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Cyclocross and Gravelbiking (Recreational) This has to be the most physically intense sport ever invented. It's high speed bicycle racing on a short off road course or riding the off pavement rides on gravel like : "Unbound Gravel". We also have a dedicated Racing forum for the Cyclocross Hard Core Racers.

Gravel King slick tires

Old 08-28-19, 06:33 PM
  #26  
blazin
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Originally Posted by Spoonrobot
I found the GK slicks to be noticeably better at resisting cuts than other tires. For the price I'm of the opinion they're the best rolling tires, all the other options are heavier/slower or much more expensive. I've run through two sets now with no issues, there's not an even distribution of tire cuts/flats so YMMV of course.
+1

For rides that include pavement, packed dirt, or light/small gravel, I have found these to be the most comfortable, fastest, and easiest tubeless tire.

Given their lightweight, however, they are not, not are they meant to be, the most durable tire. I have had issues with them, but these have come from doing things the tires really aren't meant for, like bunny hopping curbs. Yet I didn't hesitate to run them for a recent race that included some really rough jeep trails and singletrack (mostly because these constituted a very small percentage of the overall course) and they performed admirably and emerged unscathed. However, if you are riding predominantly chunky gravel, goathead-infested roads, or singletrack, I would look elsewhere.
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Old 08-29-19, 06:09 AM
  #27  
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Originally Posted by chas58
Just judging by weight, the GK-SK sounds a a lot beefier than the slick. They seem to be fairly slow though (at least in the large sizes).
The SKs are actually not bad on pavement. A few months back I was used my Poprad(had GK SKs on it..35s or 38s..can't remember) to ride to a local bike shop on all paved roads..both concrete and blacktop.

I've ridden the bike many times with GK slicks..oddly enough it really didn't feel that much different with riding the SKs on pavement. I was surprised. I've ridden slower road tires(on that bike) than the SKs.
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Old 09-02-19, 03:49 AM
  #28  
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Just found that Teravail makes some good looking slicks in 700c. A 38 and 42 They look fun.


https://teravail.com/tires/rampart#TR7299

Last edited by Hmmm; 09-02-19 at 03:56 AM.
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Old 09-04-19, 08:01 PM
  #29  
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Anyone bought a set of GK slick 28’s and or 32’s recently? I have a set of 28’s brown wall that measure to under 26 mm and I’d like to use a set in a bike that can take up to just about 30. Everything I’ve read on line says that over the past year or two they’ve been better at being true to size. I don’t want to buy another set of 28’s that are really 25+.
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Old 09-05-19, 04:18 AM
  #30  
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Have the GK 700x38s on my gravel bike. At mile 4 of 40 on a mixed 50/50 gravel/pavement ride last weekend I picked up the 3/4 inch screw you see below. The sealant sealed the puncture with the big screw in it. When I pulled it out it spewed sealant, I spun the tire and it pretty much sealed up. I plugged it for good measure considering I had a lot of miles left to go. I don't see any reason to replace the tire - the plug seems solid. I've ridden GK 32's on my cross bike for several years and had no particular issues with flats or cuts.

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Old 09-07-19, 07:46 AM
  #31  
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Well I was wrong about the plug holding. Yesterday after coming down a steep gravel descent it was leaking. I replugged it but that one didn't hold when I aired it up. Replugged it again and put a bit less pressure in and it held well enough to get back home. Patched it from the inside when I got home and it seems like it should be ok.
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Old 09-09-19, 09:01 PM
  #32  
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Ive been running gk slicks for a long while, love them. All tires flat, all tires cut its part of riding unfortunately. My current set is GK slicks + which are suppose to be better cut resistant, I caught a roof nail in one and pulled the nail out and the tire didn't leak, I plugged it with a dynaplug pointy plug and that was almost a month ago. I ran them at SBT gravel and a week of riding around Colorado, here's a pic of the nail.
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Old 09-10-19, 08:03 AM
  #33  
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How was your experience plugging the hole? I tried using dynaplugs on my GK slicks a few months ago, and even after reaming the puncture quite a bit, I had a hell of a time getting the plug to seat. When I did, it only held for a few rides.

It felt like the cut was too big for the sealant to hold, but too small for the plug to fit in. I moved on to the GK+ as well, but have had mixed luck with them lately riding with tubes.
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Old 09-15-19, 07:52 AM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by Lava
How was your experience plugging the hole? I tried using dynaplugs on my GK slicks a few months ago, and even after reaming the puncture quite a bit, I had a hell of a time getting the plug to seat. When I did, it only held for a few rides.

It felt like the cut was too big for the sealant to hold, but too small for the plug to fit in. I moved on to the GK+ as well, but have had mixed luck with them lately riding with tubes.
Im 2/3 with dynaplug, the only time it didn't work was I had a big hole and tried to plug it with the bigger plug and couldn't get it in so I switched to the pointy tip but it was too small. By that time I ran out of sealant and had to put a tube in, maybe next time put two pointy tips ?
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Old 09-15-19, 08:06 AM
  #35  
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I was going to get some GK slick 38's, but when I needed them this past spring, there weren't any in the U.S. to buy. So I bought some Maxxis 40mm Velocita. Seems about the same as the GK. I run GK 32mm slicks on my road bike. My only complaint is that I wear through the treads fairly quickly. I have come to the conclusion that the Rene Herse tires might be a better value from a tread wear consideration since they have twice as much tread.

Central Pennsylvania gravel is pretty nasty, I only ride the GK SK on that. I don't consider them to be slow tires on pavement.
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Old 09-16-19, 04:07 AM
  #36  
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I've got a set of GK slicks in 38mm & I think they are amazing. I've been running them for 500 miles in various conditions and I can't say enough good about them. Tubeless, no flats, & just as capable as any small knob tire IMO. The only place I have wanted more is when the mud gets deep & slimy, but small knobs are pretty much useless in those conditions too.
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Old 09-16-19, 05:45 AM
  #37  
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Originally Posted by Spaghetti Legs
Anyone bought a set of GK slick 28’s and or 32’s recently? I have a set of 28’s brown wall that measure to under 26 mm and I’d like to use a set in a bike that can take up to just about 30. Everything I’ve read on line says that over the past year or two they’ve been better at being true to size. I don’t want to buy another set of 28’s that are really 25+.
Just installed some new GK slick 28mm tires on hookless 22.5mm internal width rims. The tires measure about 28.4mm inflated. On narrower rims, they’d be narrower than 28mm.
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Old 09-16-19, 03:06 PM
  #38  
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my GK 38 slick is still going strong after 2000 miles, the rear had tread worn down in the middle and a little cut up, but the front still looks new. Probably still can get another 1000 miles out of the rear, then I would need to put in a tire liner if I want to squeeze more miles out of it. My riding is 70% pavement and 30% packed dirt / fire road
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Old 09-16-19, 03:49 PM
  #39  
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Originally Posted by OneIsAllYouNeed
Just installed some new GK slick 28mm tires on hookless 22.5mm internal width rims. The tires measure about 28.4mm inflated. On narrower rims, they’d be narrower than 28mm.
Thanks for that info. Those sound like wide rims. I’ve used mine on Mavic G40 and Open Pro which measure 20-21 mm outside diameter.
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Old 09-17-19, 01:26 PM
  #40  
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Yup, that sounds a bit wide. I put some 28mm tires on 22mm ID rims and ended up riding on the sidewall too much when I cornered hard.
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