Teravail Sparwood Durable Review
It’s winter here in Southern California and that means training season for upcoming bikepacking adventures and races. In preparation, I’ve been trail testing some tires from Teravail, the QBP tire brand, that is well known for its off-road equipment. I was keen to try the Sparwood 29 x 2.2” tires on my Salsa Cutthroat for the last three months on mostly local gravel, mountain single-track, desert sand, and multi-day bike packing routes in varied terrains.
Designed for the Divide
The Sparwood was originally designed a few years back for the Tour Divide, the ultra-endurance bikepacking race that follows the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. Teravail describes the Sparwood as being ideally suited for “jeep roads, twisty single-track, gravel track and paved connecting sections.” And while the tires definitely performed in this terrain, their compatibility seemed constrained in other conditions. But before we cover the strengths and limitations with the 29” Sparwood Durable, let’s cover the design and specs of the tire.
Fast and Durable
The Sparwood has a unique profile and tread pattern for a 29” size tire, which is also available in a 27.5 x 2.1 version. The profile is more oval-shaped than typical 29” tires due to the lack of pronounced side-knobs and a raised center tread, which rolls very fast. You will notice this fast-rolling aspect immediately, which was welcomed on my weekly gravel throw-down out of Rouleur Brewing when I try to hang onto the much narrower wheels of the local racer crowd. The other two-directional treads fan out from the centerline include beveled diamond-shaped lugs and on the edge of the tire, L-shaped lugs, which are meant to guard against washing out in the corners. There is nothing knobby about any of the treads—all three are shallow, which makes the tire extremely fast and stable on dry, hardpack terrain. That being said, the tradeoff comes in loose or wet conditions as the tires tend to lose grip over sandy washouts, and poorly shed mud or clay. On non-technical dirt and fire roads, the Sparwood is in its element, unhindered for speed and confident in corners.
The Casing
Perhaps most important to note is the version of the Sparwood I ran. The tire comes with two casings offered; Durable and Light & Supple. For bikepacking applications I went with the Durable option that consists of a robust woven nylon composite reinforcement between the outer rubber and the inner casing within the tire’s sidewalls to prevent tearing and abrasions. I rode these tires aggressively on single and doubletrack at varying tire pressures, in side-wall cutting rock gardens the tires came away unscathed. This was the most impressive aspect of the tires—its durability. I want all of my tires to be this robust.
Dirt Traction
Disappointment, however, came with the lack of traction on some loose-over-hard and wet terrain encountered in the San Diego winter months. Grip dramatically improved under two circumstances, either when dropping the tire pressure to 20 psi or slightly below, and when bikepacking with an extra 30 pounds of load on the bike. That being said, the strengths of this tire were mostly realized at or above the 25 psi mark, that being its fast rolling characteristics on stable dirt and tarmac. And therein lies the dilemma, as achieving both the promised speed and traction one might expect from a 29” x 2.2 tire on loose or wet terrain seemed elusive.
Wrap up
Ultimately, the Teravail Sparwood - Durable offers strong performance in hardpack and dry conditions, both on and off-road, while also setting the standard for overall durability and wear. However, the Sparwood’s limitations in wet or loose conditions left me frustrated at times. That being said, this Durable Sidewall version of the tire should most likely be reserved for bikepacking applications, rather than the all-around gravel tire I had hoped for. I would be curious to see how the Light & Supple version of the Sparwood performs in a broader set of conditions, perhaps achieving a more ideal balance between grip and decreased rolling resistance.
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