I have two wheelsets for my cx/gravel bike. I currently have 33mm cx tires (X-One) and 32 slicks (Gatorskins). Frame can’t handle more than 35mm.
CX tires used for rail trails, twisty gravel paths in my neighbourhood and mixed surface consistenting of 75% or more gravel. Being knobby, they are sluggish on pavement and are wearing down faster than I would like.
Gatorskins used when mainly roads with some gravel to be encountered. Having a road bike as well, I use that when doing road rides, and use the cx bike when roads are wet or sloppy (try to keep the road bike clean :-)
I feel like I should either replace the Gatorskins with something more versatile, like a file tread with knobs on the corners, or other tire that can handle 80% or more pavement, while being good on gravel sections. Other option is to swap between the cx tires and a file tread or similar, depending on much gravel expected (cx if mainly gravel, file tread if 50/50 or so). This would save the cx tires for more technical terrain and would last longer.
I think you answered your own question. You have a road bike for road rides. I would get a set of file tread tires for multi-use rides and save the CX tires for CX races/rides.
I like Teravail Cannonball tires a lot! Great minimal tread in the middle with side knobs for more traction in turns. The Specialized Trigger is similar. Challenge makes one called the "Gravel Grinder" as well.
Out of them all, I REALLY like the Teravail Cannonball. That's what I would recommend. They do come in a 700x35 with black or tan sidewalls. I'm a sucker for the tan sidewalls! http://teravail.com/tires/gravel
Get something with a file tread or small knobs and use them everywhere.
I have Panaracer GravelKing SKs. I ride them from asphalt to singletrack. If i'm in the mood I pump them up a bit, and go for a 4-5 hour road ride, and I never feel like the tyres are holding me back. They roll beautifully on pavement and barely seem to wear. Or I go as low with the pressures as possible and ride them on dirt roads, gravel, singletrack. On chunkier terrain I bottom out the front tyre and/or rattle my brains out before I run out of grip.
So look at stuff like the GK SKs, Schwalbe G series, Donnelly X'Plor MSO etc.
I libebin canada and I’m not seeing the Teravail available...will have to ask some of the lbs I deal with.
For the Gravel King, I can get those in either a 32 or 35. The rear of my frame is tight, and my 33’s currently measure at 34 and there are 3-5mm space in either side. Question, on a narrow rim what do you think the 35mm would measure to? Alternatively I could get the 32, but I’m assuming they would be less forgiving over the chunky gravel, and probably more like my 32 Gatorskins...
I have 32, 38, 43 GKs, but not the 35 sadly. The 32s measure true to size on 20mm ID rims. They're better than 28-30 road tyres but yeah they're nothing like 37-38s. I only run them in the winter with fenders when i'm mostly riding road.
I've heard the 35s can run big, but I have no experience with them. How wide are your rims?
This was direct from my conversation Panaracer: "On our Stan’s Avion wheels [21.6 internal], the 35c measures 37mm wide, the 38c measures 40mm, and the new marked 43c (old marked 40c) measures 43mm."
So that being said, you're looking at 17mm internal, I would assume they should measure slightly narrower on a 17mm wheel vs a 21.6 like above. Whether it measures true or not is a good question.
The WTB All Terrain 700x32 is not bad for price, performance on/off road, and durability. I call them trekking tires if they hold up well to being ridden on pavement.
Thanks everyone for the feedback and tire recommendations.
On this morning's ride (60/40 pavement and gravel) I focused on the types of rides I do, and thought I would capture this here along with my idea for tire choice. Most people can relate to similar rides, regardless of conditions...and feel free to add your own! It's a long post, but will hopefully be useful.
Local trail ride (1.5 hours) I have a couple of creeks that run through my town, and the city maintains a gravel/dirt path adjacent to the creeks (part of the community trails). It's a mix of gravel, some dirt, some boardwalks and bridges. The main path is relatively flat, with lots of turns, but there are steep and twisty paths leading from the various communities (lots of fun climbing and descending). It's about 6 feet wide, and is quite smooth, but has a few washed out sections of gravel. I ride on this 1-2 times a week, as it's a few minutes ride from my front door. About 80% of the 1.5 hours is on gravel/dirt, with 20% paved paths and roads connecting the multiple sections. Main reason I bought my cx bike is for these trails (I smile every time I'm done!). I use the Schwalbe X-One 33mm knobby tires.
Weekday morning rides before work (1-2 hours) I do this ride twice a week. At least half the time I use my road bike and stick to pavement. Other times I'm anywhere between 20%-40% gravel. When it's mixed surface, the roads are sometimes nicely paved, but more often chip seal. Very little traffic at this time. This was today's ride. I decided to use the 32mm Gatorskins, pumped to just under 45/50psi. They worked very well. One bumpy decent was hard on the body, but even with the X-One it wouldn't have been much better. The rest of the gravel is relatively smooth, with a scattering of pea sized gravel on the roads, but lots of lines with very little gravel. Problem with 5% of these gravel roads is ruts and repeating pot holes. I just avoid them if I can. I've now convinced myself to stick with the 32mm Gatorskins on such rides, as I fly on the paved sections...and the gravel roads are good on average. Today's ride convinced me.
Weekend mixed surface rides (3-4 hours) I don't do many of these. On the weekend I like to ride 70-100km and use my road bike. But sometimes I use the cx bike and ride a combination of paved roads, gravel roads and rail trails. I think next time I do such a ride I'll use the Gatorskins. I have used the X-One knobbies in the past, but that's a lot of time on the pavement for the X-Ones...they wear down and it's a sluggish ride. I'm still on the fence with tire choice for such rides...but they're not frequent.
Rail Trails (2-3 hours) I can drive to two rail trails, no more than 20 minutes from my house. I can ride up to 40km one way on the rail trail. They're flat, so sometimes boring. But great when it's windy, or hot and sunny (they're sheltered by the trees). Also good mid-day when there is a lot of traffic on the roads. I use the X-One..even if I decide to mix in <10% of roads. They're perfect tires for these rail trails (at 50psi), I move quickly but am comfortable.
Multi-day rides (3-4 hours per day) This depends on whether I'm mainly road, mixed surface or rail trail. I carry a 15L seatpack with spare clothes and stuff, and stay in a B&B or something similar. This is the one where I think a third tire would be good. Last month I did 90km on back-to-back days, where 60% of the ride was on the rail trail. Rest was paved roads. I used the X-Ones. Of course they were great on the rail trails, but I feel like 30-40km of paved roads for these is a bit much. I'm now thinking I could use the Gatorskins, and will try them next time. If I feel they're too harsh, I'll likely get a third tire.
Cyclocross races (1 hour - 6-8 rides a year) Part of the reason I bought the CX bike is I really enjoy watching CX races, and the trails by my house give me that feeling of mixing cross country MTB rides on a drop bar bike. So now I'm going to try local CX races (novice group!). The course only has two sets of barriers, so I'm not carrying the bike much (1% at most). The X-Ones are perfect for this.
That's pretty much it for the types of rides I do on the cx bike. By the way, I live outside Toronto...and have done Paris to Ancaster several times (not sure if anyone here is familiar with it...probably the biggest gravel ride in Ontario).
