Thanks! I'm using the 2.1" (53 mm) version of the Thunder Burt Super Race TLE on my Canyon Grizl gravel bike. At least for this purpose, I find it an almost ideal tyre that is very speedy on and off tarmac, while being sufficiently robust, but light. Cheers.
I used Thunder Burts for a gravel race on my Canyon Lux MTB. It was hard to find a pressure where they are comfortable. I ended up at 0.9 bars (13 psi) which is quite low.
@@Kosmologika My experience is similar to yours in that I find even a 0.1 bar difference very noticeable with these fat tyres, either in comfort, "bobbing", or rolling speed. I settled on 1.65 bar in the front and 1.75 bar in the back for the 53 mm tyre as a good compromise on all these aspects.
@jelegheert.. I'm considering using these (2.10) for gravel racing.. My question to you.. What is your weight and your bike weight? And just what kind of gravel have you used these without suffering punctures? light smooth gravel? moderate gravel? I'm about 63 kilos and my bike that I'm building for gravel racing is about 8kilos. Also, what is the inner width of your rims? I'm wondering if that makes any significant difference? I'll be using them on a wide (27mm) inner width carbon rim.
@@williammorris4419 Hi! I am 62 kg and my Grizl must be ~8.5 kg with pedals and mounts. My rims are Wheelsfar carbon rims onto DT swiss hubs with Sapim spokes, 45 mm deep, 27 mm wide internal, 32 mm external. It's a good rim width for 45-50mm tyres and results in a nice tyre shape. Setup tubeless with 100 mL Schwalbe Doc blue per tyre. No rim tape since the rims have no holes in them (this by the way is very effective for retaining tyre pressure). The tyres roll really really fast on tarmac. Since most of my rides have quite a bit of tarmac in them, this was important to me. For the gravel, it's fire roads, forest double track, the occasional single-track. Not super smooth, but I avoid overly technical MTB-like terrain. In the time that I've had them, not a single puncture or problem ... I find them very robust, maybe surprisingly so for a fast and light XC tyre. The only downside you could say is the thread, which is okay for light to moderate gravel, once it gets chunky or muddy it's not optimal. Hope this helps!
If used on a 29" hardtail MTB and put on the line against most gravel bikes/tyres out there on more technical "gravel" events like IstraLand or Tuscany Trail or Torino Nice Rally you quickly find out that the advantages of the gravel bike are compensated by the lower rolling resistance and higher comfort.
I tried to use the old Thunder Burts about 9 years ago, when they were much lighter than the current models. they were noticeably faster than my go-to Racing Ralphs, but flatted way to easily. I even managed to flat one on pavement. I was about 64 kilos back then and riding the 27.5 size 2.10 with about 25 psi. I've decided to try the new Super Ground Addix Speed again this year for gravel race day only in the 29er 2.25, since it was rated highly in the rolling resistance tests, and they are a heavier tire now. Hopefully that weight gain will translate into a more durable tire than my previous experiences. I'd like to hear any feedback from anyone who has used them on smooth to semi-rough gravel and on pavement or concrete roads, as that is what I will be racing on in several areas of Thailand.
Hey Mike. I've been riding on Schwalbe for over a decade, predominantly on Ralph's and Ron'sor Ray's. I tried Burt's once on the advice from a friend who used them many times. The first attempt was in an 8hr, which resulted in a flat on the 1st lap, so I tore them off and went back to Ralph/Ray. To be fair, the Burt was not snakeskin
Unfortunately for most of us we don’t have multiple wheel sets to swap out each morning depending on the conditions and trail, so these very specific models the brands are producing makes it hard for us to go with the right “compromise” setup. I am running a Ray/Ralph combo now and feel my front is good but my back is too good, so I am going to run a Ray/Burt combo to see how it goes. We can ride for 10kms on tarmac before we get to our trails which are very steep forestry dirt tracks, and we live in a very dry area. It’s more so on the edge of gravel and MTB, rather than XC/trail (except for the gradients). Maybe the new Rick XC will become the right tyre, but I will have trouble sourcing them where I live. How do you measure your opinion on vibration, and without understanding the different weighted impacts of the 5 variables in the equation your opinion could be swayed by the wrong factor.
I agree that my assessment is far from scientific, but I do think you can, to some degree, feel the individual impeding forces that are in play. Gravity and wind are the simple ones. But the other three appear in fairly obvious ways as well. The difference in rolling resistance between tires is noticeable on smooth trails. A semi-slick tire will definitely feel faster than a knobby one when spinning at a constant speed and not riding over rocks and roots. The rate at which wheels spin up or decelerate also feels very different when comparing lighter and heavier wheels, and demonstrates the impact of inertia forces. As for vibration, if you pay attention to how the tire behaves over small and medium bumps, I think you can get a feel for how good the tire is at vibration damping. Big bumps don't help much as it brings the fork suspension too much into play and then it's hard to tell if the suspension or the tire/wheels are contributing.
Thanks! I'm using the 2.1" (53 mm) version of the Thunder Burt Super Race TLE on my Canyon Grizl gravel bike. At least for this purpose, I find it an almost ideal tyre that is very speedy on and off tarmac, while being sufficiently robust, but light. Cheers.
Good to hear from someone that’s used it as a gravel tire. Thanks for commenting.
