Teravail Ehline Tire [Rider Review]

Our "Rider Review" article series features the honest reviews from verified purchasers of Worldwide Cyclery. They contain the photos, thoughts, feedback & overall review you are looking for.

There is no doubt that getting the right tire for the job can be a little daunting for some. If you don't have a go to mountain bike tire then the sheer amount of choices can give you buyers paralysis. One of our great customers gives us a rundown on the Teravail Ehline tire.Check it out!

Overview

I'm a noob when it comes to tire performance as I've always just ridden what was stock on my bike. I like efficient fast-rolling tires since I do a lot of casual riding around my neighborhood with a lot of paved roads, but I do go out and hit the trails with my buddies maybe 2 times a month when time permits. I'm by no means an avid rider, but my recent purchase of the Teravail Ehline tires has left a pretty good impression on me for the few rides I did manage to squeeze in.

These were honestly purchased just because it's what was available at the time and had skin walls. I've never heard of Teravail, but with stock issues from the COVID crisis, I wasn't left with many options. I was looking for a fast-rolling tire that wouldn't drain all my energy on paved roads but still could grip and let me rip my local trails. Despite my limited experience with tires in general, the Teravail Ehline 27.5 x 2.5 skin walls are absolutely awesome. I don't do much aggressive riding so the goal of the tires was to provide something like an XC fast-rolling tire, but at the same time provide a good grip on medium/hard pack and sandy trails.

I run these tires on an i30 (inner rim diameter 30mm) NS enigma rock & roll wheelset and they work great. For the newcomers to the MTB world, that inner diameter of the rim does make a difference in how your tire feels relative to the tire width since it changes the way the tire contacts the surface. Make sure you note the manufacturer's specs when it comes to tire size relative to your rim width. The Maxxis website has a great graphic that shows why it matters if you want to learn a bit more (https://www.maxxis.com/wide-trail-wt-design). I find this little detail is often not mentioned so there's my PSA for the newcomers since I had no clue before I started this journey. The recommended for these 27.5 x 2.5 tires on Teravail's website is an i29 so my i30 rim was close enough.

These pretty much meet in the middle without compromising much at all.

If you're looking for something in between an aggressive tire and an XC tire, then this might be the tire for you. The compound is relatively soft similar to my Nobby Nic and Rocket Ron, but the nubs are smaller in the middle and a lot larger on the corners. They have an interesting spacing pattern. The center mimics more of an XC style pattern with small low profile nubs spaced pretty closely together. Then it switches to a clustered spacing with a bit more gap to help shed mud from my understanding. I can't say if it works since I live in northern California and have only had them for this dry hot summer. The outer nubs change up to large deep nubs on the outer corner for some aggressive grip. The ride quality is pretty awesome as they feel fast but grip great on corners. The tire has a great grip on the trails around where I live which has a medium/hardpack with sand.

Slapping these Teravail tires on my i30 rim also almost gives the tire a great profile with the large nubs noticeably sticking out above the smaller nubs along the center but still retaining that curved profile. I set these at 30psi since I'm really doing a lot of flowy stuff and they feel great. The result is a great grip in the corners but super-fast rolling on the flat. This also works for paved riding as well. It feels great on the road and it rolls just as fast as my Kenda Small block 8 XC tires on my 26er bike which was a bit of a surprise. I have the same set of tires on my wife's bike which is what I've pictured here since her bike is super clean at the moment of doing this review. She went from a trek off the shelf LBS bike that was a hybrid 700c wheel size to this and it instantly boosted her riding ability. She said she felt more confident and more capable with these tires. I know it's not much of a comparison, but she definitely does ride more confidently.

Final Thoughts

I can't speak to how well they hold up on super hard and aggressive rides since that's not my thing. I got the light and supple version and they hold up well for my riding. They have a couple of other versions that are supposed to be tougher and more puncture resistant, but this was more than sufficient for the riding we are doing. I imagine that the Ehline tires can appeal to a lot of people who don't quite want to put tires like the Maxxis Minions on or commit to a fast-rolling xc style tire.  It allows me to do some street rides with the wife and kid, but not have to worry about grip when I ride the local trails. It's a great all-around tire. Price-wise, it falls comparable to all your other major brands out there so it's not like you're getting a bargain, but they aren't some cheap knockoffs. They definitely get the job done. So if you're looking for a different tire or just want to try something new, then give these a try. I'd definitely buy them again.