Thanks for the link. I’ve got a pair in my cart, but haven’t pulled the trigger yet. Looks like it will be about $106 total, which isn’t bad for a pair of high-quality tires.
I’ve bought tire multiple times from Italy-based retailer, Lordgun.com. When they have what I’m looking for, their prices are usually really good, and their shipping is surprisingly fast (in my hands in less than a week, usually). Unfortunately, they don’t have the Thundero 48s in stock.
For those considering Conti Race King, just be careful on ordering those made in China instead of those from Germany. Those from Germany, hand made, deteriorate faster. Personal experience.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002784084355.html?src=google&aff_fcid=69e764f733054d55bc95fb76a07e21b1-1712075979198-02184-UneMJZVf&aff_fsk=UneMJZVf&aff_platform=aaf&sk=UneMJZVf&aff_trace_key=69e764f733054d55bc95fb76a07e21b1-1712075979198-02184-UneMJZVf&terminal_id=a321d33ec6a34bd287b5cc484bd601de&afSmartRedirect=y#nav-review @Jorgito thoughts?
I bought mines on Amazon, and no idea the origin. Until I notice one tire wetter than the other, and at close look noticed the made in China and the made in Germany. Those from your link looks good price, original and made in China. Those made in Germany had side legend indicating hand made
@Rejean_C @Jorgito - Keep in mind the fast / top end Race King is the Race King ProTection (if you can even fit it on your Gravel Bike). There are other versions of the tire (e.g. Shieldwall) that are a different compound and slower, and available in more sizes. Can’t remember if I made that comment above already in this thread, I think it was another one.
I looked at the AliExpress link, and didn’t see the ProTection, just the Shieldwall.
The different compound and faster, may also be why they deteriorate faster, although I haven’t experienced that.
You are right, the protection ones are german, and the shield wall Chinese. So I guess you have the choice if durability or slightly lower rolling resistance. I just went to take pictures so you can see the differences after 2 years of same usage. (in fact the shieldwall works well to prevent punctures, no plugs used on that one vs 3 on the protection one)
At the end, I believe correct air pressure is what makes a real difference in speed. Using the 15% deflecting method, in my MTB I got 19psi front and 31 psi back for my weight and those tires and bike. I confirmed the method on 2 different off-road terrains using just inertia on a half meter tall terrain, with different pressures and that pressure got me longer rolling distances.
I have a number of the German made ProTection, 3 used on hand right now, and none of the three look like that.
I have had “Wobble Issues” with the casing, but the actual compound and tread have all held up fine for me.
At the end of the day for me, if I can get a solid season of use out of a fast race tire, I’m fine with it.
Looking at other “protection” tires I used in the past, they looks similar… Are you using sealant/tubeless setup?
Can you tell me more about this 25% deflection method? What is it?
Yes, orange seal sealant.
There was an study I read somewhere about it (and later confirmed by myself). In practice you need someone to assist you. You inflate your tires to max pressure and measure the distance from ground to rim. Multiply 0.85 (taking off the 15%). Then seat on your bike on normal position, while your assistant start decreasing the air until the new distance is reach on each tire. Finally, measure the air pressure on both and that will be the ones for that bike, tires, and rider. I usually write with a sharpie the numbers on the tires of my different bikes to remember easily. When I need more traction, I usually take 1 or 2 PSI to each tire from my baseline.
Why 25%? How was that figure determined?
I don’t remember the specifics of the study/paper, on how they got to that “optimal” number. But with my “inertia experiment and different pressures” the optimal pressure I found was exactly as the one with the edited: 15% tire deflection rule. (Just checked my excel sheet and it is 15% not 25%)
Have you compared your 25% deflection pressures with calculators like Silca’s to see whether they agree?
I’m a deflection fan too. Frank Berto calls it tire drop:
(PDF Link to his article)
I’ve also seen it referenced as tire sag. I did this for a long time based on an MTBR post: Set tire sag instead of tire pressures | Mountain Bike Reviews Forum
20-30% drop/sag/deflection based on terrain and expected riding speed.
Taking advantage of this thread, and the knowledge you guys have, I just bought my first gravel bike, it’s a Giant Revolt aluminum. It’s meant to be my recovery ride/commute/break from the road.
The bike came with Giant Crosscut 38mm, which rolls surprisingly good on tarmac, and not bad on this kind of terrain:
The question is, increasing the tires to 40 or 45 would be a good idea to gain comfort without too much speed penalty? Speed isn’t the goal of this bike, although there are a few group rides quite fast that I’m planning to do, plus I’ll race in June - Importance C, just to support a local race and get race ready for the “A” event.
If increasing the tire width is advisable, any suggestions?
In my opinion, for BOTH speed and comfort you would be better off on 45mm tires. Plenty of good 45mm options but I would suggest the continental terra speed.
For gravel such as that (Category 1), I don’t think you’ll pick up much speed (if any) but you will certainly get increased comfort.
Most of my gravel is similar and I have ridden widths from 38 to 45 on it….45’s were generally the worst as we have lots of turns and curves and they felt sluggish. Never noticed any significant speed variances across multiple widths. The comfort factor is noticeable, however.
I thought so, did the first ride yesterday and although the pressure was a bit too high - wasn’t planning a 60k gravel as the trails are still wet due to snow melting and 3 days in a row of heavy rain, and turned out trails aren’t bad.
I felt a bit uncomfortable. Some 45s would help. I was worried about losing speed, but that does not seem to be the case.
No turns here, mostly straight lines, and mostly gravel like that. Some rough parts, but nothing crazy.
