Mountain bike brand Halo expands into gravel tires
UK brand Halo enjoys a loyal following in the mountain bike world for its broad array of budget-friendly performance wheels and components, and it’s now moving further into the drop-bar world with a trio of new gravel tires, all of which are built with a 60 TPI tubeless-ready nylon casing and dual-compound rubber with a harder center and softer shoulder tread.
The RXR is the most road-oriented of the three, with a fast-rolling center tread comprised of a series of low-profile and ramped H-shaped blocks that effectively create a nearly completely smooth stripe for efficient travel across harder surfaces. Halo describes the rest of the tread as having “angled mud and water shedding channels”, although in reality, the inverted micro-pattern looks better suited to enhancing grip on less-than-perfect tarmac relative to a true slick.
The GXR middle child features the same center tread and a slightly more open (but otherwise very similar) transition pattern, but much more aggressive shoulder knobs for secure cornering on looser ground. Also helping in that department is the tread’s more squared-off profile, which provides more of a “shelf” to help prevent washing out when navigating sketchy turns.
Halo is offering both the RXR and GXR exclusively in a 650×47 mm size, in both black and tan sidewalls. Claimed weight is 505 grams for the RXR, and 575 grams for the GXR.
Rounding out the trio is the more off-road-appropriate GXC. This one uses more of a micro-dot tread pattern across the entire casing, with knobs that get bigger and taller toward the sidewall to help balance rolling resistance with the grip requirements.
The RXR has an almost inverted tread that promises low rolling resistance together with good grip on less-than-perfect tarmac.
The Halo GXR blends a smooth center tread and a progressively more open shoulder tread for a fast roll when upright, but more security when cornering on loose surfaces.
The Halo GXC is clearly the slowest-rolling of the company’s three new gravel bike tires, but it’s also clearly the rowdiest and potentially most fun, too.
Interestingly, the GXC is the only tire that Halo is offering in both 650b and 700c diameters. Claimed weight for the 650×47 mm size is 545 g, while the 700×38 mm version comes in at 395 g.
“There is only a slight bias towards 650b, as the RXR is a road plus tyre so 650b only really makes sense for this model, and the aggressive GXC is offered in both,” explained Halo brand manager Jordan Lunn. “The halfway GXR is the only one that we could have chosen either, but decided on 650b to start with. We find there are slightly less options in the market for 650b, which will give this tyre a more select market. We do plan on releasing more sizes in due course, but as we are a small brand we need to get the range off the ground to start with.”
All of Halo’s new tires are offered in blackwall or tanwall colors. Sizes are quite limited, though, at least for now.
All of the tires are available immediately with a retail price of US$70 / £50 (pricing for other regions is to be confirmed).
More information can be found at www.halowheels.com.
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