Quick review on these loose snow tires. I had purchased these as replacements for my Bontrager Barbegazi's looking for more traction in loose snow. In steamboat, we have a lot of long steeper (sustained 6%-12%) climbs on switchbacks with sections of traversing with short punchy climbs and of course descending on the same switchbacks. The barbegazi's are really great tires on hardpack and groomed snow but once the snow is fresh and gets deeper than 4" or so, they lack the bite needed on switchback corners and steep pitches.
The Gnarwhals have much taller lugs with twin wide center lugs and much taller cornering lugs. They are widely spaced to shed snow and have a soft tacky feel to the rubber. They have the added benefit of being able to accept studs for icy riding conditions. They weighed 1520 & 1526 grams per tire which is about 300 grams more per tire than the Barbagazi's. Mounting these up was quite easy on my HEDS 825 carbon rims. I used HED's "whack-it" method, Which I found on line. Essentially, get both tire beads in the the mounting channels on the HED rims, take out the valve core and hit them with about 150 PSI on the compressor with the valve at the bottom. As you blast the air, whack the top of the tire. It literally took about a 1/2 hour to mount both tires. They rare a reasonable $119.99 per tire MSRP.
First ride impressions: I rode these in only 2-4" of inches of fresh snow with a frozen base. I had inflated the front and rear to about 1.5 psi to just get a feel for them. I was riding the Barbagazi's at 1 or even a touch less. (I inflated the tires in my garage which is ~60*., I forgot that the air pressure once in cold would be less). The start of my rides are on a fire access road which is groomed, it starts out at 12% for a 100 yards, goes to 10% and 8% for the next half mile so its a lung buster to get to the single track. Here, I feel the added height of the lugs and probably some of the added 1.5 pounds. Beyond the increased rolling resistance, I felt the rear tire could use more air, it felt a little draggy. The front felt fine. Once on the single track, the tires bite was evident and despite the lower air in the rear, rolled much better. This section is probably only 6-7%. After climbing up a half mile or so, I hit the first steeper switchbacks that had previously caused the barbagazi's to lose traction, the Gnarwhals didn't flinch and maintained traction without any slipping. I even stood on a steep corner to see if unweighting the rear would allow them to slip but they didnt! I need to get them on a day with more snow to really see test their bite and traction but they passed the test with flying colors. Higher up, the snow was a bit deeper and the base was refreeze, here again, the traction was excellent. On the traversing section is flowy and fun with a series of short rollers and twists and turns through aspens, and shrub oak. I wanted to test the side lugs when you are carving the bike through turns. I had total confidence in the Gnar's! SUPER FUN. On the descent, I took a trail with a series of back to back switchbacks which feels like you are riding a rollercoaster. I was totally impressed with the traction but was wishing I has another 1/2 pound of pressure in the rear.
Overall, these are just what I needed. Yes, they are heavier and certainly have a higher rolling resistance however, I felt I could put a bit more air in them to negate some of that CRR . I also am running a 12 speed 11-50 rear so I have the gearing to compensate (on the barbagazi's I rarely used the lowest gear due to slip out) . Given that, and the added bite and traction, these are winners! the added bite from the more aggressive side lugs alone make these great tires but not having to be so deliberate when climbing to avoid slip-out, makes the added weight moot.
The Gnarwhals have much taller lugs with twin wide center lugs and much taller cornering lugs. They are widely spaced to shed snow and have a soft tacky feel to the rubber. They have the added benefit of being able to accept studs for icy riding conditions. They weighed 1520 & 1526 grams per tire which is about 300 grams more per tire than the Barbagazi's. Mounting these up was quite easy on my HEDS 825 carbon rims. I used HED's "whack-it" method, Which I found on line. Essentially, get both tire beads in the the mounting channels on the HED rims, take out the valve core and hit them with about 150 PSI on the compressor with the valve at the bottom. As you blast the air, whack the top of the tire. It literally took about a 1/2 hour to mount both tires. They rare a reasonable $119.99 per tire MSRP.
First ride impressions: I rode these in only 2-4" of inches of fresh snow with a frozen base. I had inflated the front and rear to about 1.5 psi to just get a feel for them. I was riding the Barbagazi's at 1 or even a touch less. (I inflated the tires in my garage which is ~60*., I forgot that the air pressure once in cold would be less). The start of my rides are on a fire access road which is groomed, it starts out at 12% for a 100 yards, goes to 10% and 8% for the next half mile so its a lung buster to get to the single track. Here, I feel the added height of the lugs and probably some of the added 1.5 pounds. Beyond the increased rolling resistance, I felt the rear tire could use more air, it felt a little draggy. The front felt fine. Once on the single track, the tires bite was evident and despite the lower air in the rear, rolled much better. This section is probably only 6-7%. After climbing up a half mile or so, I hit the first steeper switchbacks that had previously caused the barbagazi's to lose traction, the Gnarwhals didn't flinch and maintained traction without any slipping. I even stood on a steep corner to see if unweighting the rear would allow them to slip but they didnt! I need to get them on a day with more snow to really see test their bite and traction but they passed the test with flying colors. Higher up, the snow was a bit deeper and the base was refreeze, here again, the traction was excellent. On the traversing section is flowy and fun with a series of short rollers and twists and turns through aspens, and shrub oak. I wanted to test the side lugs when you are carving the bike through turns. I had total confidence in the Gnar's! SUPER FUN. On the descent, I took a trail with a series of back to back switchbacks which feels like you are riding a rollercoaster. I was totally impressed with the traction but was wishing I has another 1/2 pound of pressure in the rear.
Overall, these are just what I needed. Yes, they are heavier and certainly have a higher rolling resistance however, I felt I could put a bit more air in them to negate some of that CRR . I also am running a 12 speed 11-50 rear so I have the gearing to compensate (on the barbagazi's I rarely used the lowest gear due to slip out) . Given that, and the added bite and traction, these are winners! the added bite from the more aggressive side lugs alone make these great tires but not having to be so deliberate when climbing to avoid slip-out, makes the added weight moot.
