What slick tubeless 35-40mm tyre — and how are the Gravelkings so light?

Yeah, please tell me the answer.

Schwalb G-ones I have seem to be good - I don't put much weight in ancedotal stories unless they can tell me what/how/why it happened.  I do a post mortem on every flat I have ever had.  I know why it happpend and what I can do to prevent it if anything.

the Schwalb's have a built in innertube that adds to their weight.  I beat the snot out of my bikes in every kind of discipline, and flats for me are super rare.  Many of mine have been pinch flats because I underbike (running skinny tires too hard), but that problem has disapeared with tubless.

If you are running flinty chunky gravel - you need good sidewall protection.  but other than that I find it rare to have a flat in the tread - although I occasionally get a wire/staple/nail in the rear tire.  Again, tubeless solves that issue until I can get home.

So, I almost bought some Panaracer Pari-moto tires until I read way too many reviews of people getting flats with them - not something I want in a gravel tire (why tempt fate?).  I'm wondering if the GK slick is more like the Pari-moto than the GK-SK.    Just for comparison, the schwalbe slicks vs Short Knobs isn't much of a weight difference at all.

Maxxis Velocita AR comes in a 700x40 EXO version.

Those Gravel King slicks are that weight due to the narrower rubber depth at the middle of the tyre. 
Which is why they don't last as long. 

Pony up the cash for some tanwall Compass 35's in the standard weight (or even the 38) if those rockier surfaces aren't too rough or sharp. 
They roll awesome on the sealed roads setup tubeless. My preference is Orange Seal Endurance. 

Or just get the GravelKing slicks for way cheaper and replace when they wear out.

I ride exclusively Schwalbe tires on all my bikes (road mountain and gravel).  I too have seen many reviews about G-Ones being fragile, honestly I have no idea where these people are riding, because mine have been great in all kinds of terrain.  I have 30mm G One speed on my "road" gravel bike, 40mm G One allround and 27.5 x 2.0 G One speed for my gravel bike.  My only complaint with the G Ones is that with my UST rims, the beads are so tight you gotta have really strong hands to unseat the tire.  I usually end up having to use a c-clamp to get them unseated.  But they are the fastest gravel tires around.  They tested the 29x2.3 G One speed (back when it was called Big One) and it has lower rolling resistance then a 35mm Compass Bon Jon.  A 35mm G One speed is going to be seriously fast.

If tubeless is important, avoid the Compass Bon Jon Pass. It took 3 weeks and maybe 3x the usual amount of sealant before they would hold air. Even then, I’d find one or both tires randomly and totally deflated once in a while - not punctured, just lost air through sidewall. That being said, when they did hold air, they were a great riding tire - maybe the most comfortable and fast tire I’ve ridden. But they weren’t worth the constant maintaining. I went through 2 sets, including a set that was replaced by Compass for this reason.

I use the GK slicks now. Similar to the BJ Pass - maybe not quite as smooth and not as fast, but it’s a trade diff I am willing to make in order to actually have air in the tires. Super easy set up tubeless and maintainence-free.

I really like my Gravelking slick 38. I'm running them tubeless, mostly on pavement. Don't have experience with many tire in this size but I don't think you can go wrong with GK. Plus they look great.  

I've had 2.5k flat free miles on 48 mm tires that weigh 370g, so the 320 (really like 340) of GKs isn't anything to worry about.

Thanks for the input everyone.

I dig the GravelKings...running 700x38's on my Lynskey, actual measurement on 24mm i/d rims is 40mm.

Best deal around, too...waiting on Excel Sport to re-stock (10-15-2018) for my upcoming order...how can you beat $32/tire?

SPP

I like my Soma Supple Vitesse. They are very similar to Compass but way cheaper. they come in an extra wear version which I have. From what I hear, they are slightly tougher than Compass. Both Compass and the supple Vitesse are made by Panaracer. I have only ridden the Soma's, not the Compass.

My $.02, having several thousand miles of mixed (50/50)paved and unpaved roads on Compass 35 MM Bon Jon's (smooth tread), 38 mm Gravel King SK's (dimpled tread with knobby corners), and 40 mm Schwalbe G-One Allrounds (dimpled tread). These are all very good tires and choice really depends on your riding style, surfaces, and skills. Here are some observations.

Compass Bon Jon's: The BJ's come either with a standard casing or an extra light casing. My experience is with the extra light version. The extra light version are scary light. And, very fast! The downside is they are PITA to set up tubeless. The thin sidewalls are more fragile than the others on my list. Even if you don't cut them on road debris or sharp stones, they fatigue quickly do to the flexing of soft casing. Mine were shot after about 1000 miles. The BJ's are OK on hard pack dirt and gravel; but on softer surfaces, they don't hook up nearly as well as either the the GK's or Allrounds. The bottom line is that if speed is a high priority for you, I believe the BJ"s are the lightest and fastest amongst the three tires I'm comparing.

