I had a leak I had patched with a bacon strip but the next ride it blew out despite only using 30 psi. Sealant all over, so I used a DynaPlug and that worked. But when I got home I decided to patch from the inside. Directions on using is just some images, not discussion on how long after using the glue to apply so I went by how we patch tubes. Worked well but after mounting and inflating, air would still leak out. I added sealant and then it sealed. I will see how well they hold up. I used the 3.5 mm plug. Sealant is Silca Ultimate 2.
Riding this tire this season (700c x 44mm), comparison to S-Works Pathfinder 42mm and Schwalbe G-One RS at 44mm.
I primarily ride mix of 40/60 tarmac and Cat 1 gravel. I ride on the road to the trails most of the time. Great tires so far, on tarmac it rolls nicely - kind of perplexing to me the since the center blocks intuitively shouldn't roll this nicely - when compared to the S-Works that has the smooth center strip, it is fast. Not as fast as the G-One RS, that tire is still the fastest on tarmac. However, on cat 1 gravel, the S-works and G-One RS cannot hold a candle to the Thunderos. The small blocks bites into the gravel and imparts really nice confidence, especially during cornering, I can lean on it a lot more. So far no punctures, I had 1 on the S-works that I had to use a plug, and the G-One RS, multiples, some were plugged by sealant and I had to use 1 plug on it. The Schwalbe only lasted one season, approx 4000 miles. I can go another season at 4000 miles on the S-Works. Hope the Thunderos can last me 2 season. This tire was also very supple, maybe because I was coming from a 42mm, I'm running 35.5psi front and 37.5psi rear.
One major gripe about this tire is the installation, very hard to mount (the bead was super tight) and the bead didn't inflate to seat (I was using a compressor). I'm running Reserves 40 44GR. My last resort was using a TPU tube to seat the tire, deflate, then remove the TPU tube, install the tubeless tire valve, unseat one side, pour in the sealant and then the tire was able to inflate and seat. Never had an issue with the S-Works and G-One RS. I should only need to do it mid-season to refresh the sealant, hopefully it won't have this issue. So far holding pressure really well, much better than the S-Works and Schwalbe.
All in all, very happy with this tire, it's my no-brainer tire now, great all arounder, except for the difficulty in installation
Any tire can get a puncture. However, these tires wear well, and are resistant to punctures.
A few years ago a group of us rode from Delaware to Florida, a three week trip. The people in the group running these tires had few flats than the rest of us. That was in 2017, ever since i been running these, and haven't had many flats. Some seasons (avg 5000 miles a year) none.
I purchased these to replace some MSO tires that i was having trouble finding. So far ive put 200+ miles on them. About 50% has been on pavement. Also a bikepacking adventure is about 100 miles of that. They have done great on the gravel and im very happy with them. On the pavement the rear seems to have worn a bit more than the MSO wear in similar conditions. Perhaps it was my rear bags adding to that tread ware.
Overall a good value for the money and i would purchase them again
