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Converting Gravel Tires to more road friendly and tubless.

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Converting Gravel Tires to more road friendly and tubless.

Old 11-12-22, 06:31 PM
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Senathon
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Converting Gravel Tires to more road friendly and tubless.

I was at a bike shop and a bike mechanic saw the stats for my new bike and recommend to go tubeless. He also recommends using a tire that is more road-friendly than gravel(for the area I am riding) He showed me a pattern on a piece of paper where the center of the tire is flatter while the edges have more grip. Can anyone suggest a recommendation on search words to find the type of tire I am looking for?

The bike is mainly going on the road, but also needs to deal with some off-road conditions such as light gravel.

Here are the current stats on the bike tires and wheels:
  • Tires: Kenda Small Block 700x35.
  • Wheels: Poseidon Alloy 700c 32h, quick-release axle.
  • Bike can handle up to a 700x40 tire with clearance for mud. 650b compatible with up to a 1.9" wide tire.
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Old 11-12-22, 06:35 PM
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Camilo
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Lots of objective info on tires here:
Bicycle Rolling Resistance | Rolling Resistance Tests

It's got a cool way to compare tires.

Lots of tires have a more aggressive tread on the edges than in the center, and there's various heights of tread with that design.

That said, we have a set of Continental Terra Speed and Donnelly MSO on our gravel bikes and they both are very good for road and gravel. Both ride pretty smooth on the pavement but are suitable for moderate off pavement riding. They're not mountain bike/mud tires but don't pretend to be.

But there's a bunch of alternatives depending on whether you want to shade more to pavement or to muddy stuff. Obviously, there's very smooth-treaded tires and also some that could pass for MTB tires.

For just one example of two similar tires that have that sort of design but with different tread heights both in the center and the sides, look at the Continental Terra Speed vs. the Terra Trail. I'm not recommending either, but just to give you an idea of the range of tires that are a bit smoother in the center and a bit more aggressive on the sides. The Terra Trail is more aggressive in both parts of the tread than the Speed. One shades towards pavement/light off pavement; the other more towards more muddy rough off pavement. But again, there's lots of examples. Find one in your price range and which is available to you.

Last edited by Camilo; 11-12-22 at 06:48 PM.
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Old 11-12-22, 06:37 PM
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I don't know of a proper term for such tires, but they're easy enough to find. Just look at manufacturer's website photos. Example.
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Old 11-12-22, 06:39 PM
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Why not go to an online dealer like Biketiresdirect and see for yourself. They have a good selection of gravel tires and you can see for yourself the tread patterns. A wide 38mm slick (no knobbies) will likely work OK on light gravel/dirt if you lower the air pressure, Schwalbe Marathon Supremes or similar.

Last edited by Steve B.; 11-12-22 at 08:50 PM.
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Old 11-12-22, 10:13 PM
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Originally Posted by Senathon
He showed me a pattern on a piece of paper where the center of the tire is flatter while the edges have more grip. Can anyone suggest a recommendation on search words to find the type of tire I am looking for?
I run Panaracer GK SS for a mix of pavement and hardpack dirt/light gravel...

