I ride paved trails to get to the gravel, which is mostly well packed, but the loop I want to train on more has some deep gravel and steeper hills in spots, so you need straight line loose gravel traction to stay in control and climb. The rear Donnelly Explor 700x36 my bike came with handled the gravel ok, but is bald on top (male pattern?) at an early age, so I need something with a more solid center that will provide more paved road durability. For our old 26" MTBs we had awesome Schwalbe Hurricanes with solid blocks in an alternating V in the middle with small gaps. As these sank in, the edges of the Vs really grabbed, and the side knobs came into play. They started out heavy, but at the mileage similar tires with small nubs in the center were wearing out, they matched the new weight of the competition and still had 50% center tread left--so of course, Schwalbe changed the tread pattern to put nubs in the middle. I read the WTB Byway review here, and it looks close, but also looks like the smooth center and shoulder won't bite much in straight line gravel downhill braking or climbing situations. Anyone tried it in those conditions with a heavy load?
Any suggestions of a tubeless 700x37-40 tubeless all-rounder that is in stock some place? I've spent a fair amount of time searching, and even Schwalbe and Conti are sold out of some sizes.
If you're set on a slick/semi-slick center tread, what about the Teravail Washburn? Teravail seem to be readily available at multiple retailers. But, with your desire for climbing and braking grip in potentially deep gravel, I think you need tread down the middle.
How about the Kenda Booster Pro, or maybe a Teravail Rutland? Available in 37/40 for Kenda or 38/42/47 for the Teravail. Kenda says the Booster is surpisingly faster than the Flintridge Pro and won't shy away from deep gravel.
Either way you go, you'll either be sacrificing efficiency and longevity with a knobbier tire, or stability and grip with a slick tread. Which is your priority?
Has this summary: "you don’t go ‘Damn these tires are awesome’, but on the flip side you never say, ‘Damn these tires suck.'”
Later in the review it says, "The Kenda Flintridge is really best in rougher gravel. Especially when considering that, at higher pressures, the overall performance suffers. Performance on hard, or paved surfaces, are really not this tire." The Boost's speed advantage is off road--it doesn't seem like any of the three are designed for use on asphalt.
Below is a pic of the tread on the old 26 x 2.1 Hurricane with a few thousand miles on it. They are directional so the V is open to the front in front for braking and to the rear in the rear for climbing. Not great for mud, rock gardens or blasting through curves on loose stuff, but for covering miles with full panniers on a mix of pavement, hard pack and loose gravel, they were a durable, fast and had surprising grip on gravel. Once they were about 50% worn, they didn't lose much grip, bit were down to the new weight of competing tires that had worn out at the same mileage. I was hoping someone had something similar for gravel bikes.
From way too much time looking so far, I don't see a better tubeless option than WTB Byway--maybe lower pressure going tubeless will make up for the smoother tread. In tubed, Contis have never failed me, and if you can believe customer reviews these do well in a range of conditions from reviews on a couple of sites, but I want to go tubeless for all the well documented reasons https://www.westernbikeworks.com/product/continental-top-contact-ii-700c-tire
Has this summary: "you don’t go ‘Damn these tires are awesome’, but on the flip side you never say, ‘Damn these tires suck.'”
Later in the review it says, "The Kenda Flintridge is really best in rougher gravel. Especially when considering that, at higher pressures, the overall performance suffers. Performance on hard, or paved surfaces, are really not this tire."
The Boost's speed advantage is off road--it doesn't seem like any of the three are designed for use on asphalt.
Below is a pic of the tread on the old 26 x 2.1 Hurricane with a few thousand miles on it. They are directional so the V is open to the front in front for braking and to the rear in the rear for climbing. Not great for mud, rock gardens or blasting through curves on loose stuff, but for covering miles with full panniers on a mix of pavement, hard pack and loose gravel, they were a durable, fast and had surprising grip on gravel. Once they were about 50% worn, they didn't lose much grip, bit were down to the new weight of competing tires that had worn out at the same mileage. I was hoping someone had something lighter and thinner but similar for gravel bikes.
