# Gravel tire recommendation



## bubba117

Needing some info on what gravel tires people are using, cant be larger than 38c so anything 33-38c would be good. Running tubeless, I have had a lot of luck running non tubeless specific tires on my rims so im not concerned if they are tubeless specific. Drop some knowledge on me!


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## wgscott

I've been very happy with Clement XPLOR USH 120 tpi 35mm tires. 

Amazon.com : Clement Cycling X'PLOR USH Clincher 120 TPI Tire, Size: 700cm x 35mm : Bike Tires : Sports & Outdoors

I haven't run them tubeless, but others have. This reminded me to order another one; I always like to keep a spare. You can read my review on Amazon (best price btw).


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## harryman

I like these....

Continental Cyclocross SPEED Ride 700c x 42 (38) folding (file tread)


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## GRAVELBIKE

Most of my unpaved riding takes place on Compass Stampede Pass (700x32) and Barlow Pass (700x38) tires. Very plush-riding tires that perform well on hard-packed dirt.


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## robt57

harryman said:


> I like these....
> 
> Continental Cyclocross SPEED Ride 700c x 42 (38) folding (file tread)



+1, maybe +5 IMO

And in real life mounted are 37.5mm wide. So don't let the 42C scare you off of these. I like them a lot, moved to these from Racing Ralphs and the stability of the bike and confidence pushing the big ring went way up off piste. 34mm to 37.5mm comparatively, feels more like I'm riding a 2.0. 

I paid $22.50 each for them also, not bad for a folding Conti I thought.

I would not hesitate to use them for dry not too loose single track either...

EDIT:A friend has the 35mm Speed Rides and they are 1mm smaller [less wide] than my Racing Ralphs mounted for some prospective.


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## headloss

what kind of gravel?


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## wgscott

oolitic aragonite


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## bubba117

headloss said:


> what kind of gravel?


it greatly varies around where I ride, can be hard packed and really fine and fast then make a turn and its heavier gravel that a farmer decided to try and grade and makes it all really loose


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## nhluhr

I've racked up maybe 100mi of gravel (out of about 300mi of total distance on a few cross bike rides) over the past month using Bontrager CX0 700x38. They have served me very well for these rides which were mostly steep (10% or greater) gravel roads up to ridgelines, but also some mixed rolling dirt/gravel forest roads. I've been running them at 60psi for faster rolling on the paved sections and yes that makes them bumpy once I'm on the gravel but at the same time, a lot of the riding I've been doing includes some steep downhills on surfaces that would be pinch flat city if not running the higher pressures.


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## froze

Panaracer Gravel King but they go only to 32 but they are I think the highest rated for gravel. Panaracer: Professional Bicycle Tires| Road


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## Dan Gerous

Right now I'm trying Panaracer GravelKings but the smoother/smaller 700x28 because it's for a mix of dirt and pavement, happy so far but too small for some coarser, looser gravel. I manage on the loose stuff as there is not that much of it around.

As others mentionned, I also like the Continental Cyclocross Speed (same thread as the Speed Ride but in their smaller/lighter 700x35 size). What I liked of these is that on dry, packed dirt and pavement, they're some of the fastest rolling file threads as the knobs are less diamond/pointy, more squared off next to one another. But again, not the best choice if you mostly ride looser and deeper gravel, I'm usually looking more for a do-it-all tires that performs well on gravel, dirt and pavement... I can't ride as fast easily and confortably when I hit a very loose section but given how much it happens, I'm okay in there.


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## robt57

nhluhr said:


> I've racked up maybe 100mi of gravel (out of about 300mi of total distance on a few cross bike rides) over the past month using Bontrager CX0 700x38. They have served me very well for these rides which were mostly steep (10% or greater) gravel roads up to ridgelines, but also some mixed rolling dirt/gravel forest roads. I've *been running them at 60psi* for faster rolling on the paved sections and yes that makes them bumpy once I'm on the gravel but at the same time, a lot of the riding I've been doing includes some steep downhills *on surfaces that would be pinch flat* city if not running the higher pressures.


Me at 210 and pinch fear is why I ordered up the 42C Speed Rides [again 37-8mm in real life]. I had to ride the Ralphs 55-60 to feel safe on the 25mile long abandoned logging road we were frequenting. Enough vegetation to cover you seeing surface in 50% of the ride. The difference going to the 42C Speed Rides @ 45lb was the big ring on coming back down the 5 mile climb. I think if I was 160lbs the 33mm Ralphs @ 40/45 may have been fine, but I am not...

As to deep gravel and the Conit Speed Rides, there are two sections on that particular road [termed loosely] with 100-150' graveled wash out repairs. They used some big stone too, like 1-1/2-2". If you hit it fast with the file tread Conti Speed and push a big gear across that worked. Easy to spin that stone under you tire under power. The smaller Ralphs with more air for my girth was squirrelly to the max trying to carry speed across. 

Some other gravel rides I did had 20 mile legs of fresh graded small stone. I think my 27mm Pave would have been fine, but the Conti Speeds file centers did that fine, as did the Smaller Ralphs. The Speed Rides added volume was nicer on my ALuminum TCX though, but you really felt them on one steep hill... I did...

So my minimal gravel experience is showing me it varies considerably. So if not optimum tires, you walk maybe some, go slower some... Like having hard pack MTN tires in mush perhaps. But still enjoy the crap out of the lack of cars and exhaust fumes... 

I do like the lighter than 29er for most of this stuff, which I had been using prior to getting 'gravel' tires on the CX....

