Tire recommendation for mix of road and gravel paths

[Gsinill]

Any experience with narrow cyclocross tires that I could put on my 2nd set of wheels for my road bike? Tired of using the CX bike for rides that include less than 10% gravel...
Is there anything <30mm wide (clinchers)?

Thanks!

[Ken Robb]

search the archives for MANY discussions on this subject.

[AngryScientist]

none better for what you're talking about if you can fit them 27c

http://www.yellowjersey.org/WIDE27.JPG

[dogdriver]

FWIW, I use Conti GP4000's, 25mm as my standard tire and it handles packed dirt just fine. Several of our "house" rides include a mile or two of dirt and I've never had a problem. Disclosure: 190 (I wish) pounds, generally use 100psi.

[Gsinill]

Interesting, I was worried since I had 3 flats this year with my Conti Cross Kings after increasing pressure to make them more suitable for asphalt.
Maybe it's the kind of gravel they are using around here; in all 3 cases tiny little needle like pieces of rock punctured the tires between the knobs.

I have a mix of GP4000 and Gatorskin on the road bike; the current set was initially all GP4000 but one of them blew the sidewall which seems to be an issue with certain batches so I decided to switch to Gatorskin and replace the other GP4000 once it's worn or blows up as well. Maybe time to rethink or shed 40 lbs to reduce psi...

FWIW, I use Conti GP4000's, 25mm as my standard tire and it handles packed dirt just fine. Several of our "house" rides include a mile or two of dirt and I've never had a problem. Disclosure: 190 (I wish) pounds, generally use 100psi.

[redir]

Tufo makes a diamond tread that would work well for that. I like the Challenge PR tires too but I've only used those in tubular.

[gavingould]

i've ridden plenty of dirt and gravel on GP4000s 25s without issue. i'm not a small man.

[oliver1850]

Ruffy Tuffy 28s?

Michelin Jets are nominally 30, don't remember what they measure.

[mistermo]

My vote for a mostly paved, but with gravel, ride would be Schwalbe Ultremo 28s. On an A23 rim, mine measure 29.4

[Gsinill]

Thanks guys, sounds like I should just keep going on my GP4000/Gatorskin combo and see how they hold up.
Once they are worn out I might give some of the recommendations a try.
I like the Ruffy Tuffy and PR options a lot; the sidewalls would look good on my retro Appel :)

Thanks,
Guenther

[Ssalmon]

My vote is for the challenge roubiax, I have a tubular set and I am very satisfied with my purchase. I used them on the Almanzo 100, they can even handle freshly grated roads.

[tuscanyswe]

If clinchers my experience say that the challenge paris roubaix is very poor since you are almost guaranteed a puncture every few rides. Perhaps the later model paris roubaix is better but if you can fit the challenge strada bianca id buy that. Its a litte bit wider than the paris roubaix but not that much really. It has puncture protections belts unlike the paris roubaix. Downside is its abit heavier but deffinetly worth it imo. Have ridden the strada biancas every day for 2 weeks now and i really like em.

[David Kirk]

I'd throw any quality 25's on and ride and enjoy. In fact I'd run 25's all the time and then any ride can go most anywhere.

This complicated scheme has been working for me for the past 25 years and shows no sign of slowing down :)

Have fun.

dave

[buldogge]

If you want a little knobby…you might want to check out Kenda Karvs in 28c.

Folding tire, 250g or so.

-Mark in St. Louis

[djg21]

i've ridden plenty of dirt and gravel on GP4000s 25s without issue. i'm not a small man.

Over 200lbs. Pavement is optional, and GP4000s tires in 25c work fine. I use latex tubes too. This helps with avoiding pinch flats.

[mmuurr]

my favorite all-around tire the past few years is the Continental Grand Prix 4-Season 28 mm.
in reality, they're more like 26 mm tires.
plenty soft when on pavement, and i've taken them through some gnarly rock/gravel paths with zero problems (i.e. i find them very durable).

[Dromen]

Mmurr,
What rim width? My 4season 23s on hed Belgium's run 26.4. Was going to pull trigger on some 25s to get a little more width but now I wonder. How old/new are yours? May send a question to conti.

[mmuurr]

Mmurr,
What rim width? My 4season 23s on hed Belgium's run 26.4. Was going to pull trigger on some 25s to get a little more width but now I wonder. How old/new are yours? May send a question to conti.

i've had the 4-Season 28s on both Reynolds Attacks (21 mm outer rim width), and Mavic Kysrium SLs (20 mm outer rim width).
on the Attacks (where they're currently mounted), i measure the tire width to be 25.2 mm.

i, too, have noticed that Continental's 23 mm road tires often run wide (especially with their GP 4000S).
it's almost as if they have a single manufacturing process for some tire models: 25 mm only... and those that fail QC on the small end get stamped "23", while those that fail QC on the high end get stamped "28".
(i know that's not the case, but it would be kind of amazeballs if it were.)

[Dromen]

....conti and get to the bottom of this.

[Lovetoclimb]

Vittoria Pave in 25 or 27mm, preferably mounted on 23mm rims.