#Bongra It was Friday night when I decided to put our new SimWorks tires, the VOLUMMY, on my CX bike. Since they are Tubeless Ready (TLR) and my wheels are as well, it felt like a waste not to run them tubeless, so that’s exactly what I did.
Bongra is just our shorthand for riding gravel during the Obon holiday. Simple as that.
Did I change the tires for the ride? Or did I go on the ride because I wanted to use the tires?
That’s a secret. Besides, who cares about the reason as long as it's fun?
Once again, I asked a veteran rider who knows the Mikawa region inside and out to guide us through a route from Asuke to Shitara that included gravel sections. I initially thought it would just be the three of us sneaking off, but with it being the Obon holiday, word got out, and we ended up with a group of eight.
Thanks to some unexpected rain the day before, the unpaved roads we entered were slightly wet and covered in moss. Naturally, there were fallen leaves everywhere, and we even encountered sections completely overgrown with grass. Any worries I had about using knobless tires on terrain like that were blown away on our first gravel climb.
By running them tubeless at a slightly lower pressure (though not as low as I’d go for a cross race), I was able to fully exploit the tire's suppleness and how well it tracked the ground.
The herringbone pattern gripped the dirt securely, so I didn't feel any hesitation even when leaning the bike into corners on descents.
And thanks to the tough gum sidewalls, I felt completely secure that I wouldn't get a flat, even with my clumsy line choices.
For someone like me who hasn't been on a long ride in a while, what helped me most was their excellent rolling efficiency on pavement. Haha. When you ride a route that involves significant climbing on-road to access the gravel, using tires that are too fat or have aggressive knobs can often make the initial climb feel like a chore, but with the VOLUMMY, there were no such worries. And for those of you saying, "But the Homage/Simworks or Horizon/WTB won't fit my bike!"—these are 32c. You should definitely give them a try.
In any case, we were taken to some incredible spots again. I didn't make a formal announcement this time as most of the invites were personal, but if you’re interested in long rides or hitting the gravel, please let us know at the shop.
Maybe a road ride to warm up for #GURUREN would be nice too...