Donnelly Strada USH 650b Long Term Review
After the last couple of years I’ve steadily increased the volume of my tires, following the trends of wider offerings while seeing where I might land in terms of personal preference. The hesitation for many of my friends to try 650b is understandable as it requires a new set of wheels and potentially moves away from what their bike was designed for. While I was similarly reluctant to start, a year on the ENVE G27 wheelset has me firmly in the supple camp now. We’ve enjoyed testing two 650b gravel tires to date including the Panaracer GravelKing and WTB Venture at 48 and 47mm respectively. Slightly wider, while still well within the the clearance limits of the 3T Exploro, we now offer this long term review of the Donnelly Strada USH in 650b x 50.
Many may recognize tire model names such as the MSO and USH from the Clement brand name, which Donnelly had licensed up until 2017. I fondly remember a pair of folding Clement X’Plor USH tires in 700x35 that I ran on a Specialized Diverge Smartweld, with its innovative tread pattern that worked well on mixed terrain. Under the Donnelly Cycling brand the tire remains true to its roots, while offering an updated design.
Overall the tires look great with their clean black sidewalls and attractive branding. The tubeless-ready Strada USH 650b tires come in this 50mm and a 42mm version, with both sizes offered in either black or tan sidewall. 700c versions of the tread are also available, in 32 and 40mm widths. Receiving these tires in mid-summer, I set them up tubeless just ahead of the inaugural 2019 SBT GRVL event in Steamboat Springs, CO. With the 100 mile Blue Course consisting of primarily smooth gravel and road, these tires were certainly not the recommended size by race organizers. But despite my misgivings I pushed ahead and felt more confident after a course pre-ride on the rough Cow Creek, then again early in the race on long stretches of soft, loose gravel that covers much of Routt County in late summer.
Like many other gravel tires, the Strada USH are designed for wide array of terrain one might encounter, with a relatively smooth center tread and more textured side patterns. Overall the tread design worked quite well, although I did observe slightly less traction in loose-over-hard conditions compared with the Venture 47s, noticeable on steeper sections at slower speeds. This is due to a smoother center tread that does an excellent job of minimizing resistance on road, a welcomed feature for paved sections mixed in. The raised side tread performs great on loose and hardpack dirt corners alike, especially with a psi in the low to mid 20s.
Overall the Strada USH 2in tires performed surprisingly well at SBT GRVL, and the 650b tire choice continues to impress me at gravel races where more traditional 700c tires are clearly the norm. Personally I’ve found the compliance gains from increased volume and lower pressures counterintuitively leads to faster times due to a more comfortable ride. Certainly I could be faster on any given segment with smaller tires, but over the course of several hours the grind on my body nullifies any marginal gains from lower weight and less friction. Larger tires are also a far cheaper and easily tunable approach to a more supple ride, compared to other technologies that increase complexity and only address the front or backend of a bike (e.g. suspension stems, seatposts, forks, frames, etc.).
Named after the southernmost city in the world, we’re confident the Donnelly Strada USH could take you there and back no matter what the road may bring. These tires are a welcome addition to the ever expanding gravel tire market, and a great choice for mixed-terrain rides and gravel races alike.