smoothmoose wrote: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."
Did you have issues like ccand51997 mentioned above: "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've got a Pathfinder Pro arriving tomorrow, and I think with the Donnelly MSO I have on the front, it will be a good combo (front MSO has plenty of center tread left while rear is bald on the center ridge). I am more worried about losing rear end control while braking on the inside lane of a sweeping downhill curve where the gravel sliding down hill can suddenly get deeper than it looks and hide ruts underneath. At the same time, my experience with center knobs on asphalt is that they are gone pretty quick. It looks like the more rounded shape of the Pathfinder will work better than a flatter profile for my situation. In deeper gravel, the center ridge should sink in and at least be like a rudder to help keep things straight and increase contact patch with the grippier sides. On asphalt getting to the gravel, the raised ridge will protect the rest of the tread, so after about 200-500 asphalt miles, it will probably have more gravel grip than my MSO did at the same mileage.
My regular all around tire has been Maxxis Ramblers, but I was looking for a tire for some gravel events that have enough road that I wanted a faster road tire. Just put on the G-One speeds 40mm for a ride this week and was really surprised that I had no traction issues. Gravel was a mix between hard and loose. Hard corners at speed I just paid special attention too. I'm old, fat and slow and even was able to grab a Strava top 8 spot on a downhill gravel section. Hit a new gravel hill which was the steepest hill I have climbed to date - 1 to 1 gearing and wish I had one more cog! I didn't have s single tire slippage issue.
I like the G-Ones enough that I am now thinking of trying the G-One Allround in a 45 to try. The downside with Schwalbe tires are they are an expensive tire to "try".
kman19348 wrote:... I like the G-Ones enough that I am now thinking of trying the G-One Allround in a 45 to try. The downside with Schwalbe tires are they are an expensive tire to "try".
They're a lot cheaper in Europe. Today Bike24 has them for 38 Euros each plus 20 Euros for shipping, total 96 Euros ($113) for the pair and you'll probably pay no state sales tax. Other retailers might be a bit lower.
I liked the G-One Alround (old One-Star version) but the knobs wore quickly on pavement. I haven't tried the new Addix version.
Did you have issues like ccand51997 mentioned above: "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."
No I don't. I'm at around 2300 miles on my Byways about 75/25 path/light gravel @150#, 30-40psi. I'll probably swap out the rear at 2500, move the front to the rear and decide if I get another Byway or my try something with some knobs like the terraspeed because I have a habit of cornering aggressively when I really shouldn't.
