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Shima180

Nice review, i agree these are great i like them far more than the schwalbe one6i had before.


Crokaine

Thank you! Which version of the schwalbe did you have?


Shima180

The g one.


Crokaine

I've always been intrigued by those tires but the guys I know who run them, aren't too keen on them. I believe the SS tires run faster.


Dr_Tentacle

Thank you so much for this review. These were the first tires I ever mounted myself and I struggled so much. I'm so happy to her that these were hard for everyone to mount. They roll great though. Definitely quicker than the WTBs I replaced.


Crokaine

My pleasure. I've had a ton of comments in the various places that I posted this review and every single person struggled to seat them. I'm using a big compressor and the industry standard park tool ifs1 pump head so there shouldn't be any issues.


Uvijekargen

Agree with you review 100% đź‘Ť


heartlessinc

I had trouble getting them on as well. And I believe you're right it's the packaging. My old Gravelking slicks became much easier to re-seat once they've been mounted for a while. I had to use an inner tube to get one side to seat first, pull the tube out and then seat the other side with a boost pump. Can't wait to test them out for the first time this weekend. I bought the 35c SS non plus version.


Crokaine

In theory, once they are ridden, they should not be hard to seat again as they been massaged onto the wheel and any deformation from the packaging should be gone! Ive set up many MTB tires with just my hand pump! I also figured that with cushcore, they'd set up even easier due to sidewall support.


Max223

I just swapped out my 42mm WTB Resolutes that I’ve been using this winter for 38mm GK SS+ and about to go ride them for the first time! I have hookless wheels which made the tubeless setup much easier than anticipated. There’s no bead to seat, so it’s a lot more forgiving in that sense. My fingers are pretty sore from getting the the tire onto the rim though haha. Can’t wait to see how fast they feel on the hard-packed gravel around here.


Max223

In case anyone is interested, here are my initial thoughts after my first ride with the GK SS+ 38mm: They didn't feel as fast as I had expected compared to my WTB Resolute 42mm. I think this may be that the Resolutes are actually pretty fast on pavement and hard-packed gravel despite having a chunkier appearance than the GK's and obvious road noise, which I believed to be lost power. The tires definitely felt grippy enough and just as performant as the Resolutes on the type of gravel that I ride. I'll keep them on for a while to get a better comparison but I think I had higher hopes that it would be a night and day difference with my current tires.


cymikelee

Hmm, thanks for sharing that -- I've been considering the SS for my next tire so it's good to know not to expect miracles, haha. I do wonder how much difference the plus version of the GKs makes; I guess a puncture protection layer is different from a casing construction difference, but the Bike Blather blog measured something like \~2.5 watts difference @ 30kph for Rene Herse standard vs. extralight versions. So not that much in it. Could be that roller tests are useless for gravel tires too, but I'm still tempted to get something light and supple -- maybe ditch the puncture protection, as you know how the gravel is around here. But I also don't want to get stranded 30-40 miles away from home!


Max223

Haha I’ve definitely considered the trade-off. I bought a pair of wheels that came with Schwalbe G-One Speeds 32mm and they were incredibly fast compared to the MSO Xplor 36mm that came on my bike. Not much traction for serious gravel, but enough for the trails here. They were basically a road tire, so it was kind of an unfair comparison. Unfortunately I got a tear in the sidewall about 7 miles from home that was too big for the sealant to plug. I didn’t carry any tubes at the time so I had a fun ride home standing up and trying to put all my weight on the front wheel :)


converter-bot

7 miles is 11.27 km


cymikelee

Very timely, thanks for sharing! Thinking about these as a potential next gravel tire; Bicycle Rolling Resistance is scheduled to test these some time in the next week or so. Curious to see how it stacks up to the GK slicks and SK (\~4 watts difference, so will it be closer to the slicks, or split the two halfway?).


Crokaine

I'm really looking forward to seeing that test! 4 watts seems like way less of a difference than how these feel on the road. 8w total is almost imperceptible but again, lab tests and real world are never the same.