# Tires for Dirt and Gravel



## Bobonli

I need some advice regarding tire size for dirt and gravel. I have limited experience with swapping tires for particular purposes. For example, I've had the same set of 700 x 35c on my commute/touring bike forever, and usually only run 20-23c slicks on my road/racy bike.

I want to venture more onto dirt and gravel (D2R2 in August) and know I need something wider and more puncture resistant than racing slicks but am not sure how wide is necessary. It seems like 35c is overkill. 

Is there a sweet spot for sporty riding on dirt and gravel? What about tread patterns?

Price is not a major concern: I'm not opposed to buying good rubber, I just don't want to have to buy a bunch of sizes just to find the one that works and then be left with tires I won't use. I'm 6ft 2, 210 lbs.

Thanks in advance.


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## Mike T.

I've done a zillion miles of dirt & gravel road riding and if you have done any at all you'll know that conditions vary greatly from newly graded gravel roads that can't be ridden even on a mountain bike with 2.2 tires to hard pack dirt that can be ridden on 23mm road tires. And I encounter everything within that spectrum on my dirt roads in the same riding season.

The best all-round tires I've used were 33mm wide (advertised as 31mm I think) - Challenge Grifo diamond patter tread cyclocross tires. Then I went to Continental Grand Prix 4 Season Vectran advertised as 28mm (which is what I wanted) but actually measured 25mm wide (on Open Pro rims). I wasn't happy about that. They're ok when the going is smoothish but not even close to the 33's when it gets rougher.

And neither of those held a candle to my mountain bike tries when it got quite gravelly and pot holes appeared.

So for me Bob, ya gotta choose tires according to conditions and when I've chosen wrong I take a quick detour back onto the paved roads. If I *had* to pick an average tire it would be an actual 28mm one - but proving it's 28mm when pumped on *my* rims is the tough part.

And then there is the question of whether bigger tires will fit a fork/frame.


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## wibly wobly

I haven't really looked to see who's selling these but, they look like they should be fantastic dirt road tires.

X’PLOR USH | Clement Cycling, Cyclocross Tires, Adventure Tires, Mountain Bike Tires, Road Bike Tires
X’PLOR MSO | Clement Cycling, Cyclocross Tires, Adventure Tires, Mountain Bike Tires, Road Bike Tires


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## tihsepa

I run 28 ultra gatorskins on the limestone, gravel, dirt farm roads in the midwest. They work flawlessly.


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## NJBiker72

Depends on your bike. Wider helps. I have Panaracer Pasela Tg 28's on my Secteur. Work ok. Still loose gravel is not fun.


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## LC

32-35mm seem best to me. Vittoria Randonneur work really well on gravel.


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## Bobonli

I went with the 28c Gatorskins. They seem to be a commonly suggested tire for this sort of surface.
Thanks


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## ergott

I've done D2R2 with Michelin jets setup tubeless @ 40psi. No one passed me on the descents and I could keep up on the paved flats as well. Great setup. The rims were ZTR 29ers which they don't make anymore. The bike is a custom Zanconato.










Look for me there this year with the same setup.


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## Creakyknees

35 slicks on my gravel bike have endured lots of sharp limestone, held up very well. 

Traction on loose gravel is not so great though they do roll well on pavement.


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## Jay Strongbow

I'd go as big as you need to go to be able to use really low air pressure.
I didn't take my own advice when I rode the route and comfort wasn't all that bad and no flats but I had a big problem getting traction going up some of the steeper sections. My buddy who weighs the same and has a similar riding style had no such problems with bigger tires thus much less air pressure than I had.
I would have welcomed more grip/less air going down too. Comfort wasnt much of an issue but the bouncing around at speeds because of harder than ideal tires got sketchy at times.


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## simonaway427

File tread?


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## MMinSC

Clement LAS file tread. Stated as 33c, but measure 35+ and have a BIG volume. They're fast on pavement too.
Kenda Happy Medium. Come in 32 and 35. I'm on the 35s now. More aggressive than a true file tread tire, but still roll well on pavement.

Both make Michelin Jets look like the crap tires that they are...


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## shoegazer

I love my FMB Paris Roubaix 28s - buttery.
View attachment 260159


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## Bobonli

28c Gatorskins are working well. They make my ride feel like an entirely different bike, sportier but still able to take some rough roads. Noticeable difference from 35c.


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