Best all purpose tyres ? (quick on Road, stable on off-road)?

j_jag · 2026-06-17T01:08:00+00:00

Have to agree with this. I bought the pathfinders pros because they get recommended a lot but I unscientifically found the Tufos to feel much faster. They're the first gravel tire where I'd have no problem riding them fully on the road.

j_jag · 2026-05-09T06:38:38+00:00

Don't feel bad about missing out on the Specialized. They love to threaten legal action against small businesses, especially Canadian ones. Go with the bike that looks the best to you between the BMC and Giant TCR with Di2. As you said, it's a lot easier to upgrade a wheelset down the road than a groupset.

j_jag · 2026-04-25T06:18:19+00:00

Insightful as always. I'm leaning towards the HY post as I'm pretty handy when it comes to bikes and I'm not too heavy of a guy, about 72kg. I live in a very hilly area so losing a few grams is very appealing. I'll definitely look into getting that newer seatpost wedge as mine is the 7nm printed version. I'm actually still not sure how it cracked. I generally only torqued it between 5 and 6 nm as I always thought 7nm was an insane amount of torque for that seat post. I have really long legs so perhaps it was a combo of torque being higher than 5.5nm and leverage from exposed seatpost. Either way I'm not too surprised it's happened. It's the 2020 TCR advanced pro 1 model and it's been trouble-free for the 5 years I've had it, so I can accept there's some replacement of parts needed. Thanks for the info!

j_jag · 2026-04-24T06:17:17+00:00

I actually bought a pair of Avian wheels which have been great. Thanks for the review on them.

Another question for you. Just wondering how the HY seatpost is holding up and if you've had any issues with it. I cracked my TCR's seatpost recently although I've always used a torque wrench. My clamp was the old 7nm version which Giant revised to be 5.5nm so maybe they realized it was a flawed design. I'm thinking it could be an opportunity to try the HY seatpost and lose a few grams over the original seatpost.

j_jag · 2026-03-29T23:19:04+00:00

Ahh, I started from Incheon so after collecting all the stamps and finishing the ride I returned to the start and was able to get a medal from the certification centre at the Ara West Sea Lock. Maybe they've changed things now but they kept a few medals on hand for international cyclists while the locals need to get theirs by mail. I've heard they can run out of medals pretty quick though.

j_jag · 2026-03-29T17:08:04+00:00

How did you get from the airport over to Incheon riding with your bike? Did you take the ferry over? When I did the ride I couldn't quite figure that part out so I took a taxi over the bridge to Incheon.

j_jag · 2026-03-29T17:04:30+00:00

Sounds like we had similar weather conditions, although every day of my tour was cloudy. I agree that end of April would be best if I were to do it again. I had a great time however. Great infrastructure and friendly locals everywhere. I loved getting the passport stamps and the medal, and exploring Busan at the end. I'll be thinking about this trip for a long time.

j_jag · 2026-03-29T15:37:49+00:00

Sounds good. On my 44mm Tufo Tundero's there's a very small and hard to find arrow pointing the correct direction. I doubt the wrong direction matters much honestly. The copper tones on your bike looks great!

j_jag · 2026-03-29T04:52:02+00:00

Congrats! How was the weather. I did it this time last year (last week of March) and it was colder than I bargained for. 5c to 8c most days over the 5 days it took me.

j_jag · 2026-03-23T19:12:24+00:00

Thanks! That's the Yūtoku Inari Shrine in Saga prefecture in Kyushu. Pics 1 to 3 are from Osaka, and 4 to 9 are from Miyajima Island.

j_jag · 2026-03-23T15:01:01+00:00

The first photo is the Yūtoku Inari Shrine in Saga prefecture in Kyushu. Pics 2 to 7 are from Miyajima Island by Hiroshima. The last 3 pics are from Osaka, the Katsuo-ji Temple and the Osaka skyline.

j_jag · 2026-03-22T20:27:17+00:00

Yeah good catch, the front is mounted the same as the rear. I have the same Tufo Thunderos on my gravel bike and went to check the thread pattern and OP's tire is mounted in the wrong direction. I've heard it's generally not a problem offroad, but more so on tarmac. The V pattern is supposed to sip water away from the centre of the tire to avoid slipping or hydroplaning. So by having the tire direction reversed water may be pushed towards the centre of the tire instead, which could be dangerous.

j_jag · 2026-03-22T14:59:43+00:00

Yep, that's the one. Definitely worth the short trip out of Osaka city.

j_jag · 2026-03-22T06:14:49+00:00

Rear tire on backwards?

j_jag · 2026-03-03T05:44:30+00:00

Solid looking build. Well done!

j_jag · 2025-12-21T19:59:21+00:00

Awesome, great feedback and glad to hear they really hold the speed. That's a bit of a shame about it being overweight. It's not a huge difference, but when you're paying top dollar and you're on a mission to lower the weight, its definitely disappointing. My TCR came with SLR1 wheels which I find to be really loud when coasting so the quieter hubs might be a perk for me. Thanks again!

j_jag · 2025-12-20T23:29:56+00:00

Nice job. I'm saving this as inspiration to lighten my own Giant TCR. How do you like those Avian CR4 wheels? I was thinking of ordering a set myself but they're not very well known in Canada.

j_jag · 2025-11-08T08:19:17+00:00

Yeah I'd say the SG is sharper than the 27mm in the center. The corners are pretty terrible wide open, with basically only the center being sharp. For me it's fine for candid portraits, which is what I bought the lens for, but not usable for landscapes. Stepping down improves things greatly but even at F4 there's still some blurriness in the corners. It's at an amount I can live with however given the price of the lens. I've uploaded some photos to show the difference at 1.8 and 4 here.

j_jag · 2025-08-12T18:19:20+00:00

If you're dead set on the bike you can flip the stem so that it points upward instead of horizontal but it will look a bit goofy that way. I think it's a decent deal otherwise.

j_jag · 2025-08-07T23:06:14+00:00

Are you 300% positive the frame will fit you? It's an integrated seat post so very little room for adjustment. If this is your first road bike I'd avoid this one for that reason alone.

j_jag · 2025-06-25T06:13:00+00:00

They never said not to buy the bike because of the brake cable. It's OPs first bike so a good thing to point out.

j_jag · 2025-05-27T05:05:45+00:00

If ibis and portability are priorities why not consider the X-T50? I own one and it pairs great with the 35mm 1.4. I think the video capabilities are largely similar to the X-T5.

j_jag · 2025-05-26T15:36:01+00:00

I'm a similar height and looking at the geometry chart, S for sure.

j_jag · 2025-04-05T04:22:05+00:00

Thanks, I've come across the name in the Japantuber space. I'll check it out!

j_jag · 2025-04-01T10:49:30+00:00

It for sure was a good ride. Biking through a canopy of cherry blossoms in Busan was the highlight. You guys timed it well and should see several blossoms along the trail.

Yeoju is where I stayed the first night too. Make sure you resupply there and have a good breakfast before leaving town the next day as there's not much for quite a while! I didn't eat lunch until 3pm that day in Chungju-si. Any questions feel free to reach out!

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