Maximizing One Wheelset

Max wrote:Hi neighbour! (Montrealer here). I'm in a similar boat i.e. separate road bike, one set of wheels for the gravel bike.
I've only just built up the bike (see the Carbonda thread) but my current plan is to run 32mm Gravelking slicks with tubes for our beautiful (ahem) QC roads and some light gravel work.

ccand51997 wrote:Now, you don't sound like you need big stuff for your gravel, so I would just run the Conti Terra Speeds.  They are the fastest gravel tire being made (tied actually) and come in 40mm.  
If your stuff is really that tame, I would put a Terra Speed up front and then use a GP5000tl in back (32mm, of course).  I, and others, have used the 5000tl on a lot of mild gravel and it is surprising tough for a fast tire.

Noonievut wrote:

Im also interested in comfort, and something like a 32 would probably not suit the bill (rims are i25).  I’ve also read about how fast the Terra Speeds are, which I find surprising as they have a small knob down the middle vs something with a slick centre and treads on the sides.  I guess there is more to speed than tread type and pattern.  Once I see how the Touareg performs on gravel (hopefully soon!) I’ll know if I want more comfort (42’s and more supple) or whether my body can handle it.

ccand51997 wrote:

If there is one thing I have learned from about eight years of arduously following tire rolling resistance sites (and doing some personal testing) it's that the rubber compound and thickness matter a lot.

Comfort is a function of air volume and pressure.  I run my GP5000 as low as 35 psi when I'm mostly going to be off-road but not in really crazy stuff.  It is the fastest thing going but, well, only 32mm.  When I used the G-One Allround in 38 I would run that one as low as 25 psi sometimes.  If Schwalbe would combine the golf-ball center of the Speed with the bigger knobs of the Allround and make it in 40, 50 or 60 mm then it would be the ultimate gravel tire in my opinion (with OneStar not Addix).  At least until Conti figures out that a 700x40 and 700x50 version of the Grand Prix 5000 tl would be a spectacular rear tire for gravel when you just want to go fast.  Here's to hoping...

Comfort is important to me on gravel, where I’m likely to encounter more pot holes, washboard, unevenly sized gravel, etc., so I’m very much interested in the “all season” that handles pavement reasonably fast and tame gravel with decent comfort...that’s if I run one set of tires all year.  Because I ride in winter on paved surfaces I would sacrifice speed by keeping the same tires that were decent on gravel, but less hassle with swapping them (sealant, inflating then without a compressor, etc).

Noonievut wrote:

Comfort is important to me on gravel, where I’m likely to encounter more pot holes, washboard, unevenly sized gravel, etc., so I’m very much interested in the “all season” that handles pavement reasonably fast and tame gravel with decent comfort...that’s if I run one set of tires all year.  Because I ride in winter on paved surfaces I would sacrifice speed by keeping the same tires that were decent on gravel, but less hassle with swapping them (sealant, inflating then without a compressor, etc).

Noonievut wrote:
When you say comfort is a function of air volume and pressure, does that mean a 32 tubeless as low as safe to go would have less volume and thus less comfort than a 42 tubeless as low as it can safely go, as the 42 is bigger?
Re: Comfort.  I sort of generalized when I made that statement because tire construction also matters a lot.  The smoothest rolling tires I've ever had was the Schwalbe G-One Speed in 700x50mm.  At 25psi that thing was so much more comfortable than anything I had used before that point.  Some of that is the size and air pressure (20-25psi) and some of that was the really flexible, thin construction. 
As for your question, yes, a large tire will provide more compliance and comfort--all other things being equal--than a smaller one because all that air volume acts as minor suspension.  Pick the right tire and you won't lose a bunch of speed either.  

Comfort is important to me on gravel, 
I totally agree with you.  I started riding gravel on a cobbled-together bike I stole from my daughter (it was a cheap hybrid) because it would clear up to 42mm tires.  I rode and raced it, but my 'gravel' in SoCal San Bernardino mtns and races in Southern Utah was really rough, so I built an mtb conversion with front suspension. I loved that bike until I tried putting an aerobar on it and the front would allow it but the back would bounce a lot (even with a 50mm tire at 20 psi).  So I sold a couple of bikes and bought a full-sus xc race bike and turned it into my gravel racer.  It is awesome.  My favorite bike I have every built up and owned.  It covers 90 percent of the riding I do an allows me to go off-road wherever I want (mostly fire-roads or electrical line roads) and not be super ponderous on pavement.  

Noonievut wrote:

Thanks for sharing your experience!

When you say comfort is a function of air volume and pressure, does that mean a 32 tubeless as low as safe to go would have less volume and thus less comfort than a 42 tubeless as low as it can safely go, as the 42 is bigger?  

Noonievut wrote:On my previous gravel bike I tried using two wheelsets and struggled with swapping wheels and setting up derailleurs for good shifting.  I'm not going that route with my relatively new gravel bike so I wanted to hear from those with one wheelset, and whether you keep it simple and use one set of tires all year, swap tires by 'season', tubeless considerations, etc.