Velo News: The perfect gravel tire width

[fiamme red]

https://www.velonews.com/2019/12/gravel/the-grind-the-perfect-gravel-tire-width_503320

In short, it's evolving. It was 32 mm a few years ago, but now it's 40 mm, and soon will probably be 42 mm.

[torelli]

Interesting article but for me a 35 to a 38 mm width tire works for me. I don't have much gravel riding near me, just a lot of segments. It's a slog riding up steep hills on tarmac on those tires though.

[Nomadmax]

In five years a "gravel bike" will be a mountain bike ;)

Marketing rule number one; if you don't have a product niche, create one.

[Etienne]

In five years a "gravel bike" will be a mountain bike ;)

Marketing rule number one; if you don't have a product niche, create one.

Marketing rule number two : if you have nothing new, reinvent the wheel (no pun intended :rolleyes:)

My first all-road drop bar bike can take up to 29"/60mm tires ... should have patented the idea !

[martl]

https://www.velonews.com/2019/12/gravel/the-grind-the-perfect-gravel-tire-width_503320

In short, it's evolving. It was 32 mm a few years ago, but now it's 40 mm, and soon will probably be 42 mm.

There will be "the perfect tire" as soon as we are done with the standardization of roads. and riding styles. and riders.

[p nut]

Interesting article but for me a 35 to a 38 mm width tire works for me. I don't have much gravel riding near me, just a lot of segments. It's a slog riding up steep hills on tarmac on those tires though.

That's where I've settled as well, although I'd say 32-38, depending on the ride.

[Ken Robb]

It depends on the texture and depth of the "gravel" you will encounter. Some crushed limestone like the Erie Canal Tow Path is fine on almost any tire you would ride on pavement. I did it on 700x25. OTOH marble-sized gravel 3" deep would probably requite at least 2" width for me.

[fiamme red]

I think this article is dealing mainly with races like Dirty Kanza and Grinduro. Of course, 40 mm tires aren't needed for a smooth dirt road.

[benb]

I guess I was ahead of the times.. I was on 38s by 2014 or so.

I have 32s on right now, but I consider them almost "not appropriate for gravel at all" for our local definition of gravel, and I am not really even riding that bike offroad with the 32s.

The 32s are way faster though on pavement.

[azrider]

I was contemplating doing write up on my 38 GK slicks as they've slowly become my favorite tire for all-around use: gravel, canal, MUP, road.

On the rim they measured 36.90 and I'm running them with tubes at 50psi front and 55psi in back and ermahgerd they're awesome.

[merckx]

As has been stated, gravel is not gravel. Gravel roads are too nuanced to determine an ideal universal tire size. A paramount consideration for me are my damping needs for the roads that I ride. I am equally concerned with damping the stress from washboard, baby-head sized potholes, and other imperfections. I find it fatiguing to ride for a long duration on some dirt roads with undersized tires. Traction needs are secondary.

[AngryScientist]

i reject the premise that there is a perfect sized tire.

terrain, rider weight and preference are too variable between us and the routes we ride to come to any meaningful conclusions.

it's great to have options though. 10 years ago, it was either a 23c race tire or a cyclocross tire, with little in between, save for some heavy touring tires. now we can test, and find out what's best for us. win.

[weaponsgrade]

There's a huge variation in gravel terrain. Some gravel is fine on a 28 whereas others would give you a pinch flat 10 feet in. For most of my local mixed road/dirt rides, I switch between a 700x38 inflated to the high 30s on my dropbar and a 2.25 inflated to the low 20s on my rigid 29er mtb. Overall, I'm faster on the dropbar, but the gravel descents aren't as fun.

[R3awak3n]

i reject the premise that there is a perfect sized tire.

terrain, rider weight and preference are too variable between us and the routes we ride to come to any meaningful conclusions.

it's great to have options though. 10 years ago, it was either a 23c race tire or a cyclocross tire, with little in between, save for some heavy touring tires. now we can test, and find out what's best for us. win.

Yep. 100%

[72gmc]

i reject the premise that there is a perfect sized tire.

... because I want to keep trying different tires!

