I road with SK's for a while and they held up pretty well. A flat here or there, but that is to be expected. I did get one of the off white variants to run on my bike and it seemed to be slightly weaker and I ended up burping it on a corner and it cut into the sidewall. I've put a lot of miles on the Continental Terra Trails, but like it was said in another thread here, lots of pinholes. It was an OK trade off as they were so very supple. Changed wheels and put on the Michelin Power Gravel and I've been very impressed, more so than I was with the SK's. Going on a 300 mile ride this weekend ot really stress test them.
WTB Resolute will be around 43mm (give or take) on most rims and is a terrific tire. Rolls well on pavement and gravel, good tread life, durable when used tubeless with sealant.
Late to this conversation but I’ve run both GK SKs 38mm and Schwalbe G-one All Around in 38mm. I find the GKs hook up much better in loose gravel turns compared to the G-ones. The G-ones were better on pavement and hardback, but only a tiny bit. I can’t say there was a noticeable speed difference but the G-ones were quieter and felt smoother. I also felt that the G-ones had a bit more supple feel.
I’ve taken the G-ones off and run only the GK 38s now. For my mix of riding I think the GKs are superior.
The Hutchinson Touareg might be a contender to the SK(+) as an all-around tire good tire that is cheap, and last a long time. Just no lighter version w/o the sidewall reinforcement. They are only $32 each right now for a pair. Might have to try them based on the review here, even though it's getting late in the year.
Well I believe that the Maxxis Rambler fall in the same fast rolling sub-category, and unlike some accounts up here, they've been excellently reliable for me and my riding partner for three full seasons. I'm literally about to mount my third set on (40mm, then 45mm). In the meantime I've tried the WTB Resolute and I have to agree on the grip that's fantastical except in the wet (where the expectation of grip has led me into a few scary fumbles), but I didn't stick with them because mainly compared to the Rambler they felt sluggish but mostly, dead.
My point being, Rambler is a terrific, fast and lively tire in my experience.
Im gonna be in the minority and say that the SKs for me did not work out well. The side knobs for whatever reason felt like they could give way easily when cornering on loose-over-hard surfaces. Or if I hit any obstacle when I was on the sides they would not like to catch & I almost wiped out a few times in memory. I ran the 700 x 50 and 650b x 48 models.
I've ridden the 43-622 GK SK+ but not many miles. On pavement they're reasonably smooth and roll OK but follow grooves and lines. On dirt they slipped a bit on one steep climb, otherwise I didn't really put them to the test. The 38-622 GK+ slick feels much more like a road tire.
For pavement and easy dirt/gravel I prefer the Pirelli Cinturato Gravel H. I haven't tried any of the RH knobbies but I've read good reviews of them.
I’ve got about 1800 miles on my current Rambler exo 700x45s. I ride about 85% gravel and dirt. We don’t have the sharp crushed limestone here but I have done a couple races/rides in MO on that stuff. We do have a ridiculous amount of goat heads and cleaning sealant off my bike is routine. I ran a set of Conti Terra Speed 40s for about 200 miles and they were destroyed. I could tell the difference in resistance and weight with the Contis but the Ramblers are far more durable. I’m guessing I still have a few hundred mile left with them before the tread wears out. I have not had to stop and repair a tire once with them. Add air-yes, pull a wheel? Never.
Piggybacking on things that’ve been said above, I am a huge EXO Rambler fan myself, which I have always considered a worthy alternative to GK SK’s. I loved my three pairs; 40, 40 and 45mm respectively, tubeless always. I’m coming off my winter tires set, 45mm Pirelli Cinturato Gravel M — these have amazing bite including in the wet, but they’re not quite as fast as Ramblers on smooth surface. Now i just spoiled myself a pair 42mm René Herse Hurricane Ridge knobbies with the Endurance sidewalls. I had high expectations. Yet, my mind is still blown away! I half-jokingly tell my friends that they roll on smooth surface like you have a permanent tailwind. And in singletrack situation they just feel like you’re velcro’ed down to the trail. Quite remarquable! They’re spendy, tho, for sure. Haven’t tested them in wet and muddy conditions yet, but that’s not where GK and Ramblers shine anyways.
I will throw my 2 cents in here--bottom line is how good all these tires are nowadays ---but ---I have run panaracer gk-sk for a a couple of years for well over 5000 miles and recently changed to the + version. I always run tubeless and have never had a flat except for a sidewall tear on a sharp rock in a stream one time on a plain sk. But, overall, I don't think that you can beat the gk-sk's for mixed surface dirt, gravel, and road. If riding only gravel and dirt, my vote is WTB ventures or resolutes--both are fantastic and likely better with the new version with more flat protection.
In the 42-44mm range, is there a faster semi-slick than the GK SS?
My gravel is more of a crushed limestone on top of old pavement, and I also ride on a lot of paved surfaces. No dirt. No b-roads. I’m looking for a tire that when I ride them on multi-day credit card tours primarily on paved surfaces that I’m not wearing down a tread that I don’t need.
Noonievut I think the slick gravel king is probably your best bet. Alternatives would be a fat G-one or Rene Herse.
But the way you decribe your riding - a touring tire might be a good bet. Schwalbe makes a lot of models of the "marathon" models that would also fit your requirements (but 42 might be a little big for a touring tire)
Yeah great comparison. Im running the Pirelli in 650bx50, and the stated weight is 540 grams, which is the same stated weight as the GK SK in 650bx48
I bought a pair of Gravel H 650x50; mine were 640.0g and 643.2g. A single Gravel M (bigger knobs) in 650x50 was 695.3g. I've seen other sites test the 700s and they're a little overweight compared to specs, but not out of line with other brands. The 650 spec weight however is just wrong. FYI
The Kenda Flintridge Pro, for me, is better than the GravelKing SK. Zero flats, low rolling resistance and has handled everything I've thrown at it, including mud. I've been impressed.
PizzaMinion wrote:The Kenda Flintridge Pro, for me, is better than the GravelKing SK. Zero flats, low rolling resistance and has handled everything I've thrown at it, including mud. I've been impressed.
I'm pretty sure that Kenda does not make any tires that have low rolling resistance. I say this as someone who has tried a lot of Kenda tires, but also having seen many a rolling resistance test where their tires scored terribly.
Piggybacking on things that’ve been said above, I am a huge EXO Rambler fan myself, which I have always considered a worthy alternative to GK SK’s. I loved my three pairs; 40, 40 and 45mm respectively, tubeless always. I’m coming off my winter tires set, 45mm Pirelli Cinturato Gravel M — these have amazing bite including in the wet, but they’re not quite as fast as Ramblers on smooth surface. Now i just spoiled myself a pair 42mm René Herse Hurricane Ridge knobbies with the Endurance sidewalls. I had high expectations. Yet, my mind is still blown away! I half-jokingly tell my friends that they roll on smooth surface like you have a permanent tailwind. And in singletrack situation they just feel like you’re velcro’ed down to the trail. Quite remarquable! They’re spendy, tho, for sure. Haven’t tested them in wet and muddy conditions yet, but that’s not where GK and Ramblers shine anyways.