Speed roadie vs gravel

52 replies · 6,618 views

Mark_S
144 posts
#41Apr 6, 2021, 6:17 AM
@Turbogrover - how would you compare the 38mm SS to the 28mm Conti, vis a vis efficiency on the road? I realize these are two different bikes but I ask because I prefer one bike and one set of wheels, and do far more road than gravel. I am hopeful the SS is a big improvement over my current SKs and would hate to turn to the Contis in 32 as I know from demoing a Domane that these are not up to my occasional off-road sanity breaks...
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Turbogrover
96 posts
#42Apr 6, 2021, 8:19 PM
The SS 38s are a big improvement on pavement compared to the SKs. My gravel bike is not as aero as my road bike, but they're pretty close on speed on the flats, and a little slower on the road climbs. If I had only one bike, the gravel bike would be my choice. I can put 650b wheels and tires on, and ride it on any terrain. I'm almost 58 yrs old, and I was riding my gravel bike on the pavement last night at 25 mph pretty steady on the flats.
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mike d
138 posts
#43Apr 6, 2021, 9:23 PM
ironman3 wrote:

These types of accidents are actually pretty rough. I fractured my two ankles while riding a Bianchi, and it was harmful enough to stop biking for months.

Wow, I guess I won't buy that Bianchi I've been dreaming about. 😉 JK.
In the end it's always a trade off and there are way too many variables that have been mentioned. Bike weight, wheel weight, tire weight, tire width, tire construction, tire tread, aerodynamics, gearing...and what kind of riding are you doing? As a rough estimate, I average ~1 to1.5 mph slower on my gravel bike on the rides I regularly do. Some of that is the bike, some of that is the attitude I have when I'm on the bike (I don't feel like I have to go as fast). But it's so fun I don't care.
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Mark_S
144 posts
#44Apr 7, 2021, 1:09 AM
Turbogrover wrote:The SS 38s are a big improvement on pavement compared to the SKs. My gravel bike is not as aero as my road bike, but they're pretty close on speed on the flats, and a little slower on the road climbs. If I had only one bike, the gravel bike would be my choice. I can put 650b wheels and tires on, and ride it on any terrain. I'm almost 58 yrs old, and I was riding my gravel bike on the pavement last night at 25 mph pretty steady on the flats.
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Mark_S
144 posts
#45Apr 7, 2021, 8:23 AMedited
Turbogrover wrote:The SS 38s are a big improvement on pavement compared to the SKs. My gravel bike is not as aero as my road bike, but they're pretty close on speed on the flats, and a little slower on the road climbs. If I had only one bike, the gravel bike would be my choice. I can put 650b wheels and tires on, and ride it on any terrain. I'm almost 58 yrs old, and I was riding my gravel bike on the pavement last night at 25 mph pretty steady on the flats.

Thanks. Looking forward to trying the SS, and glad they should be noticeably more efficient than the SKs. Totally agreed on the gravel bike concept, by the way. I don't miss my old roadie, even though I'm a good 10-15% slower on the road now. It's not just the versatility, which is fantastic, but also the security - better brakes, more tire volume, stable geometry - all of this adds up to a much better road experience, even before getting to the off-piste options the bike opens up. I'm roughly the same age and tried an 'endurance' bike before ordering a gravel bike - a great decision. The other bike (a Domane) was great and the 32c slicks were at least an improvement over the 28s I had before, but it's not at all the same thing.
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bearlyfinish
49 posts
#46Apr 7, 2021, 12:19 PM
@Mark_S - if you're looking for a fast gravel tire, I've found the IRC Boken's are really quick on pavement. The problem is they wear pretty fast. The Alluvium from Kenda are suppose to be really quick as well.

I have a set of GK slicks (38), Bokens (40), GK SK (650x48), and GP5K's (32). The GK SK's are REALLY slow compared to the other choices with the GP5K's being 1-2mph faster than the Boken's and GK slicks. Part of that is wheel choice (GP5K's are on a 41 deep rim). If you group ride, the GP5K's really come alive in the group compared to the slicks and Boken's. I feel like I'm working substantially less when I'm rolling in a group with the 5000's since RR is creating most of the drag. If I was going to have 1 tire for everything, it'd probably be the SS's, Alluviums, or Bokens - all in 35-38 if possible.