From way too much time looking so far, I don't see a better tubeless option than WTB Byway--maybe lower pressure going tubeless will make up for the smoother tread. In tubed, Contis have never failed me, and if you can believe customer reviews these do well in a range of conditions from reviews on a couple of sites, but I want to go tubeless for all the well documented reasons https://www.westernbikeworks.com/product/continental-top-contact-ii-700c-tire
My riding is very similar to yours and my tires are Continental Terra Trails. I had no trouble finding them online, but that was the end of last summer.
I've ridden the Schwalbe Marathon Almotion HS603 (new version) in 40-622 on pavement. It rolls well on pavement and being a touring tire should wear well. The V-Guard tube version which I have is 490 g, about the same as a reasonably sturdy gravel tire. The Microskin tubeless version is heavier at 625 g. I haven't ridden mine on gravel but the tread pattern looks reasonable for that. BTW these are much cheaper at European retailers.
From way too much time looking so far, I don't see a better tubeless option than WTB Byway--maybe lower pressure going tubeless will make up for the smoother tread. In tubed, Contis have never failed me, and if you can believe customer reviews these do well in a range of conditions from reviews on a couple of sites, but I want to go tubeless for all the well documented reasons https://www.westernbikeworks.com/product/continental-top-contact-ii-700c-tire
The Byway is a solid tire as long as speed is not your main consideration. It is not a particularly fast tire because that center smooth tread is really thick, like 3mm. I had to throw my Byway away (front use only) when it would no longer seal and it probably still had 90 percent of the tread life left. The problem is the sidewall is nice and flexible so you you have this conundrum; you can push the center section really hard (for me that mean rocky, mtb-like descents) but the sidewall is relatively fragile in comparison. I replaced it with a Schwalbe Thunder Burt which had more cornering traction and rolled just as fast (as verified with my power meter testing). If you are not going to push it that hard the Byway will likely last you for thousands and thousands of miles. And I never had an issue with front braking. IT was always a balance of lower pressure for more comfort vs. protecting those sidewalls with higher pressure.
John wrote:My riding is very similar to yours and my tires are Continental Terra Trails. I had no trouble finding them online, but that was the end of last summer.
Thanks! How are they holding up on roads? All of my rides begin and end with at least 5 miles on asphalt, and some are mainly on road.
See review here https://www.ridinggravel.com/reviews-2/continental-terra-trail-and-terra-speed-tires-long-review/ Retail reviews seem to agree that the Terra Speed on the rear is the way to go. Customer reviews indicate the center nubs wear fast on asphalt, and then you have no grip in the middle on gravel. I have a similar Conti for 26" MTB on the front of the that same MTB with the Schwalbe Hurricane pictured above, and it's bald in the middle even on the front at the same mileage.
Anyone put 500+ road miles on these? I'm a big guy, so I worry that the contact patch deformation will sand the center nubs down fast.
JCU wrote:If you're set on a slick/semi-slick center tread, what about the Teravail Washburn?
Great suggestion. These have the exact profile I want, and I would love to find out that they are reliable, but I have no experience with the brand. Most places I looked, only a couple of their tires had a significant number of reviews.
Anyone put some miles on these?
I checked several sites, and only found 1 review that says:
"Really do not suggest these tires because BOTH were very leaky and took alot of sealant to get them from seeping from the sidewalls. Dipping them in water, you can see the air escaping from the tan sidewalls. Added more sealant, laid them on their sides for 4hrs to get all the leaks sealed. But after each ride, one of the tires continues to loose air. After 3 rides removed them and likely give them away." It could be most people using them are satisfied but not blown away, as it is a multipurpose tire, and not posting reviews, or it could be they aren't selling because of the review situation.
stu wrote:I've ridden the Schwalbe Marathon Almotion HS603 (new version) in 40-622 on pavement. It rolls well on pavement and being a touring tire should wear well.
