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review

Hutchinson Overide 700x38 tyre

7
£32.95

VERDICT:

7
10
Robust and fast tyre for rough roads and firm gravel tracks, but not much grip in softer conditions
Fast rolling on the road for a treaded tyre
Impressive puncture protection
Doesn't grip that well on wet mud or loose, deep gravel
Weight: 
425g

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The Hutchinson Overide is a tough tyre for use on gravel tracks and bridleways, with decent grip and rolling resistance on the road. The lack of tread makes it more suited to dry and hardpacked trails rather than wet and muddy stuff, though.

The Overide strikes me as more of a robust road tyre than an out and out gravel one, but it is a good solution if you like to change between the tarmac and off-road tracks.

> Find your nearest dealer here

The tread pattern is near smooth for the central section with the diamond shaped tread pattern increasing in size and depth as it heads out to the shoulders. When I say gets deeper, it's still pretty diminutive compared to something with a more knobbly focus like the Continental Terra Speed.

Hutchinson_Overide_38mm_Tyre_Fitted_1.jpg

In places like America where gravel riding is a big thing they have a lot of large, well-packed, dry and dusty forest fire roads and this is more the style of riding that I'd say the Overide is designed for, as opposed to over here in the UK where many of our gravel tracks are byways that are a mixture of hardcore and mud.

The Hutchinsons aren't going to be your choice for the wet winter months, that's for sure, but in hot, dry and sunny weather like we have been seeing here in the south-west of England they absolutely zing along. At just 425g a tyre the Overide is quite light as well.

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

On my local hardpacked gravel roads, country byways and canal paths, they have been great. Wide enough to aid grip, they have flown on the faster sections and as long as the stones aren't small and deep, grip in the corners is pretty good too.

Some of the tracks I ride are well packed in the middle but the smaller stones can get pushed to the outside by heavy military or agricultural vehicles, and if you find yourself in there then the Overide doesn't give you a lot of grip or traction because of the slickness of the tread. You'll need to be confident in your handling and balancing skills to keep yourself upright.

As I mentioned already, the Overide is a robust tyre. With these tubeless-ready options having bead to bead protection from their Hardskin reinforcement, they have withstood plenty of abuse on the trails and aren't showing any cuts or marks.

Hutchinson Overide 700c x 38 tyre

While full protection like that can make a tyre feel a little dead by reducing flexibility in the sidewall, the 127 TPI (threads per inch) construction allows for a bit of suppleness and comfort.

The bi-compound rubber is soft for added grip, which shows itself more out on the road than on the gravel. As far as an all-round tyre goes, the road feel is pretty good and on the tarmac sections between the tracks you can really push the pace along.

Even on the downhills there is enough grip to cope with the slower handling of a gravel/adventure bike compared to a road bike.

You can get a clincher version of the Overide, but as I mentioned, I have the tubeless version here and I would say it is one of the easiest tyres I've had the job of fitting.

On everything from wide gravel wheels to narrower road rims, they popped on easily with just a bit of thumb pressure and they also inflated quickly, locking the bead under the rim. The sidewalls aren't porous either, so they hold onto air pressure well even before sealant is added.

The Hutchinsons are available in 35mm and 45mm options as well as this 38mm, along with 650B x 47mm, with this 38mm and the 650B available in both black and tan wall options.

> Is 650B the right wheel size for you?

At £32.95 they are competitively priced too. Vittoria's Terreno Zero TNT G2.0 is another smooth treaded road-cum-gravel tyre that'll set you back £44.99, while the Specialized Sawtooth 2Bliss Ready also comes with minimal tread and is a decent tyre – I've ridden it on quite a few Diverge bikes – and it'll set you back £40.

Overall, if you spend the warmer and drier months switching between road and gravel, you'll be impressed with the adaptability of the Overide, its ride quality and durability. If you like to dabble in the mud, though, you'll need some deeper tread.

