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The trend towards slicks or semi-slick tires on gravel

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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.

The trend towards slicks or semi-slick tires on gravel

Old 04-29-19, 11:03 AM
  #26  
chas58
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Originally Posted by Metieval
Unless it is loomy, slicks are the greatest.

oh and aggressive shoulder tires are dangerous on pavement, when you roll the knobs. so for mixed riding give me full slicks.
Good point. Aggressive shoulders can make hard cornering on pavement pretty pucker inducing. I've been impressed how something like the G-One and Ramblers can corner hard. Looks like the Gravel king could do that too. I like aggressive side knobs in dirt, but care must be taken on pavement for sure.
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Old 05-05-19, 10:22 AM
  #27  
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I was confused by tire options when I got into gravel two years ago. The semi-slick tire seemed to make sense, especially during the paved sections. But I followed the lead of some racing buddies and went with a Maxis Rambler (R) & Ravager (F) combination and it's worked out very well. The knobby design is very much appreciated in loose climbs/descents & sloppy conditions. I've also had zero problems riding these on pavement on those mixed-surface rides either; it rolls very much like my road bike.

Now if I was going to ride primarily pavement with just a bit of flat & dry country gravel thrown in, I would consider a larger-volume road tire, like 32c Conti Gatorskins.
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Old 05-06-19, 02:20 AM
  #28  
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Originally Posted by chas58
Good point. Aggressive shoulders can make hard cornering on pavement pretty pucker inducing. I've been impressed how something like the G-One and Ramblers can corner hard. Looks like the Gravel king could do that too. I like aggressive side knobs in dirt, but care must be taken on pavement for sure.
I run Ramblers.. Now cornering on pavement makes sense. I thought my bike was extra twitchy but it must be the tires. Now that I think of it, when I run 28's it corners very smoothly.
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Old 05-06-19, 12:11 PM
  #29  
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For dry gravel I have found that the IRC Boken might be the way to go. Talked to a couple people running them at BWR yesterday and had no complaints. The tread pattern on them while small works great on loose dirt because it's quite soft and grips quite well. Then on the pavement they are definitely faster than Ramblers.
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Old 05-06-19, 02:20 PM
  #30  
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Rene Herse

Originally Posted by nellborg
If purchasing Rene Herse Snoqualmie Pass tires for a gravel bike that does basic Wisconsin pea gravel and some pavement, can anyone compare their experience with their Extralight vs Standard model? Is the difference in ride quality noticeable? Is the Extralight casing really fragile?
I haven't run the Snoqualmie Pass size, but have run both the extralite and standard casings of the Bon Jon, and extralite of the 32 and 28 sizes as well. I can tell the difference between the extralite and standard casing, but I can't say that I can really notice an actual performance difference between the two. I had the Bon Jon extralites on another bike that I rode gravel on, and loved them. So, when I wore out the tread on some Challenge Gravel Grinder Race tires at the 1,000 mile mark on my other gravel bike that I also tour pavement on...I thought that perhaps I would need the sturdier sidewalls of the standard casing, so went with that. I've got over a thousand miles on the standard casing, probably about 50/50 pavement and gravel, and they have been very good. The gravel I typically ride is what I would call sandy mixed with class 5. There is so much sand mixed in, that it seldom will pack, but the rocks aren't sharp. If I ride gravel when visiting MO, the rocks are larger and sharper, but there is also typically a hard packed track I can stay in..... Either way, I've had no issues with flats/excessive wear. I think the Rene Herse are likely ideal for the crushed limestone that one typically finds on rail trails. I've ridden quite a few miles on the 32 extralites on a variety of crushed limestone trails, and gravel...and tons of road. They seem to be a very fast, comfortable tire on trails or pavement. I tried the extralite 28s on my main road bike that I mostly use for group rides, and I had a tendency to flat. It did pick up quite a bit of big truck tire wires. I ride highway shoulders with the 32's and Bon Jon's where I would flat on the 28's, no issues with the larger sizes.

I'm going to try mounting the 28's on another road bike that will likely only see paved trail touring...perhaps they will perform well there. Despite the thin casing that give it such a nice ride, I seem to be getting decent life out of them. The Challenge Gravel Grinders probably would have lasted longer had I used them exclusively on gravel, as the rubber was too soft a compound to see a lot of road use.
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Old 05-06-19, 06:26 PM
  #31  
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Sure, slicks are fine on hardpack. My normal routes I can do on 25mm slicks, I just gotta slow down and choose my lines carefully a lot. The width&pressure of gravel tires lets me just bomb through ruts and minor potholes with aplomb. What routes I can ride doesn't really change, just the speed and stress vs fun.

But I can almost always find some hardpack to ride that isn't too slick when wet on my routes. YMMV, literally!
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Old 05-08-19, 04:27 AM
  #32  
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Originally Posted by gus6464
For dry gravel I have found that the IRC Boken might be the way to go. Talked to a couple people running them at BWR yesterday and had no complaints. The tread pattern on them while small works great on loose dirt because it's quite soft and grips quite well. Then on the pavement they are definitely faster than Ramblers.
Ooo. Those look awesome.
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