crazyravr

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.

BJack312

Rene Herse Snoqualmie Pass with the endurance + casing (44mm). Decently quick on the road and can handle just about anything off-road except mud.

Craptacular8

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?

mattcalifornia

I have a pair of 44 Snoqualmies on my extra set of wheels (not with the endurance casing). They are good on the road and hard packed flat dirt. They are not good on steep dirt (up or down) or loose dirt. I haven't tried them in mud, but I would think they would be terrible. They have almost no tread at all. Obviously, choosing a do-it-all tire depends entirely on your riding conditions. My main tires are 47mm WTB Venture 650b. They are much knobbier than the Snoqualmies and fantastic on all types of dirt. Obviously, they aren't nearly as smooth as the RHs on pavement, but they roll surprisingly fast. If I were choosing one tire for everything, I'd probably pick something closer to the WTB Venture, but maybe slightly narrower - like a 42 or 44. I think the optimum all-around tire is pretty slick in the center with some amount of knobs on the edges.

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).

tFUnK

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.

tempocyclist

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.

ToppDogg

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.

tempocyclist

For sure! The "standard issue" Bontrager GR1's are arguably the most sluggish tyres ever created. Awful. They were the first thing I changed on my Checkpoint.

mstateglfr 

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.

Noonievut

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).

Fentuz

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

cellery

What this guy said - I'm on the exact combo and it's perfect for an all-around gravel setup and I routinely bomb singletrack on them. The only thing I don't like is the loud logos, and they aren't exactly supple, but I run up against a lot of sharp rocks and have yet to tear a sidewall after a couple years on them.

EDIT: I actually run a 2.35" Barzo (60mm) - aside from higher volume it the same as the 52mm. Like these tires a lot.

Fentuz

that s because the 27.5x2.1/52-584 are XC trail tyres.

the 29x2.1 tan XC tyres are much suppler.

SoSmellyAir

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?

dsaul

Terrene Elwood tough casing.

unterhausen

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.

sean.hwy

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.

tFUnK

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.

Jughed

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.

mattcalifornia

Eh - it depends. I just a did a 30 mile mixed terrain ride last weekend on my gravel bike. The ride was probably 75% pavement and 25% dirt trail (dry, mostly hard packed with a little loose sand in places and a fair amount of slightly technical single track and some steep sections). I put on my alternate wheels, which are Rene Herse Snoqualmie Pass 44mm. They are almost slick with some siping. They are definitely a little slower than my 28mm road bike slicks on pavement, but not by that much. Definitely a lot faster than most mountain bike tires, and the gravel frame geometry and drop bars is better for the long paved sections. However, the tires also did surprisingly well on the dirt -- even on some pretty steep sections. I've taken my road bike on some pretty long dirt roads. There is absolutely no way I could have ridden these trails on a road bike. For this ride, the gravel bike with wide slicks was perfect. The bigger problem on the dirt section was that I decided to use my road pedals and shoes -- which was great on the pavement and fine on the easy dirt sections, but a bit scary on the more technical pieces.

That said, I don't completely disagree with your point.

mattcalifornia

Yes - I have 44s and 47s. They float so much better on loose sand. There are some sections of trails in the Santa Monica Mountains near me that have very loose deep sand for stretches. You need the wide tires to stay on top of it.

Metieval

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.

bwilli88 

I rather like my Schwalbe Big Apples. 700cx50mm

pbass

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.

Dino_Sore

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).