Specialized Sawtooth tires?

Thinking about grabbing a pair, they look like a good match for me. Anyone have some ride time on these?  
https://www.specialized.com/us/en/components/tires/sawtooth-2bliss-ready/117719

This isn't a direct answer to your question; but not sure of any advantage of the saw-tooth pattern. Were it up to me my first choice in this size range would be the 44mm Compass Snowqualamie Pass. https://www.compasscycle.com/shop/components/tires/700c/compass-700c-x-44-snoqualmie-pass/ The Snoqualmie is the big bother of the Bon Jon, which I've been riding for several weeks. I've been blown away by the performance of the Bon Jon's and would expect the Snowqualamie to be just as good and more durable on rougher terrain. I think that you'll find the Snowqualamie a better choice than the Sawtooth -- unless you expect to do some really rough stuff. Neither tire will likely perform as well as a knobby on soft stuff or mud.

Interesting tire the snoqualmie. I think that's pushing it width wise for me though. @~1 3/4 inches
I think the sawtooth would be a good balance for paved and unpaved. I am annoyed by semi knobs on rough paved roads. Sale on Sawtooth for $33ea

RoverAl wrote:Interesting tire the snoqualmie. I think that's pushing it width wise for me though. @~1 3/4 inches
I think the sawtooth would be a good balance for paved and unpaved. I am annoyed by semi knobs on rough paved roads. Sale on Sawtooth for $33ea

Or the 40mm Panracer Gravel Kings TR. I have the 35mm GK's on my second wheel set for when I'm riding rougher dirt. They are surprisingly fast and smooth on pavement as well.  They mounted tubeless very easily and share a lot of the supple feel and character of the Compass tires. Not surprising, since the Compass tires are also made by Panracer in Japan. Also, the GK's are priced very competitively. Lots of positive discussion of the GK's on earlier posts; and a very positive review on Gravel Cyclist. BTW, the GK's  measure a 2-3 mm wider than their nominal spec. The 40's may be perfect for you. Here is the review: http://www.gravelcyclist.com/?s=Gravel+King

I've been running the Sawtooth tires for a few months on my AWOL and I am very happy with them. They have been silent and fast on pavement while providing plenty of traction on smooth dirt and light gravel roads. They have been very easy to set up tubeless on Roval carbon rims and Stan's Iron Cross aluminum rims. Because of their puncture and sidewall protection, you can run much lower air pressure than you might expect. I'm running 20 psi front and 28 psi rear.

BluesDawg wrote: I'm running 20 psi front and 28 psi rear.

That's what I wanted to hear cause the specs were much higher. I've seen some of the photos you have posted here and if you are using the sawtooth in similar terrain I think they will be just fine for me. I lean more towards exploring and wandering off road and when it's time to go home hit the pavement. Now if I can come up with $1300 for the Sequia to go with the Sawtooths that would be shweet.

BluesDawg wrote:I've been running the Sawtooth tires for a few months....Because of their puncture and sidewall protection, you can run much lower air pressure than you might expect. I'm running 20 psi front and 28 psi rear.

\nWhat bike are you riding and what is your weight?

In his reply he says "awol" that's a Specialized model steel frame touring etc ....

Hello!

I have a Specialized Sequoia Elite and actually removed my Sawtooth tires and swapped to the Panaracer GravelKings.   The Sawtooths do roll fast, but they are a bit heavy and I dropped 250g in total rotating weight by going to the Panaracers.  I'm very happy with the Panaracers but will certainly ride the Sawtooths now and again.  Just not for events, races, etc.

Neither of them is a champ in mud IMHO.

Thanks Bwepp I just ordered a pair, again just what I wanted to hear. My aim is more of a touring tire that doesn't weigh a ton like the Schwalbe almotions.

How you liking the Elite ? I have my eye on  the base model as a potential next bike.

[QUOTE='bwepp']

 Sawtooths do roll fast, but they are a bit heavy Just not for events, races, etc  

Interesting thread here. I have the sawtooth on my Sequoia but am looking to shed some weight off of the 28 lb bike and with the tires weighing over 600 grams each I thought I'd start there. Was thinking of maxxis rambler but they seem plenty aggressive for as much pavement as I do. Totally blown away by the low weight on Snoqualmie. bobknh are you running them bon jons tubless? And if so any issues?

