Picking the right tire is mission critical stuff. Bigger knobs for better dirt traction at the cost of speed on the road, or Diamond treads for road at the cost of grip on dirt.
With gravel now gaining a solid foothold in the market, there are correspondingly many gravel tires to choose from for various uses. Gone are the days where one will need to resort to cyclocross tires.
The Hutchinson Overides may not have the big knobs to tame the serious gnar, yet with its fast rolling character and surprisingly ample grip, it could very well be the tire for city dwellers who like to venture on an occasional jaunt in the dirt.
Weighing at 427 and 440 grams, our pair of 38mm Overides were easily hand-mounted onto our reliable Stan Avion’s 28mm-wide external and 21.6mm internal carbon rims with a fairly round profile measuring out to 38.2 mm on our caliper. The Overide doesn’t have a lot of rubber to weigh itself down. It’s got short, diamond tread in the center and parallelogram-shaped cornering knobs that get progressively larger from the center to the tire’s edge. This tire screams speed.
And speedy it was. On the road, the Overide rolls quickly and quietly much like a road tire. I questioned the typically short life expectancy of tires with diamond-center patterns, but these lasted longer than I had expected. It didn’t behave any differently when it began to show signs of wear either. Transitioning from the center to the side knobs during cornering was smooth. Its subtle brown, kevlar-reinforced 66tpi casing also looked pretty darn sweet on our mostly black ’19 Ibis Hakka MX. I started my initial rides at 30psi, but would put more air if my ride consisted of more pavement than dirt.
But this Overide is capable of doing a lot more than spending its life on “boring” pavement. The dual-compound Overide loves to party in dry hard packed and slightly loose terrains. Cornering in dirt requires some attention with its tightly-spaced knobs but it’s a controlled, confident affair. I lowered both tires to around 25 psi at some point for more bite and it responded well to the minuscule change in air pressure. I got the additional grip I wanted, minus the unwanted burping and flats.
The Overide is by no means an all-terrain tire, nor does it pretend to be. To bring it to a full-on dirt ride would be akin to bringing a knife to a gun fight. Doable yes, but there are better options. Hutchinson marketed the Overide for “classic roads, degraded, paths or tracks,” and I couldn’t agree more. I often think of the Overide as a beefier, higher volume version of the Vittoria Pavè with teeth on the corners. It’s a tire I’ve grown to leave on my bike for all but the roughest outings, an everyday tire that I would recommend if it fits your uses.
