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mtbnut87 wrote:The GP5000's TL's (32c, measure 34mm on my rims) were fast, but abusive on the broken pavement here and horrible on gravel. The GK+ slicks (38c, measure 41mm on my rims) are a light year ahead in comfort, but are still only ok for nicely groomed, well used gravel roads.I agree on both counts.
For ANYTHING else, the 650x47b Ramblers are the sh*t!!! and roll super well on pavement ...I've found 45 mm Cinturato Gravel H and 44 mm Snoqualmie Pass roll well on pavement and are MUCH faster than smaller tires off pavement. However I've had puncture problems with both and neither have much grip on softer surfaces.
stu wrote:I agree on both counts.
stu wrote:I've found 45 mm Cinturato Gravel H and 44 mm Snoqualmie Pass roll well on pavement and are MUCH faster than smaller tires off pavement. However I've had puncture problems with both and neither have much grip on softer surfaces.
Sorry if off topic for the thread
My take-home and interests here....
My positive experience with the casings whether Panaracer or Rene Hearse - not getting flats - is probably from not having any slick or herringbone style. Tread or knobs are saving the day. When I see both selling a 38 mm for example my guess is something in common even if different final product. Even a reinforced version seems more supple or better than some known durable tires.
Now that I have min 35 mm tire wheels and am considering a road century I may well get a Panaracer vs more expensive Hearse or Challenge tire.
The comment on Challenge vs Panaracer tracking is interesting. I always thought it was a v pattern that aids braking and cornering more than the casing that influences directional behavior.
stu wrote: but right now I appreciate that Strada Bianca Pros don't follow grooves and other road irregularities like the GK+ do.
imwjl wrote:My positive experience with the casings whether Panaracer or Rene Hearse - not getting flats - is probably from not having any slick or herringbone style. Tread or knobs are saving the day.I don't have any tires with big knobs but I've had puncture problems with the low-knob G-One Allround and Cinturato Gravel H. But I've never had a puncture on gravel, I only get them on pavement. The cause is almost always glass, once or twice a small wire.
Now that I have min 35 mm tire wheels and am considering a road century I may well get a Panaracer vs more expensive Hearse or Challenge tire.Panaracer is certainly a better buy. I tried the Challenge only because I found a 20% discount.
The comment on Challenge vs Panaracer tracking is interesting. I always thought it was a v pattern that aids braking and cornering more than the casing that influences directional behavior.I can't say for sure if it's tread pattern, compound, or casing but the tires I have with tracking issues all have tangential grooves. When I wear the tread pattern off my rear Rene Herse I'll put it on the front to see if the tread was the cause.
AmericanTemplar wrote:@stu - do you mind giving more of an explanation of this? Seems that imwjl and I are both a little confused by it.In my area we have some grooved pavement and also (thankfully) we're getting a lot of new pavement. The grooves are never straight and some of the new pavement has subtle wavy lines, possibly from people driving on it before it's fully hardened. My GK+, GK-SK+, Snoqualmie Pass sometimes follow the irregularities so I get pulled from side to side. I wouldn't characterize that as dangerous but it can be unnerving. FWIW some car tires also do that but I haven't had any of those in a long time. Bike tires I have which don't follow pavement texture include GP5000, Taraxagum, G-One Allround, Strada Bianca Pro, Shikoro, and Cinturato Gravel H.
AmericanTemplar wrote:Also, was looking more closely at the the plus vs regular GK slicks on BRR. It is kinda annoying that he tests the 38's in all tires but the plus slick. Would people want to chip in as a group to get him a slick 38 to test or do you think it's not worth it? An apples to apples comparison on that tire could be applied to all of the other GK models.I think the problem is the BRR voting system - someone suggests a particular tire and if it gets the most votes it gets tested whether or not the size makes any sense. I'd be happy to send them my 38 mm GK+ but postage to the Netherlands might be expensive. I'll send them an email and ask.
Also, @stu, are you saying that the GK slicks have better grip than the Strada Bianca's?On pavement I get an occasional chirping noise from the Strada Bianca when I'm using the rear brake on bumpy pavement. I never noticed that with the GK+. I've never had either slide on pavement since I ride conservatively. Off pavement neither has much grip.
And did you get flats on the plus slicks from the cuts or did the glass stop at the protection layer? Mine are still looking pretty good with no flats after nearly 1000 miles.The glass cut all the way through on both the GK+ and the Snoqualmie Pass Endurance. But both fared far better than the Barlow Pass Extralight.
stu wrote:I think the problem is the BRR voting system - someone suggests a particular tire and if it gets the most votes it gets tested whether or not the size makes any sense. I'd be happy to send them my 38 mm GK+ but postage to the Netherlands might be expensive. I'll send them an email and ask.
AmericanTemplar wrote:Yeah, out of curiosity I looked at a European website to see the cost of a GravelKing over there . It's 38.65 Euro, but shipping to the US is 46.99 Euro ...I've ordered from a few European shops with 20 Euro shipping fees but they get better rates than I would as an individual.
I assume the voting is for paying members? I haven't seen that on the site.That's correct. If you pay you get one vote per month.
Also, I ended up sending the GP5000 back after reading that you and mtbnut47 seemed to have pretty similar perceptions of how they compare to the GK+.I think the GP5000 is a great road tire but its speed on good surfaces comes at the cost of comfort and performance on bad surfaces.. It might be OK for lighter riders but the more you weigh the more you'll have to pump it up to protect your rims. I think in many ways the GP5000 is a better tire than the GK+ but 32 mm isn't big enough for challenging surfaces. I've come to prefer tires around 38 mm on pavement and around 45 mm off pavement.
AmericanTemplar wrote:I haven't use the GK & the GK+ back to back, so hard to say for sure, but I think I run a lower pressure in the plus version to get a similar feel. I'm running 33/37 in the 38 slicks and I'm 180. Think I ran a few more pounds in the regular version. So far no flats though. According to BRR, the plus version is significantly slower thatn the regular version though.
mtbnut87 wrote:
I tried these at lower pressures today.... I typically run 40/50 and I'm 210 kitted. They are the 700x38c GK+ on 25mm iW rims. I reduced to 33/45 and did not have any rim strikes and the bike path we rode is in very poor condition. 42 miles on all kinds of pavement. Overall comfort was significantly improved, but they "felt" slower. I am very aware of the pitfalls of judging a tires rolling resistance by feel and will leave these at this pressure for at least the near future and will collect data on well known segments. Another observation is that initially I did not like the way the front tire turned in at the lower pressure (Gen 4 Salsa Warbird) and yet I missed a PR on a 3 mile descent by 9 seconds which included an encounter with a loose dog and a deer jumping right in front of me and requiring near lockup braking... it's all about the data.
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