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Gravel/Road Tires?

Ski&ride

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I no longer bother with a road bike (ok, I still have the bike, but I rarely ride strictly pavement, so the road bike don’t get used much).

So, my cross bike is my primary road bike. And I don’t race cross no more. So in practical terms, it’s being used as a road/gravel bike.

And my riding is typically a mix of pavement with 20-50% dirt roads.

I’ve been ok with the tire that came with the bike. Reasonably light and pretty fast on pavement and smooth dirt road. Thread pattern is pretty subtle. So it slides a bit on aggressive “action” when surface is loose. (”action“ could be braking or accelerating. I know its limitation so I corner accordingly). I’m ok with the compromise so far.

The rear tire is losing its thread pattern. I will soon need a new one (probably move the front tire back and put a new one on the front). Just wondering if there’re better tires since the days I bought my bike/tires (some years back, I lost count).

I know tires are compromises: light, rolls well, durable... What are your favorites?
 

Ken_R

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I switched from cross tires with knobs to the Gravel Kings which are more like a large textured road tire that is TLR and good in Gravel since I was riding about 50/50 Road and Gravel.


size 38's TLR's.
 

wooglin

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Second the gravel kings. I’ve also run Jack Browns from Rivendell for that kind of riding. Panaracer Pasela, though old school, would also work.
 

Ron

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gravel kings are hard to beat but I would consider the Challenge Bianca Strada TLR, similar tread and they are more $ but I recently went to Challenge Gravel Grinders they are def' more supple than the Panaracers. If you want something that has a bit more tread than a file tread, the Challenge Gravel Grinder is exceptional. I am running the 38's and they are fast, supple but have a touch more grip with a diamond tread and side lugs. I ran it last week on a 37 mile 2000' of climbing road route and was only .9mph slower than normal and thats my gravel bike vs. my road bike.


Sidewalls are unfortunately not as dark brown as the images.



 
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Ross Biff

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My situation is similar...I haven't been on the road bike for quite a while and most of my rides are 50/50 bitumen and dirt. I've been using Schwalbe G One's in a 38 mm tubeless at around 40 psi with good rolling, good comfort, good traction and surprisingly good tread wear. I rode my cross bike last week with Maxxis Mimo 33mm tyres and expected them to be much faster than they were on the same route but the extra harshness was not that much fun and I couldn't comfortably push the speed on the dirt.
 

Ron

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my only issue with the G-one is the crazy high weight (460 grams!) and of course, the price. My gravel Grinder 38's weigh 390. Warning, tread drift: the problem with wider tires is that once you go to 38, they really start to get heavier, most 40's weigh about 450-500gams. thats a lot of extra rotational weight and not a huge amount of additional traction or Cush. I really think for CO hardpack roads and moderate gravel/loose sand, an actual 38-40 is about optimal. Im 172#. bigger riders may benefit from greater width/volume but for the avg rider, I dont think so.


BTW- PSI is weight, tire and (especially) rim width dependent. I am a huge proponent of wider rims, my road bike rims are 25 ID and my gravel rims are 23ID).

the New Enve PSI chart is pretty much spot-on. You dont need to be running Enve wheels, just match up your rim's internal width and actual tire size with your weight

 
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martyg

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Specialized Triggers here. I have them on two bikes - a gravel and cross bike that I use on the road.

Re riding road bikes.... I have a couple of S-Works Tarmacs with rim brakes. I haven’t ridden them for at least a year. Took one out the other week. It was too much fun. New Specialized Venge is on the way.
 
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Tom K.

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Tires are like RVs -- everything is a compromise, and there is no free lunch. I like Schwalbe G-Ones (and love that they've gotten heavier, now with a sidewall that isn't paper thin), Bontrager GR1 and GR2 for lighter duty, and their LT2 for something you will never flat unless you're on the edge of death.

NOBODY has anything bad to say about Gravel Kings, but I've never tried them.
 
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Ron

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the GR1 is fantastic and IMHO the best gravel tire no one knows about. I'd put it against the beloved GravelKing SK any day. for my likes, I wish they would have made it in a 33/38/42. I would love a Bonti with a tread similar to the Challenge Gravel King. It think it would be amazing. Bontrager is making such good tires now. I only went with the Challenge's due to the CRR on the roads.

On another tire matter, I am running Bonti XR2's in back and a XR4 in the front of my 29+ bike.
 
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Ski&ride

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If you want something that has a bit more tread than a file tread, the Challenge Gravel Grinder is exceptional.
Yes, I think I like my tires have a bit more “bite“ for the occasional venture (misadventure?) into connectors that are more trails than roads. That looks like a good candidate.

