Racing and Training: Schwalbe G-One Speed 35mm - tubeless (I race Michigan Gravel… different than Kansas/Iowa gravel)
For the road, I also LOVE the Vittoria Corsa G+ Competition 28mm paired with latex tubes. Probably the most comfortable tire I’ve ever ridden. Fast too. Everyone I know who hasn’t converted to tubeless rides a variation of these tires. The G+ Speed is too fragile for me.
@Nate_Pearson I’ve never seen anyone run a 25mm upfront and a 28mm in back – is that for aero reasons? I’d love to hear your experience with doing that.
My Gravel bike has Panaracer Gravel King SK tyres 35mm , awesome tyres, endless grip in all conditions, on and off road, lean angles on the road which i didn’t think were possible, fast rolling and tough, best tyres i’ve ever ridden.
My road bike has Schwalbe Pro one 25mm, fast and hard wearing, only 2 punctures in 2 years, both sealed instantly.
Yah, aero up front and comfort in the back. It’s been done on TT bikes for a while, although you’ll be giving up some cross wind aero-ness in the rear.
45NRTH flowbeist and dunderbeist front and rear. Agressive tread works well on loose and groomed snow.
Not so good for hard/packed surface due to high rolling resistance.
Not so good on ice, as they can’t be studded. But OK on snow over ice.
Road Bike: Who am I kidding? My road bike never leaves the trainer!
MTB: Hard pack= specialized fast tracks 2.25 front, 2.0 rear
I love the Maxxis Aspens, but the pair I have are net exo, and we have too many rocks.
Loose over hard: Maxxis Ardent Race. 2.35 front, 2.25 rear
Michelin Power Competition for racing… Really good for racing and turning not for everyday. Tore a side wall during a race hitting a shallow pothole, but still love em. Softer compound than the GP4000II but flats is not that bad, but you do find a lot of things lodged in the tire overtime.
Conti GP 4000 II my winter, and overall tire on my spare wheels, and on my steel bianchi bike.
Michelin pro4 endurance on my commuter… 2 flat in 2 ish years riding in crappy NYC roads. So I’m all for it!
Location is important with tire selection, so will mention I’m in central Ohio.
Road:
Conti GP II 28c front and rear with latex tubes on Bontrager Aeolus 3 TLR disk wheels on Trek Emonda SLR
I’ve been running this setup since I got the bike about 11 months ago. I had planned to change over to tubeless with Schwalbe Pro One’s, but this Conti’s with the latex tubes has been such as great set up. I’ve been running in the 70 - 74 psi range and have yet to have a flat. The big 28’s smooth things out beautifully. When I hit rough chip seal roads they really help soak things up. I took the bike to Maui last winter and, based on Nate/Jonathan/Chad’s advice rode the 28s there and they were fantastic, especially flying down Haleakala. One of these days I try out the Schwalbe’s, but I just can’t bring myself to ditch the Conti’s.
MTB:
After running Ikon’s and Ardent Race’s for the last couple of years, I switched back to Schwalbe this year. With summer conditions I had a 2.35 Racing Ralph up front and a 2.25 Racing Ralph in the rear, both in the “Speed” compound. I really liked the combo and had no issues on the hardpack, roots, and rocks of the mid-west. This past week I switched out to Nobby Nic’s in 2.35 “Speed Grip” compound front and rear (19 psi front, 21 psi rear) because our trails our now getting a lot of leaf litter. I was really surprised how fast the Nic’s felt. I was expecting a big dropoff from the Ralph’s, but my times on a 25 mile loop were very similar. The changes Schwalbe made to the tread pattern and compound has made this a much better Nobby Nic compared to when I last rode them some years back. I think Schwalbe is doing some really good things with their latest tires.
Road - Clincher training wheels - Vittoria Corsa Control G+ 25mm. The Controls are a little beefed up version of the Corsa but for most applications I notice no real difference, but they’re bombproof.
Deep section race wheels - Vittoria Corsa G+ Tubular 25mm.
TT - Vittoria Corsa Speed G+ 23/25mm Tubular. Very fast, but delicate. Might switch to standard Corsa G+ next year.
Gravel - Panaracer GravelKing SK 38mm tubeless. Have done pretty much everything I’ve wanted, flawlessly!
Since I’m going to try and ride my single speed again I’ll post up what i am running on there.
