bobknh wrote:My $.02: I too ride NE roads in rural NH. I too come from a roadie background and like light weight high performance equipment. But, after several years of gravel riding on Compass Bon Jon's, a very supple light weight 35 mm all purpose tire, I've realized that a heavier sturdier tire with a bit of bite to the tread make more sense. I would go along with the suggestions for the 38 mm Gravel King SK tubeless. I've put a lot of miles on these tires in New England. They are made by the same Japanese company that make the Bon Jon's and share much of that companies quality and experience. Unlike the Bob Jon's they are a true tubeless tire and I am able to seat them easily - even without a compressor. Yes, they are a bit slower than the Bon Jon's. But the first time you are surprised by a recently regraded road with 3" of lose dirt on top, or a section of washed out road repaired with 1" gravel, you'll appreciate the extra bite and durability you get from the GK's. The GK's are much more durable, and resistant to sidewall cuts and deterioration. The sidewalls of my Bon Jon's begin to crack and deteriorate after a thousand miles of dirt riding at 30-35 PSI. There is a reason that the GK's are very popular with the gravel racing crowd. I think you'll find that the GK'S ARE one of the most popular tires on the gravel racing circuit. While I'm very pleased with my GK's, I'm planning to experiment with 40mm Schwalbe G-One's tires this Spring. I've been riding 28 mm Schwalbe Pro-one's tubeless on pavement this winter in South Carolina and have been very impressed with Schwalbe tubeless technology. BTW - there were some comments about why wider tires? There are several advantages, but the main advantage to me, is that you can, and should, run them at much lower pressure, which allows them to absorb small surface bumps and irregularity which give you a more comfortable ride and compensates for any loss in rolling resistance compared to narrower higher pressure tires. In addition, you get better traction for sketchier surfaces and cornering, and greater resistance to pinch flats, and punctures, if mounted tubeless with sealant.
Today was a good example of practicing what I preach. I went for my first gravel ride after returning home from Hilton Head SC. The April weather here has been miserable, rain, snow and cold. I rode some of my favorite unpaved roads which I haven't seen for almost 5 months. They are in pretty bad shape -- lots of lose mud, washed out sections, etc. I was very glad to be on my 38 mm GK's, which seemed to grab well in the lose stuff and mud, and shrugged off the the chunky gravel used to repair the washed out sections. I probably could have handled the mess with my Bon Jon's; but I was much more relaxed and comfortable on my GK's.
RoverAl wrote: GK SK How is this tire on clean pavement for long stretches?
On pavement it rolls very well. Did a pavement ride yesterday on 38mm GK SK's tubeless 40/35 PSI R/F. Our NH pavement is pretty beat up due to winter storms. Lots of pot holes, cracked pavement and loose sand. Happy to have the extra cushioning, tubeless flat protection, as well as traction cornering on sandy patches. Overall, not quite as fast as my smooth tread Bon Jon's. But, for me, the extra durability and traction of the GK's more than compensated for any loss of speed compared to the BJ's. The tread pattern on the GK's with small tightly spaced knobs in the tread center, and chunkier wider spaced knobs on the outside for cornering work extremely well over a wide variety of surfaces and conditions, including NH pavement and dirt roads in mud season.
I think it depends on what that 20% gravel looks like. If I were living down near St. George, UT, where the dirt roads are pretty well graded and the gravel is smaller than pea-sized, I would go 28mm and focus on the weight and speed of the tire. I used Hutchinson Sector 28mm's on a ride down there a while ago and they were the bee's knees. If the gravel's more like here in the Salt Lake Valley, where everything comes in golf-ball-to-larger chunks and is hammered by ATVs, then it'd be hard to argue with either the 35mm or 38mm Panaracer Gravel King SK. My 35mm SK's blimped up to 40mm on Stan's Crest rims and were fast as all get out on pavement. They weren't the easiest to corner coming downhill at speed on pavement and didn't handle sand well but they were a treat generally and were cheap to boot. Both tires have been very durable for me and are both tubeless ready.
I read all the tire comments I can get as I have only been riding on 2 sets of tires so far. The now Donnely MSO xplor in 40 mm tubeless and the Kenda Flintridge Pro. The only difference I think I can see/feel is that the Flintridge Pro's are slower out on the road.
Other than Chas's comments that the Maxis Ramblers are lighter, what has anybody noticed between these tires if you have ridden all three or maybe at least 2 of them. I have to ride 11-13 miles to get to gravel here but would be setting the Roker up to ride gravel out of state. I am in the 200 lb. range now, hoping to get lower as the season progresses and run 40 lbs. in the rear and 35 up front. I still haven't got use to riding with a 1/2 flat tire. I left this afternoon and thought that the rear tire was going flat and turn back around and it only went down 2 lbs since last Tuesday. Here is the 3 tires in the hunt that I probably will be buying when my stock Donnley MSO get worn out on the Roker.
Don't know which G-One's you're going to run but the G-One Speed TLE tires are REALLY damned fast. I've got the 29x2.3 on my commuter/bikepacker and it feels like it's just pulling me along. They've also withstood some light gravel and singletrack. I'm running the 38mm Maxxis Rambler on my Crux atm and it's decently fast and grippy. Surprisingly tough as well. I rode it for the Wild Horse 76-mile gravel ride, which featured a ton of short, sharp rocks, deep sand, and fast, lumpy dirt road, and never got a flat, even as a LOT of other people had to stop by the road.
Pynchonite wrote:Don't know which G-One's you're going to run but the G-One Speed TLE tires are REALLY damned fast. I've got the 29x2.3 on my commuter/bikepacker and it feels like it's just pulling me along. They've also withstood some light gravel and singletrack. I'm running the 38mm Maxxis Rambler on my Crux atm and it's decently fast and grippy. Surprisingly tough as well. I rode it for the Wild Horse 76-mile gravel ride, which featured a ton of short, sharp rocks, deep sand, and fast, lumpy dirt road, and never got a flat, even as a LOT of other people had to stop by the road.
Pynchonite thanks for that info. I did look up the Wild Horse 76 miler in Utah. That looks like a cool ride. Were you able to catch the Cash Rabbit before Hastings Pass @ mile 15 and be able to say Give me 5($5) and have him peel off a $5 bill for you? I read that he had a 5 minute head start but wasn't riding that fast. You know kind of like the buddy that hasn't been riding all season and then blows your socks off during a ride.
Had way too much of a head start on me - I straight up missed the start and ended up chasing through the entire bunch. Paid for it big time later in the day.
I run Donnelly Strada USH in 32mm for mixed conditions with a lot of pavement and really like them. But as many already pointed out in this thread, there are a lot of good options.
The Strada USH rolls really well on the pavement and can hold its own in the dirt.
I was able to mount my "non-tubeless" 32c USH tubeless to my Pacenti SL25 rims without a problem and did a 60mi shakedown group ride the next day. They were fast and easy enough to keep up with the group and even taking part in some sprint contests and "race to the top" sections.
However, I did have a puncture that came by of a 1"x.5" piece of metal shrapnel that was as sharp as a razor blade that had to pulled out with pliers. I wasn't going to screw with patches on the road side so I did have to concede to a tube since it was too wide for a bacon strip as well.
The tires roll along smooth, fast and supple, and actually provide decent confidence in the sand as I am primarily a MTB/Gravel guy with a propensity to play with the bike in the roadside dirt while the 23c slick guys are confined to the tarmac. I actually like the tires a great deal. My normal tires are 40c Clement MSOs non-tubeless setup tubeless for a couple years now with zero problems even off road on some semi-technical singletrack....again playing around 😋
