Life In The Saddle

The Stan's NoTubes Grail S1 Wheelset is designed to be a go-anywhere, ride-anything set of disc brake wheels. Combining robust mid-depth aluminium rims, laced with a high spoke count onto Stan's NEO hubs; this is a strong and reliable set of wheels for mountain bike, road, and gravel riding. I have previously tested and extensively used the Stan's NoTubes Crest S1 Wheels — both on MTB and gravel bike. The Crest has a lower profile rim, and a slightly lighter overall weight than the Grail; branded primarily as an MTB and Gravel wheelset. The Grail S1 is branded as a do-everything wheelset. It uses the brand's slightly narrower (24.1 mm width) deeper section rim (24.5 mm depth), which are more aerodynamic and rated to a higher pressure than the Crest wheels. Consequently, the Grail wheels are deemed more suitable for road cycling as well as off-road adventures. I set up the Stan's Grail S1 wheels with tubeless 40c tyres. This is always easy on Stan's whee...

I have been searching for the perfect tyre for mixed surface touring for some time; something that offers low rolling resistance on asphalt, but a good degree of grip and puncture resistance on gravel roads and bike paths. The new Goodyear County 35c tubeless tyres looked to tick many of the sought-after boxes, so I fitted them to the Kona Rove to test them out… Last year, I reviewed the Goodyear Connector Tyres ; those are 40c tubeless tyres aimed at the gravel rider—with a fine tread pattern offering impressive grip on off-road trails, but still with a fast rolling speed on asphalt. The Connector's remained on my cyclocross bike for the whole of the winter, and were impressive in their durability, and versatility. With that in mind, I was interested to see what the Goodyear brand could offer in the more road-focussed touring tyre category. The County is a 35c diameter tubeless tyre, designed to be used on the road and on light off-road paths. Previously I have used 30c tyr...

Nobody can deny that 'Gravel' adventure cycling is no longer a 'fad' – it has evolved into a mainstream cycling discipline. The fortunate reality is that many component parts of both road cycling and XC MTBs can be repurposed for 'Gravel Grinding' – the Stan's NoTubes ZTR Crest S1 Wheel Set is one of those superb evergreen creations. I have been using a set of original Stan's NoTubes Crest rims laced onto Hope Tech Pro3 hubs on my mountain bike for over half a decade – they are impressively durable, and the easiest set of wheels to mount up with tubeless tyres. Stan's NoTubes have evolved from just being a producer of rims, rim tape and tubeless kits though; they now produce several own brand wheelsets, which offer great value performance. The Stan's NoTubes ZTR Crest S1 Wheel Set is listed as an entry-level cross-country mountain biking wheel Set, most likely because of its high spoke count (32 front and rear) and wide rim profile (23 mm i...