If you could have one set of tires...
what would they be and why? Would you go with 35, 40, 45mm? Slick or knobby? Why?
Myself I run TUFO Thundero in 44mm and this covers me for all my riding, be it dry, wet, pavement and all but the very steep and slick sections in the gravel / sand. |
Rene Herse Snoqualmie Pass with the endurance + casing (44mm). Decently quick on the road and can handle just about anything off-road except mud.
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Snoqualmie Pass
So you don't find that the endurance + casing rides like a tractor tire? Although I've used some of their other tires/widths in slick and knobby, I've only run the knobbies tubeless in the standard sidewall. I've run far skinnier standard casing and much wider (WTB) slicks with tubes....thought I've run them pretty low pressure, but still would encounter off camber, loose places where they were feeling like they were going to wash out...they caught at the last second though. Just curious if the endurance casing slicks run low enough pressure compensate for that washout feeling?
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Originally Posted by BJack312
(Post 22993061)
Rene Herse Snoqualmie Pass with the endurance + casing (44mm). Decently quick on the road and can handle just about anything off-road except mud.
EDIT: I should say that even the Ventures aren't knobby enough for some of the rides I've done. I bought a set of knobbier Schwalbes (Thunder Burt 2.1" and Rocket Ron2.25") that I may mount the next time I know I"m going to be doing a lot of riding in challenging conditions (more like MTB riding). |
In the context of gravel riding (not mountain biking), I am currently enjoying the Soma Supple Vitesse (33mm label, 31mm actual) and the Continental Terra Trail/Speed (40mm label, 39mm actual).
The Supple Vitesse is an open tubular slick with minimal chevron tread and is great on the road and on river trails. I've taken it mountain biking as well and while it handled impressively on climbs, there is zero confidence when descending. If I'm doing purely road and gravel then I don't see the need for more than this. The Conti Terras (I just happen to have a mismatched set - running Trail up front and Speed in the rear) are also great all-rounders but despite the good road feel on tarmac (Black Chili for the win) the actual speed/rolling efficiency is lacking (Strava doesn't lie). Despite the more pronounced knobby tread, I like these much more than the Conti Cyclocross Speed/Speed Ride (with the file tread) on the road. They handle more challenging terrain reasonably well, better in my opinion that GK SKs and Clement MSOs. They hold up okay on true MTB trails but I'm underbiked for sure. Currently experimenting with Specialized Pathfinder Pros (40mm label, 38mm actual) on one of my bikes and they seem to be working fine as well. Uninspiring so far, but also unfailing. So I guess overall, if we're talking pure flat and dry gravel and rough tarmac, I don't see a need to go above a 40mm, or even 35mm fat slick tire. In fact, get the lightest and most supple thing you can find. But as soon as you're doing proper trail descents, even 40mm+ knobbies may feel inadequate. And that's the conundrum that many of us here face. I'm at a point now where my "gravel" stable is so differentiated: dropbar gravel bike with the Soma Supple Vitesse for all-road/easy gravel, flatbar gravel bike with Conti Terras for gravel/trails, and a hardtail MTB on 2.1"s for purely trail riding. |
Schwalbe R-One RS in 40mm. Fairly slick down the centre with more tread on the edges.
Enough width and grip for the type of gravel roads I tend to venture on, and fast enough on the sealed roads also. |
Originally Posted by tempocyclist
(Post 22993579)
Schwalbe R-One RS in 40mm. Fairly slick down the centre with more tread on the edges.
Enough width and grip for the type of gravel roads I tend to venture on, and fast enough on the sealed roads also. |
Originally Posted by ToppDogg
(Post 22993588)
I agree the R-One is a awesome tire, my trek came with Bontrager GR1's in 40mm and I purchased my second set this year.
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I really only use 1 tire at a time(well 2 technically) so I guess Ill go with what I have since thats what clearly works and I like enough to not swap out.
Panaracer Graveling SS in 43mm. It rolls fast enough on pavement for me to not be annoyed in the first 6 and last 6 miles of pavement when I ride from my house, and it is wide enough to give me confidence on all unpaved road surfaces I encounter. My next tire will be a Conti TerraSpeed in 45mm since Ive read it measures narrower, so hopefully the same width as my current tires. The Contis are supposed to roll a bit quicker too. |
More about type of tire than brand. I've had about 10 'gravel' bikes (from touring, cx, gravel, drop-bar mtb...i.e., bikes I ride on non-paved surfaces, in addition to paved). I use to focus on bikes that can go fast on road, and be okay on gravel. After having a drop-bar mtb with 2.2 I would say that's now my favourite. I don't race or participate in events. This bike and its tires can go everywhere I want to go, so I have no restrictions. Today it was wet so I went out for the first road-only ride with this bike (the previous road bike with 25mm tires stayed indoors lol). On my normal route I was 1-2km/hr slower, and more comfortable when I returned home (pot holes, broken pavement, spilled sand/gravel on the road...didn't think twice as I rolled over it). So this is the only tire I need (it happens to be the Sparwood, but anything with a good centre tread for road and some treads down the sides for covering on gravel, is what I'm happy with).
