Teravail

The Muc Off tape I was using is awful compared to this stuff. The Teravail tape still takes some work to apply and work the bubbles out, but it is a nice thickness and only needs one layer. So far it seems to stay on quite well, but not leave too much residue when removing. It is at the high end of tape pricing but is worth it if it lasts and doesn't start losing air. Definitely nice a smooth after working hard to install it, unlike the previous tape I was using.

Here in Northern Virginia the road debris is terrible, and I shredded my Vittoria's quickly on normal road rides. Got the Telegraph Duro and it was an easy install (warm the tire in the sun, etc) that went on ok with only a tire lever needed at the end. Normal floor pump seated the bead, and Silca sealant finished. Have put maybe 400 miles on these in the early spring rides - including a number of harsh gravel and pitted dirt roads; no complaints. The price was good and the only reason I didn't give 5 stars is that they don't roll as quickly as some others - - but the durability wins it for me. Will buy again.

Here in Northern Virginia the road debris is terrible, and I shredded my Vittoria's quickly on normal road rides. Got the Telegraph Duro and it was an easy install (warm the tire in the sun, etc) that went on ok with only a tire lever needed at the end. Normal floor pump seated the bead, and Silca sealant finished. Have put maybe 400 miles on these in the early spring rides - including a number of harsh gravel and pitted dirt roads; no complaints. The price was good and the only reason I didn't give 5 stars is that they don't roll as quickly as some others - - but the durability wins it for me. Will buy again.

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?