Back in my mountain biking days, I’ve got several sets of rims with different tires on them. Take the one that matches the condition I would be riding that day. There’re just too much variation that one tire doesn’t really cover. Kind of like ski quivers.

Not going back to that.
 
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Ski&ride

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a agile and snappy road bike ride/feel is addictive.
Not sure it’s the bike. I think it’s the tires.

I have a second set of wheels with slick 25mm road tires mounted. I occasionally put that wheel on when I know my route has no dirt (rare these days). It does feel smooth and fast, effortless. Plenty additive.

The drawback is I’m limited on where I could go. Plus, sometimes I just missed the mental challenge of variable surfaces.
 

Steve

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Specialized Trigger Pro 2Bliss Ready Tire Black 700x38c

This is what I use on my Diverge. Like them.
 

Rudi Riet

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Not sure it’s the bike. I think it’s the tires.

...and the wheels. Often road-oriented wheels are lighter than a wider-rimmed gravel or 29er setup that folks use for gravel. Less rotating mass = more snap.

The drawback is I’m limited on where I could go. Plus, sometimes I just missed the mental challenge of variable surfaces.

How so? I've done some fairly aggressive gravel riding on a road bike with 25mm tires. Yes, it requires finesse, looking ahead to pick your line, and a comfort level with two-wheel power slides. Seriously, it's how gravel riding was done for a long time and it works well as long as you're willing to get into some weird situations that challenge bike handling skills.

I've done a decent amount of gravel on my Moots Vamoots DR running Challenge Paris Roubaix non-tubeless mounted on a DT Swiss R500 rim, which increases the width of the 27mm tire to 31.4mm, which is plenty for most gravel that doesn't involve rock gardens or embedded roots. This bike (which is definitely not a purpose built gravel bike) can run up to 34mm tires without issues. I'm thinking some of the Panaracer Gravel King SS tires in a 28mm or 32mm (the latter will likely be a bit too wide on the R500 rims) will be a nice fit for the summer season.

For the more aggro stuff, my repurposed Marin 26" wheel hardtail (it now has Salsa Cowbell drops and road shifters) is perfect: 1.7" semi-knobby tires and 60mm of fork travel make for easy traversing of most of the nasty stuff and still rolls respectably on pavement and harder dirt.
 

Ron

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I've done some fairly aggressive gravel riding on a road bike with 25mm tires

agreed, but all that vibration and pounding over even 30-40 miles is tiring and brutal on your body and is inefficient. IMHO, an actual 35-40 tire (in general, depending on the tread and compound) rolls so nice and smoothly and gives up very little in speed on the road with the right tire. The problem with gravel is there's all different road types and conditions when out on a ride. all is good an fine on grade 1, but once you turn onto a road with grade 2/3 with loose, deeper gravel and sand, that narrower tire becomes a problem.
 

Erik Timmerman

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I haven't tried anything other than the Schwalbe G-One Bite yet, but I feel a set of Hutchinson Touaregs in my near future.
 

Ken_R

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agreed, but all that vibration and pounding over even 30-40 miles is tiring and brutal on your body and is inefficient. IMHO, an actual 35-40 tire (in general, depending on the tread and compound) rolls so nice and smoothly and gives up very little in speed on the road with the right tire. The problem with gravel is there's all different road types and conditions when out on a ride. all is good an fine on grade 1, but once you turn onto a road with grade 2/3 with loose, deeper gravel and sand, that narrower tire becomes a problem.

Yep, ive done plenty of gravel rides on my late Emonda with 25c tires but the same roads are MUCH more enjoyable on my gravel bike with proper gravel tires. The downhills specially are just CRAZY HAIRY at speed on the 25's. :geek:
 

Erik Timmerman

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I've got a week on my new Hutchinson Touaregs now. Nothing Earth shattering to report. So far I can say that they mounted very easily and aired up and held air perfectly on the first try. Casing feels very supple. Knobbies are a lot shorter than the ones on my Schwalbes and the tires are quieter on the road. I am sure that they will give up a bit to the Schwalbes on looser terrain, but so far they've been treating me well.
 

Wannabeskibum

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a agile and snappy road bike ride/feel is addictive.

I love my Gravel bike - have two wheel sets, one set is mounted with Gravel King ”slicks” 32 mm and tubeless for the road once it gets to be November in Eastern MA when there are damp roads and dead leaves every where and my gravel wheels when I want to escape the cold winds and ride the trails.

Having said that, I really love my road bike with its rim brakes, 25 mm tires, and under 15 lbs weight. It feels like it flies up hills with the Dura-Ace C4 wheel set. Nothing like it - not even the new disc brake road bikes can match it. Even this year’s TDF many of the riders where riding rim brake bikes on today’s climbing stage.
 

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