For this scenario, I just put on the Vittoria Terreno Dry tires on my gravel bike. Unfortunately, I put these on just before California went into lockdown, so I haven’t ridden them yet so I don’t have a ride report yet. I will add it once I’ve given them a whirl.
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I bought the terreno zero tire. Not sure how they differ from the dry but they were good on pavement and hardpack. Of course compared to my wtb resolutes they were lightning fast
I just switched back to my sawteeth for early season training. I usually run gravel king SKs. I hit a section of new gravel today and they were SKETCHY. It was almost like sand mixed with some larger gravel rocks so maybe any tire would have been bad, but these were bad bad. They’re also like a pound heavier than a set of gk SKs.
Going to test the WTB Raddler, 44mm front, 40mm rear. Love the Resolutes, and these look similar, but with more edge bite for sure cornering. If the Raddlers roll like the Resolutes on hard pack and pavement, we’ll have a winner.
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I rode a lot on the WTB Byway. They worked really well on the road and the trails I have around me, provided it’s not too dusty and too wet. I rode with them through snow (2"-6") through traction on climbs was often, um, less than optimal. But, they cornered in snow in a way that I swore the side knobs were larger than they actually were. Overall, they were quick on the trail and quick on the road. I would not go with a slick/slicker tire for trail.
At this point, I’ve ridden more on the Venture and my experience (luck?) the tire has been entirely different (but then my rides are at most 50% on pavement and more often <25% pavement. I swapped out the Byways and put on the Ventures and noticed, and appreciated, the increased traction across all conditions (light mud, thick mud, slick roots, snow, dusty trail, rocky and gravel trails, ascending, descending, cornering, etc).
Based on your comment about the Venture and your riding, I think you’ll like the Byway.
BTW - I’m riding tubeless 47s on 650b DT Swiss GRC 1400.
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Thanks for the thoughtful response. Looks like one of the best options for me and my riding.
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As the course skews more towards pavement and hero gravel: Shwalbe G one allround 35s
As the course skews more towards gnarly gravel and double track: Gravel King 38s
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I like running with 37 WTB riddlers on fast gravel. On the rough or plush deep stuff i switch to 45c riddlers. For pavement and light gravel i run with 38 gravelking slicks (mostly for the cush ride)
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I’ve ran a few different gravel tires over the last year. Here’s my experience:
bontrager gr1 40mm: grippy but surprisingly slow, I really like bontrager mtb tires, but these are so slow. I’d say grippier and slower than you’d expect looking at their tread pattern.
continental terra speed 40mm: they seem to roll really fast so far, and fairly light with sidewall protection. actually measure 38mm on a 19mm WTB rim. I have less than 100 miles on them.
gravel king+ 35mm: my new go to tire for smooth gravel and rough roads. they roll fast and no flats yet.
vittoria terreno mix 40mm: mostly used for CX, but they roll surprisingly fast on gravel. sort of a strange tire but I like them. Probably won’t run on gravel now that I have terra speed and GK+. Maybe in muddy gravel conditions.
vittoria terreno dry: still in packaging, going to put them on my girlfriend’s new domane soon.
surly knard 41mm 120tpi: my first gravel tire, a good all arounder for putting miles on.
Just saw this from Empfield that includes comments on the Byway:
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Anyone have any experience with the Teravail Rampart 42? Thinking they would be a good all road tire that sees a fair amount of pavement and some friendly gravel.
I have the specialized pathfinders. They look similar to the rampart - with a slick center tread. They came stock on my diverge, and I was a little skeptical of the slick center tread at first. But I have ridden them on some pretty sketchy gravel on 30mph+ descents and they’ve been fine. And they also roll well on the road.
Has anyone tried the IRC Boken? I have Maxxis Ramblers on my Aspero right now. I like them, they’re really light but, they don’t roll very well on pavement. The Boken sounds like they are good on dirt and roll well on pavement but they are almost 120g heavier per tire than the Ramblers.
I have a pair of Rampart 32s and they’re TANKS. They’re so much heavier than the Gravel King 32s that there’s a tangible difference in overall speed. They’re nice and supple, but man they’re just so heavy I had to switch.
Had the 40 Bokens for about a year about having been on Maxxis Ravagers and Ramblers. the Bokens were pretty similar in feel to the Ramblers. I replaced the Bokens with 40mm Conti Terra Speed, which having ridden for a few hundred miles now, I strongly prefer to the Bokens.
I just got a pair of he GoodYear Connector Ultimates…After sliding out in a very dry & dustry turn 2 weeks ago (and busting my shifter mount), I was looking to replace my Vittoria Terreno Zeroes. TBH, I didn’t know GoodYear were doing gravel tires until all the brouhaha last week.
Glad I found out because these are GREAT tires. Roll fast and have good traction on the hard pack / kitty litter trails around here. Would have no problem riding them in DK, either.
When picking a size, do you have to take the internal width of the rim into consideration? I have read a lot of reviews and it seems for example…a 38c would come up as a 40c on a 25mm internal width rim.
So if I wanted to go say for a 42c would I go for a 40c?
Yes, internal width does matter. Unfortunately, every tire is different, so you need to look for the info on each tire.
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Ok great thanks, any tires that you would recommend looking at?
I have been looking at a few, but there is so much choice. I want something fast, especially on the road and something strong. I have been looking at the Pathfinder S-Works, due the the flat rubber strip down the middle. But I don’t want to get the 42s and the ballon too wide.
Goodyear Connector Ultimates…still the ebst damn gravel tire I have ridden (see above). Depending on the gravel you are riding, Pathfinders are also a great choice.
What is the tire size capacity for your frame?