Gravel bike - 2nd wheelset tire suggestions?

[Dsteiker]

Hi,

In the process of getting a second wheelset for my gravel bike ( all road is a better name, or actually do it all! ). Trading in a set of my Enve road wheels for a set of Enve G23 wheels, they will be my main gravel wheels with Donnelly USH, 40mm tires. Question is what tires would you put on the other set? ( HED Belgium + rims. Have a road bike so not a 25mm tire. Looking for some tire suggestions? 28s or 32s? Conti GP 4 season is what I am thinking in a 32

[Tommasini53]

Hi,

In the process of getting a second wheelset for my gravel bike ( all road is a better name, or actually do it all! ). Trading in a set of my Enve road wheels for a set of Enve G23 wheels, they will be my main gravel wheels with Donnelly USH, 40mm tires. Question is what tires would you put on the other set? ( HED Belgium + rims. Have a road bike so not a 25mm tire. Looking for some tire suggestions? 28s or 32s? Conti GP 4 season is what I am thinking in a 32

i've been riding Hutchinson Secteur 28's (tubeless) on my road bike and they have been very nice. I also have used Schwalbe G-One 30mm (tubeless) which barely fit on my road bike. These are also really nice. I've found both tires to be great on our chip'n seal county roads and also for some detours on to mild gravel roads.
If my road frame would allow 32's, I would go with it. There is a good selection in that size and i have not found any "penalty" for going with larger tires. I'm thankful the 19mm tire era is done.

[fa63]

I went through a similar decision process recently, and for "pure road riding", I decided to go with Conti GP4000SII in 28mm which reportedly blows up to 31+ mm on wide rims like the HED+. I use Gravelking SK 38 tires for gravel riding.

[Wayne77]

What are the primary uses cases for your gravel bike? Will it double as a cx bike? Commuter? What type of terrain do you want to use it on? What’s the tire clearance?

I went through a similar thought process last year. Currently I have one 700c set of Enve XC29 with 35mm Panaracer Gravel Kings. I use these wheels for competitive gravel events and traditional gravel rides with some asphalt mixed in. They are fast, light, and roll amazingly well.

In the opposite end of the spectrum I have some 650B wheels with 2.1” mtb tires. I use these Fall through Spring on technical single track, sloppy mud, and snow. So much fun!

[tlarwa]

I bought my first "gravel" bike this summer (Marin Gestalt X11), and am using it as my primary ride. Probably 75/25 road/gravel riding. It came with 700x30 Schwalbe G-One tires, and I switched to 38mm Panaracer GK Slicks, with tubes. I don't regret it at all as they feel just as fast and responsive as the narrower tires, but more comfy. Then I bought a set of 650b wheels here on the forum, and have put WTB Byways (47mm) on them (tubeless). Those actually roll pretty well too, and are really comfy. Anyway, I feel I have pretty good choices now depending on how I will be riding.

[Bentley]

This is the right answer, "Conti GP 4 season is what I am thinking in a 32"

Ray

[ptourkin]

I bought my first "gravel" bike this summer (Marin Gestalt X11), and am using it as my primary ride. Probably 75/25 road/gravel riding. It came with 700x30 Schwalbe G-One tires, and I switched to 38mm Panaracer GK Slicks, with tubes. I don't regret it at all as they feel just as fast and responsive as the narrower tires, but more comfy. Then I bought a set of 650b wheels here on the forum, and have put WTB Byways (47mm) on them (tubeless). Those actually roll pretty well too, and are really comfy. Anyway, I feel I have pretty good choices now depending on how I will be riding.

I do similar with Rambler 38s on my 700 and Byways on my 650. There's a big enough difference to justify (in my mind) having the two.

[R3awak3n]

I have a 1.9 gravel king on my 650b wheels and then a 32m gravel king on my 700c wheels.

I either do gravel king or similar size in compass.

[sparky33]

Good questions.

What are the primary uses cases for your gravel bike? Will it double as a cx bike? Commuter? What type of terrain do you want to use it on? What’s the tire clearance?

[yinzerniner]

Roughly 80/20 split with an eye on 60/40 road/off-road. Currently have 28mm Schwalbe Pro Ones on my Reynolds ATR 700s which blow up to between 31 and 31mm with 60-70 PSI. Super comfy and incredibly quick combo, and have actually had good luck with wear and tear. Heard they wear out fast, but maybe that's comparing them to other tires which last forever like the GP4000s.

Going to do 47mm Byways on the 650B Nox Skylines I just picked up, hoping for around 35-40 PSI. Heard they roll fast and have great traction. Will consider 2 or 2.1" mountains if my riding starts veering more off-road.

Used to do a set of 700x38 Gravelking SKs or 700x40 Maxxis Ramblers, and while they were great in combo use they changed the bike's geometry too much to get really comfy.

[Dsteiker]

What are the primary uses cases for your gravel bike? Will it double as a cx bike? Commuter? What type of terrain do you want to use it on? What’s the tire clearance?


No CX racing, main uses are mixed surface gravel riding. Everything from smooth gravel, to rocky and some rooty trails. Have clearance for 45s, Enve cross fork on a DeSavlo Ti frame.


In the opposite end of the spectrum I have some 650B wheels with 2.1” mtb tires. I use these Fall through Spring on technical single track, sloppy mud, and snow. So much fun!

My plan B is going to take the Hed wheels and rebuild those to 650b rims. but would like to test ride a pair of those first. Seems like they will be a lot of fun!

[Mzilliox]

32 gravel kings easy. All day and twice on sundays.

ride like a road tire, handles the gravels in most places just fine.
grips better than the contis IME.

[ergott]

My "road" tires are 42mm Gravel Kings and my "poor conditions" tires are 48mm Gravel King SKs.

650bX42 slicks aren't slowing me down (compared to 28-32mm rubber) and the lower pressure is better for crappy northeast roads with potholes everywhere. They also work tubeless better than 28mm tires. Cuts are far more likely to seal up. Don't forget lower psi also means the tire is less likely to cut or puncture. Simple physics.

I have a skinny tire race bike for the real fast group rides.

[Bob Ross]

32 gravel kings easy. All day and twice on sundays.

ride like a road tire, handles the gravels in most places just fine.
grips better than the contis IME.

This is encouraging, as I'd pretty much come to the conclusion that I should put 32 Gravel Kings on my CAADX. Thanks.

[yonderb0y]

I have WTB Exposure 30's on my road wheelset, and have been very happy with them - they roll well, seem pretty durable, and they end up fitting more like 32's on Mavic Allroads. Super easy tubeless setup, if you're interested in that. There are options for 32's or 34's, too, each with increasing ability to handle some dirt.

[jruhlen1980]

I'll give some love for the Challenge Strada Biancas, I have the 33mm version for my second wheelset and they work great as a fast road tire on the group rides but also hold their own on gravel.

I guess they make them in tubeless now which I would love.

[.RJ]

I have 28mm s-works turbos on my 2nd set, which mount up at about 29.5mm on some wide-ish wheels. I think WTB makes a nice 30-32mm "road" tire also.

[adub]

Schwalbe G One Speed 30mm

[merlinmurph]

My road tires are Vittoria Rubino Pro 28mm
They seem to work, they're round and they roll fine.

I just use these strictly on pavement and dirt roads that are as good as pavement. Any significant dirt and I have the dirt wheels on with Clement X'PLOR MSO 40mm rubber