I have a gravel race in Oklahoma that looks like it will be muddy. I have two questions
First
Should I put a faster tire on the rear and the traction tire on the front? Or flip them. Or who cares?
Second
What tires? I have the I’m Vitoria mix right now but anyone got a better choice?
That red mud sticks to everything - might be doing a lot of hike a bike 
Tire clearance will be another consideration.
Oh baby does it. It is crazy. It sticks to everything.
In case you want to run an asymmetric tire setup, you should put the tire with more traction up front and the one with lower rolling resistance in the rear.
I heard that you can reduce mud build-up by spraying susceptible locations (clipless pedals, behind the BB, etc.) with silicone. Anybody tried that?
I will on Saturday. We’ll see how it goes.
An old MX trick is cooking spray to make mud slip off more.
Vittoria is the correct choice. They roll fast, knobs or no. Front or back. In fact I have Terrenos (smooth center, chunky shoulders) that I might put on.
Doing the entire series?
I will be there for the entire thing!! Stoked for this event. The first one was a blast.
I’ve read that paint stirrers are great for scraping off the caked on mud.
Check out the WTB Resolute if you have clearance for a 42 and mud. Those have been a reliable choice for me - they have enough knobs to handle the slop but they still roll well down the center.
Bringing this thread back to life as a lot has changed in the last 5 years.
I purchased a new gravel bike last fall but am keeping my old one around for now (Diverge) to use for particularly muddy gravel races. I’m signed up for both mid-south and unbound this year, so the odds of using it are rather high.
With that in mind, what’s the best choice and what are the considerations when looking for a good tire for a muddy gravel race and what are the best choices right now?
I’m thinking:
Proper frame clearance
Ability to shed sticky mud
Traction
Puncture resistance
Rolling resistance
My bike currently has s-works pathfinders, but think that more knobs would help with traction.
What’s the current consensus on this, and what’s everyone using? I’d imagine maybe looking back on what the pro’s used for the 2023 unbound might give some suggestions, although hearing about how they felt about their choice afterwards might be better than what they actually ran. Also, some of the guys are sponsored by certain companies so may just ride the best they offer, not the best choice overall.
I think the ability to shed “sticky mud” is more dependent on the characteristics of the mud vs. the tire itself.
For example, for the peanut butter-style mud in Unbound, it simply won’t matter what the tire design is…that mud stick to EVERYTHING. Frame clearance is gonna be your best defense against a clogging build-up of mud.
Mid-south mud is as bad as Unbound. If it’s going to be muddy at either of those races, tire clearance is your best friend. And even then, be prepared for hike a bike, scraping and clearing mud, muddy drive train, muddy fingers, muddy everything.