I bought these in 40mm to use on my gravel bike for winter/spring road riding. There is lots of gravel in the shoulders where I live, both in the city and out on long country rides. Also, lots of expansion joints, chip seal and generally rough pavement.
These measure just under 40mm when installed on a hookless 25mm internal rim. They are supple at lower pressures and make the roads a lot less punishing. Are they as fast as the GP5000 AS that I run on my road bike for the summer? No. But I haven't flatted in 200-300 miles so far so a good tradeoff.
Bought them, for my road bike, because of all the positive reviews of braking improvement, and I was impressed enough that, I bought another set for my off road bicycle.
The reviews are spot on regarding the improvement in braking performance over the previous generation. MUCH greater braking power with less lever force required. No more feeling like my hands are cramping up on long rocky downhills.
The grip and ergonomics have changed but for me it is not a big deal however, I did put on a shorter stem (80 from 90) because of the change in reach (I am 65 so I do not bend as readily as I used to.)
I replaced only the levers and calipers and I use them with my first generation Force eTap AXS front and rear derailleurs. They work fine.
The big improvement, shifting-wise, is the addition of the Bonus Buttons.
Using the AXS app I set the bonus buttons to shift the front derailleur. First generation shifters required pressing the left and right shift levers simultaneously which could be awkward. The buttons can be programmed to perform other functions but shifting the front derailleur is GREAT for me.
Sometimes I buy stuff and later question whether or not it was a good purchase but this one is a no brainer. Worth every penny to me.
These Continental Terra Trail 650b Gravel Tires are fast. They have great rolling resistance. I bought these for the $ock Cobbler and they did not let me down! The puncture resistance was top of the line. I ran them tubless at 35 psi and I had not problem with punctures. These have become my favorite tire especially with mixed terrain like road to hard pack, single track, and chunky rock. They did well over grass too. I would recommend these to anyone looking for speed and stability. I would buy another set 100%.
I've tried to use cheap off-brand replacement cleats, but they never work as well as the branded ones from Look or Garmin. These engage and disengage perfectly, as they should. The rubber padding on the bottoms is less slippery than the typical, harder plastic. I don't know yet how long they will last. For my typical training, I don't walk around that much. However, when we get into the summer with some long events, I'll be stomping around feed stops where the cleats usually get chewed up. This is also the first time I used the grey float, usually using the red. When it comes time to replace the cleats on my other road shoes, I'll go with these again.
