I just bought a new GT Grade 105. I don't like the stock tires. I would like something better for multi-use. I have $100 in points at my local bike shop so I can knock down the price. They don't have a very wide selection of tires, which would be suitable for road and gravel, but I did find one I'm interested in.
I'm curious to get opinions on the Vittoria Randonneur Cross Sport Tire 32mm. Also, my current tires are 28mm and my new ones will likely be 32mm. How much more resistance will this cause on paved roads? Will I still be able to keep up with my buddies on their road bikes. Thanks.
I have a GT Grade carbon (SRAM). The Stans rims that come with this line make for a fat profile with tires. The stock 28 slicks looked as wide as the Vittoria Rando II 32s that have on a Bianchi Volpe. I never measured the 28s before I took them off, but I put on Clement MXP 33s in the winter and haven't taken them off yet because they are even better than I expected. These measure in the caliper at over 37 wide. Some of the tire size discussions ignore this factor. There's no question that the Grade can't run tires as wide as some other bikes in this category. On the other hand, I ride some rough gravel and dirt and find the performance of the Clement 33s just outstanding. These are a full on cyclocross tread and are certainly slower than road tires, but run fantastic with the Grade (and are about as big as I would put on this bike).
I like the Vittoria tires a lot, and they are solid touring tread and great in the rain. I run them lower pressure on real rough conditions and can't recall any flats on this particular set. No question the Vittoria Rando line will run faster on pavement than cyclocross treads, so could be a good choice if your tilt is toward pavement. I just would think carefully though about the width. If you are really tilted toward pavement, rail trail, good surface hard pack, etc. then you may not really need as wide as 32s given the profile of the wheels. If you want more solid footing on crappy surfaces and gravel then definitely, 32s will be great.
I did not see the Rando Cross Sport on the Vittoria site.\n My concern is the Sport version is likely a low thread count casing and wire bead. This is (part of) what makes a tire slower, not simply the width. Stiff and heavy, which equals slow and inefficient. My favorite road tire is a light, supple casing, 42mm near-slick that still does OK on dirt.\nI have used the Voyager Hyper 32mm with good results. Rolls pretty well on pavement, does fine on gravel and dirt.\nhttp://www.vittoria.com/tire/voyager-hyper/
The Vittoria Rando Cross tires you mentioned -- heavy tire, lots of rubber, wire bead. These tires will have more rolling resistance than many other 32 tires. A recent wheel customer just ditched his brand new Randonneurs, in fact. Thought they would be a good gravel tire based on a LBS recommendation. Didn't like them at all. There are better choices. Will you be able to keep up with your roadie buddies? NO!
No, seriously, I recommend you don't limit yourself to what is on hand at the shop. Read around the internet about what people like for tires, pick one, and have your LBS order it for you. Chances are very good they will be able to get it through QBP or another supplier. If not, pick another one. There are a lot of good ones to pick from as of late.
Panaracer Gravel King now have a slick 32 version. I am currently riding these and a 650bx42 version.
