Originally Posted by
Eric F
I was really hoping that 2.1 Thunder Burts would fit in my frame. They roll surprisingly well (BRR data backs it up). Thicc tire pimp, Dylan Johnson, ran 2.2 Race Kings at the recent Midsouth race. Adam Roberge ran Pirelli H 50s at BWR Utah. Other pro gravel racers I follow are moving incrementally wider. This is the stuff that has me interested to try Thundero 48s on my bike. BRR data indicates only a small penalty in Crr over the Thundero 40s, and the extra cushion is likely to be faster over rough terrain.
I've been running the 2.2 Race Kings on my XC bike this entire season, it was cool to see Dylan Johnson's success at Midsouth on them. They definitely roll faster than they look like they should. My gravel bike
officially has room for 50mm tires, 2"=50.8mm, so may come down to how they measure out on a gravel-width rim. I could see the benefit of running the max width possible. My 42mm Pathfinder pros felt fast on the pave and gravel road sections of a recent gravel race, but I seriously felt slow once we got to cobbled-out dirt/rock farm roads. I was just getting bounced around and couldn't pedal consistently enough to hold my "tempo" power.
Not really gravel related, but I'd like to see Conti offer them in a 2.4 width. My XC bike(Santa Cruz Blur 4) came with 2.4 tires and I prefer the trend of wider tires even for XC. I've been on kind of a "nerd" approach to XC in this past year or so...running a bike with more travel than in seasons past(now 120mm FS,) "fast" tires, and I'm even chain waxing now. I'm still a gravel newbie, so I'm trying to keep an open mind, and not just do whatever the "normal" is.