New Gravel Tyres Advice
 

After a couple of weeks of constant puncture repairs I have come to the conclusion that my beloved Hutchinson Overides are reaching the end of their life.

As much as I love these tyres for their low rolling resistance, I feel like they haven't lasted as long as I hoped. So I am looking for a new set of tyres.

Obviously I know that durability and rolling resistance are a compromise in one way or the other but I'd like some advice on what I should go for next.

I'd like a fast rolling tyre that is also durable, I'm not worried about the sizing of the tyre given that my GX can take up to 50c.

I commute every day on a mixed surface route and take it off road at weekends so my bias would be 80/20 road to off road usage.

I have been looking at the Specialized Borough Armadillo but I know that this is going to be a very heavy and potentially slow tyre.

Planning on sticking to tubes?

I love my Terrene Elwood tires. My riding is more biased toward off road, but they roll amazingly well on the road. I am running the "tough" version tubeless, so I don't know how they would perform with tubes.

Yes, still using tubes. I went tubeless for a while but with commuting it really didn't help. I was still getting flats and then once I was at work with the flat I was getting stranded.

I'll have a look into those tyres.

That doesn't seem right at all but anyway I think Specialized Trigger Pros would be perfect for you. Roll fast, long lasting, very durable.

If you are OK with small knobs, I've had very good luck with Donnelly X'Plor MSOs. Very tough and fairly fast rolling. If you want something totaly reliable,look no further.

I actually am currently running Rene Herse (Compass) Snoqualmie Pass 44s on my gravel bike and absolutely love them. Really, really fast and compliant. They are definitely thin walled, though. It's a risk I'm willing to accept for that incredible ride.

What about the Specialized Sawtooth or the Pathfinder Pro? If you're 80/20 in favor of pavement, those may fit the bill.

80/20. There's lots out there. What kind of width/weight do you want to go?

The Simworks Volummy 700x38 is a pretty robust filetread.

RicePudding
What did you think of the stock Giant Crosscuts ? Did you wear them out before you swapped and have you been happier with the OverRides ? Asking because I am riding on the stock tires on the same bike and have been thinking on switching to a more street orientated tire myself. Don't know why other than the Crosscuts are a bit noisy on pavement unless I pump them up to 65 psi.

Going to be very curious as to which ones you choose and how you like them. I ride tubeless with a Finish Line sealant, one self sealed puncture in 550 km's. But a slow rim leak has me pumping them up every two days.

My original Crosscut gravel tyres got torn up pretty badly by glass on my commuting route at the time and some nails on the way to one of my favourite gravel routes. I tried to patch up all the large holes that they made but I couldn't get them to seal anymore and generally wasn't too much of a fan of them. Like you said, they're fairly noisy and I found them quite draggy on the road.

I have loved my Overides since getting them but they are a very light tyre and are very bald and scuffed 6 months now after fitting them. They are possibly the most efficient gravel tyre you'll find on the market only second to perhaps the Vittoria Terreno Zero. They accelerate well and feel supple and fast on the road and rough roads. Quite squirmish on wet gravel though.

I'm currently toying with getting the Schwalbe G-one All-round in 38c but using tubes rather than going for the tubeless variant. They look like a relatively low rolling resistance tyre with a little bite still for rough roads.

They look really nice, though I can't seem to find any places in the UK that stock them so accessibility might be an issue :/

Yeah I concidered these along with the Schwalbe All Round 38c. They look fairly slick. Have you had much experience with either of these?

I am looking to carry on using my 700c Fulcrum CX rims but with tyre width the sky is the limit really. I'm looking at anything between 38-45mm widths.

I can't seem to find those tyres in the UK either. It's annoying that I read through reviews for tyres I think I would like and then look online to find limited availability on them :/ I was almost sold on getting the Terreno Zeros but I could only find them for 650b on Wiggle.

I have not but this guy likes the Pathfinder Pro:

I don't have much experience with different tires, but I am very happy with the Kenda Flintridge Pro tires that came on my bike.

They are about perfect for UK conditions. Very fast rolling and lots of grip in good and bad weather (although obviously not great in slimy mud).

I think I've boiled my choice down to one of two options:

Schwalbe G-one Allround 700c 38mm

Or

Specialized Borough Armadillo 700c 45mm

I'm in two minds about this, the G-one allround is generally considered a benchmark when it comes to gravel tyres and would easily be my choice if I was to go on performance, suppleness and rolling resistance. I question its durability and longevity though.

However, the Borough Armadillo is probably the toughest tyre on the market, at the expense of weight, while not as heavy as the Schwalbe Marathon tyres in a similar size. I'm not sure how this tyre would feel, I loved the Crossroad Armadillos I used on my Talon back in the day but I'm wondering if this tyre is going to feel sluggish and overly firm when it comes to gravel.

At the same time the Borough would be a good all year all condition tyre.

Help :foo:

If you liked the Crossroads ... why not get another set??

I've often been tempted with trying them, one of the guys we ride with used to be about the same speed as us, he put some of these on his bike and we were all struggling to stay with him especially on teh paved sections.

Do you think there'd be any advantage of the Boroughs over the Crossroads??

I'm a bit stuck between the two, the crossroads are 55g lighter which isn't a huge amount but is nice to have.

The only other thing is that the Borough tyre profile appears to be smoother and is marketed as an adventure bike tyre while the Crossroad is marketed as a hybrid/town bike tyre and is slightly more aggressive in tread.

I'm trying to weigh up which one of the two would roll easier. There's also the other advantage that the Borough will likely be a little more comfortable with the extra air volume.

I think my choice may be leaning further towards the armadillo route but it's still not an easy choice between the two.

Wow you couldn't have picked two more different "gravel" tires.

Why don't you split the difference and get 40mm Vittoria Terreno Drys?

$60 shipped for two: https://www.backcountry.com/vittoria...saAkkIEALw_wcB

I had the G-One Allround 38mm on my Diverge and found them to be superb. Really fast and smooth on tarmac and comfortable enough for the rougher country lanes and towpath/bridleways.

I’ve just picked up my new Revolt Advanced which came with 40mm Crosscuts set up tubeless. I’ve only done a few miles and I don’t like them at all. Draggy and noisy and they seem to flick small stones everywhere!

I’m going to fit my old Allrounds with tubes onto the Revolt this weekend.

Yeah I know, they're night and day :foo:

I did look into these, I really liked they look of the Vittoria Terreno Zeros too but I can't seem to find anywhere that stocks them near me.

I wasn't too sure how good these would be on road given that they are more of a CX tyre. Have you used them before?

The new Revolt looks amazing, definitely the bike I would pick up if I had a choice right now!

Not jealous at all... :thumb:

I've switched back over to the Crosscut Gravels this week while I choose my new tyre as the Overides are way too beaten up and are just constantly causing punctures and I have to say that they are really hard work.

My average speed has gone down and my commute to work is 3 minutes longer. On pavement they feel very difficult to get up to speed and since going back to them I haven't managed to get my bike above 30mph like I used to.

Glad I'm not the only one considering these tyres with tubes though.