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52-584 mezcal rear and 52-584 barzo front. They get me through offroad muddy stuff, are not that slow on tarmac and are fast and comfy on gravels
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Originally Posted by Fentuz
(Post 22994823)
52-584 mezcal rear and 52-584 barzo front. They get me through offroad muddy stuff, are not that slow on tarmac and are fast and comfy on gravels
EDIT: I actually run a 2.35" Barzo (60mm) - aside from higher volume it the same as the 52mm. Like these tires a lot. |
Originally Posted by cellery
(Post 22995270)
and they aren't exactly supple,
the 29x2.1 tan XC tyres are much suppler. |
If I could only have one set of tires, I would have to stop riding on gravel.
Wait, the question needs to be clarified. Does the OP mean having only one set of tires for one's gravel bike, or one set of tires (regardless of how many bikes one owns) period? |
Terrene Elwood tough casing.
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I have been pretty happy with GK SK 43mm (originally sold as 38mm, but since the discrepancy was so bad they were forced to re-size). I finally replaced the rear one after lots of miles. I didn't really have to, but it had so many punctures I started to worry about it. Tubeless makes this a non-event, but it was pretty perforated with pinholes.
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Seems like if I am in something that requires more than 32/38mm gravel slick on my drop bar gravel bike it does not matter what tire I put it on I would much rather be on my xc blur mountain bike.
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Originally Posted by sean.hwy
(Post 22998776)
Seems like if I am in something that requires more than 32/38mm gravel slick on my drop bar gravel bike it does not matter what tire I put it on I would much rather be on my xc blur mountain bike.
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I've been riding 38mm Specialized Pathfinders for 2 years now. Road, gravel, singletrack... they just work. They are fairly fast on the road and work in most conditions.
Sand/mud - not good. They sink in and the bike gets really squirrelly. My next set will be in the 44mm range. |
Originally Posted by tFUnK
(Post 23008113)
That's sort of how I'm feeling about "gravel" these days as well. Going above 38-40mm I can feel the weight of the tire more on tarmac, and it's still not enough on the rough stuff vs. the 2.1"s on my MTB.
That said, I don't completely disagree with your point. |
Originally Posted by Jughed
(Post 23008132)
I've been riding 38mm Specialized Pathfinders for 2 years now. Road, gravel, singletrack... they just work. They are fairly fast on the road and work in most conditions.
Sand/mud - not good. They sink in and the bike gets really squirrelly. My next set will be in the 44mm range. |
It is an argument between picking a 700x40 or 29x2.2
In a 40, I'd pick a MSO for its robustness , decent enough on road. Great on gravel. And I've single tracked it before so I know its okay in single track. The 29er tire, I can't say I have enough experience yet Fleece Ridge? Sparwood? No idea If I could only have one set, Probably the 2.2. Which means 1 bike, so 29er tires. But this is my current situation. |
I rather like my Schwalbe Big Apples. 700cx50mm
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...19a9fe9d4a.jpg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e3ea5c457f.jpg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3d67a1a1d3.jpg |
Teravail Rutlands. For where and how I ride, they're the best I've tried. Mine are 650Bx47, "durable" casing. They handle me riding my gravel rig like a mountain bike here in dry rocky SoCal and have even done great in mud the few times we actually get it here. And they roll way better on pavement than their looks would suggest, better in fact than the much less-knobby Ventures I was using previously.
If I ever move somewhere where the dirt is less chunky then I'd love to try something slicker, but for now I like to know that grip is there. |
Gravel tires I use currently (or recently):
Donnelly X'Plor MSO 40mm Donnelly USH Strada 32mm Panaracer Gravelking +32mm Specialized Pathfinder Pro 38mm (42mm measured) Vittoria Terreno Dry 38mm Kenda Alluvium Pro 35mm Kenda Alluvium Pro 40mm (43 mm measured) Kenda Flintridge Pro 40mm (43 mm measured) At the end of the day, I can say that I like them all. I stopped using the GK+ slicks only because I want some kind of tread for flat protection, plus I tend to wander off the beaten path alot. The Strada 32mm is my winter "road" tire for those times when all the gravel roads are snowed in. The Alluvium Pros are fast rolling tires that last forever, and they are decent in the rougher stuff. But, if I had to pick just one tire, it would be the Donnelly MSO 40mm. And, it was the first "gravel' tire I bought many years ago (before tubeless). The only problem with the Donnelly is that I have had a few over the years with a bad casing/wobbly treads. My shop has been good with replacing them, but they obviously have some kind of quality control issue (or too many long lunches at the pub). |
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