I use a ground control up front and a renegade in the rear. Specialized tires are usually pretty light.
I like riding an almost semi slick for my rear tires. Proper pressure matters more than tread unless your throw wet or other slippery conditions in there but pressure matters a lot in the wet too.
Ride rigid in the ss, so 18-20 psi in the front on a 2.2 and 22 psi rear for a 2.1
Road: Conti GP4000S 25C For the past 4 yrs. I really don’t think tire choice, among the top offerings, makes as much of a difference as it does on XC.
XC: Rear 29x2.25 racing ralph addix Front: 29x2.25 rocket ron. This has been my setup for the past 4 months and I’ve been really pleased with the handling/traction on XC courses.
I don’t do glorified gravel even’ts under the guise of MTB races, so I couldn’t tell you how this would fair on those types of courses. Prior to this I was running matched racing ralphs, which is also a great setup. However, I sense the rocket ron in the front just gives me a bit better front wheel traction for my riding style and how my weight is distributed on the bike. I’ve also ran Ikons, but I felt I needed to run a much higher pressure in those tires to get ride of the sidewall rolling and then the traction was very on-off.
Road: Continental Gran Prix 4 seasons, 25c really loving them all year long. When they start making these in tubeless they will probably be my ideal tyre.
MTB XCM: Old favourite was Maxxis Larsen TT, Now I’d say Maxxis Aspen 2.25
I am a fan of the GP4000’s as well. I did. Have similar problems with early versions of the newer version with the chilli compound. Most of that has to do with the amount of glass we see in Canberra, Australia. Unfortunately the majority of states have not caught on South Australia’s bottle deposit which means lots of bottle out the windows by the bogan.
@Nate_Pearson how is the rolling resistance on those tires? My gravel bike is running Kenda Flintridge 120tpi tires and my XC hardtail, which has WTB Trail Boss 650b 2.2 tires are just as fast on pavement as my Kenda tires… Looking for a fast(er) tire to replace the Kendas. TY.
Road: Schwalbe Pro One 28 tubeless front and rear.
MTB:
XC bike is currently set up with Michelin Jet XCR 2.25 front, 2.1 rear. Roll very fast, and traction is great. Better than Aspens, that’s for sure.
Aggressive HT (160mm DVO up front): in 27.5+ mode, run Maxxis DHF and DHR 2.8s front and rear around 17psi. So much grip when wet. When looking for a little extra speed and have the 29er wheels on, then it’s High Roller II up front and Minion SS semi slick out back.
Trail Bike: Schwalbe Hand Dampf front and rear, and only in the dry. Absolutely useless in the wet!
Enduro Bike: Just switched over from Maxxis DHF and DHR combo to Michelin Wild Enduro. See ya later Maxxis…Michelin for the win. Grip is awesome on a huge array of surfaces.
Enduro Bike at wet races, ie lots of mud, then currently switch out wheels for one’s booted with Maxxis Shortys. Will be changing to Michelin Wild Mud once worn a bit more, so probably next winter.
All MTB set up tubeless. No idea why you’d do anything else, even on the road…
ARMADILLOS (yes I’m screaming) all seasons for the win. I’ve taken a lot of grief over the years for running them on my flo 30s and flo 45s. They rarely flat. I understand I lose watts. However, far fewer watts than the dude that flats.
I just switched the flo 45s to tubeless and running Bontrager AW 3 (I think it is). I’ve only put 8 miles on them. All the specialized stores have switched to ski gear. For some reason, the Trek store hasn’t. :).
I race S-Works Turbo 26c and is the best tire I have ever ridden. But I have no issues with punctures until the tire begins to age in km’s.
In the winter and during training rides I run Roubaix’s with no major drama.
@handynzl have you used the Michelin’s on hard pack as well as loose? I love the Michelin wild XC and have had a pair of jet XC that I haven’t mounted yet and wondering how they are on anything except hardback?
Used them on a mixture of surfaces, from hardpack dirt, to wet slick dirt, to loose volcanic over hardpack. Found them rather predictable so long as you are not 4hrs into a solo race and your mind starts wandering haha. Haven’t ridden on slop or very wet roots yet, but would likely change out for something with a block tread at that point. @Lawrence
Looking for a fast(er) tire to replace the Kendas. TY.