Since I got excellent advice on my XO-3 tire questions last week I'll put a slightly different one up today regarding the Bombadil... I'm already pretty sure what I am looking for and am just caught in some paralysis by analysis and/or sticker shock. Primary purpose for this tire set would be to augment the 2.25" Nobby Nic's which are awesome offroad but to noisy on-road. So the Bomba isn't getting any commuting use w/ the current tires. The candidates;
1. Compass Switchback Pass 650bx48mm; Reg or EL ($63/$84) That isn't a typo, the EL 48's cost $12 more a pair than the EL 42's do... I guess b/c they are tubeless compatible. $168 for a set of (i'm sure) amazing tires.... $168. 2. BG Rock-n-Road 650Bx43mm ($57) I've been wanting to check these out for a while, even had considered them for the Saluki before settling in on the 38mm Parimoto's instead. I'm already rocking the BG Canti's on the Bombadil so it almost seems right. I'm a little worried about road noise but many people report that isn't an issue. Seems like a perfect C&O and when needed singletrack option to complement a great paved trail option. 3. Big Ben 650Bx50mm Active/Performance ($25/50) I've ridden the Little Big Ben's and Big Apples and enjoy them both, not sure I've personally sampled the 'active' line so I'm not sure how much you give up (other than half the price) w/ the heavier rubber compound. Seems like an awesome Bombadil tire as it fits the clearances pretty much spot on. 4. Panaracer Quasi Moto 650Bx2.0 ($35 on amazon!) I was considering this more before getting the Nobby Nic's as it seems more offroad focused than my previous three options... it remains in consideration primarily becuase it's got a great price tag and it was one of the original 650B offerings that fits the horizontal TT Bomba's clearances perfectly. I had already reconciled the cost of a new set of Compass tires before the switchback pass came out even (a little bit) higher and put me back into consideration mode. No one (including me) seems disappointed with their investments in light-supple-hi volume tires but man I am feeling the sticker shock. Pretty awesome to have so many good options in so many different tire sizes!! -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.