That Specialized was never released to the public..just saying 

 

 Nice Haro..

 

 

 

 31 days until Barry Roubaix 

 Maybe it should be the Maybee time trial?

On pavement, the tyres performed predictably, without any squirminess. The weight is impressive for knobby tyres in this width (which I attribute to both casing makeup and the short knob height); this was noticeable while accelerating and especially when moving the bike around beneath me. On rough gravel, the tight knob spacing isn’t as confidence inspiring as I would like, but then the Tracer isn’t really designed for this. It seems like it is designed to fill the gap between a semi-slick and true knobby, but perhaps with some bias towards smoother terrain. On fast dirt roads with some sporadic moisture it excels, biting in when it’s wet, but still rolling well when it isn’t. I have no doubt we’ll see more of this tyre at the pointy end of gravel races throughout the season.

 Specialized has revamped its tyre offerings across the board, narrowing its smorgasbord catalogue down to four road tyres, three gravel models and four mountain bike models. This simplification process should make it easier for customers to select tyres that meet their needs without getting bogged down by too many choices.

The three new gravel tyres are the Pathfinder SLR (designed for racing and hardpack), the Tracer (for mixed gravel), and the Terra TLR (designated for gravel and trail). All three tyres have updated casings and tread patterns and are available in larger sizes than previously. The new models promise to be 19% faster than the previous models and 30% more cut-resistant.

Intriqued by the "One Tire, Any Surface" pitch, we opted to test-ride the all-new Tracer.

This updated version is now a dedicated gravel tyre that has been wholly revamped with a stronger casing and new tread pattern. Per Specialized, the “compact center knob cluster” (try saying that out loud with a straight face) improves rolling resistance by 19% and the new casing improves cut resistance by 30%. The outer tyre tread has knobs that are set slightly wider and taller to aid in mud-shedding and cornering support. Specialized uses the same springy compound for the tread (T5) it uses on the shoulders of its road tyres.

The updated Tracer is hookless compatible and available in 40, 45 and 50 millimeter widths. With these changes, it would appear that Specialized is no longer making any UCI-compatible cyclocross tyres.

Only joking. It’s a testament to how fast tyre sizes have changed that 45mm tyres could already be considered small. The reality, however, is that even though pro gravel racers might be moving towards 50 + mm widths, not everyone needs (or wants) tyres this large. Also, gravel roads are highly region-specific, and tyre requirements vary by geography and geology.

My test set of Tracers are the most “Goldilocks” of the three, in the most “Goldilocks” size, 45 millimeters. The listed weight is 530 grams, but of the two sent to me, one measured 520 g and the other 495 g. Hopefully production versions are more consistent, though at least they’re both lighter than advertised. On 24.5 internal rims, they measured roughly 43.5 mm—a little undersized.

Mounting was seamless. I had both tyres mounted up and inflated in about ten minutes. Can we all take a moment to appreciate just how far tubeless technology has come? I mount up a lot of tyres for testing, and it’s rare these days for it to be anything other than smooth.

On the bike, my first impression was one of confusion. I thought something was coming loose, but it turns out these tyres just kick up a lot of small rocks, hence the noise. Riding through a sandy patch on the road (as one might find when snow melts in the spring) sounds like Armageddon. This didn’t pose any issues, but it seems worth noting.

On pavement, the tyres performed predictably, without any squirminess. The weight is impressive for knobby tyres in this width (which I attribute to both casing makeup and the short knob height); this was noticeable while accelerating and especially when moving the bike around beneath me.

On rough gravel, the tight knob spacing isn’t as confidence inspiring as I would like, but then the Tracer isn’t really designed for this. It seems like it is designed to fill the gap between a semi-slick and true knobby, but perhaps with some bias towards smoother terrain. On fast dirt roads with some sporadic moisture it excels, biting in when it’s wet, but still rolling well when it isn’t. I have no doubt we’ll see more of this tyre at the pointy end of gravel races throughout the season.

 

 If you wake up in the night and hear weird noises, make weirder noises to assert your dominance 

 Masters Racing 

 Just a couple of dudes..being dudes..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Fuck you asshole 

 

 Certain conversations 

 

 Two Stroke

 

 

 

 

 

Tripper, well Rabbit..you have had a week to chew on the Zwift candy, got anything to say?

Rudy..well Tripper, I must say it’s way more entertaining and engaging than watching old cyclocross races and trying to keep my heart up! I found it to be stupid simple on the initial setup and although I don’t have the cool widgets that go along with the entire experience it was definitely not what I expected!

Tripper, wow rabbit that’s not what I was expecting to hear.

Rudy. Yeah, but because I’m such a nerd, and a pretty big gamer, I could truly see myself getting bored fairly quick with this in a short time.

Tripper, awe seriously, it’s got all these challenges, worlds, races.

Rudy the worlds really are not going to be that much of a pull after a year of pedaling around.

Tripper. The power ups?

Rudy. Could be better…

Tripper. Well, if you were a Zwift designer, how would you make it better.

1. One gripe, No wind..I think some of the routes could benefit from some good old-fashioned wind, you cross winds by the water, dead block 12 mph WATOPIA slow you down winds. definitely would add to the real-world experience 

2. More variety for your hard-earned drips. Cycling world is vast and I think having more merch would drive up the motivation to get folks on the bike. 

3. Your garage. everyone likes a cool place to hang their coveted stuff. I truly believe if the designers would add a little more of a gamer mind to it a lot of non-racing folks would stay on the platform longer 

4. Power ups variations. Things maybe a gel packs or nutrition ones almost like coffee breaks where you could free pedal for odd seconds 

5. Power downs, no theses will just be random, slowdowns for, nature breaks, maybe a flat. Something like this would drop you from the group for the normal power up time. Maybe a bonk power down? All of these could be added Ons and chosen within the settings mode

6. A moto-pace option in the work out mode, something unique like a chubby cigarette puffing Belgian guy on an old motor scooter.

7. Traffic congestion in major cities..I don’t mean like stopped and go but enough slow Bernie down.

8. More music choices…nuff said

9. Mountain bike courses, like real World Cup stuff .. steep climbs fun rhythm sections etc. and this too might open the door for some bleed from the eye socket events

10. And while we’re at how about adding the Leadville course to the platform?

11. Why couldn’t cyclocross be an option of course without the dismounts and all. Fly overs, leg draining mud sections etc.

Oh man my pulse is racing Tripper

12. There see new drip options…

13. More places, stuff I could recognize, Rocky Mountains, Portland, Mount Lemmon…Pittsburgh ..

14. Specific special events like virtual ICEMAN, and Mount Mitchell hill climbs?

15. I would call this Zwift 2.0

And of course, I would pony up the extra grip for the upgrade…