I might add the sawtooth does roll good and has decent traction. It's just that I can shed around a pound of rotating weight by changing tires.

Thanks for all the replies, I should have a set in a couple days. I will give them a go at Green Swamp WMA this weekend if all works out and report back here. This will be a direct comparison to my Clement MSO 36 TR. Those snoqualmies do look enticing(like the description about the knobs on pavement) but I'll have to wait till my pay pal account has some more dough in it before considering them.  

What I am expecting from the Sawtooths which I liked when I first saw them with the Seqouia. Handle some packed weight, rough pavement without drama, off road exploring, dirt ,sand, gravel, potholes etc...Not  all too concerned about speed. 
The fast rolling center tread seems to work well for me in the past and these look like they have some of those attributes.

This will be my first ride on them, many large holes in the road here got to pay attention or risk endoing.
 
 

   

bikermike wrote:Interesting thread here. I have the sawtooth on my serious but am looking to shed some weight off of the 28 lb bike and with the tires weighing over 600 grams each I thought I'd start there. Was thinking of maxxis rambler but they seem plenty aggressive for as much pavement as I do. Totally blown away by the low weight on Snoqualmie. bobknh are you running them bon jons tubless? And if so any issues?

I haven't run the Bon Jon's tubeless yet. I'm at my SC winter dig's sans compressor. Tried to seat the Bon Jon's with my Airshot portable tank -- almost, but not quite enough volume to completely seat. I'm heading home tomorrow and will try my compressor on them sometime next week. BTW, there are 2 versions of the tire - standard and extra light. I'm using the extra light. The extra light have a lighter more supple sidewall, which may make the tubeless mounting trickier and require more sealant. Dunno? There was an earlier post a few weeks ago about some difficulty with Bon Jon's not holding air when mounted tubeless. If I recall, the solution was to rest the wheel horizontally over night to allow the sealant to coat the sidewall. Of course, you might need 2 nights -- one for each side. My guess is that you could get as good result by just going out for a long ride. Also, I've been running my Bon Jon's on pavement, including lots of hurricane Matthew debris on HHI, at 40/45 PSI with Schwalbe Ultralight tubes for several weeks. No pinch flats, despite many hard knocks on the road. They corner like I'm on rails, and I have no trouble holding my own on fast group rides. 

Got em today first impressions. Ooh ooh that smell, of new tires and these were strong and rubbery smelling. But right off the bat you can tell they are wide, I mean almost 29erish mtb wide. Kinda like schwalbe big apple wide. Yeah at 42c thats gettin fat and I am liking it.

Plenty of room on the versatile Raleigh Willard which does it all for me. The Sawtooth Gripton compound feels soft to the touch in a good way and the sidewalls are somewhat supple not a whole lot but enough. 
They mounted up middle of the road not easy peasy nor difficult they just took a little finesse to get on the rim and aired up with my portable compressor. No biggy there and they held air after I popped the bead. I dumped some home brew sealant in the cavity and mounted on the trusty steed.

Here comes the surprise, they are pretty fast at 50 psi during my quick ride around the neighborhood. Very comfortable and handle better than I expected kinda like a motorcycle tire when turning in. 

No dirt time yet but I will this weekend. During my brief ride I just know these are gonna be spot on they hold their line well are fat, cushy and quick. For touring etc... SAG Specialized Adventure Gear, I think thats a new line of stuff for adventure market. http://https://www.specialized.com/us/en/sequoia

Bought them here https://kylesbikes.com/specialized-sawtooth-2bliss-folding-tire-700-x-42-black-888818146222.html

   

Clement MSO 36c TR on left Sawtooth42c 2bliss on Right
  
 

Plenty of room up front on the Willard
  
No mess nope no mess

 

Definitely increased the cool factor a couple of points with these,they look bad ass in person

Quick follow up after a good ride yesterday, I can tell right away these are excellent all around tires. They make you want to keep going after your done.  These tires are smooth and live up to the marketing description from my limited time on them. 

My take on these are from an enjoy the ride point of view. I didn't check my avg speed  or try and race anyone, during the ride. I was going plenty fast and simply enjoying the scenery. All about the ride.

I put 33 miles on them with 15 paved, 8 gravel, and 10 single track. This is a good mix of what I would encounter in any sort of Florida adventure I might partake in the future.

On pavement they hold their line well and once you spin them up they roll on without any extra effort compared to semi knobs I have used.

