bonsai171

I had a similar journey getting into gravel. Been riding mountain bikes the last 30 years, and my current one is a rigid 26 ". Pretty much road that bike everywhere, and eventually swapped it out for some semi-slick 26x1.75" tires. It did a pretty good job on local gravel and roads, and I even took it to the mountains a few times to take on some rides that were maybe 60-70% gravel, and on the rougher side (mostly forest service roads). It did pretty well, and I kept up with a friend who had an all carbon gravel bike without much trouble. That said, eventually a 30 lb Specialized Hardrock got to be pretty heavy and slowed me down.

Bought a 2019 Carbon Warbird. The Warbird came set up with tubes, and that has been really nice. It cut 8 pounds off my bike (there's not too much to cut off of me lol). It rides super comfortable, but honestly, felt like another bike with tubes. After converting to tubeless, it felt totally different. It has a softer ride quality to it, and feels pretty fast at times. With the stock WTB i23 wheelset, I had the tubeless setup with fairly little trouble. I know you don't want tubeless (there are tire incompatibility issues too, not all tires work with all rims-i.e. Panaracer Gravelkings don't work on the i23s anybody want to buy a Gravelking? ) , but honestly I think tubeless is really worth it. You can see shiny places on your tire where a rock punctured your tire, and be thankful not to be changing a tube somewhere in the mountains when a sudden rainstorm comes. Food for thought.

As far as the tire compatibility issue, I have poked around the internet, and also got some help at a local shop who recommended the Specialized Pathfinder Pro. It mounted right up to my wheel, and has been cranking out the miles ever since. Long story short, I would suggest considering tubeless. Maybe not DI2 or AXS or hydraulic disc brakes, but tubeless made a tangible difference in my everyday gravel (and a lot of singletrack!) riding.

Dave

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