Dutch tire maker Vredestein finally gets in on this ‘new’ gravel biking craze with the Aventura, a fast-rolling 700c tire for less technical terrain. Also their Dutch dandelion tire finally comes out of the prototype stage in limited edition, numbered pairs of Fortezza Flower Power tires. And lastly, we can’t just overlook the titanium J.Guillem Atalaya gravel bike carrying those new Aventura tires…
Vredestein Aventura fast-rolling gravel bike tire
You can’t say that Vredestein was early to the gravel trend, being that this is their first gravel tire. But for a late entry into the market, the new Aventura looks like a nice option for riders looking for a fast-rolling, high-volume 700c tire.
The tubeless-ready Aventura shares its supple 120tpi construction with Vredestein’s top-spec SuperLite casing cross-country tires, and a tread pattern inspired by those XC-race Black Panthers & Spotted Cats. The tread pattern is made of increasingly larger trefoil knobs that get taller and more widely spaced as you move out from the center, for a good balance of cornering & braking grip with a smooth transition as you lean into loose turns.
That tread design uses a triple compound rubber – softer shoulders, harder but still grippy center tread, and a third supportive rubber under the center that keeps it fast-rolling & puncture-resistant.
The Aventura is available in two widths a 52€ 700x38c (410g) and 58€ 700x44c (450g). Both will come in both all-black and natural tan wall versions. All versions should be available later this year, but where they will sit in the Vredestein line-up isn’t entirely clear since they are not road or MTB.
Fortezza Flower Power sustainable dandelion rubber road tires
We covered the green version of these Fortezza Flower Power tires back in 2017 when the dandelion rubber technology was first introduced, as a more sustainable, more local alternative to natural rubber harvested from trees on the other side of the globe.
Now those tires are finally hitting the market in more commercial quantities (we’ve seen the same idea from Conti now too). Vredestein is doing it in a limited edition run of top-spec road race tires, that they say have 2% more grip, and incrementally improved rolling resistance compared to their regular Fortezza race tires.
250 tires are being offered in this limited edition run. Each is individually numbered, and only available as a pair in November 2019. Limited edition pairs will sell for 150€ in a numbered box set, with the 120tpi tires only available in 700x25c, at 240g per tire.
J.Guillem Atalaya titanium gravel bike
So what do we know about that nice ti gravel bike sporting the new Vredestein Aventura gravel tires?
The Atalaya is an affordable Asian-made titanium gravel bike from J.Guillem, like Vredestein also based in The Netherlands. Officially able to run only up to 650×2.1″ or 700x40mm tires, here is has the new 44mm Aventures.
The welded 3Al/2.5V titanium gravel frame features a cast BB+chainstay yoke, cast 12mm thru-axle flat mount disc dropouts, and a cast tapered headtube with internal cable routing & Di2 compatibility.
The ti Atalaya comes in four stock sizes (52-58cm) and is available as a bare frame-only for 2000€, a frameset with fork & headset for 2433€, or complete builds like this with Ultegra from 4000€. It is available in the US via the folks at Lindarets.
