Teravail Sparwood tyre

The Teravail Sparwood tyre rolls fast on byways, gravel tracks and dry singletrack and can maintain a decent pace on the tarmac. Its width helps it float over loose surfaces for better control too. While not the cheapest or lightest, it is a very versatile tyre for plenty of applications.

The Sparwood we've got here is the Light and Supple model, which means that it does away with the bead to bead puncture protection found in the other version. Going light and supple is an option if your rides are unlikely to see the sidewalls taking a hammering.

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Both options of the Sparwood come in 29in (700C) x 2.2in and, like the test tyres, 27.5in (650B) x 2.1in.

The gravel tracks around my way are running dry, dusty and fast, and the Sparwoods have proved their worth. The minimal diamond tread running around the centre of the tyre offers enough traction when the stones are packed hard together so you can really get some speed up when the terrain allows.

As I said, the overall width of the tyre helps a lot too. With a wide platform of rubber on the ground, the Sparwood just floats over the surface, ironing out the bumps and also stopping it sinking on small, loose gravel which can upset the handling.

Teravail recommends the Sparwood's use with an internal rim width of 23mm so you get a tyre profile that doesn't create a lightbulb shape, narrow at the rim while bulging out near the tread.

I fitted them to a pair of Prime Kanza wheels with a 24.5mm internal rim width (32mm external) and the tyre profile looked nicely rounded.

Tubeless installation was easy enough, after a quick blast from a charge pump got the tyre beads to snap onto the rim. Because of the width of the tyres and rims it wasn't easy to get things seated with just a standard track pump; for this method I had to insert an inner tube, get both beads seated and then remove one side to remove the tube. From then on, with only one side to seat, things locked into place just fine.

Once sealant had been added, the Sparwoods held onto pressure just fine with just a small top-up before each ride.

So, back to the grip and stuff.

Like I said, they are fast in a straight line, but they also do well in the bends. Moving out towards the shoulder, the knobbly bits get bigger and are spaced further apart. When leaning the bike over, this tread adds some extra bite if there's lots of small aggregate in the compacted gravel or in the dirt if you are tackling some dry singletrack.

I found the overall balance of tyre width and tread makes the Teravail feel like a very stable tyre.

They really are only suitable for firm surfaces, though. Once the rain arrives and things get wet and muddy, they don't really have the grip to cope. On trails through woods or fields the tread can quickly get overwhelmed when it can't shed the mud, so they become almost slick, which makes climbing difficult.

If the gravel tracks you ride are compact and firm, though, you should be okay for the majority of the UK's weather conditions, and might even be able to use them year round.

Bridging sections of gravel together by riding on the road, you'll find that the Sparwoods roll well here too. At 610g it's no lightweight race tyre, but they don't feel too stodgy either.

Even at Teravail's recommended maximum pressure of 55psi they still provide a cushioned ride on the tarmac.

> How to choose the right tyre pressure

For the type of riding I do, the Sparwood has proved itself to be durable. There are a few sections of gravel where the aggregate becomes larger and jagged, but I haven't had any issues with sidewall damage.

It's the same everywhere else really. No issues with punctures apart from one caused by a large thorn, and the tubeless sealant managed to sort that out.

> Buyer’s Guide: 25 of the best gravel tyres

When it comes to price, the Sparwood comes in at a fiver less than the £60 Rene Herse Juniper Ridge tyres; they are over 100g lighter, but the Sparwood is about 5mm wider.

WTB's Byway is noticeably cheaper at £43, and it is a lighter too by a fair chunk. The tread pattern of the Sparwood will get you through tougher conditions than the near-smooth central tread section on the Byway, though.

Conclusion

Overall, the Sparwood is a good all-round tyre that offers decent levels of grip, rolling resistance and puncture protection. It's not cheap but neither is it over the top expensive.

Verdict

Well-made gravel/road crossover tyre that works best in dry and firm conditions