Tire recommendations
 

So...doing the Barry Roubaix this year...never done a gravel ride/race, other than crushed limestone paths. Would have used my 40mm Vittoria Voyager Hypers...but completely destroyed one of them with a 6" hunk of steel that ran through it. Need some gravel tire recommendations.

Currently thinking - Panaracer Gravelking SK, Panaracer Comet Hardpack, Schwalbe G One. Also considering a set of higher volume CX tires as I'll be racing a full series in the fall, and would like to replace my stock wire bead CX tires. Also wondering if my GP4000sii 28mm would hold up. They're pretty big 28s.

It depends on the weather. That time of year around here, sometimes it is a mud fest as the snow melt just makes a mess out of everything. The way these roads are maintained, its not usually the slimy mud, so you don't really need a mud tire. Something like the SK or the G-One would be fine - although it depends on how much ice melt is around making a mess.

I have those 28's on my bike for road rides. They are not very comfortable on dirt, and have no sidewall protection. I'm actually wearing my sidewall out before I'm wearing out the tread on 28mm OD tires (22mm ID). I guess I corner on them too hard for a rim that wide. If you get on a road with fresh gravel (always a possibility in the spring), it would destroy those sidewalls.

I will say that if the conditions are dry and smooth (summer time) my preferred tire is a 32mm Conti 4 season (or maybe in the future the GP5K). But that is for summer/fall riding. In winter and spring the roads get pretty rough (and soft), so I use 40mm ramblers (which have similar weight, but a little more cush and traction).

From Barry Roubaix's website:

Q: What tires should I use?
A: Depends on road conditions, but 700×34 -38 cyclocross tires with a low tread like Panaracer GravelKings. 29 x 1.9 work good on mountain bikes

Situation changed slightly. My club is putting in an order for Vittoria tires. Think I'll get a set of 40mm Vittoria Terrano Dry at a discount. Shoykd be perfect for gravel, and I'll give them a whirl for dry CX races.

I should probably do a set of tubeless wheels at some point too haha.