DarKris

Not ice. Need to clarify that.

The other day I did a ride with my Revolt using 2.0 Fast Traks and luckily it was mostly fresh snow with a mix of slush, but for the 15 miles the tires held up very well. The only thing I realized is that I think the chainstay clearance left a lot to be desired since the tires stretched out to 54mm and I personally would want more room in the back. I also ran a Vittoria Barzo/Mezcal combo which I personally enjoy the most, but the same issue of clearance came up.

I was curious to see what (and if) anyone ran 650b tires in the 47-50mm range in snow and had success getting by. I would like something that was sub 600g (if that's not possible then sub 650g), tires that measure between 47-51mm MAX, and honestly I just need to know if you had success with it in snow.

Thanks

SalsaShark

I run 650x48 Panaracer Gravelking SK when i am not running the studded tires. These work pretty nicely up to 3 or 4 inches of fresh snow. Going through the slop on pavement, they are pretty good also, and can be dropped in pressure for a bit more predictable ride through really messy stuff. Had one ride this winter through that squirrely 'peanut-butter' consistency type snow you get when cars trample over unplowed roads with temps in the high 20's, but i havent found any tires that work real well in that stuff....still, it was passable even uphill with the GK 48's.
Hope this helps

chas58

G-One is my go to winter-snow tire.
It has great traction and breakaway characteristics in bad conditions (not including ice and mud).

Snow actually sticks to itself better than rubber. The nubby tread on the G-One (and presumably on the GK-SK) holds on to the snow enough to improve traction, but not too much to cause any problems.

DarKris

I ran the 48 SKs and I personally did not like the way they felt specifically when transitioning/turning onto the side knobs. It felt like a lot of time my front tire would lose traction quite a bit. I haven’t tried them in snow recently but I feel like it I’d be too concerned with washing out with the front tire.

I don’t think there’s a G-One in the size range that I mentioned. If there was I’d consider it.

chas58

Ugh, guess you are right. They seem to have every other size, and more and more sizes every time I look. Odd they don't have 47mm in the 650 size as that is the standard goto size to match 700c tire diameter.

DarKris

So just to reconfirm some things, I ended up mounting my Gravelkings again on my 30mm rims and tested them in the snow.

Since the rims are wide I can confidently run 30-36psi without tire squirm and on the snow they held up really well... in a straight line. If there was any type of deflection or I tried turning the tire in the snow it would always feel sketchy no matter how upright I was.

I think it boils down to the GKs just don't have pronounced side knobs to cope with transitioning in loose conditions.

I think the volume of the 48mm GKs is good enough however, so I'm considering similar tires like the Rene Herse Juniper Ridge, Ultradynamico ROSE, or the Soma Cazadero 50s. That said I can't find a lot of reviews for those tires so that kinda sucks.

loheiman

I haven't ridden in snow but I've ridden 650B x 48mm gravel king SKs and Rene Herse Juniper Ridge (650 x 48). I really like the latter a lot more on looser stuff/dirt and I imagine they would do quite well in the snow. https://www.renehersecycles.com/shop...iper-ridge-tc/