Verdict

Robust and fast tyre for rough roads and firm gravel tracks, but not much grip in softer conditions

road.cc test report

Make and model: Hutchinson Overide 700 x 38 tyre

Size tested: 700 x 38

Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

Hutchinson says, "The Overide is the tire for Gravel usage, whether occasional or intensive. Classic roads, degraded, paths or tracks, the Overide is the ideal mounting for versatile and improvised outings. The 700x35 version adopts an adapted semislick profile favouring performance and comfort. The 700x38 version has had more work on its central part to bring adhesion and ridability. In construction tubetype (with inner tube), you will be convinced by its incredible versatility. In its Road Tubeless Ready version, its bead to bead reinforcement coupled to a lower pressure will blow away all the amateurs of transversal routes and long course journeys."

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Hutchinson lists:

Bi-compound tread

Hardskin bead to bead protection

Folding bead

127TPI

Tubeless ready

Sizes: 700x35, 700x38, 700x45 & 650x47

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
7/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10
Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
 
7/10
Rate the product for comfort (if applicable)
 
7/10
Rate the product for value:
 
6/10

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

It's great on hardpacked gravel and the road but doesn't work so well in wet or muddy conditions.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Very easy to fit tubeless.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

It's only really suitable for use in the dry.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

The Overide comes in at a good price, quite a bit cheaper than a lot of the similar gravel tyres that we have tested.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your overall score

It's a very good tyre for swapping between road and gravel in the dry, as it works on a range of surfaces, but not much grip in the wet or mud means its window of operation is limited.

Overall rating: 7/10

About the tester

Age: 41  Height: 180cm  Weight: 76kg

I usually ride: This month's test bike  My best bike is: B'Twin Ultra CF draped in the latest bling test components

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed,

Since writing his first bike review for road.cc back in early 2009 senior product reviewer Stu has tested more than a thousand pieces of kit, and hundreds of bikes.

With an HND in mechanical engineering and previous roles as a CNC programmer/machinist, draughtsman and development engineer (working in new product design) Stu understands what it takes to bring a product to market. A mix of that knowledge combined with his love of road and gravel cycling puts him in the ideal position to put the latest kit through its paces.

He first made the switch to road cycling in 1999, primarily for fitness, but it didn’t take long for his competitive side to take over which led to around ten years as a time triallist and some pretty decent results. These days though riding is more about escapism, keeping the weight off and just enjoying the fact that he gets to ride the latest technology as part of his day job.

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3 comments

Avatar
Gordon@G | 4 years ago
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I've used the non TL clincher variety and found them mostly to be great. Unfortunately the gravel road I live on has a lot of sharp shale, and the tyres are no match for it and quickly sustaining lots of cuts and punctures. I had to repair the tyres with patches on the inside so I could continue to use them.

Over many years in several attempts to go tubeless on my MTBs with various tyres, I've always had to admit defeat and revert to using tubes, as the shale cuts are too big for tubeless tyres and sealant to keep the air in.

Avatar
koegs | 4 years ago
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Hey, i really just registered to give a comment on this test... wink

I was wondering if there is a difference between the retail (tubeless?) version and the version used on the Decathlon Triban GRVL120. The GRVL120 is sold with the same name on the tire but me and the other fellows riding the bike have seen a lot of punctures right from the start. It almost looks like any buyer of the bike had problems with punctures. It is a "widely" discussed problem. I even switched to Schwalbe Marathon GT and inner tubes with sealant... just because for me it is commuting and touring bike more than a "race" bike.

Avatar
MattieKempy replied to koegs | 4 years ago
0 likes

Can't be sure having never seen the Decathlon OE version, but Hutchinson do a non-tubeless clincher version which may well be the one you have and is likely to be less puncture-proof. I've had several sets of Overides and they roll well, are comfortable and dependable. I use them on the hard-pack, stony Greek gravel tracks and they're great. Until it gets wet. Then they're distinctly average. I've had them break away cornering on wet roads too, which is disconcerting. I like them despite these little quirks.

 

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