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I want a tyre to deal with rough Scottish forest roads, and the tarmac roads in between, something like a 50/50 split (leading up to the Frontier 300 in June which is exactly that split). Would you go with a chunky tread in, say, 40mm width, or a lower profile tread in say 50mm?
Previously had 40mm Hutchinson tundras which were good and moderately aggressive tread, but bigger volume would presumably be more comfortable. Lower tread might roll faster even in bigger sizes. And I'm talking about forest roads, not single track - I have my MTB for that.
Like the look of the new Specialized Tracers in 45 or 50mm, but I'm open to ideas.
a lower profile tread in say 50mm
^ this. Esp for a 300km ride where the comfort and lower potential rolling resistance is worth more than grip on sort dirt or mud.
Resolute 50s look good, I'm riding the 42s at the mo. On a 25mm rim they measure up ~45mm and they're brilliant mixed-terrain tyres. Faster and smoother on tarmac than I expected for the tread and reliable / predicable off road wet or dry.
And I'm talking about forest roads, not single track - I have my MTB for that.
But singletrack on an inappropriate bikes is what makes gravel bikes fun! It's too easy in a modern MTB
Anyway if it's just forest roads just put a fat slick road tyre on. It'll be faster and you can just concentrate on keeping awake 😉
Resolute 50s (and 42s for that matter) are great all rounders but if it is just forest roads they are a bit over kill.
Challenge Getaway 45c? Worked nicely for me on shorter runs like Grinduro and also on 200km mixed surface audaxes.
I used to think tread pattern wasn't important, as my virtually semi-slick 40mm Terreno Dry seemed so good for everything.
I then tried the 29er equivalent (Terreno XC) which was probably the fastest tyre I've ever ridden, but seemed a lot floatier in corners. My theory was that the tread pattern had been 'stretched' over a bigger 52mm carcass, and it took longer to find the shoulder tread. So if you go for something wider, aim for slick in the middle but with a decent transition to the edge blocks. Funnily enough Vittoria have now issued the 'T50' which looks like a Terreno but with slightly more aggressive tread in the transition between the crown and the edge blocks. This would be my pick, maybe in a 45mm.
I did the F300 a couple of years back.
There’s nothing remotely technical on it, and it’s all pretty well surfaced. I used 650x47 gravelkings - a standard SK on the front and a semi slick on the back and it seemed spot on. The volume/comfort was certainly nice later on in the day when tired.
When I did the F300 a 2 years ago I rode with Schwalbe G one Allrounds in 38mm front and back as that was the widest that I could fit, if (when) I do it again I'll use the the same tyres but in 45mm width as I now have a different bike.
As @JonEdwards says, you will definitely appreciate the comfort of volume over tread.
Did anyone do FK300 in a day?
The event wasn't really on my radar but I've been putting in more training for long distance so maybe fancy giving it s crack next year...
Up until last year doing it in one day was the only option. I had a bit of anxiety over doing as up until that year the furthest I had ever ridden in one go was 160km. I did the Dirty Reiver a few months before that as a test event and that helped to boost my confidence. But the route is really well thought out and with a nice early start, 0415, the day ticked along quite nicely and I finished in just under 16 hours. I was knackered but in a nice way, with a huge sense of accomplishment.
Did anyone do FK300 in a day?
There’s a lot of road and we had a monster tailwind most of the way (I don’t want to try it again as I know I couldn’t be as quick!)