For the past ten years I have been riding with tubular wheels/tires on my road bike, which means the tubes have been latex. I have now switched to traditional wheels and tires and since I swap tires regularly, I decided to not use sealant but use tubes, but which type? Butyl tubes are cheapest but I have found them to be more puncture prone. Latex tubes are more compliant, I've had fewer punctures, they cost more than butyl, but with latex tubes I have to add air pressure daily. I started using Smartube TPU tubes last spring, they are lighter, do not lose air, I've had no punctures, but they do cost more. I have now switched my road and gravel bikes to TPU tubes, and I recommend SmarTubes as they have performed flawlessly.
I installed these tires on the road wheel set I use on my Trek Checkpoint gravel bike. My previous set of tires were Conti GP 5000 with tubes in size 28. Those were great with 0 flats over quite a few miles. When they finally wore out, I wanted to switch over to tubeless and decided to try the wider 32mm width. I only have a couple of rides on these so far, so can't speak to durability, but the ride is extremely smooth without feeling sluggish. I'm typically riding solo, and not racing so I'm not seeking the fastest tire possible - durability is more important to me. That said, these don't feel slow at all, and the ride comfort is superior. I've been running at about 55psi up front and 56 in the rear.
I needed levers for install, and it definitely took a little elbow grease, but nothing terribly difficult. Tires sealed with Orange Seal and only a floor pump. So far, I would definitely recommend.
I've been using these tires on my Giant 2 Escape XL for a number of years now. From mid-August to mid-May, I do most of my riding after I get home from work. (Typically, about 10 miles a day, five days a week). In the summer, I still ride about five days a week, 20-30 miles a day on some days and 10 miles a day on the others. (I'm in my late 60's now, so the 50 to 70-mile treks are now in my rear-view mirror!) Anyway, I easily put about 3,000 miles a year on the tires and they last for few years.
By the way, these tires come shipped in such a way that the tires are twisted into a "figure 8" and then folded (top half of the "8" over the bottom half). Don't let that worry you. You can unfold the tire and massage it back into its original shape. Once it's mounted on the rim, it's just as if it were never folded at all.
Great shifters with good looks. What I like are the crisp shifting and easy braking. This is what one expects from this tier in SRAM. I do wish better graphics were on the shifters to standout, but that is just esthetic and not necessary in the grand scheme. What I hated with these and it is not a performance issue, but just something stupid by SRAM.....the fact a shifter/brake set come charged with DOT fluid!!!!! You have to bleed the darn things to install or at least for internal routed frames like my Cannondale SSE. Then you have to add it again and pressurize the system! Come on SRAM! Ship these dry! Ok.....off my soapbox. The D2 system is great!