My road bike is basically a trainer bike now. It comes out if I'm meeting up with a strong group or on days when I want to rip my friends legs off (that's what they get for bragging about beating me up a climb 😃). But the road bike is noticeably faster (1mph) than the gravel bike with road wheels and GP5K's. I assume almost all of that is body position and weight since I'm lower on the road bike (1.5cm) and the frames are probably equally aero.
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Mark_S
144 posts
#47Apr 7, 2021, 2:50 PM
I don't ride in a group but can imagine at those speeds the Conti tires would be a big help. Thanks for the tire suggestions, but I can't get the IRC or Kenda tires where I am and the Contis won't handle my off piste needs. So I'll settle for the GK SS in 38. I'm definitely impressed with the SK so far (in 43)....
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xseal
10 posts
#48Apr 20, 2021, 3:36 PM
I have a Moots RSL. Ride 40mm on gravel wheels (Maxxis Rambler, which roll pretty well in my view) and bought a set of "road-ish" of wheels and put the 32 GP5000s on tubeless. MUCH faster on pavement or hardpack. Much less rolling resistance.
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Turbogrover
96 posts
#49Apr 20, 2021, 4:05 PM
Mark_S wrote:I don't ride in a group but can imagine at those speeds the Conti tires would be a big help. Thanks for the tire suggestions, but I can't get the IRC or Kenda tires where I am and the Contis won't handle my off piste needs. So I'll settle for the GK SS in 38. I'm definitely impressed with the SK so far (in 43)....

So far the GK ss 38 is my favorite allround tire. I've been riding on a gravel service road next to some train tracks and the tires have eaten up the big rough rocks at 20+ mph without a problem. I would never even try doing that on 32s. I can go from smooth pavement to rough gravel on the same tire. The only downside would be mud, but I'm not concerned with that. I have a set of 650b wheels for that.
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chas
1,305 posts
#50Apr 20, 2021, 4:35 PM
xseal wrote:I have a Moots RSL. Ride 40mm on gravel wheels (Maxxis Rambler, which roll pretty well in my view) and bought a set of "road-ish" of wheels and put the 32 GP5000s on tubeless. MUCH faster on pavement or hardpack. Much less rolling resistance.

I have those. Both are fast tires – the Rambler was pretty similar to my Cont 4-seasons (32mm) in speed. But the GP5000 are much, much faster.
stu wrote:Have you tried 32 mm Contis at 65 psi (if they'll fit your frame)?

I use them for Crits and race paced rides – amazing. Good for smooth gravel - sometimes I put something bigger (40mm) up front to smooth out the ride and give me better flotation.

bearlyfinish wrote:I have a set of GK slicks (38), Bokens (40), GK SK (650x48), and GP5K's (32). The GK SK's are REALLY slow compared to the other choices with the GP5K's being 1-2mph faster than the Boken's and GK slicks. Part of that is wheel choice (GP5K's are on a 41 deep rim). If you group ride, the GP5K's really come alive in the group compared to the slicks and Boken's. I feel like I'm working substantially less when I'm rolling in a group with the 5000's since RR is creating most of the drag. If I was going to have 1 tire for everything, it'd probably be the SS's, Alluviums, or Bokens - all in 35-38 if possible.

Good feedback, thanks. Those GK SK (650x48) are pretty slow (and noisy) - I don't get the impression the smaller size (35-38mm) are quite that bad. Yep - compared to a fast grave tire, the GP5K's are about 1-2mph faster. They are amazing in a group ride (25-30mph) where much of the drag is from rolling resistance.

With a good gravel tire I can hang (towards the back).
With GP5K - I'm taking pulls off the front
With GK SK (650x48) I'm getting dropped.
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Mark_S
144 posts
#51Apr 21, 2021, 5:03 AM
That is great to hear. For a 10 hour road event in August I would consider swapping tires and using the much-liked GP5000 in 32c, but generally speaking these tires wouldn't suit my riding either. I have the new SS 38s waiting to go, but the SK 43s just won't die
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Turbogrover
96 posts
#52May 19, 2021, 10:55 AM
The GK ss 38 is my new favorite tire.
Mine are setup tubeless, and I've run them as low as 28 psi and high as 48 psi, and they have performed like a champ for everything I've ridden on with this bike. The only trails I haven't tried are the full on mtb trails, and I don't intend to do that on this bike anyway. They're plenty fast on pavement as well as comfortable and manageable on the gnarly gravel you see in the pics.
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Mark_S
144 posts
#53May 19, 2021, 1:27 PM
Sounds great. I'm rarely needing a lot of tread, just the volume. Looking forward to trying the SS if only the SKs would hurry up and die. They're going to go down kicking and screaming - 1,000 miles and nowhere near done yet.
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