Wider tire upfront on gravel? Yes? No?

[EB]

Originally Posted by Mark McM

Using a wider tire on the front to improve grip and control on rougher surfaces is nothing new. In the early days of MTBs, before MTB suspension forks were developed, this was common.

Still common! 2.5 front 2.4 rear is a very common setup, sometimes even 2.6 F 2.3 R. Front and rear tires do different things, so these setups make perfect sense.

I wouldn't worry about a mm or two in stack change. Once you run a lower pressure in the wider tire in front, it's probably all a wash anyway.

[tellyho]

I have aesthetic objections but I think they're probably dumb.

[Chris(NJ)]

Originally Posted by redir

Old school BMX puts the wider tire on front. Go for it.

Yup!! This was always the way when I raced in the 90’s

[vespasianus]

Don't just go wider, go more aggressive. I run a larger and more aggressive front tire and a faster rolling rear tire. Control can trump pure rolling resistance.