My goal was a fast rolling mostly pavement tire that can easily survive my 800 ft gravel driveway and other short off pavement excursions without flats or drama.
More difficult to mount because of the shape, but when I followed the video instructions it went on the Stans Grail rims with some effort and a plastic lever.
Inflation was a no brainer because it fit so tight. Sealed with a loud pop and is loosing virtually zero air between rides and none during.
I've been running R50 F35, which is likely higher than needed. I ran R45 F30 on my first ride and they still seemed fast rolling.
Wear is TBD because I only have 85 miles on them.
These are the hardest tires to mount I've ever experienced, I've been at it for 3 hours now and since I've broken two tire levers and my hands can barely work anymore I decided to take a break and write this review to warn others. DO NOT BUY THESE, they will not mount.....It's seriously ridiculous. Almost as if these tires are made as some sort of sick joke from lucifer himself. Absolutely F these tires 1000x
These tires are simply a joy to ride. They are fast, supple, and confidence inspiring. Yes they are the hardest tires I have ever mounted to my carbon rims, but oh so worth it! After a few rides, I duplicated a 15 mile course over rough and smooth asphalt and 1200 feet of elevation. On the route I was 1.1mph faster with a normalized power 32 watts lower than I had been a week earlier on my old tires. As a heavier rider I ride the rear at 50psi and the front at 48 and they feel wonderful.
I struggled for a few hours trying to mount these. After wondering if it was because they were the first tubeless tires I was mounting in road wheels I took it to a bike shop and they struggled just as I did. They finally got it but punctured the rim tape in a few places and never held air. So then I had to take them off, which was less difficult, but I refuse to use these even though they are the exact look and tread I'm looking for. Giving away a free set of these unused tires if anybody wants them.
I mounted the tires on a pair of BLACK INC Thirty carbon wheels. It took me a few hours and I had some high tech tire levers and various mounting tools. Mounting these tires onto the rims was a complete struggle fest. Toughest tires I ever mounted and I almost thought they were too small with a defect...NOPE. They are just tough to mount period.
Supple, fast, and grippy, and that tan sidewall looks amazing. Overall very happy with this tire, both on pavement and on gravel. I have the 28s on some dtswiss arc1400s and they've done great on "maintained" gravel, haven't tried anything too gnarly though. Only complaint is that it bleeds air quicker than most other tubeless tires I've used. Never a problem on a long ride, but goes completely flat within a week. It's more annoying than anything - I always top up my tires before a ride anyways, these just require a few more pumps.
How do I use this product? Well, let me take a moment to describe my use experience...Two tire clamps extending over my workbench being held in place by my stomach while I strained with a koolstop tire lever, two punctured tubes,...I must say, it was fascinating to see a tire lever fly 20 feet across the workshop...twice.....Anyone with these tires on their bike better pray they never have to change an inner tube roadside with these tires....
How do I use his product? Well, let me take a moment to describe my use experience...Two tire clamps extending over my workbench being held in place by my stomach while I strained with a koolstop tire lever, two punctured tubes,...I must say, it was fascinating to see a tire lever fly 20 feet across the workshop...twice.....Anyone with these tires on their bike better pray they never have to change an inner tube roadside with these tires....
They're a little hard to mount, but on I9 rims it wasn't too bad. They roll extremely fast, and have fantastic grip on packed dirt and pavement. Perhaps they've changed some construction, because they took sealant well and sealed immediately.
I came from Rene Herse Bon Jon Pass 38s to these in 40mm, and they are tops in everything but suppleness.
Just replaced a pair of GP5000tl with these. They were awful. The hardest tire I've had to mount. Don't hold air. Spin slow. Don't know if I'm more irritated that I bought them, or that I wasted 4oz of sealant on/in them. Cut them off after first ride with them (34 miles). Absolute rubbish. Back to the tried and true GP5000.
