Trying a 54mm front tire

I put a 54mm front tire on my cross/gravel bike (rear is 40mm).  Wow, what a difference.  Front forks tend to have lots of room, so there is often the option of going monster cross big on the front – even if the rear won’t go that large.  It really changes the personality of the bike.

I ride 28mm on the front on the road, and 40mm grave. The 54mm (Thunder Burt) really makes the bike feel like a ridged mountain bike, adds more traction, increases trail, adds to stability, slows down the steering, adds a lot more cushion (low 20's psi), makes the bike feel more like a truck, and a makes soft sand much more rideable.

Speed wise it rolls well, and can cruise on a flat road within 5-10% of the speed of the 28mm race tire.  It also accelerates like a mountain bike (i.e. slowly with effort) and has a bit of a gyroscopic effect. It tends to slow everything down, which is good for gravel.

I have it on a 700c wheel, but I think clearance wise and to match the 700x40c tire a 650b 54mm version would be better.  But on my bike the slacker head tube angle by the large front wheel isn’t a bad thing. 

widerisfaster wrote:Is there such thing as too much tyre?

G series or the Continental Speed King II?

https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/mtb-reviews/continental-speed-king-ii-racesport-2015

https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/mtb-reviews/schwalbe-big-one-2016

HollyBoni wrote:

In terms of tread pattern and construction/reinforcing sure, but width... Not sure. It was proven plenty of times that just because a tyre is wider it's not necessarily slower. 

Personally I would go with the Thunder Burts to run as low pressures as possible (comfort). I have GK SKs and I love them but still.

 

widerisfaster wrote:

I went with the 650b ThunderBurt 2.1's, and did my first ride yesterday. The extra traction is confidence inspiring! They roll well too, picked up a PR on a 7km descent, but I put that down to better suspension than better rolling resistance. I'll hold judgment on rolling speed until I've done a few more rides. the Clement/Donnelly MSO's in 40mm are my benchmark for fast rolling knobby tyres. 

So the 2.1” Thunder Burt (even just on the front) made my light agile bike feel like a truck.  While this is great for single track (tons of fun actually), it’s probably best for speeds consistently below 15mph. 

Emperically, its not a slow tire – it rolls at only 22-23 watts resistance, which isn’t far off from my 32mm continental 4 seasons.  But that only matters on steady cruising (like a MUP).  It is slow, slow to turn in, slow to accelerate, slow to climb, slow to respond.  This is great on a technical ride (or bombing downhill), but very different from my bikes normal personality (light and playful).

So next up, the 2.0” Furious Fred (FF).  Now this tire feels like a gravel tire – not a mountain bike tire.  It’s as light and fast as a 33mm Cyclocross tire – well faster even in rough conditions.  It feels like it is 16-19mm range in rolling resistance – fast as a typical road tire.  It accelerates, climbs, and corners well, yet has lots of volume.  It feels a lot like a Maxxis Rambler, or Schwalbe G-One, but with a lot more volume and a bit more grip.

I’m riding along on the FF yesterday at 22-24mph thinking I could never do this on a normal 29” mountain bike tire.  Given the roughness of the surface, I couldn’t easily do it on a 25mm tire either.  It is a fast tire multi surface tire.

I’m measuring it at 45mm.  So, a bit thin for a “2.0” tire.  Still, it’s a great size for gravel.  This is becoming my goto tire when I need something bigger than my (32mm) road slicks in my bike.  At 45mm wide – it will fit on just about any modern fork.

There are rides when I want the feel and responsiveness of a smaller road tire.  But if you want some 45mm comfort without compromise – this is my choice.

45mm is very skinny, i'm not sure if I would even call it a mountain bike tire. 

I'm interested how will you get on with the FF long term, that 360 gram weight is a bit scary.

Funnily enough this is straight from the Schwalbe website:

Warning! To anyone who wants everything. Furious Fred is the fastest MTB tire – Ever! But be aware: It is not an allrounder. Grip is limited and risk of puncturing is high.

HollyBoni wrote:

G series or the Continental Speed King II?

https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/mtb-reviews/continental-speed-king-ii-racesport-2015

https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/mtb-reviews/schwalbe-big-one-2016

HollyBoni wrote:

45mm is very skinny, i'm not sure if I would even call it a mountain bike tire. 

I'm interested how will you get on with the FF long term, that 360 gram weight is a bit scary.

Funnily enough this is straight from the Schwalbe website:

Warning! To anyone who wants everything. Furious Fred is the fastest MTB tire – Ever! But be aware: It is not an allrounder. Grip is limited and risk of puncturing is high.

barturtle wrote:

I've run the Speed King 2.2, it's an incredible tyre. I've run it tubeless, front and rear on Blunt SS rims. Really fast. Even does remarkably well on wet rocks, but can't handle mud at all.

Bringing a gun to a knife fight.

I just took my Furious Fred (FF) front tired gravel bike to a tough gravel road training ride for a 25mile pro level mountain bike race.  The group was mostly fast cross country hard tails.

I’ve never been on a ride with USCI licensed competitors and felt like I was the fastest guy in the pack.    It was crazy because I know these guys can crush it on road bikes or mountain biking.  But these tires on a fast bike are an unfair advantage.

Part of it was because my rig was lighter – probably at least 5lbs lighter and 1-2lbs lighter on the wheels/tires.  Having drop bars and more of a road position helped too.  But the Furious Fred brought it all together.

I had a higher top end because of drop bars and gearing

I had a bike climbed easier because of the Furious Freds light weight

A first for me: I had a bike that could take high speed gravel turns with the mountain bikes because the FF had what it takes to bite on the turn, with the width and suppleness (27psi) to ensure I had the traction I needed.   On 40mm tires I would be treading cautiously and riding light in the turns.

The FF also helped when I was flying along a gravel road at 20-25mph in the dark and ran into the random gravel pothole. 

Its kind of wild riding a drop bar bike on terrain that normally would have been better suited for a mountain bike. 

HollyBoni wrote:

45mm is very skinny, i'm not sure if I would even call it a mountain bike tire. 

I'm interested how will you get on with the FF long term, that 360 gram weight is a bit scary.

Funnily enough this is straight from the Schwalbe website:

Warning! To anyone who wants everything. Furious Fred is the fastest MTB tire – Ever! But be aware: It is not an allrounder. Grip is limited and risk of puncturing is high.

chas wrote:

Skinny, right?  Definitely more of an XC tire than an all arounder.  They do look plenty big on a drop bar bike.  I had some 2.0" light weight Kendas that measured about 42mm.  It seems that one way to make a 2.0" tire light is to make it smaller than advertized.  ;-)

Still I don't understand how they can market a 45mm let alone a 42mm as 2"...