CX/Gravel Tire Test: Hutchinson Touareg Hardskin TLR 40

Hutchinson offers 3 gravel bike tires, with the Toureg being considered the middle option when you order the tires from fast to slow. The Touareg's tire profile also reminds us of what we typically see on gravel bike tires designed for mixed conditions. However, we feel the tire will quickly clog up when it gets muddy, so it might not be the best option for year-round usage.

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The Touareg's foundation is a tubeless-ready 127 TPI casing borrowed from Hutchinson's road bike tires, and that indicates it should perform well in the performance tests. To make it more suitable for rougher gravel bike conditions, Hutchinson added an extra layer of "Hardskin textile grid flat protection" from bead to bead that protects both the sidewalls and tread from sharp material found in gravel terrain conditions.

While the casing is similar to their road bike tire casings, the compound differs from Hutchinson's high-end road bike tires as the Touareg comes with a "Bi-compound" instead of the high-performance 11Storm compound they use on their high-end road bike tires. The compound is the most critical ingredient of any tire and will make or break the total performance of a tire in our tests.

The Hutchinson Touareg is available in many different versions, with varying levels of reinforcement, wire bead or folding bead, tubeless-ready or tube-type, etc. According to Hutchinson's website, we've tested the 40-622 tubeless-ready Hardskin version with black sidewalls, and it should be the highest performance edition of the Touareg.

Manufacturer Specifications

Manufacturer Specs
Brand	Hutchinson
Model	Touareg Hardskin TLR
Year	2024
Supplied By	Bought in store
New or Used	New
Mileage	0 km
Price Range	High
Buy At	Ad Amazon.com
Manufacturer part number	PV529221
TPI	3x127
Compound	Bi-compound
Bead	Folding
ETRTO	40-622
Specified Weight	490 grams
Max Air Pressure (psi)	51
Made In	Members Only
Available Sizes	40-622 (700x40c) 45-622 (700x45c) 50-622 (700x50c)

Hutchinson Touareg Hardskin TLR 40 Test Results

Size, Weight, and Thickness Measurements

Size, Weight, and Thickness Measurements
Specified Weight	490 grams
Measured Weight	502 grams
Measured Width Casing	40 mm (un-round)
Measured Width Tread	40 mm
Measured Height	38 mm (un-round)
Measured Knob Height Center	1.4 mm
Measured Knob Height Edge	1.8 mm
Measured Total Thickness Center (excluding knobs)	2.50 mm
Measured Total Thickness Sidewall	Members Only
All size measurements are taken at low air pressure on a 17.8 mm inner width rim.

Rolling Resistance Test Results

Rolling Resistance Test Results
Inner Tube	None (30 ml sealant)
Measured Width	40 mm
Rolling Resistance Real tire width in mm: 30-32 = 66 psi/4.6 bar 33-35 = 60 psi/4.1 bar 36-38 = 54 psi/3.7 bar 39-42 = 50 psi/3.4 bar 43-46 = 46 psi/3.2 bar 47-50 = 42 psi/2.9 barHigh Air Pressure (50 psi / 3.4 bar)	Members Only
Rolling Resistance Real tire width in mm: 30-32 = 55 psi/3.8 bar 33-35 = 50 psi/3.4 bar 36-38 = 45 psi/3.1 bar 39-42 = 42 psi/2.9 bar 43-46 = 38 psi/2.6 bar 47-50 = 35 psi/2.4 barMedium Air Pressure (42 psi / 2.9 bar)	Members Only
Rolling Resistance Real tire width in mm: 30-32 = 44 psi/3.0 bar 33-35 = 40 psi/2.8 bar 36-38 = 36 psi/2.6 bar 39-42 = 33 psi/2.3 bar 43-46 = 31 psi/2.1 bar 47-50 = 28 psi/1.9 barLow Air Pressure (33 psi / 2.3 bar)	29.0 Watts CRR: 0.00869
Rolling Resistance Real tire width in mm: 30-32 = 33 psi/2.3 bar 33-35 = 30 psi/2.1 bar 36-38 = 27 psi/1.9 bar 39-42 = 25 psi/1.7 bar 43-46 = 23 psi/1.6 bar 47-50 = 21 psi/1.4 barExtra Low Air Pressure (25 psi / 1.7 bar)	34.0 Watts CRR: 0.01019
The CX/Gravel section is a multi tire size section, air pressures have been adjusted to the measured casing width. All numbers are for a single tire at a speed of 29 km/h / 18 mph and a load of 42.5 kg / 94 lbs. Use the formula: RR (Watts) = CRR * speed (m/s) * load (N) to calculate rolling resistance at a given speed and load.

Puncture Resistance Test Results

Puncture Resistance Test Results (higher is better)
Total Puncture Score Tread	34 Points
Total Puncture Score Sidewall	Members Only
Tread Puncture Force Sharp Needle	Members Only
Tread Puncture Force Blunt Needle	Members Only
Tread Total Tire Thickness	2.50 mm
Sidewall Puncture Force Sharp Needle	Members Only
Sidewall Puncture Force Blunt Needle	Members Only
Sidewall Total Tire Thickness	Members Only

Hard Surface Static Grip Test Results

Static Grip Test Results
Wet Grip Average	66 Points
Wet Grip Center	Members Only
Wet Grip Edge	Members Only
Measured Knob Height Center	1.4 mm
Measured Knob Height Edge	1.8 mm
Grip in points = coefficient of friction * 100 CX/Gravel grip test rim width = 23.0 mm
Wet Grip Test and Off-Road Tires (info)

Conclusion

While the Hutchinson Touareg Hardskin TLR performs average in most of our tests, its rolling resistance is much higher than expected from a high-end, performance-oriented gravel bike tire. We suspect most of the high rolling resistance comes from the compound that isn't optimized for low rolling resistance performance.

We've tested a lot of other tires that provide better performance in all of our tests than the Hutchinson Touareg, which is why we can't recommend it. We recommend you visit the CX/Gravel overview page, use the filters, and find a better performing alternative.

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RATING: 2.5 / 5
TEST VERDICT: Not Recommended

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