# Tires for paved/gravel road races?



## yz_387 (Aug 4, 2005)

I am going to be doing a few races this year which will consist of approx a 50/50 mix of pavement and gravel roads and am looking for tire suggestions (clincher). I currently have a set of Specialized Borough 32c tires which I often use for training rides which consist of both gravel and pavement, but they are pretty heavy and don't roll the fastest. Everything else I have is 23c and thus less than ideal for gravel. I am patrial to Continental since I can get them at a discount so I was considering picking up a set of 28c GP 4 seasons. Any thoughts about these or any other suggestions?

BTW I weigh 150 lbs and will be using these on the cross bike.


----------



## Hank Stamper (Sep 9, 2009)

Can you be more specific about the gravel?

If in a race situation and on the gravel roads I'm likely to be on (actually better than some bad tar roads) I'd use Vittoria paves but they probably couldn't handle really bad gravel roads.


----------



## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

As our gravel roads range from hardpack dirt that 23mm tires can be used on to freshly graded gravel that can't be ridden on a mountain bike then there are too many variables to give a good answer unless details are provided.

For a couple of seasons I used Challenge Grifo 33mm wide cyclo-cross tires and they were great - the ones with the file tread. Weight 335 grams. They are fast *and* forgiving.

23mm tires, unless it's compact dirt, are the worst choice. Be careful with Cont- 4-Season 28mm as mine are 25mm in actual width and narrower than my 25mm Michelin Pro.


----------



## frdfandc (Nov 27, 2007)

How about Conti Gatorskins in either 25 or 28c? Good performers, but added flat protection.


----------



## BigCircles (Mar 25, 2009)

Check out the Marathon Extreme's (HS402's) from Schwalbe. Very durable tire that works great on gravel and rolls well on pavement too. They makes them in 35's - which may work for your bike. I rolled on Marathon Extreme 40's in the Dirty Kanza 200 last year, and also rode them on a 385 mile randonneuring brevet. All good!


----------



## yz_387 (Aug 4, 2005)

It's tough to say what the gravel might be like on race day. I live in Michigan and depending on the weather, our gravel roads can range from relatively smooth hardpack to hardpack with 6 inch deep pot holes to very loose 1/2 inch diameter rocks. It all depends on how long since the last rain and the last time the grader came through. Basically I am looking for something that will give me puncture resistance (in case there are sections full of the small rocks) without slowing me down too much on the pavement.


----------



## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

yz_387 said:


> It's tough to say what the gravel might be like on race day. I live in Michigan and depending on the weather, our gravel roads can range from relatively smooth hardpack to hardpack with 6 inch deep pot holes to very loose 1/2 inch diameter rocks. It all depends on how long since the last rain and the last time the grader came through.


My dirt/gravel roads (in Ontario) are just the same and that's what makes it impossible to generalize. The only way is to show up with 3 bikes (road, cx, mtb) and choose the appropriate tool for the day. It could mean the difference between winning and not finishing.


----------