No need for parts perfection party poopers.

[Bonesbrigade]

I keep coming back to the compass 650x42 as my go to tire for all-road riding. I’ve been on and off this tire size since around 2012.

[Davist]

I grew up riding the Erie canal tow path.. didn't know it was gravel at the time, so 27 x 1 1/4" (32 I guess?). I was surprised to see they dismiss the 650s. My gravel 2.0 bike (2nd one) has 650 wheels and I like both tires I've tried 47c Horizons and 2.1 Thunder Burts. They're not as fast as the 32s on my "winter" wheels. I guess their lens is competition like DK BWR etc, which about .5% of the audience actually choses to do, oh well. I did the local "gravel" rides like Hell of Hunterdon and Battenkill on 28s and 25s respectively without incident, but gave up paying to ride on local roads for the most part.

[oldpotatoe]

In five years a "gravel bike" will be a mountain bike ;)

Marketing rule number one; if you don't have a product niche, create one.

Already a drop bar, hard tail, rigid, MTB..:eek:

What he said..a 'bike guy' once said, all you need to ride a bike anywhere, is a bike..this 'specialized'(pun intended) and purpose driven marketing wears me out.

Absolutes wear me out too..'perfect', always, everytime, everyone, never....yikes.
AngryScientist-
i reject the premise that there is a perfect sized tire.

72GMC
-because I want to keep trying different tires!

And the marketing gods and tire maker bean counters smile upon you..:)

[Clancy]

A paramount consideration for me are my damping needs for the roads that I ride. Traction needs are secondary.

Surprisingly how few riders understand this.

I’ve experimented with a few different styles and sizes of tires, primarily Panaracer GK’s in either smooth file tread or the semi-knobby. I’ve settled on the smooth tread in 32mm. It’s adequate for most gravel roads around here and very good on pavement. I may go up to 38mm tires and the only reason is compliance.

What’s really interesting to me is the explosion of tire sizes, compounds, and tread patterns available to us. Only a few years ago the choices we had in larger sizes were very limited, heavy and stiff. I believe the main driver behind the adoption of the larger tires is simply the fact that quality larger tires were simply not available to us.

[merlinmurph]

Everybody is different
Every ride is different
Everybody is looking for something different
Everything is a trade-off

Then, when you finally decide on a tire, then you have to decide on tire pressure.

Classic overthinking (of which I can be as guilty as anybody - just ask my wife)

There, that just about covers it.

[bowenarrow]

Only a few rides in so far but I’m loving my 40mm tires


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[Butch]

Having been around the sale of a lot of "gravel" bikes and also being part of putting on the Moots Ranch Rally, the two most asked questions - "how big a tire will it hold" and "what pressure should I run". Personally I have run 28 - 35 on this ride depending on the bike I had at the time.

Almost no one runs the biggest tire a gravel bike will fit, some do, but I think tire pressure is important to figure out for the tires and roads you are riding. A few lbs of difference makes a huge difference in comfort and grip in the loose stuff. Tubeless is also a great thing for the dirt.

We use to joke about making a "aggregate gauge" with different sized holes in a piece of plywood to see how big your gravel is to determine tire size. All in all there is often too much worrying about all this. The old phrase "run what you brung" and "shut up and ride" come to mind... perfect sized tires - meh

[unterhausen]

I had some really nice 30mm cross tires, but I had 20 flats the last year I rode them. No flats so far on the 40mm GK SK. The 30mm tires were a bit scary sometimes. PA DNCR sometimes dumps large quantities of #2 gravel, and a 30mm tire will just sink in and staying up is a challenge. For Central PA gravel, a 2.25" tire is nice on the descents, but if you are up for a little skittering around, a 40mm tire works fine.

If the gravel roads weren't buried under a sheet of ice right now, you probably would be relatively happy with a 28mm tire. They get really smooth by the end of hunting season.

[Kirk007]

I prefer 650b 42 or 47/48 on a bike optimized for this size wheel/tire combo over anything larger than a 35 on a wide rim on a 700c bike. This of course helps me justify the 650b bike!

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