32c tubeless tires for road use... no gravel!

IronmanGravelGrinder wrote:

May be late to the party but...

 

I recommend without any hesitation Hutchinson 32's! 

Which model? I have the mid-casing Fusion5 on my road bike in 25mm and love it.

I just purchased a pair of WTB Exposure in 30mm for the “all-road” bike that will see Randonneur duty. Will report back after they’re mounted and used a bit.

FWIW I have the Conti 4 Season's on my gravel tandem which has 30mm (ish) MTB rims.  On these wide rims the 32mm 4 Season comes in just under 35mm.  And for the record, no I don't use these tires on gravel. I have a set of 2" MTB tires & tubes which I swap out.

The 4 Seasons are getting difficult to find at a discount. Hopefully Conti isn't going to discontinue these. (fingers crossed)

LewisQC wrote:.. And so it was. Pressure quickly went up to 85 psi. With my small compressor it was not a problem either and I heard those reassuring "pops" when the beads seated (not quite the case with the floor pump but the tire looks perfectly in place).

They mesure 31.54 and 31.56 mm at the moment and I'll re-check later this weekend. I've use Finishline sealant because I wanted to get rid of my last bottle and prefer to use it on my road tires than on mountain bike tires (more on that in the finish line thread when I have the time...).

So for now, without a km on them I can say they're the easiest tires I have setup tubeless. So if ride quality and rolling resistance is on par with the reviews I read, I don't think I'll regret my purchase...

I first rode a rear 5000tl on a trip to France last year and experimented with dropping them down to 45 psi.  After that trip I rode them in gravel for a while just for fun and then they sat in the garage until a recent bike swap made me wonder how they would fit on a leftover wheel (Stans 26mm internal rim).  They went on pretty easy, inflated easily and now I ride them at 32psi (they measure about 33.5mm).  I would never run a tubeless road tire over 60 psi, but the GP5000 are amazing at 30-35 psi in the 32 size.  
Continental overengineers their tires but there are definitely some benefits.  When I put sealant in my 5000s, I can come back weeks and weeks later and it is still as liquidy and fluid as when I put it in.  Most of my other tires dry out in my hot garage during the summer.  I have to scrape out the sludge, slap it back in my sealant container, add some more liquid (boat antifreeze) and remix it before it is useful again.  With the 5000s I've never had a flat and I've never had the sealant dry out.  

I've got 600 or so miles on GP5000 32c. They wear fairly well and are comfy. I'm riding them 47lbs front and 50-51 lbs on the rear. Bike and rider are about 235lbs total. 

My 2020 Giant Defy road bike came with 32c tires, their Gran Fondo 1. I don't know if they are faster or slower than other tires, nor do I really care. I'm not out there trying to break records. I just go to ride. I just bought a replacement rear and when my front goes I'll try something else. But, since I'm building a new gravel bike and I like things matching I bought a new matching rear instead of replacing both. I run them around 50-55psi as it states the pressure should be between 50-75psi. I've used them on gravel and they are pretty good. I'll be doing some more this weekend and I just hope my worn rear lasts that 7mi of gravel. I'll probably try GP5000 after this rear wears next year. 

ccand51997 wrote:
Most of my other tires dry out in my hot garage during the summer.  I have to scrape out the sludge, slap it back in my sealant container, add some more liquid (boat antifreeze) and remix it before it is useful again. 

Could you provide more detail on how you bring sealant back to life?

Which sealant are you using?

What antifreeze are you using?

How long does it take for the dry sealant to remix?

Thanks,
Greg

NoCoGreg wrote:

Could you provide more detail on how you bring sealant back to life?

Which sealant are you using?

What antifreeze are you using?

How long does it take for the dry sealant to remix?

Thanks,
Greg

So a few years back, I was trying to make some fat tires tubeless and knew it would need a ton of sealant and came across an mtbr thread where people talked about making their own sealant.  

1 part liquid latex  (I buy it at Hobby Lobby with the 40 percent off coupon, usually about $10)
1 part automotive tire sealant Slime  (this stuff is really thick and has black flakes in it. I bought a huge thing from Autozone for about $20 and I'm still using it.)
2 parts RV/Marine antifreeze  (do not substitute car!)  $5

I usually mix up about 8-12 ounces at a time in one of the old liquid latex jars which keep it from drying out.  I use a 1/4 measuring cup for the first two and then scrape it out and pour in the antifreeze.  Using a hand mixer I blend it up and then it is ready to go.  During the summer my garage is really hot so when I check a tire that is not sealing and see that it is dry I take a kitchen rubber scraper and scrape out all the thick stuff and slap it back in the original container, add what looks like the right amount of antifreeze and get the runny consistency again. 
I've never bought sealant in 4-5 years of running 4-5 bikes tubeless.