are pretty comfy even at 60psi.  They can get a bit nervous in the loose stuff but lower pressure may help that. 

For comparison my previous set up was a Clement MSO up front and USH in the rear, both with tubes.

I would recommend this tire to a friend after about 300 miles (209 on TIv12)

Replaced the 28 mm Vittoria Zaffiros that came with my Felt V-85 with 35 mm G Ones mounted tubeless on the stock Felt RSL3 rims. Shop said they went on easily.  Seal perfectly with Orange Seal.  Ride as fast (and much more smoothly) than the stock tires. Haven't put many miles on them but fast descents on loose gravel are less terrifying.  Easier to hold a narrow line when the tires aren't skittering.  Run 55/60 lbs. air as opposed to 110/115 previously.  (I'm 270).   

How well to the G-One's handle on pavement?  I'm asking to evaluate for mixed road/gravel rides.

I've used them on/off road. They ride wonderfully on both. To date they are my favorite for mixed surface.