Gravel King SK's: I have nothing bad to say about the GK's. They are made in the same factory (Panaracer) as the Compass tires, and cost about half as much. Although they are rated tubeless compatible - not tubeless ready- tubeless set up is easy and they hold air very well using good sealant. Hook up on loose surfaces is much better than the BJ's and comparable to the G-Ones. This is the tire I would recommend for all around gravel performance and value.

Schwalbe G-One Allrounds: I have no way to scientifically test tire rolling resistance. The Allrounds have a impermeable liner and are rated tubeless ready, and are very easy to install tubeless. You could probably run them without sealant (not a good idea). On paved roads, the Allrounds seem a touch faster than the GK's. On unpaved roads however, they hook up on soft surface about the same as the GK's. In my experience, both the Allrounds and the GK's are tough and durable. Frankly, there isn't much difference in overall gravel performance between the budget priced GK's and the more expensive Allrounds.

I've done 2000km on my Compass Bon Jon 35's, 95% on road. I'm running the Extralights. They didn't like tubeless setup on my Giant wheels, they popped off the bead on the first night of setup, but seated OK the second time, and were fine for 6 months and 1200km before I upgraded the bike and wheels. They set up nicely tubeless on my Light Bicycle wheels and have been great for 3 months so far. I think its difficult to match tubeless tyres and wheels right now, there is not enough consistency in tyre and wheel diameters. A tight tyre/wheel combo is hard to fit, but secure. A looser tyre/wheel combo is easier to fit, but can be risky at too high or too low air pressure. It's hard to blame a single brand of tyre or wheel. 

The Bon Jons roll beautifully. We did a 300km road ride on Sunday and averaged 28.8km/h on these tyres. I'm riding this bike more than the road bike now, due to increased comfort with minimal speed penalty. 

Yeah, +1 for Compass.  Definitely if this is for a primarily *road* bicycle, these are great road tires.  I'd get the Barlow Pass (38mm) if you've got room for them, but I'm sure the BJP are great too.  I run the Barlow Pass now in extralight.  I rode 45 miles of gravel this past weekend, though this is small gravel that wouldn't really be a sidewall risk.  I've ridden thousands of miles on the standard and extralight versions of these and Snoqualmie Pass (44mm) tires and haven't gotten any flats.  Most of those miles are on nice pavement, but I wouldn't consider the Compass tires to be fragile.  I don't expect to buy standard casing Compass tires anymore either; the extralights seem fine for the roads I ride and they are significantly nicer.

I use the Compass tires tubeless on my LB wheels *which are _not_ hookless*.  They also worked great tubeless on my DT R460db spare/winter wheelset.  I had them blow off a set of Yishun hookless rims, so I wouldn't trust a hookless setup with these tires.

I definitely would not consider the G-One fragile.  I have yet to flat a G-One tire, and that includes using them at a bunch of gravel races, including Hilly Billy Roubaix and Iron Cross.   In contrast, I unrepairably flatted a Panaracer GK on the first ride -- but that's just anecdotal and I'm sure was bad luck.  The G-One is a very fast tire on the road, but it's not in the same league as a Compass tire (especially extralight).

My Bon Jons seat up on the Hookless Light Bicycle RM29C06 rims with just a floor pump, no problems mounting tubeless or staying on the rim.

widerisfaster wrote:My Bon Jons seat up on the Hookless Light Bicycle RM29C06 rims with just a floor pump, no problems mounting tubeless or staying on the rim.

I'm glad yours work.  My BPs also seated up on my hookless rim with a floor pump.  And then after 3000 miles or so, the front blew off the rim while I was cruising along at 40/45 psi after 2-3000 miles.  So, I'm not gonna risk that again.

(But my rims were also a little "small" -- which is great for mounting tires like Schwalbe.  I'd be more inclined to trust LBs hookless rims -- which I also have/use, but given their pressure recommendations are <40psi, I'm likely to exceed that on the supple Compass tires and don't want to increase the risk of needing my face rebuilt.)

Stories like that make me (kinda) glad my Compasses only blew up in my ear or while my bike was sitting in garage and only caused hearing damage.  It could have been way worse.

I didn’t have a Bon Jon blow off a rim - that sounds like pressure is too high. Mine would air up and snap into place easily. My problem was that the tires were too thin or permeable to hold air and required a ton of sealant and sealing to hold air with any reliability.

Has anyone tried out the Maxxis Refuse in the 700x40c size? They seem to set-up tubeless well and roll fast on the pavement. Sidewall cuts have not been an issue and the casing feels pretty supple. The lack of tread means that they are best suited for straight line gravel and pavement riding when you want to have a bit more volume under you. I'd be interested in hearing other people's feedback on them.