# Gravel bike tire recommendations?



## No Time Toulouse

OK, I took my gravel-ish bike out today to ride down some trails, but it was still a bit water-logged and muddy, and I found that my tires were just not up to the job. I've been riding on 700cx38 Specialized Nimbus tires. The Nimubuses (Nimbi??) are basically a pavement tire with excellent puncture-protection, compliant sidewalls, and just the faintest hint of tread. Great on asphalt, rideable on packed gravel, squirrely on slightly-muddy conditions, and awful on muddy surfaces.

Since height is the primary restriction, I'm looking for either a 38 or a 40, with just a bit of tread. Certainly, lugged treads would work well on mud, but I don't have the clearance under my fenders, and besides, lugs are terrible on asphalt. Maybe with just a zig-zag pattern, to give me just a bit of control on light mud? If puncture protection isn't great, I can always run a puncture-resistant tube.


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## tihsepa

Gravelking SK. Behaves well off road and well on pavement. These are good tires.


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## idun

I really like the Clement MXP 120 tpi. 

They did great for Rasputitsa and 100b7


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## Srode

Riding in mud / wet dirt is going to take a different tire than dry gravel. Personally I like the WTB NANO TCS because it's tubeless and it does well on the conditions I normally ride for gravel. For mud they would not do well, there you need something with nobbies spaced enough to clear the mud. Clement MSO Xplor is a nice 40mm tubed tire I've used and it does well also. Both the Nano and the MSO roll well on pavement for a gravel tire.


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## changingleaf

One of the tires I really like for gravel is the Schwalbe G-one.


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## bigbill

WTB Riddlers in 37mm are good in the mud. The Gravel Kings imo, are better in dry conditions.


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## Finx

I've used and enjoyed Clement X'Plor MSO tubeless (36mm I believe), Panaracer Gravel Kings SK, Schwable G-One, and G-One Speed (one of my favorite all around tires at 30mm), and most of the Compass tires. 



Compass are a fantastic tire for dry conditions, but they don't have much tread and can get squirmy in mud. Very supple and fast rolling at higher pressures.
The G-one Speed doesn't have a lot of tread either, so if mud is a feature you frequently encounter, you might go elsewhere. Similar to the Compass. Fast and supple.
Gravel Kings are a good all around tire, although not as fast rolling and supple as those mentioned above, they do have some tread and do fairly well in loose gravel and mud.
The Clement's are well suited to a lot of terrain. They have a nice center bead, so they roll fairly well (nothing like the others mentioned though), but are nicely treaded to give some grip in mud and loose gravel.


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## Jay Strongbow

I'm a big fan of Challenge Almanzo. Sounds like what you are looking for except they they are only 33mm.
They also make one called Gravel King that has a bit more aggressive tread and is 36mm that might work for you.


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## duriel

I think you'll find that knobbies will work with fenders, but not with not so much with mud. You'll need to leave those off if you have any 'mud' conditions.


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## Lombard

Another vote here for Clement X'Plor MSO. They roll well on pavement and also do well off-road. They come in 32, 36 and 40mm widths as well as in 30, 60 or 120 TPI. The higher the TPI, the higher the cost. 

Review: Clement X'Plor MSO tyres | road.cc


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## No Time Toulouse

Those Schwalbs look nice, just not "$70 nice"......


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## JBarney

I just mounted a pair of Maxxis Rambler 40's on my Boone to be my gravel ride/racing tire this season. Tubeless, light weight and feels pretty quick.
Has really good review also. I did need to mount them with a tube for a few days for I could "tubeless" them.


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## Finx

PSA: the license has expired on the use of "Clement" and Donnelly Racing is now selling all of the old "Clement" branded models under the Donnelly brand going forward.

Same tires, same compounds, same treads.. Just a different logo on the sidewall...
https://www.donnellycycling.com/collections/adventure


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## Hiro11

In my experience, slicks work best for hardpack/dry conditions. You only need knobs if the conditions are wet or muddy. 

If you're riding on dry hardpack, large volume slick commuter tires work well, are durable, inexpensive and resistant to punctures. Super compliant slicks like the various Compass offerings, the Vittoria Voyageur Hyper and the Soma Supple Vitesse all roll very fast, have pillow like rides and can be surprisingly durable. The trade off is that all are expensive (with the exception of the Vittoria) , can be cut prone for some people and some can be somewhat tricky to set up tubeless. The Maxxis Refuse is a slightly more robust slick tire that a lot of people have had success with.

Slightly treaded tires like the Clement / Donnelley X'Plor MSO, Panaracer Gravelking SK, Challenge Gravel Grinder, Kenda Happy Medium, Terrene Elwood etc are all great compromise tires that can be used in a variety of conditions. I've used both the 36 and 50 MSOs and like them. The trade off is that all will roll with slightly more resistance than a slick which could get draining on very long rides. 

Cross tires or tires with larger knobs are overkill for almost all conditions. All are also very slow rolling, in my experience, I don't recommend them unless you're doing a course with lots of gnarly singletrack.

If your bike can fit them, semi-slick or slick 1.75 or 2.0 29er tires can work very well, are easy to find, inexpensive, very tough and offer huge volume.

I don't notice a huge difference in riding compliance with more any tire when riding tubeless or tubed. IMO, the main benefit of tubeless is that you can run lower pressures without worrying about pinch flats. YMMV, obviously.


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## [email protected]

I'm a big fan of the challenge gravel grinders: Gravel Grinder TLR Tire - Tubeless


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## desaljs

Gravel King SK (small knobs) would get my vote. And it your "gravel" ride will feature a lot of tarmac, the Gravel King SS model is a great choice. Right now, I have the GK SS on my gravel bike, which I am using on tarmac for early season rides, and they roll very nicely. I have them on my Giant Revolt, in a 700X38 with tubes at 60 psi.


