My first review of the knobbiness that is the Surly Nate tire was shortly after I had put them on the bike. I wanted to do a follow up review based on putting more miles on them and riding them in more conditions.
These bad boys have some serious bite to them! They really do excel in snow conditions. They maintain great traction in different snow conditions and they shed snow well enough such that the tires don't clump up - they generally clean themselves while riding as the knobs are spaced out far enough so the snow/mud does not collect..
They will even handle up to 18 inches of fresh snow! The snow was 'wet' but none the less I was amazed that they held a line and traction as well as they did in the deep stuff. The disclaimer here is that this was flat terrain. There is not much any tire can do in that deep snow at an incline.
When riding the Larry's on the rear I noticed that once you spun out, it was next to impossible to regain traction. With the Nates, the knobs (teeth) on the side & the V's on the tires hook right back up and will hold their line pretty well and also help in getting you out of trouble and back on your line. It definitely allows for more corrections if you get off line or start to spin out. A subtle adjustment in body position (weighting the rear tire or minor bunny hop to get through that section) will get you out of hike a bike mode.
One of the biggest differences I have noticed is how you can be more aggressive on turns with the Nates on. The Nates will not spin out and you can really pick a line and more or less hold it with out feeling like your tires will wash out. This obviously depends on speed, type of snow, acuteness of corner, etc...but all things being even the Nates excel compared to the Endo's or Larry's. A more confident rider also means a happier rider which seems like a win win all around....'Winning'
The only downside I have found with these tires is the rolling resistance if you take them on anything hard packed like dirt or road. The little riding I did on the road felt like resistance training on a stationary bike. The bike rolled but you had to work hard to keep the momentum going. The major peripheral bennie to this??? well besides the 'weight training' the coolness factor of the big rubber rolling on the road....the tires sound like a car! and the likelihood of running into more people while pedaling around town will get you some looks of bewilderment, bemusement, double takes, triple takes, comments like 'sweet ride bro', 'yeah doggggie', 'Wow, look at those tires!'....so the rolling resistance and weight training are offset by the coolness factor -
Here is to raising a glass to the rubber madness that is the Nate's.....
These bad boys have some serious bite to them! They really do excel in snow conditions. They maintain great traction in different snow conditions and they shed snow well enough such that the tires don't clump up - they generally clean themselves while riding as the knobs are spaced out far enough so the snow/mud does not collect..
They will even handle up to 18 inches of fresh snow! The snow was 'wet' but none the less I was amazed that they held a line and traction as well as they did in the deep stuff. The disclaimer here is that this was flat terrain. There is not much any tire can do in that deep snow at an incline.
When riding the Larry's on the rear I noticed that once you spun out, it was next to impossible to regain traction. With the Nates, the knobs (teeth) on the side & the V's on the tires hook right back up and will hold their line pretty well and also help in getting you out of trouble and back on your line. It definitely allows for more corrections if you get off line or start to spin out. A subtle adjustment in body position (weighting the rear tire or minor bunny hop to get through that section) will get you out of hike a bike mode.
One of the biggest differences I have noticed is how you can be more aggressive on turns with the Nates on. The Nates will not spin out and you can really pick a line and more or less hold it with out feeling like your tires will wash out. This obviously depends on speed, type of snow, acuteness of corner, etc...but all things being even the Nates excel compared to the Endo's or Larry's. A more confident rider also means a happier rider which seems like a win win all around....'Winning'
The only downside I have found with these tires is the rolling resistance if you take them on anything hard packed like dirt or road. The little riding I did on the road felt like resistance training on a stationary bike. The bike rolled but you had to work hard to keep the momentum going. The major peripheral bennie to this??? well besides the 'weight training' the coolness factor of the big rubber rolling on the road....the tires sound like a car! and the likelihood of running into more people while pedaling around town will get you some looks of bewilderment, bemusement, double takes, triple takes, comments like 'sweet ride bro', 'yeah doggggie', 'Wow, look at those tires!'....so the rolling resistance and weight training are offset by the coolness factor -
Here is to raising a glass to the rubber madness that is the Nate's.....
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