|
Geax Barro T-N-T
By James Sharp
 So... you've got UST compatible rims, but you don't like the extra weight that many UST tires bring with them. You'd like to run standard tires, but dislike the tube. You could run a sealant like Stan's with a normal tire, but there have been reports and rumors that some tires will blow off the rim without a tube. What do you do? Is there a middle ground? Geax thinks so. They sent us their Barro TNT tire along with their sealant; is this the happy middle ground of lighter weight, without the tube?
Geax's TNT -- Tube, No Tube -- system boils down to a tubeless tire, without the butyl liner. The bead is similar to those found on UST tires, so it has an aggressive hook allowing the tire to lock on to the rim. The Barro features a 120tpi nylon casing -- the same as their other folding tires -- and has protection in the sidewalls to keep them from getting cut as easily. Geax claims that the elimination of the butyl lining results in a 100g reduction in weight per tire. While you do need a sealant, their Pit Stop sealant is only 35g per tire -- a bit less than the weight of a tube. Since the Barro TNT tire is built to take a sealant, Geax uses a lower porosity casing so that less sealant is needed to make the tire air tight.
Installing the tire as a tubeless tire is essentially the same as installing any other tubeless tire, with a twist. Like a UST tire, you seat the tire, lubricate the bead -- with a tire-specific lubricant or soapy water -- and pump it up to the maximum pressure. While you are inflating the tire, you'll hear the beads pop and seat onto the rim. Now comes the twist: you deflate the tire and re-inflate it using the included -- if you purchased the tires as a kit -- sealant. Geax's sealant goes in via the valve stem, and inflates the tire at the same time. Once this step is done, deflate the tire to your desired riding pressure and go ride!
So how does it ride? Well, there is good and bad. The good is that the tire rolls fairly fast and the casing is more supple than a traditional UST -- more able to deform over trail irregularities -- and the knobs seem to last quite some time. The knobs are well spaced, but the tire still packs up fairly easily. I was very surprised by this, actually. Just looking at the tread, I expected good mud performance, but it's not there. The tire isn't bad on hardpack, but doesn't really excel anywhere. Traction ranges from "not bad" to "not good". I wouldn't mind using the tire on loam and hardpack, but there are better tires for that. I'd avoid using the Barro in the mud all together.
While the sealant is fresh -- and it lasts nearly 2 months -- the tire holds air as well as any tube I've used. But, the other problem I had with it is that when the sealant dries out, the tire doesn't hold air very well at all. In fact, that was how I knew the sealant was finished -- I had to add air every ride. This means that this tire will have a recurring cost keeping it air tight.
Summary: Despite the fact that you'll have to add sealant from time to time, I think that Geax is onto something with the Tube, No Tube idea. The tires are lighter than UST, they are more supple than UST tires, and they work better with a tube, should the need arise. Many tubeless riders use a sealant of some kind anyway. It's just too bad that the tread pattern and/or rubber compound hurts this particular tire. The Barro is an average tire -- if it came with your bike, leave it on and wear it out, but I wouldn't recommend running out and buying it.
James Sharp is a contributing editor for GearReview.com; more of his ramblings and a look at upcoming reviews can be found at his blog -- Lactic Acid Threshold.
For more information, contact:
BikeMine
E-mail: req@bikemine.com
www.bikemine.com
|