On gravel which there are infinite varying degrees the sawtooths were smooth and I wasn't constantly searching for a line, just cruising along with whatever came my way.

Offroad on singletrack I was impressed and surprised how well  they handled sand which is as good as or even better than mso 36 semi knobs I have. I live in Florida and we have lots of it. Once my confidence in the tires  built up I was having a blast in the dirt. Even wiped out on a sandy leafy sweeper turn (my fault, to much speed on entry and I was in the drops front wheel dug in at apex wouldn't turn and WIPEOUT)

No complaints at all great tire for the money, and I doubt there is a better all rounder out there.
For me this will be my default tire for awhile and I'll check back after 1000 mile to relay wear and reliability concerns if any. They have blackbelt protection and strong reinforced sidewalls for high carrying loads for lugging gear,panniers etc.
I had about 10lbs of carry weight during ride and used 50psi as a baseline  on paved then adjusted psi according to conditions. 

When mid summer hits I'll see how I feel about these because the brutal heat can take a toll on you here. I think I finally found a winner in these as an overall great tire. Are there better pure gravel tires? Sure but this is more than a gravel tire. 
For now I give them 5 out of 5 stars.


When the pavement ended I ran into about 20 yards of this and let out about 3 bursts of air front and back. 
 

Headed to the dirt 
 Short steep hill loose shell,gravel whatnot, I lost a little bit of traction going up but would have with any tire I own.
 
First sand I squirreled my way through 


More sand and by this time I had lowered psi to about 30 front 35 rear and was blasting through.

Chickened out at washboard I didn't want to beat up my rims ,it's all roots in there and twisty turny.

 ETA 4/10/17 
After a few more easy rides I noticed I am in the drops a whole lot more for some unknown reason and more comfortable too. Maybe due to the tire extra height? I dunno but it is a very nice attribute of these Sawtooths. 

Also on my regular 15 mile fitness routines I lost very little overall speed compared to my 32 c skinny tires not enough to matter to me. 
PSI @50 is on the stiff side and will start to experiment with lower pressures on the road.  These tires bring back that mountain bike feeling.

Side effects include but not limited too while riding these:
Uncontrollable laughter in the middle of nowhere at anytime
Not bothering to look at a map before getting lost
Not looking at your cell phone, gps 
Packing for the apocalypse while out for a quick ride
Thinking your on a 29er
Forgetting what time it is
Not taking gravel riding serious
Guilt about paying more for supposedly better tires
Starting a friction fire in the wild
Trying to find the north star
converting psi to bar

Thanks for the report. These are definitely on my radar and will probably be put on when the time comes to swap off the 40mm Gravel Kings I'm running now. The fact that I can get them with a skinwall makes it even better. I'm also eyeing the 44mm Compass Snoqualmie but the fact that I've had great success with Specialized tires on my road bike (and their cost savings) means these will probably be bumped ahead. 

Great repot RoverAl. Going fat seems to be more important than getting lugs on your tire. This agrees with the Compass crowds assessment. Looks like the Specialized tire engineers are on the same page. Of course, your route didn't include mud. But for that matter, nothing seems to work very well in mud -- even lugged tires designed for mud. Unfortunately, my Swiss Cross has a tire limit around 38-40 mm at most. Time for a BMC Monster Cross?

bobknh wrote:But for that matter, nothing seems to work very well in mud

That's the conclusion I've reached. I don't worry about mud clearance because if it's muddy enough for clearance to be an issue, it's a crappy ride no matter what tire I'm running.

The Sawtooths are a pretty good price. One note about the gravelkings -- I have friends who ride them who like them just fine, but say they wear out pretty quickly.

Yep, tires and wheels are a place where you can often get a lot of weigh savings.  The ramblers are about the least aggressive tire with tread out there.  I was surprised how fast they rolled and how hard they cornered.  I would be a little heasitant to go lighter as the Snoqualine have very thin sidewalls, and I like a little side wall protection in a gravel tire.  Another option would be the Schwalbe G-one.

bikermike wrote:Interesting thread here. I have the sawtooth on my Sequoia but am looking to shed some weight off of the 28 lb bike and with the tires weighing over 600 grams each I thought I'd start there. Was thinking of maxxis rambler but they seem plenty aggressive for as much pavement as I do. Totally blown away by the low weight on Snoqualmie. bobknh are you running them bon jons tubless? And if so any issues?