Purchased these tires for a 200 mile mixed terrain cycling event. These tires rolled very fast on tarmac and did OK in the gravel, although once the grade got over 12% on gravel they did start to lose traction a bit. Since the race was 80% tarmac I didn't want something too aggressive. These have also become my go to winter tire, which I run at slightly lower pressure when it's raining and they work out well.
really fast, really smooth. But setting up onto my particular rims was HARD.
Like breaking tire levers hard.
Once on, they lasted well and ride really nice.
NOTE : being handmade, mine were NOT perfectly round. Only noticed 1x when I was on rollers
Ride on pavement, gravel and lite single track. Really just a great multi surface tire with incredible ride quality, traction and control.
List weight was 355grams. I ordered two and the both weighed in at over 420grams which is not a competitive weight for this class of tire at this price. The gravelking tire in 38mm is lighter and cheaper.
These are excellent tires for paved and manicured dirt roads. They roll smooth and, for their size, reasonably fast. They mount easily on UST wheels and seep air at a rate of 5 or 10 psi per day with sealant. One caution Although they mount up true to size, over the span of a couple weeks, the width will grow about 10%. My 36mm tires are now a little over 40mm wide. Fortunately, Ive got room for them.
I have over 800 miles on a set of these (tubeless), including a century that included good pavement, ultra-rough pavement, and civilized gravel. These tires are fast, ride smooth, and stand up to abuse. I weigh 180 pounds and I keep the tires inflated to about 50 psi tubeless. I regularly ride with roadies and I don't find these tires slow me down enough to matter. At the same time, on sketchy surfaces, these tires provide excellent traction and handling. Very confidence inspiring. In fact, I've never had these threaten to slide out - even in monsoon rain conditions. I will be a repeat customer. You may ask, What do you NOT like about these tires? Well . . . even though they mount up easily, they seep air over time. They've never seeped any sealant, but they lose about 7 to 10 psi in 24 hours. So, I almost always air them up before a ride. Also, the jury is still out on durability. At 800 miles, the tread texture has worn away from the center of the rear tire. The texture on the front is still fully intact. Probably not a big deal, but I doubt the rear will last a full 7200-mile season. We will see.
I like the Strada Bianca. It's the tire I use on my gravel bike when I plan to be on paved roads, but want to be ready for anything. It's the definition of the allroad tire. Not really for unmaintained roads or MTB trails. It's for civilized dirt, gravel, and pavement. Smooth ride even on rough chipseal. And it doesn't surrender much speed on smooth pavement. Excellent all-around tire. BUT . . . why not 5 stars? I have these tires set up on a set of Mavic Allroad Pro UST disc wheels. They set up easily enough but, no matter what I do or how many times I slosh the sealant into every nook and cranny, they seep air. Not enough seepage to be a problem on all-day rides, but I definitely have to air them up before every ride. They lose about 20 pounds of air pressure over 24 hours. (This is using Orange Seal sealant.) Otherwise, these tires are just about perfect for a huge variety of surfaces.
For paved, broken pavement, chipseal, and maintained dirt roads - all road riding - it is hard to beat the Strada Bianca tubeless. It provides excellent traction, gives a comfy ride, and rolls fast. With these tires mounted, I can easily keep up with roadie group rides moving at an endurance and even a tempo pace. Is it as fast as my road racing bike mounting 25mm slicks? No. But it's incredibly close. Unless I'm out to get a road Strava segment or to mix it up with the hammerheads, this is the tire I use . . . yes, even on roadie group rides. When the pavement gets a little rough, my fellow riders may complain, but I don't notice the difference. These tires soak up the rumble on rough surfaces. (For reference, I weigh about 178 and I inflate the tires to about 50-55 psi. I feel as if I could get away with up to 10 psi less than that.)
What they are not These tires are not suitable for open range gravel racing. No knobbies. Not very wide. Strada Biancas are at their best on firm surfaces. For gravel racing, Challenge's Gravel Grinder is a vastly better choice.
