No lightest, no fastest, just need the OMG the tire did not shred tire.

Ok scratch all the weights, rolling resistance, tire life, grip, and tubeless or not tubeless.....   What is your OMG how did this tire make it without shredding?  What is the toughest tire out there?  

I do a lot riding in the Flint Hills of Kansas.  I have been extremely happy with the performance and durability of the Kenda Flintridge Pro tire.  

Schwalbe makes some Marathons that weigh 2 pounds each, but that's probably going to be overkill.

Thick slick.  Not a gravel tire,  but good for ebikes and Fixed gear skid-stops.  ;-)

The Schwalbe Marathon Plus has a reputation as one of the most bomb-proof tires out there, and it's heavy AF. It's well loved by long distance touring cyclists and urban commuters, and even has a bit of tread on it that might work okay for some types of gravel.

This is far from a comprehensive list of tires, but here's a recent gravel tire review by Grand Fondo magazine that at least attempts to make somewhat objective measures of tire puncture resistance:

https://granfondo-cycling.com/the-best-gravel-tire/

They rated the Donnelly MSO as the most puncture-proof tire of the 10 popular gravel tires they tested.

I can't say enough good about the MSO 50 tires I've used for more than a year now. For sure on tough, they roll well, and they offer a lot of traction including in packed snow. They also seem as good as it gets for a tubeless tire that seals well.

You can run MTB tires.  Depending on our frame clearances, many still come in 2.0" width.

Can't say enough about the Specialized, "Pathfinder Pro", not that it matters, but it's the tire that won Dirty Kanza...

Maxxis Ravager 700x40
Been the front tire on my gravel rig for years and never a single issue (except when I let sealant dry up)

chas wrote:Thick slick.  Not a gravel tire,  but good for ebikes and Fixed gear skid-stops.  ;-)

Sorry Chas, but I've gotta side with Volsong on this one...  I've got 26x2.25 Schwalbe Marathon XR's on a Frankenbike conversion and they just keep going and going.  Yeah they're heavy but if one wants a sidewall which won't easily slice then it's gonna weigh alot.  It takes some effort to spin up these wheels but once they're going it's actually a nice ride.  If I were doing more technical singletrack I'd miss lugs but for sand, gravel and hardpack the tread and width of the Marathons works quite well but yes an electric motor would help. 

Another thought on reducing the chance of sidewall cuts is to run a wider tire on a narrower rim.  My 2.25" Marathons are mounted on circa '92 mtb rims which are around 25 mm external.  This gives the tires a nice round shape and helps keep sharp rocks away from the sidewalls. 

On another gravel bike I'm running Mavic Open Pro's (19mm external) with 40 & 38 mm tires (F/R).  Let's just say I don't subscribe to the current thought that wide tires REQUIRE wide rims.  The narrower rims result in a tire with more flex in the sidewall and a more rounded tread profile.  Conversely a more straight sidewall gives more precise steering (IMO anyway).

Cheers,
Greg

Kenda Flintridge Pro

Ditto on the Kenda Flintridge Pro.

Yeah the Kenda Flintridge Pro is a bomb proof tire. That is how it got it's name. When I did the Pony Express Ride @Marysville Kansas I keep asking the locals what they were riding. The answer was the Flintridge Pro's. It was designed to take the sharp flint out there. It was my 1st real big gravel ride/race and I was careful the 1st half of the ride picking my lines. As my confidence built up doing the ride I didn't have a worry at all and just let the bike take me wherever. I saw quite a few flats that day but had no worries with the Flintridge on the bike. Good luck

Zman

Down here around wichita ks. The Gravel kings are very popular.  I have just wore out a set of clement exlor mso's with about 600+ miles on them. Pic compares old to new set on right, going to give them a run one more time. My buddy rode just a little less miles on his gravel kings sk and they looked to be only half worn out compared to mso's.  For both tires riding in flint hills as much as we could neither of us ever flated even with riding the dirty kanza 50m. So comparing these two the gk sk's did not get chewed up as bad as the clement xplor mso.

imwjl wrote:I can't say enough good about the MSO 50 tires I've used for more than a year now. For sure on tough, they roll well, and they offer a lot of traction including in packed snow. They also seem as good as it gets for a tubeless tire that seals well.

An update in the context of SO many product choices and changes to the family fleet.

I remain impressed with the MSOs and for the post about durability, yes. They've been commuters for me too. My son has really tough heavy Schwalbe Marathons and they're not as supple or sticky for riding when you push it. The Schwalbe are more JRA if MSO let you rail or jump a drop bar bike.

In all this time the MSOs don't have the center ridge of tread standing out anymore but don't exactly feel too slow on pavement but are still great on about any sort of dirt. Also with time, they remain really good about staying sealed.

My other point for the update is I replaced bald and balding Race Kings on the Fargo with Rene Hearse Fleecer Ridge in Endurance casing. An associate got them in Endurance Plus. Tan wall is the only thing negative I can say. They live up to the hype and may or may not be what some are looking for.

 

The Hearse knobby in MTB sizes won't rail or be sticky the way some MTB tires are but are overall more confidence inspiring than a racer type MTB tire. They are super predictable in craptacular gravel messed up by ATV traffic. They don't mud pack like finer pattern tires.

 

At the moment I'm thinking of replacing the MSO 50s with 48 or 42 Rene Hearse. Make the Fargo and Sutra Ltd. more complementary and Sutra for rides that will be more pavement and less carry or more spirited.

imwjl wrote:My other point for the update is I replaced bald and balding Race Kings on the Fargo with Rene Hearse Fleecer Ridge in Endurance casing. An associate got them in Endurance Plus. Tan wall is the only thing negative I can say. They live up to the hype and may or may not be what some are looking for.

I have a pair of Rene Herse Snoqualmie Pass with Endurance casing.  Last year I hit one piece of glass and flatted both of them instantly.  In my experience they have a lot of good qualities but puncture protection isn't one of them.

I got the Endurance casing because I got constant flats with Stampede Pass and Barlow Pass Extralights.  Gave the Barlow Pass to my sister who lives in a town with no glass on the road and she got constant flats.

That said I never had a blowout, tear, or any other failure with Rene Herse tires.

Stu it might be cheaper for you to move across the country than to keep flatting bike tires.

Volsung wrote:Stu it might be cheaper for you to move across the country than to keep flatting bike tires.

If only I could get a resident visa for New Zealand ...

However I've had better luck in the last year riding mostly on road tires.  No flats in about 2000 km with Conti Urban Taraxagum or Schwalbe Marathon Almotion.  Those two don't even show any tread cuts.  No flats in about 700 km with FlatAway liners in RH Snoqualmie Pass Endurance.  One flat in about 1200 km with Soma Shikoro.