YADA


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## BluesDawg

Specialized Trigger Pro 2Bliss 38mm


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## single1x1

I really liked the conti cyclocross speed I was using a bunch last year, and some this year, I put them back on a bike but this time put some sealant in Latex tubes cause the center tread is wearing a bit and would be more likely to puncture, but did n't have many flats with them when they were newer. 
I've been running the Specialized trigger 38's on some long rides recently setup tubeless on HED belgium + rims and so far pretty good, though the grip and the feel of the casing doesn't feel as nice as the Conti tire, usually running about 45 PSI for a combo of comfort and speed, 35-40 felt slow on regular paved road. 
Just picked up a pair of the smaller 33 triggers to setup tubeless for a long hilly event ride gran fondo...race perhaps, and have one ride on it so far, much lighter then the 38's and faster on paved roads, haven't had it out on tough gravel yet, just smooth gravel and some trail, did pretty well there, it's been dry out.


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## Stevereeneo

I just mounted up a pair of Challenge Gravel Grinders and while I haven't had enough rides to make an assessment, they do have some good reviews:

First Impressions: Challenge Gravel Grinder Tires | GRAVELBIKE
Challenge Tires ?Gravel Grinder? 38mm Tires |

Challenge advises against running them tubeless and while I am running them on some Velocity Aileron rims (which are road tubeless ready) I decided to see how they ride with latex tubes. They measure exactly 38mm on the 20mm rims when I first aired them up to 70psi (just to mount them). 

I think the rain and snow has finally let up here so I should get some time on them this week.

I'd also recommend the Ritchey Shield. They say 700x35, but mine measure a massive 39.8 on the Ailerons. They aired up tubeless and I ran them without issue for a few hundred miles on mostly gravel with a bit of paved commuting. They roll well, and are quite grippy in a wide range of gravel conditions. It's something of a sleeper tire as everyone is looking for volume but no one seems to know about this one.

S


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## NJBiker72

froze said:


> Panaracer Gravel King but they go only to 32 but they are I think the highest rated for gravel. Panaracer: Professional Bicycle Tires| Road


Agree with this. I use the Pasela TG because I do not think the Gravel King was out then, but would go with the Gravel King if doing it now.


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## HEMIjer

Dan Gerous said:


> Right now I'm trying Panaracer GravelKings but the smoother/smaller 700x28 because it's for a mix of dirt and pavement, happy so far but too small for some coarser, looser gravel. I manage on the loose stuff as there is not that much of it around.
> .


If using a road bike 28 Gravel Kings are good but sounds like the ability to go wider so that is always the best choice. I like the 28 Gravel Kings and they have been solid all around for me, still no replacement for a faster rolling cross tire though.


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## Dan Gerous

HEMIjer said:


> If using a road bike 28 Gravel Kings are good but sounds like the ability to go wider so that is always the best choice. I like the 28 Gravel Kings and they have been solid all around for me, still no replacement for a faster rolling cross tire though.


I agree. I chose these because I didn't want to bother switching tires for road rides and they ride pretty well on paved roads (did a 140km road ride on them last friday and they didn't seem to slow me down too much compared to typical lighter, faster, racier road tires... although I admit, most paved roads around here are so bad, they're closer to cobbled roads) but they are better than typical road tires on gravel/dirt, so it's a good compromise for my use. Despite the name though, this is not a pure gravel tire, I'd compare it more with Vittoria Pavés or other Paris-Roubaix style tires than dedicated gravel tires.


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## bubba117

thanks for the tip! what wheels are you running in the photo?


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## Stevereeneo

*My build - Aileron Rims...*



bubba117 said:


> thanks for the tip! what wheels are you running in the photo?


I'm guessing that's for me as I don't see any other pics... 

Those wheels are a set I built myself. The rear is a Ritchey WCS (re-branded DT Swiss complete with their star ratchet...) 28h hub laced to a Velocity Aileron rim with DT Champion spokes. The front is an ebay hub I found with Enduro bearings and the same spokes laced to an Aileron rim. 

I needed a hub that would be swapable between a 15mm thru axel and std QR and wasn't too heavy and I found it for a song with both sets of end caps. I was thinking, "It's a front hub, it just needs to stay together and roll nicely..." So far it has done it's job without complaint. ;-) The bit of research I did indcated it is made by Powerway (China). 

I have been impressed with how well the Aileron rims have held up to some pretty rough gravel roads. One ride in particular, I thought for sure the wheels would need some serious truing afterwards - but they are as true as the day I finished building them with hundreds of rough miles under them. I like that I can run road tubeless on them and have run a few CX tires tubeless.

The other rim I'd recommend - and perhaps a bit more over these - are the Pacenti SL25s. I built a "road" set with those wheels on some DT hubs and run Schwalbe One tubeless tires and they are quite nice as well.

I did a 1300' dirt road climb today and the descent was fine on those tires... they were quite comfy. 

S


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## PMC

wgscott said:


> I've been very happy with Clement XPLOR USH 120 tpi 35mm tires.
> 
> Amazon.com : Clement Cycling X'PLOR USH Clincher 120 TPI Tire, Size: 700cm x 35mm : Bike Tires : Sports & Outdoors
> 
> I haven't run them tubeless, but others have. This reminded me to order another one; I always like to keep a spare. You can read my review on Amazon (best price btw).


These are great gravel tires
I'm on my 2nd set of 120tpi ush and think they're about the best compromise when your gravel is anything from hard pack to marble size loose gravel. 

I've done a number of gravel races that have sections where guys on 28s flat due to rocks but haven't had a flat with the 35s.


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