At first they appeared to be a fairly decent tire, rolled well and had decent grip in loose small gravel and limestone trails I ride. However one of the tires only lasted 99.5 miles before it exploded on a nice paved trail... didn't see any signs of a puncture, perhaps a manufacturing defect? The bead appears to have separated and when it blew it ripped a chunk of the sidewall with it. Decided to change the other tire and not risk it.
I was originally using the Kenda Flint Ridge tires. I definitely appreciate those tires for rougher gravel rides however you doing Incur somewhat of a weight penalty compared to the Rambler tires. I have riden the Rambler tires over quite rough surfaces and after a few hundred miles have had no issues. I am running them tubless with an average pressure of between 25 and 35 PSI. For most uses I would definitely recommend the Rambler
Just got back from riding the Oregon Outback and these babies were awesome in all types of terrain, wet, dry, big rocks, little rocks and even sand and mud. My bike and gear were 70 lbs easy and I never ever had to think about my tires! Zero flats!
I'm not a racer, but am instead looking for good safe traction with reliable cornering and grip - These tires up the confidence game so much on my gravel bike. Love them!
I bought these mainly for the puncture resistance. But they roll surprisingly well on pavement too. Most of the gravel riding I do is mixed pavement and gravel, so that's an important aspect to me. I run these tires tubeless with sealant, and they haven't let me down over thousands of miles now.
I used these tires at the Lost and Found race with great success. It is billed as a gravel grinder but had sections of rutted out jeep roads and dirt ranch roads. There were also many rocky washed out areas from the hard winter in Northern California Sierra. The Ramblers handled everything with no flats and no burping . Setting up tubeless was also difficult on my DT Swiss rims so I put in a tube for 24 hours and then carefully took off one bead to remove the tube. Had to use a compressor but they finally inflated and held air without sealant overnight.
I highly recommend this tire if you have some patience and a air compressor.
One of my local gravel routes was recently refreshed with lots of new gravel, which meant a change from my normal file treads to a mini-knob. I decided on a Rambler (700x40).
I've mounted tubeless tires before. I have a 60 gallon air compression and a Prestaflator. I always soap the beads and pull the valve cores when mounting. I generally have no problem mounting tubeless tires with this set up. I'm usually done in a few minutes.
I spent significant time one evening trying to mount these tires on 2 different wheelsets (HED Belgium and Stan's Grails, both with Stan's valves). No luck. Finally had to give up. Second try the next day I figured out what was going on. This tire, when on the rim but not seated, turns into a circle in cross section, with the beads sitting against each other in the center groove of the rim. This partially block the value and the air wasn't getting between the beads. Eventually I had to back the nut off the valve body so that I could push the value up between the beads. Then, with 60 psi blasts from the Prestaflator and repeated whacking of the tire I got them to seat. Even with the valve pushed into the tire it was still harder to get these to seat than any other tire I've mounted.
They held air overnight without sealant. The next day I was able to deflate and pull the value core without unseating the beads to add sealant. Took them on a 75 mile ride, 50 of gravel (dirt, mud, loose over hard, just plain deep). Very steep loose climbs, 35mph loose descents - tire worked great overall.
I understand why the reviews like this tire. In practice it works really well.
I bought a set to ride Big Sugar in Bentonville, AR. There were tons of flats. I didn't have any trouble. The traction is great.
Great tires, fast rolling and hooks up well in corners. They don't slow me down on road transitions either! Initial set up had some air leak from sidewalls but rest them on their side overnight with sealant in them and good to go.
I have used a bunch of different tires on my gravel bikes. Tried this in a 45, but had too much rolling resistance on the road. The 40 seems to be perfect for me. I actually think I have a flatter sweet spot of contact on the gravel with the 40 as well. This is my go to tire.
A pretty dirt specific tire. I use as a 50/50 tire, and burn through the rear tire pretty fast climbing on pavement. I have done some moderate single track with plenty of rocks and roots, and have plenty of grip climbing and descending. Nice casing running 120 TPI in both the 40 and 45 widths. I'll buy again.
Within the realm of gravel tires live almost too many options. Deciding where to go, what to select is challenging...
It doesn't need to be. Go with ramblers. It's really that simple. 60 tpi will be a slightly harsher ride, vs 120 tpi. But either are great depending on your needs.
This is a great tire for gravel riding and is perfectly at home with mixed surface (dirt and paved roads). Just purchased a set and was surprised that the 700 X 40mm - EXO/TR Black was listed at 375g per tire. Weighed at receipt and the tire masses were 442 g and 415g. This would not prevent me from purchasing another set in the future.
This is the do everything tire. Rolls well, grippy, durable, responsive. Dirt roads, single track, gravel, pavement.
The tires easily, I did it bare-handed. Traction and road feel is good providing for a comfortable and confident experience. I recommend that you be mindful of your clearance if you are moving up from a narrow tire, these are tires have knubs at the edges that were a tight fit for my bike.
Easy rolling and great cornering
I love the way these ride however they will not hold air. I have set up a lot of tubeless tires and never had problems like this. They go so flat over night that the sealant runs out. They have very little resistance to puncture. I am 71 years old and not that hard on things.
After only about 300 miles my rear Rambler 700X40C Silk Shield developed three large bubbles. I was able to puncture them and continue riding, but they continued to leak sealant. Obviously this is a small sample size and this maybe a one off kind of thing, but it warrants watching.
Over 600 miles already on these and holding up great. They roll hero gravel like a champ with enough tread to grab when the hero turns chunky and loose. When I decide to live a little more rowdy on some single track they are up to the task as well. All in all these are a great all around gravel tire in my book! Tubeless setup was so easy I was able to seat them with a floor pump by hand!
As usual Maxxis doesn't disappoint
