WTB
I love these tires. I live in NYC but frequent gravel and just about anything in between (and there's lots of glass around here), so the Ventures are a great bet for all-purpose use. I was rolling Byways before, and while they certainly have less rolling-resistance, they did not last as long as I liked and were more susceptible to glass/etc.
The Venture 47c's are my new go-to on the gravel bike. I even picked up a large screw on a trail in the rear tire previously, and minus a little Co2 help, finished another 10+ miles of mixed gravel trail with ease...and then rode with the screw in/tire holding air for a week until my replacement tire came. I ride these tires pretty hard (trusting that extra tread) and they've been nothing but great.
If I have one "FYI"/complaint, it's that the actual tire is 44c (as stamped on sidewall) but they are noted as 47c on tire label. My best guess is because this is inclusive of the tread. Not a big deal to me, but worth noting if you're particular on this.
I don't have much to compare against because this is my first foray into any tires over 28mm and also the first time I've gone tubeless however the first couple hundred of miles on these have been great.
Installation: I have them mounted on Bontrager Aeolus Pro 3V. This was my first time mounting tubeless on a rim and at first I had some trouble but using a bit of soapy water I was able to get the wheel to pop in to place. There was a little beading of sealant the first day or two but certainly nothing excessive. Since it's been fine.
Sealant: I'm running them with Stan's Sealant and so far I've also seen the power of sealant go to work when I had a tiny shard of glass get stuck in the sidewall. I thought I was out of luck when I removed the glass and the tire was still losing air but once I popped the wheel off and rotated it around a bunch the sealant quickly plugged. Beautiful!
Use: I'm using these on prob about 60/40 road/gravel. I feel like the smooth centerline is great for the road and comfortable on gravel, towpaths, crushed rock, etc. I did find the wheel slipping at times when I was putting down some power on steep climbs but I also had the PSI at around 50-55 and so this could have contributed to that. Dropping the PSI may combat the slipping a bit.
Overall, these tires combined with my titanium frame make for a great pairing. I look forward to exploring other similar tires but hopefully not too soon! I'm looking to have these last for a while.
Also, I did have a quality issue with one of the first two tires I received but, as always, BikesTiresDirect, was lightning fast in helping to resolve. I was seriously bummed for not having it for the first weekend of my build (I thought the tire would show up the following Wed or Thur) and I had it delivered Friday - I couldn't be happier with the customer service here!
Game changer for converting my 2019 Ridley X-Night from a Cross bike to a real gravel performer. I switched from the original 32 mm Cross tires to these 37mm WTB Riddlers. It was like I switched to a different sport! Less jarring road feedback and much more confidence on loose gravel descents. So far, I have run them tubed at 60 lbs on Mavic Ksyrium Elite rims. I actually broke a few PRs on downhill segments since i felt much more stable.
I have not ridden other specific competitors to this tire in similar width and pressure, but I cannot imagine much better gravel performance. I am going to run these tubeless on a new Open Up build with Zipp 404 NSW wheels, and will report back if any major differences. (PS, i did not want the 404 NSW wheels for gravel, but the world is sold out of 303 NSW)
Bought this tire to replace the wider tires on my Fargo. I became tired of working too hard on hardpack and tarmac surfaces, in-between gravel. These tires are supple and absorb a lot of unwanted vibrations from the ground. I have found that correct tire pressure is very important with these tires (tubeless setup here). Started with ~40 psi and found they were a little squirrely on looser gravel. I reduced the pressure down around 30 psi and they ate the gravel for lunch. Instant stability. I've become a very large fan of these tires. I now find myself riding these tires on tarmac and bike paths more than my road bike. I would purchase the Byway again but would consider the new SG2 technology that just came out. I've had zero issues with the Byways but a little extra puncture protection wouldn't hurt.