I used Thunder Burts for a gravel race on my Canyon Lux MTB. It was hard to find a pressure where they are comfortable. I ended up at 0.9 bars (13 psi) which is quite low.
@@Kosmologika My experience is similar to yours in that I find even a 0.1 bar difference very noticeable with these fat tyres, either in comfort, "bobbing", or rolling speed. I settled on 1.65 bar in the front and 1.75 bar in the back for the 53 mm tyre as a good compromise on all these aspects.
@jelegheert.. I'm considering using these (2.10) for gravel racing.. My question to you.. What is your weight and your bike weight? And just what kind of gravel have you used these without suffering punctures? light smooth gravel? moderate gravel? I'm about 63 kilos and my bike that I'm building for gravel racing is about 8kilos. Also, what is the inner width of your rims? I'm wondering if that makes any significant difference? I'll be using them on a wide (27mm) inner width carbon rim.
@@williammorris4419 Hi! I am 62 kg and my Grizl must be ~8.5 kg with pedals and mounts. My rims are Wheelsfar carbon rims onto DT swiss hubs with Sapim spokes, 45 mm deep, 27 mm wide internal, 32 mm external. It's a good rim width for 45-50mm tyres and results in a nice tyre shape. Setup tubeless with 100 mL Schwalbe Doc blue per tyre. No rim tape since the rims have no holes in them (this by the way is very effective for retaining tyre pressure). The tyres roll really really fast on tarmac. Since most of my rides have quite a bit of tarmac in them, this was important to me. For the gravel, it's fire roads, forest double track, the occasional single-track. Not super smooth, but I avoid overly technical MTB-like terrain. In the time that I've had them, not a single puncture or problem ... I find them very robust, maybe surprisingly so for a fast and light XC tyre. The only downside you could say is the thread, which is okay for light to moderate gravel, once it gets chunky or muddy it's not optimal. Hope this helps!
Great review! thanks!
Thanks for watching!
Thx, looks like Im staying with 2.2 race kings on my gravelbike.
If used on a 29" hardtail MTB and put on the line against most gravel bikes/tyres out there on more technical "gravel" events like IstraLand or Tuscany Trail or Torino Nice Rally you quickly find out that the advantages of the gravel bike are compensated by the lower rolling resistance and higher comfort.
I tried to use the old Thunder Burts about 9 years ago, when they were much lighter than the current models. they were noticeably faster than my go-to Racing Ralphs, but flatted way to easily. I even managed to flat one on pavement. I was about 64 kilos back then and riding the 27.5 size 2.10 with about 25 psi. I've decided to try the new Super Ground Addix Speed again this year for gravel race day only in the 29er 2.25, since it was rated highly in the rolling resistance tests, and they are a heavier tire now. Hopefully that weight gain will translate into a more durable tire than my previous experiences. I'd like to hear any feedback from anyone who has used them on smooth to semi-rough gravel and on pavement or concrete roads, as that is what I will be racing on in several areas of Thailand.
Looking forward to the Aspen review! In hindsight, do you think you would have rather ran the Aspens in the five years you've ridden the Thunder Burt?
Yes! Aspens any day. Just did a week of mountain biking with them and I have zero complaints.
Hey Mike.
I've been riding on Schwalbe for over a decade, predominantly on Ralph's and Ron'sor Ray's. I tried Burt's once on the advice from a friend who used them many times.
The first attempt was in an 8hr, which resulted in a flat on the 1st lap, so I tore them off and went back to Ralph/Ray.
To be fair, the Burt was not snakeskin
Right. I used to use Racing Ralph/Rays where I needed more traction, but found them quite slow. The Rick may be a good all around XC tire.
Will you, or have you tested the Schwalbe 29er Ricks?
No. I haven't tested it and have no plans to.
Unfortunately for most of us we don’t have multiple wheel sets to swap out each morning depending on the conditions and trail, so these very specific models the brands are producing makes it hard for us to go with the right “compromise” setup. I am running a Ray/Ralph combo now and feel my front is good but my back is too good, so I am going to run a Ray/Burt combo to see how it goes. We can ride for 10kms on tarmac before we get to our trails which are very steep forestry dirt tracks, and we live in a very dry area. It’s more so on the edge of gravel and MTB, rather than XC/trail (except for the gradients). Maybe the new Rick XC will become the right tyre, but I will have trouble sourcing them where I live. How do you measure your opinion on vibration, and without understanding the different weighted impacts of the 5 variables in the equation your opinion could be swayed by the wrong factor.
I agree that my assessment is far from scientific, but I do think you can, to some degree, feel the individual impeding forces that are in play. Gravity and wind are the simple ones. But the other three appear in fairly obvious ways as well.
The difference in rolling resistance between tires is noticeable on smooth trails. A semi-slick tire will definitely feel faster than a knobby one when spinning at a constant speed and not riding over rocks and roots. The rate at which wheels spin up or decelerate also feels very different when comparing lighter and heavier wheels, and demonstrates the impact of inertia forces. As for vibration, if you pay attention to how the tire behaves over small and medium bumps, I think you can get a feel for how good the tire is at vibration damping. Big bumps don't help much as it brings the fork suspension too much into play and then it's hard to tell if the suspension or the tire/wheels are contributing.
Its faster then all gravel tires above 40mm but ok.
I had seen a top 5 U23 World Cup rider run this at Lake Placid front and rear!
Ah-interesting. My recollection is that it was a pretty fast and non-technical course.