Customer Review: 45NRTH Vanhelga Fat Tire

In this customer review, Mike Walsh, one of our customers located in the Northeast, talks about getting his new 45NRTH Vanhelga tires set up in time for the first snow. Let's take a look at his ride review of these bad boys!

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The weather man said snow is in the forecast for the weekend. Time to get some better snow tires for the fat bike! I log onto Worldwide Cyclery knowing their fast shipping will get them across the country in time for the first snow. The 45NRTH Vanhelga arrive quick and out of the box, they have the 45NRTH high quality that is expected. They mount up super easy on my carbon rims. First try with a Bontrager Flash Charger and Pop Pop, they are on, air tight over night.. They are dead straight, no wobble or run out. The knobs are big, well spaced with good siping cut into them. Over night, we get about 5” of light powder snow. Time to hit the trails. The VH hook up well in the fresh powder, steer predictably and track straight. They have enough float to allow you to keep the speed up. On the trails that the early bird riders packed down, the VH are fast and corner with confidence, they taunt me to ride faster and they don’t let me down. I head over to the hills the kids are sledding down. If I can keep the cranks spinning, the VH will hook up and drive me forward. Great snow tire.

I pull the VH off the carbons and throw them on Lithic Rhyolite rims, Pop Pop, tubeless is a breeze with these tires. The next ride was in mixed conditions. The trail has some road, dirt, wet roots and rocks, melting snow in the sun, frozen snow in the shade and mud. On the road to the trailhead, the VH make a satisfying roar. Rolling resistance is better than expected, definitely not as fast as the Jumbo Jims 4s that I usually ride, but not nearly as bad as a large knobbies tires usually are. The trail is typical northeast riding, roots, rocky and tight. The Vanhelga hook up well on the wet roots and climb great, no slip at all. Rough ice and snow aren’t an issue and VH are able to punch through the old wet leaves and get traction. On the harder packed dirt, the VH turn in is slightly slower and take more input than the JJ, but they hold the line through the corner with confidence. They have better traction everywhere than the JJ until you get really leaned over and then the JJ side knobs do just as well. Although all this traction does come at a minor speed penalty, it is a worthwhile trade off. The JJ will remain my go to hard packed trails with known condition. The VH will be my all condition, ride the unknown and unexpected, confidence inspiring tire.

Click here to see all of the different fatbike tires from 45NRTH!