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Old 08-05-20, 11:49 PM
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mattscq
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Join Date: May 2019
Location: Brooklyn, NY
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Gravelking SK+ Tires; is this normal?

So I have a road bike which has pretty decent tire clearance (somewhere between 32-35mm) so I decided to get a pair of Gravelking SK+es on them to try a little (petite) off-road. I get the 32mm TLC versions but threw some Schwalbe tubes in them (not quite ready to leap to the tubeless train yet but my rims and tires are ready) and I pump them to around 60-70ish PSI and off I go.

The ride is definitely way plusher than what I had before (25mm Grand Prix 4000 IIs at around 90-100 PSI) and I am surprised at how much more I'm able to do now (whereas I used to be terrified if there was as much as a few pebbles on the tarmac). One thing I have noticed though is a lot of "drag". Acceleration is much slower and I feel like I need to put down a lot more power just to go the same speed I used to on the same surfaces. While my off-roading is great, my on-roading is much more sluggish. Same bike, same everything, except different tires. Usually I would think it's all marginal gains and I'm only saving a few watts but it feels like I'm putting down 15-25% more (maybe even more) just to go the same speed on tarmac.

I know I'm comparing a fat knobby tire to a racing tire but is this normal? Would I have been better served with the non SK version? This isn't really a huge issue but I'm mostly just curious if I set it up wrong or this is perfectly normal.
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