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Talkback: Tannus Musai solid tyres – first look

The thing about stuff, any stuff, is that it weighs a lot more than "no stuff". To that end every solid tire is going to weigh a lot more than a bag of air. Admittedly savings can be made by not having any puncture resistant heavy threads or valves but I reckon the increase in weight has got to be within the 20 - 30% range or they're a definite no-no. Would like to see a full review on them though!

Comments

  • Jamie220Jamie220 Posts: 168

    We're hoping to post a full review here soon, watch this space!

  • I've bought a pair of Tannus Musai 700x23 and had them fitted to my regular commuting/training bike, an aluminium framed Felt F95, with Campagnolo Khamsin Asymmetric training wheels. I've ridden them for 105 km in the first 3 days, and they're very interesting though I'm still not completely sure what I think. They're certainly not heavy; my bike weighs exactly the same as it did with Conti 4000s. Now I've taken off the pump and leave the spare tubes at home, it's a definite weight saving. My initial feeling is that these could be brilliant training tyres, but I don't think they're race day options. The feel of the road and the handling of the bike is different; in some ways actually better - I find them great over cobbled streets - in other ways less comfortable. I'll find out tomorrow (when I go out for a group ride over some hills in Kent) if there's a real cost in terms of speed. In traffic, they're great because I can focus on going where it's best to ride, and on what drivers are up to, while ignoring whether the road has been swept or not, or may have broken glass on it. There are lots of other potential benefits from not having the threat of flat tyres hanging over my rides, e.g. I'm thinking of changing from SPDs and mountain bike shoes to a road bike system more suitable for triathlon; one thing that has stopped me is the need (very occasionally) to walk my bike home a few miles when I'm too tired to change tubes at the roadside ... I suspect that the challenge for those marketing them is to find ways of reaching the people who will love them without getting too much dismissive comment from those who will not.

  • After the group ride - 65 km over the North Downs in Kent - I'm even more impressed by the handling of these tyres, especially when it comes to steep downhills on narrow poorly maintained roads with gravel in the middle; these were converted from a bit of a nightmare to quite manageable. Also, one of the other 11 riders had a puncture and flat tyre; it cost more than 10 minutes in an unscheduled stop. That's not a training benefit ... I do think I had to work a little harder to keep up with the group, though that might be about my legs as much as the tyres. Now, that could be a training benefit. For now, the tyres stay (though they certainly won't be going on the race wheels) and I think I'll be getting in a lot more distance on them.

  • Jamie220Jamie220 Posts: 168

    Thanks for the feedback Julian, very interesting to read your thoughts!

    Anyone else had similar experiences?

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