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## Lombard

desaljs said:


> Gravel King SK (small knobs) would get my vote. And it your "gravel" ride will feature a lot of tarmac, the Gravel King SS model is a great choice. Right now, I have the GK SS on my gravel bike, which I am using on tarmac for early season rides, and they roll very nicely. I have them on my Giant Revolt, in a 700X38 with tubes at 60 psi.


You mean the Panaracers? Great bang for the buck.


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## Softrider

You might look at the WTB Raddler for a decent all around tire. It's a has a center section of small knobs and larger out knobs. My experience is that this is an excellent tire in all gravel conditions, fairly quiet when ridden on pavement, and quite decent on muddy roads. Don't think they would be a great choice for deep mud, but for what we have, which is a very hard packed dirt roads that get a slippery layer of mud on top, they are good.


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## nOOky

I have a pair of Clement Mxp 700 x 33 on my bike now. However they are in need of replacement. I don't really need an agressive tire like that, although they did roll well enough on pavement. I would like to stay about that width, but with a less aggressive tread. They did last almost twice as long as the cheap Kenda tires it came with.

So I'm looking for suggestions for a tire that will be 75% street, the rest gravel, with probably no actual off road use. I use my gravel bike mainly when it's wet out or the roads are sandy or sketchy and don't want to dirty up my road bike.


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## Lombard

nOOky said:


> I have a pair of Clement Mxp 700 x 33 on my bike now. However they are in need of replacement. I don't really need an agressive tire like that, although they did roll well enough on pavement. I would like to stay about that width, but with a less aggressive tread. They did last almost twice as long as the cheap Kenda tires it came with.
> 
> So I'm looking for suggestions for a tire that will be 75% street, the rest gravel, with probably no actual off road use. I use my gravel bike mainly when it's wet out or the roads are sandy or sketchy and don't want to dirty up my road bike.


How much are you willing to spend?

Challenge Strada Bianca comes in a 700c x 36 and 700c x 30. Rene Herse has the Bon Jon Pass (700c x 35) and Stampede Pass (700c x 32). Panaracer Gravel King comes in a 700c x 35 and 700c x 32.


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## harryman

I have a pair of gravel king SS that I love, slick center, the longitudinal knobs on the outer edges for soft stuff. Best of both worlds ime


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## nOOky

Lombard said:


> How much are you willing to spend?
> 
> Challenge Strada Bianca comes in a 700c x 36 and 700c x 30. Rene Herse has the Bon Jon Pass (700c x 35) and Stampede Pass (700c x 32). Panaracer Gravel King comes in a 700c x 35 and 700c x 32.


The Panaracer look like my price category. Just back to researching them now. So many options lol.


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## Marc

nOOky said:


> I have a pair of Clement Mxp 700 x 33 on my bike now. However they are in need of replacement. I don't really need an agressive tire like that, although they did roll well enough on pavement. I would like to stay about that width, but with a less aggressive tread. They did last almost twice as long as the cheap Kenda tires it came with.
> 
> So I'm looking for suggestions for a tire that will be 75% street, the rest gravel, with probably no actual off road use. I use my gravel bike mainly when it's wet out or the roads are sandy or sketchy and don't want to dirty up my road bike.


Hutchinson Overrides, Vittoria Terreno Zeros, Schwalbe Ones in bigger sizes, Panaracer GK slicks, or the Strade Bianas from Challenge.

Lots of options, I've tried all of them, they're all pretty good and have great bead retention. The Challenge is probably the most supple but most cut prone.


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## Lombard

nOOky said:


> The Panaracer look like my price category. Just back to researching them now. So many options lol.


Panaracers are a great bang for the buck even if a bit heavier.


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## nOOky

Ordered Panaracer gravel kings in 32mm thanks for the tips folks.


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## Catmandoo

tihsepa said:


> Gravelking SK. Behaves well off road and well on pavement. These are good tires.


Ditto. They roll very nicely on pavement and also work very well on packed dirt, I've happily ridden dirt single track and was pleasantly surprised how well they grip in turns.


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## nOOky

I took them for their maiden voyage and started out on pavement in the rain. I noticed the back acting sketchy, so I took it real easy until I got some gravel to scrub the mold release agent or whatever it was that may have been on them. Seemed okay after that, I've only had one ride with them.


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## Lombard

nOOky said:


> I took them for their maiden voyage and started out on pavement in the rain. I noticed the back acting sketchy, so I took it real easy until I got some gravel to scrub the mold release agent or whatever it was that may have been on them. Seemed okay after that, I've only had one ride with them.


New tire glaze.


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## Finx

I just got done with a break-in ride on Gravel King SS+ 38mm. These worked perfectly for the 80'ish mile gravel ride. It's a long 40 mile climb up the side of a mountain, followed by a somewhat sketchy decent. These tires were very sure footed in the loose stuff, and have a pretty substantial sidewall and puncture protection.

They work well enough on the road with the file tread, but I wouldn't classify them as fast supple tires on tarmac. 

Ideal from pretty much anything from fire roads to single track.


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## 4Crawler

I found some nasty gravel at a local park, Mission Peak near Fremont, CA. On ~20% grades, the park crews have dumped what looks like stream dredging material on the roads. It's a mix of sand and rounded pebbles and is about like walking or riding on ball bearings. It may pack down after some heavy rain, but for now it's just loose and deep. My Schwalbe Marathon Mondial tires work OK on this @28-30psi, but it's so soft and deep that it's tiring to ride up the steeper grades. Almost impossible to walk up this either as your feet slip with every step. I find walking on the grass at the side of the road is the only way up.


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