road.cc rates WTB Course 52 a speed-durability compromise

road.cc has reviewed the WTB Course 52 gravel tyre and scored it a great compromise between speed and durability. It lacks the suppleness of the fastest other tyres. The savings of 5.8 watts at 30 km/h and up to 13.8 watts at 40 km/h are a claim by WTB and Stromm, not the reviewer's measurement.

The Course 52 is an aero-optimised gravel tyre that uses trip strips and vortex generators to aim for increased speed. WTB developed it with Stromm Cycles, and it is one of three new tyres sharing those features. WTB and Stromm say it saves 5.8 watts at 30 km/h and up to 13.8 watts at 40 km/h against the same tyres without the trip strip and vortex generator sections, based on real-world and Chung Method testing. The reviewer says the single size and low tread profile will not suit all types of British gravel riding. The claimed weight is 635g; the reviewer's pair weighed 653g and 649g. The tyre uses WTB's SG2 carcass with 120 TPI construction and a bead-to-bead puncture protection layer, plus a Dual-DNA compound with a harder centre tread and softer shoulders. The reviewer fitted it to Roval Terra CLX III wheels, 27mm internal and 38mm external, where it measured 53mm wide. The tyres fitted and inflated tubeless with a basic track pump and no levers, though the reviewer saw somewhat greater pressure loss over time than with other tyres, possibly partly due to the rim. Stromm CTO Ben Rothacker told Velo: «The secret sauce is pretty much common knowledge in aerospace; it's no secret. That's part of why WTB is patenting this technology because we want to be the only ones who can use the very obvious thing that we're doing.»

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