Best sand tires, 650b or 700c?

12 replies · 1,779 views

simplemind
71 posts
#1May 13, 2018, 7:39 AM
A recent gravel race had about 4 miles of soft, dry sand in which just ate my lunch. I was running WTB Resolute 650b, f&r and had reasonable results in previous sand, but this stuff was so fluffy that it just buried.
Any advice on tires/rim size?
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Volsung
878 posts
#2May 13, 2018, 2:57 PMedited
100mm rims and 4.7+ tires.

If there was something solid underneath, 700x33 cross tires may have worked, but some stuff just isn't rideable and isn't worth planning around.
2
simplemind
71 posts
#3May 13, 2018, 3:40 PM
Volsung wrote:
100mm rims and 4.7+ tires.

If there was something solid underneath, 700x33 cross tires may have worked, but some stuff just isn't rideable and isn't worth planning around.

You may be right, "just isn't rideable" because there was not a solid base in many parts. The segment was 3.6 mi long, essentially flat, and I averaged ~6 mph. I heard that the front runners, just hopped off and ran much of that segment.

Being new to the sport I'm trying to learn what to do when this type of terrain comes up. Maybe you could treat it like sloppy mud?
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drwelby
531 posts
#4May 13, 2018, 8:00 PM
What's the widest tire you can run? You want wide and soft. If you really want to be strategic maybe consider a deflation and inflation strategy.
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simplemind
71 posts
#5May 13, 2018, 8:45 PM
drwelby wrote:What's the widest tire you can run? You want wide and soft. If you really want to be strategic maybe consider a deflation and inflation strategy.

44 is about it, safely.
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Volsung
878 posts
#6May 13, 2018, 10:38 PM
Mud might be the closest comparison except you don't look cool after going through sand. You're basically limited to cutting through or floating over sand/snow. I haven't ridden any sand on a mountain bike in a long time but the last time I did it on 40mm MSOs it was terrible. Resolutes should be better, but I dunno how low you were or can go with them.

Sometimes there's grass nearby that you can ride along, or you can just hope you never see those conditions again. A good rain can firm sand right up.
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simplemind
71 posts
#7May 14, 2018, 6:22 AM
Volsung wrote:
Mud might be the closest comparison except you don't look cool after going through sand. You're basically limited to cutting through or floating over sand/snow. I haven't ridden any sand on a mountain bike in a long time but the last time I did it on 40mm MSOs it was terrible. Resolutes should be better, but I dunno how low you were or can go with them
Sometimes there's grass nearby that you can ride along, or you can just hope you never see those conditions again. A good rain can firm sand right up.

Yeah, I was basically caught with my pants down and nowhere to escape. Even the grassy patches on the sides would not hold...it was like dry quicksand.
I was probably too quick to blame something other than my lack of skills, but I thought I'd pose the question.
1
stevef
59 posts
#8May 14, 2018, 8:46 AM
Sand is tough-even the best riders struggle with it at times. Some tires work better than others, but some of it is just technique/practice, and the best sand tires may not be the greatest overall choice. I try to pick my tires for the majority of conditions that I'm dealing with and just do the best I can when I hit a patch of something extreme like sand, mud, etc. 4 miles of sugar sand sounds horrible on anything short of a fat bike, and I'll bet most or all riders had to walk a lot of it.
1
zeerobb
2 posts
#9May 14, 2018, 2:01 PM
We had some really deep sand in Pratt Kansas open range ride, I was running clements tubeless, 40mm front 38 back, 30psi, and I was fishing out BAD, but once I sat back further in the saddle and kept my weight off the handlebars I noticed it became easier to control..I also picked my lines and stayed clear of others and just committed to my speed which at time was around 10mph,any slower and I was getting stuck, any faster and I was fishtailing.

1
chas
1,305 posts
#10May 14, 2018, 4:58 PM
I have a sand racing tire. 60mm Schwalbe G-One speed. The point of the tire is to run low pressure and have maximum contact size to float over the sand

But...

This is the opposite of what you need with mud. The best mud tires are narrow, slice down through the mud to something underneath where there is grip.

My mud tires X-One CX tires are horrible on sand, my sand tires are horrible on mud.

You of course can try to split the difference and get a fat tire with deep tread....
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simplemind
71 posts
#11May 14, 2018, 8:46 PM
Not me, but you get the idea!

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Volsung
878 posts
#12May 15, 2018, 8:03 AM
Yep I'd just give up.
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stevef
59 posts
#13May 15, 2018, 10:09 AM
That looks like a good place to take a little walk for sure!
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