Teravail Sparwood 29 Inch Adventure Tire

I bought this to replace one of the original tires on my Salsa Cutthroat. It was four years old with about 3400 miles on it. It had served me well so Bike Tires Direct sold me a new one. It rolls smoothly in its tubeless configuration just like the original. A very good tire indeed.

I decided to buy a Salsa Cutthroat for my 2023 Unbound 200 effort and it came with Sparwoods. I figured I would ride them a few hundred miles and see how they did before making any final decisions before the race. Training on them went really well, so I just replaced them a couple weeks before the race. I held no illusions this year about beating the sun for several reasons - I just needed to finish the ride and get one more closer to the 1000 mile club so I wasn't looking for the fastest possible tire, I wanted something reasonably fast and extremely durable, these tires fit the bill. Getting to the mud marathon I whipped out my mud tool and was able to keep my wheels turning the whole time. Exiting that section the remaining mud spun off easily and the tires did really well on all the other surface conditions the Flint Hills have to offer - zero flats. Come to think of it, after several 1000 miles on these two sets of tires I have not flatted once, and if I punctured they sealed up immediately (Orange Seal). I did hit one last mud section close to the end of Unbound, in the dark, and got a little lazy with keeping the mud cleared until the rear wheel seized up and I had to stop and clear it then. There was a small spot of paint rubbed off the inside of the rear triangle but no carbon damage. This year I am considering the 47 mm Cannonball in the back with the 2.4in Sparwood on the front just to give a little more clearance in the back - but this is NOT the tire's fault. I have to say this is one of the best, if not THE best tires I have ever used - solid contact with the ground on every kind of surface, super good puncture resistance, and lots of squish at 25-30 psi - what more can an old, slow guy ask for out of a gravel tire?

This tire does exactly what it claims. After using it both for loaded bikepacking adventures on gravel fire roads and on single-track with a hearty mix of loose over hard terrain, I'll stand by the Sparwood. It seems to be a perfect blend between really aggressive gravel tire, predictable mtn. bike tire, and even a decent pavement roller. Where it really shines is under a loaded bike on downhill loose fire roads. It never waivers and the rounded provide doesn't leave any unknowns as to what it will do when put on edge, it's just SOLID. Highly recommended for bikepacking pursuits on rigid rigs.

I have Terevail Sparwoods on three drop bar bikes, a Salsa Fargo, a Salsa Cutthroat and a Custom Waltworks gravel/dropbar mountain bike and wouldn't trade them for anything. Rolls so well on gravel and compacted dirt and will also give you the grip needed when things get a little soft and gooey. The guys at Tervail have done a super job of design and manufacturing. Not once have I installed a Sparwood that has a wiggle in it and as far as installation is concerned, these tires seat to the rim wonderfully. I am a loyal consumer of this product.

This tire is fast. Mounts easily and holds air. Great for gravel.

This is a tough tire! Have over 500 miles on rough rock/gravel so far and it's holding up great. Riding Salsa Fargo - gravel road, single track

Seats easily, holds air well and is very fast on any surface. Not the best traction for fast corners but its not advertised for that.

I've been running the Sparwood for about 6,000 miles over the last few years. It is the #1 tire I have run on my Fargo, but I've ridden most of Teravail's offerings on that bike from Rampart, to Honcho, to Coronado. The Sparwood is my favorite all-rounder as it can handle nearly everything and has minimal rolling resistance, and a long tread life. I've only had one puncture that didn't seal up over this 6,000 miles and it was jagged glass that cut a large slice into the tread. No tire would have survived.

These are the 'do everything' tire you've been looking for on your adventure bike. Get them with no regrets!