GravelKing SS Folding Gravel Tire – PanaracerUSA
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Old 11-13-22, 08:13 AM
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If you are riding daily (or nearly daily) nearly year round and good at keeping tires pump and either replacing sealant yourself or paying your local shop to do it then yes go for it. If you are riding a lot less and taking large chunks of time off I would just stick with tubes. You might consider getting the bike first and riding it a bit and then considering tires to get. If I recall you also had dreams of a trainer which isn't a great candidate for tubeless.
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Old 11-13-22, 08:31 AM
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Get the fit right, then get some time and miles on your bike before making changes. So much will depend on how much and how hard of riding you will be doing.
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Old 11-13-22, 09:48 AM
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Originally Posted by veganbikes
If you are riding daily (or nearly daily) nearly year round and good at keeping tires pump and either replacing sealant yourself or paying your local shop to do it then yes go for it. If you are riding a lot less and taking large chunks of time off I would just stick with tubes.
+! I first built up my Surly Midnight Special (a combination road/gravel bike) with 650b-47 tubeless tires on Shimano GRX tubeless ready wheels. However, I don't ride this bike routinely since I have two other road bikes I prefer and the Surly is mostly used for bad weather/rain use. So, the tires would lose significant pressure between rides and the sealant would pool and then leak at the beads for some time. It would have been fine if ridden frequently but I didn't. After a few months I decided to go back to tubes which have been much less trouble and the weight penalty was only about 60 gms per wheel.
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Old 11-13-22, 10:17 AM
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Originally Posted by Senathon
Can anyone suggest a recommendation on search words to find the type of tire I am looking for?
Search "smooth center knobby edge bike tire" and see what pops up. WTB makes a few tires with this pattern.
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Old 11-13-22, 10:50 AM
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Originally Posted by veganbikes
If I recall you also had dreams of a trainer which isn't a great candidate for tubeless.
Thanks for the info about the trainer. I probably have the bike on the trainer for a few months, then at the ride with the stock tube for a while, and then go tubeless.
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Old 11-13-22, 12:04 PM
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Senathon, its hard to make recommendations as so much depends on numerous factors--how comfortable you are riding on looser surfaces, how much you ride on looser surfaces, the type of surfaces, and how much you really spend on pavement.
For occasional light gravel, I am perfectly fine on slicks at lower pressures (38, 45s) just because I like the faster and quieter pavement riding, but if I am riding my touring bike with gear on it on varying gravel, I'll put on the type of tires that you are specifically asking about.
Bottom line is that there are loads of them like this, at a wide range of prices, weights and puncture protection, so again, its pretty hard to give recommendations to you without knowing what sort of parameters are important to you.

you should be able to get some good ideas from just skimming through gravel stuff on the web, and try to compare tires to what you are riding now--but again, so much depends on your bike handling skillset and experience.
I'm sure the bike store guy had some recommendations of tires they have in the store and hopefully can properly answer stuff about weight, rolling resistance, puncture protection, but don't bet on it.
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Old 11-13-22, 06:56 PM
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Originally Posted by Senathon
Thanks for the info about the trainer. I probably have the bike on the trainer for a few months, then at the ride with the stock tube for a while, and then go tubeless.
Yeah for the trainer get a proper trainer tire it will help unless using a direct drive trainer the rear wheel trainers will heat up your tire and most tires aren't designed for high heat usage so they are more likely to go flat. Continental, Vittoria, Saris and others make trainer specific tires and if nothing else use an older tire and don't go up to full pressure (remember high heat) but like any bike used anywhere make sure to keep it clean (sweat is super corrosive) lube the chain (you are still riding it but indoors you can use a much lighter lubricant) and keep the tires properly inflated.

A lot of folks forget about bike maintenance on a trainer because they don't think they are riding it but you are just not in the elements but it still needs that love and maybe more because with normal riding any sweat will just fly off from the wind eliminate the wind and put yourself in a warmer environ and you will just pour sweat and that can cause havoc and I have seen some trainer bikes that have needed quite a bit of work from just a season because the person didn't maintain it and that gets expensive.

All of my bikes have tubes in them and I have found that because I stock a lot of tubes for my bikes and generally on most rides carry one with me or happen to be riding to the shop (but still usually carry one or two tubes) and a way to inflate and remove the tire I am less likely to get flats and rarely get them and usually (knock on wood) they happen when I am home or right outside or really close or at work/similar. Not saying that is everyones case but preparation means less chance of flats. I think the Flat Fairy only comes along when they know you have nothing. Not knocking tubeless of course I love the concept I am just too lazy to switch and I really need to ride my mountain bike more to justify doing tubeless in that which I want to do don't get me wrong.
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Old 11-13-22, 07:05 PM
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Good points vegan about bike care on trainer.
when I first got a trainer, I debated on getting a specific tire, but in the end just used an old worn 28mm slick I had and it lasted forever. It's still on the trainer bike, but I hardly use the trainer anymore since getting into winter commuting. Just saying you can save 50 or 60 bucks and easily use an old slick.
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Old 11-13-22, 10:09 PM
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Originally Posted by kwb377
I run Panaracer GK SS for a mix of pavement and hardpack dirt/light gravel...

GravelKing SS Folding Gravel Tire – PanaracerUSA
I second the Panaracers. The roll nice and are also wide enough for light off roading.
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Old 11-14-22, 04:14 PM
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Originally Posted by Senathon
Can anyone suggest a recommendation on search words to find the type of tire I am looking for?
"center slick gravel tire"

I run Teravail Washburn (Light & Supple) tires on my gravel bike. I don't ask much from them on gravel. On pavement, they are smooth and quiet with low rolling resistance, and I sometimes wonder why I have a road bike.
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