It's been a good few months since the
Tannus Musai first ride so I thought I should write up another update.
Let's start with the summary... In short, they do everything (well at least the first two) it said on the box.
No Flat, No Tube, No Stress.
Of course it's a little bit more complicated than though. Initially I did start to get worried about riding on the tyres. There were lots of concern from other riders about how they would handle/grip the road (especially in the wet). There was also a lot of concern that the tyre would roll off the rim, something that was a little amplified for me because I had them mounted on a
Velocity Chukker which is a 24mm wide rim. The biggest pain with this was that the
Frankenbike is basically built to be my wet weather roady and commuter and if the tyres were no good in the wet they weren't much use.
Fortunately, despite all my (and my fellow riders) concerns the tyres have been nothing but sure footed. As the title says I've done 628km on the tyres now through all manner of conditions and they've never missed a beat. I've done a few
River Loops (THE local ride in Brisbane early in the morning) in very wet conditions and it's held it's own even on the corners. I have tried to punish the tyres too... Especially on group rides... if someone calls out glass I almost purposefully just ride straight through it. There is a section on my commute that I can shortcut though a gravel track, with those tyres I take it every time.
The grip (both in the dry and in the wet) has a trade off... Rolling resistance. They are definitely the slowest tyres in my group. Sitting at the top of a descent and just rolling down the hill everyone pulls away from me. Having said that though I have still been able to maintain a 29km/h loop on them without any hassles (just a little bit more huff and puff) and in the tyres defence the bike isn't the lightest by any means weighing in a stellar 16.4kg. The resistance has (ironically) got better as the tyre has worn in.. probably about the 200-300km mark.
As a training tyre they are great forcing that little bit of extra effort making my other bike feel just that little bit faster every time I ride it. As a commuting tyre they are perfect. Once I'd got over the stress of "the bike will just fall over in the wet" or "the tyre will fall off the rim" it's just a joy to ride because I know I can just pick it up and go.
There is never any need to check the tyres for glass or check the pressure. They are always exactly the same every time I pick up the bike to ride. I don't have a bag on it and never carry any spares and never have to worry about not making it. For a primarily commuting bike that is something that is hard to put a price on.
They haven't been without fault though. They do have quite a few cuts in them and some of them quite deep that would have easily flatted even my beloved
Gatorskins. Doesn't appear to have any effect on the performance though.
The other issue is I have managed to flat spot the rear (twice). The flat spots are quite pronounced (hard to capture in a photo but you can see it looking from the side. This is only really an issue because I now get a little *thud* every time it rolls past the flat spot. The first one had almost worn down when I did the second one so I'm hopeful after a few hundred km it will wear away.
These tyres are never meant to be a race or go fast tyre road ride. They are a tyre to get you from A to B without every having to worry about if you've packed enough tubes or canisters or got your pump without having to sacrifice normal tyre/tube feel. And for that they are perfect.