Thanks! That may be the winner. At least in the lab, it rolls remarkably better than the awfully slow "Marathon Race" (huh? See side bar https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/tour-reviews/schwalbe-marathon-almotion-2016). They test different tire classes at different pressures and sizes, but it looks like it could hand with the fastest CX tires, although at a heavier weight. The Schwalbe Marketing people drove me crazy with this one--they now have 12 models of Marathon, some of which come in two versions, apparently marketed to their own engineering team--I'm sure we all know the tradeoffs between the Marathon GT HS475, HS480 and HS485 versions, right?
The Marathon Mondial looks like it has better grip in loose stuff, but it is a heavy world tour beast that people report getting 10,000 miles out of.
Familyridz wrote:... At least in the lab, it rolls remarkably better than the awfully slow "Marathon Race" ...
The Marathon Almotion BRR tested is the older HS453 version, I have the newer HS603. The tread patterns are very close but the carcasses are not. The HS453 has a thick rubber layer for puncture protection (think defense by distance) which is effective but heavy. The HS603 has a thin fabric layer which is lighter.
I think touring tires will generally have better tread wear and puncture protection than gravel tires. However in general gravel tires may weigh less and have stickier rubber and more aggressive tread patterns. Since I don't ride on difficult dirt or gravel I've been happier with big road tires.
My hunch is you'd be better served by a tyre with tread all over than a semi slick. Have you considered the WTB Resolute or similar? They just released a supposedly tougher model (with classy black sidewalls). I have the originals on my bike and really enjoy them. Haven't noticed a sluggish feeling on pavement and there's more grip off road than I have the guts to make use of
I' only know the MSO in a larger size where they last. It's very new, looks stupid as heck (tan sidewalls) but I'm impressed with the Rene Hearse knobby I just got. Rolls really well on pavement for also having off road traction.
Familyridz wrote:Last question from me--in chasing down the suggestions above, I stumbled on what looks like the answer---anyone ridden the Specialized Pathfinder Pro?
I have these tires in 42mm if you are interested I can sell to you. Have about 300 miles but you can't even tell. I liked them, just wanted to try something different (Gravelking SK). I ride about 30-40% paved and rest mix of gravel. Do well in the loose stuff and only struggled climbing on larger gravel and rocks. Probably a wider knobbed tire would be better for the PA boulders near me.
Zurichman wrote: Now Donnley xplor mso 700 x 40 good all around tire I do think it wears kind of fast
I have these in 700 x 36 now, and the front is relatively good, but the rear is bald in the middle. I always see faster rear tire wear, but this is extreme. I have a loaded rear rack most times, so some of it may be the lower pressure tire deforming more under weight than on my road bike, and that deformation shearing off the knobs. I'm leaving the front for now and just replacing the rear.
I have these tires in 42mm if you are interested I can sell to you. Have about 300 miles but you can't even tell. I liked them, just wanted to try something different (Gravelking SK). I ride about 30-40% paved and rest mix of gravel. Do well in the loose stuff and only struggled climbing on larger gravel and rocks. Probably a wider knobbed tire would be better for the PA boulders near me.
I have a new one in 38 that should be here today. Let me see what it's like once I get it mounted
The Byways are NOT that slow - at least in the 700c and normal light casing form (not the SG2 - tested on bicycleRR site, and the 650b beast versions). I find they are similar to the GK slicks on pathed and smooth gravel...maybe give up a couple watts...hasn't held me back from PRs.
That said, I probably wouldn't use for steep climbs on gravel - I normally switch to the 27.2 x 2.2 tires for that, but I got some real steep and loose stuff here that many tackle on their MTB.
If you want something with a bit more grip and still stick with 700x40-ish, then probably go with either the WTB Riddler or Gravelking SK - both roll fast with knobs - at least based on the bicycleRR site. The Spesh Pathfinders Pro are pretty good too, my riding partner rides those on the steep gravel, though I drop him on my 27.5 when he spins out, it usually just the very steep sections - normal 5-8% grades on gravel should be fine. It's a good tire for what it is.
