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I'm thinking of sacking off road tyres and keeping something more Gravel orientated on all year round so offroad is always an option. Wanting to stick with slicks though as I'll be mostly on-road on the bike in question.
So what are the best options for a 35-40mm 700c slick, tubeless compatible, and reasonably light tyre? Tan sidewalls strongly preferred...
What confuses me at the moment is the weight differences between some things that appear to serve the same purpose.
At one end, there is the 700x38mm Gravelking (not the SK), which somehow comes out at 320g if Panaracer are to be trusted:
https://www.panaracer.com/lineup/gravel.html
Unless they fall apart on sight of a sharp rock, those are a no-brainer, as they're super-light compared to narrower but similar things like a WTB Exposure 34mm (370g) or Donnelly Strada USH 32mm (388g)
Anyone have much experience on those non-SK Gravelkings, or something else similar?
A friend rode the slick gravelking s all year. Good road tyres but pretty rubbish off road - not much grip and punctures (though he is very heavy)
I use the 35mm SKs on my gravel bike, really like them. Fast on road, good off road too until it gets muddy.
I used 2.3" G One slicks on my 29er over summer. Brilliant! Very fast on road and surprisingly capable on single-track.
Rubbish in mud though!
Schwalbe G-One Evolution - I've been running 40mm ones for a year in all conditions - I can keep up with my mates on the road and they're good enough for most of my local trails in the dry.
They are light because they are thin so will puncture more easily. I run 25c slick tyres all year round on gravel and don't have a problem with grip. What I have a problem with is punctures due to the sharp flint from the gravel. I would put money on me puncturing a gravel king on the first ride. I ride Schwalbe Durano Plus and have even punctured one of those a few weeks ago.
Is the carcass different than the sk version then I assume? I thought the difference was the tread, clearly not. I have the 35 mm sk and they weigh around 400 gms. One puncture in a year, but not tackling much flint tracks tbf.
They are nice tyres, but definitely slower than when I fit road tyres to the same bike, unsurprisingly, and it's really noticeable when cruising on the flat.
G-One Allround in 35mm or 38mm, or a mixture of the two. Good tyres. Tough enough for road work in terms of puncture resistance (many CX tyres are bad at this) yet surprisingly grippy offroad in all but mud.
I've had punctures on my tubeless Gravelkings but no worse than anything else and they seal up with the goo quickly.
I run 32c standard Gravel kings tubeless, dead easy to set up, good on gravel (not mud / grass / etc) & never had a puncture that the sealant couldn't cope with. Only reason I would change them is to go for more volume.
Has anyone tried the 38mm non-tubeless G-Ones tubeless?
I'm looking at some for the commuter but want to run them tubeless and dont fancy spending £50 each on the proper tubeless ones.
Bruce Gordon Rock'n'Road would be my suggestion. A little bit bigger but fast on road, progressive offroad. Mine are going back on tonight after riding with Compass 48s for 550km in Tuscany last week.
I've a Vittoria hyper voyager on the back of my gravel bike. Don't think it's officially tubeless, but goes up fine and is very smooth rolling.
I've been using 33c Challenge Strada Bianca Race the last couple of years. They're great but wearing out. If I could get some in 38 easily I'd probably be having them but I've got some 38c Gravelking Slicks coming so ask me in a few months.
Hmm, I think what I really want is a 35 slick Gravelking without paper-thin sidewalls. Shame Panaracer don't make the Gravelking slicks with the same carcass as the SK's, as 320g for a 38mm tyre is worryingly light.
I'm tempted to try them anyway as I spend a lot of time on roads on this bike, so don't really want to go for the SK's.
G-one's could be an option but I hear they don't last very long(?) And no tan sidewalls. I'm quite attached to that idea.
WTB Exposure 34 could work but rare, expensive and potentially fragile. So actually that doesn't sound so good after all...
The new Vittoria Zero look quite nice...
https://road.cc/content/tech-news/248960-vittoria-terreno-zero-gravel-tyre-launched
Oh, Challenge could be perfect actually. Haven't looked at them as much as I should
There's a confusing number of variations all named vary similarly, including some terrifyingly expensive open tubular ones. The very specific 'Challenge Strada Bianca Race 33c' seemed to be about the sweet spot to me. You can probably swap 33 for 38 now though.
They don't claim to be tubeless friendly but I didn't have any problems with them. Well, no more than any tubeless tyre can do when feeling difficult. Just kept the pressure at 50psi as recommended on the rim. Was fine. The newer ones are supposed to be tubeless ready.
They come up slightly larger on 21mm internal rims too, 35mm odd I think.
So I'm still a bit stuck with this one despite having various options... Thought I'd summarise here in case it's useful for anyone.
I've concluded that something 35-38mm would suit me for this bike, which will go mostly offroad, but has to cope with a fair bit of rocky-ness when off. So I want tubeless, slick, and tough enough to not fall apart offroad but fast enough on it. Something weighing around 350-400g per wheel.
These seem to be the options:
> Panaracer Gravelking slick 38mm (320g)
> Hutchinson Override 35mm or 38mm (350g or 400g)
> Compass Bon Jon Pass 35mm (350g)
> Challenge Strada Bianca TLR 36mm (375g)
> Schwalbe G-One allround 35mm (400g)
> Mavic YKSION elite allroad 35mm (380g or so I think)
> Ritchey Alpine JB 35mm (400g)
> WTB Exposure 34mm (370mm, come up large)
I've read not-so-good things about the Schwalbe's, Mavic's and WTB's getting torn up by rocks offroad. But I guess these anecdotal stories are inevitable
Similar worries about the Compass, which sound super nice but potentially with durability issues. Not to mention the price.
Challenge are also super expensive and I can't find any reviews of this new tubeless model so reluctant to go for them.
Ritchey's could be good, but not easy to find and again expensive.
The Hutchinson's get great reviews and are super cheap. Could be perfect, but damn my superficial side wants some tan sidewalls...
So that leaves the Gravelkings. They get great reviews and I've had the 43mm SK's before, which were brilliant. But these new 38mm slicks are so damn light I can't imagine how they won't fall apart. That said, they few people I can find who have used them rate them.
So I guess I may go for those, unless my more sensible self goes with the Hutchinson's, or the Schwalbe's if the durability fears are overblown.
My mate had Gravel kings on the other day, I think it was 38 slick front and 38 sk rear. He seemed happy with them other than suggesting they come up a bit small.
If you weren't so stuck on weight I found the 38c Specialized Sawtooth to be very good but they are 500g.
Very tough and roll very well off road and on road. Got some of my fastest times on them (faster than some lighter tyres)