str8jakett

I bought a second wheelset for the Cube and I'm currently and frustratingly shopping tires. At the very top of my list is budget, followed by usage and size. The factory wheelset is Fulcrum Racing 7, rebranded CX77 for Cube. The three components on that wheelset is a SRAM 11-36 cassette, Avid G3 centerlock 160 rotors, and I'm running Panaracer Comet Hardpack tires in 700x38.

Intentions for the new wheelset is mostly road but will involve some gravel. There is a local 45 mile/4200ft loop that involves climbing back and forth over the same mountain range three times, and two of those ascent/descents are gravel, with a small section of rolling gravel after one of the descents. About 8 miles total. I did it on the Cube a few weeks ago, and it was great, but too much tire for the mostly paved route. I did it in reverse on the TCR with 25mm GP4ksIIs a few days later and it went very well but one of the descents was horribly scary with that setup. I later crashed on the paved descent and broke my collar bone. That's another story.

The new wheelset is an OEM DT Swiss R32 Spline setup with the same cassette and Avid rotors to hopefully prevent brake adjustments. I really wanted 700x30 tires, but I'm not finding any budget road tires that I like that I'd also trust on gravel sections. So this long winded post is really a question of whether I should go 700x28 or 700x32 which opens up a ton of options. I could run a 28 tire that measures out a bit wider, but if it's not going to feel much safer than those 25 GPs, that's not what I'm looking for here.

I put this in the gravel section because I'm looking for opinions on a road tire that will hold up on gravel.

Spoonrobot 

The Comet is a slow tire. What exactly is your budget?

Ideal option:

WTB Byway 700cx34 in the front
Continental GP5K 700x32 in the rear

Budget Option:

Panaracer GK Slick 700cx32 front rear

str8jakett

Definitely a slow tire, I will be going with something like the GK next time around. I'm looking at tires in the $20-$30 range which usually makes people gasp, but I don't need a fast rolling super tire on this bike, just something more road oriented than the Comets or whatever gravel tire is next. Plenty of big name low end tires in that range, but I've never used them. I've never strayed from the GP4ks for a road tire.

Spoonrobot 

Two-pack of the GravelKing slick is sometimes $70 on eBay. Honestly the Panaracer Pasela is one of the better budget tires, I suspect it's as durable as the gravelking just slightly heavier. It's also available in pretty much every common size. Price is around $20.

Otherwise the Resist Nomad in 700x32 or 700cx28 is a good tire and around $20 as well.

I think any <$30 tire (barring clearance/sale) with knobs is going to be too slow for your enjoyment.

loheiman

Something like a 35mm Gravel King Slick or Compass Bon Jon might work for you as an everything tire (requiring only 1 wheelset).

HTupolev

I'd second the Pasela suggestion. I tried out non-PT Paselas on my '83 Miyata 710 road bike because they're highly regarded among the 27" tires that still exist, and I've been impressed by them. They're heavy thanks to the wire bead, but surprisingly supple and fast. With latex tubes they even seem to get a bit of hum on smooth roads.

chas58

Good points. The Pasela was the gravel (and commuting and touring) tire of choice long before there was gravel. Not the fanciest nor most expensive, but never heard of anyone complain about it - and lots of people use it.

str8jakett

Thank you for all the suggestions. Researching each tire you've listed so far, and coming across a few other options as well. Any opinion on the Clement Strada LGG? Great puncture resistance and a good roller but according to Bicycle Rolling Resistance, has a terrible sidewall rating.

Spoonrobot 

Clement re-branded to Donnelly but the tire appears to be exactly the same based on the ones I handled. I rode a few thousand miles on the Clement versions, 120 tpi and the 60 tpi. The former is a lot nicer than the latter, but not a good tire IMO. It's very stiff and doesn't roll well. However puncture resistance and apparent durability were very good. I had multiple glass pieces that punctured to the protection layer and then turned sideways and stopped, never seen that before in any tire.

str8jakett

Wheels came today. I knew these weren't going to be a wide wheel (18/22) but they look and feel so much more narrow than the 25mm wide carbon wheels I have. I think it's mostly mental and caused by the massive clearance in the fork and stays and the fact there were no tires on the wheels when I tried them out. I like them though, and the hubs are super blingy!






Cassette arrived as well, waiting on the rotors. Need to make a tire decision so I can put everything together!

str8jakett

Sorry to keep bumping my own thread and to assume that you actually care, but to update on tire decision...

Since Merlin was having such a great sale, I ended up buying some 38mm Schwalbe G One All-round Raceguard gravel tires and added some 28mm Vittoria Rubino Pro g+ for the road selection. I've really been wanting to try an iteration of the Rubino for my next round on one of the road bikes, so here's a shot. I almost went with the G One Speed in 30mm but wanted a wide enough difference between the two wheelsets to actually make it worthwhile to swap.