A tire specifically for Bay Area "gravel?"

[Onion]

I ride east ridge/ west ridge all the time, plus all the dirt in tilden/wildcat. i have some GKs on my 700s, but if your bike can take 650s, i recommend that. it's just more fun. I ride some 650 2.1 schwalbe thunder burts and love them. i live in el cerrito and don't find it too much road burn to ride to sibley, redwood, or jmp.

[alwayssnacking]

I used to ride with WTB Riddler 37s, but I found that they were slow rolling. I'm looking into the Raddlers, which look promising.

[XXtwindad]

Originally Posted by alwayssnacking

I used to ride with WTB Riddler 37s, but I found that they were slow rolling. I'm looking into the Raddlers, which look promising.

Well, I love WTB. Great products and great customer service. I know I few people who really dig both versions (37 and 45c) version of the "Riddler."

But it seems to me that if I need a tread like the "Raddler," I'm better off using my hardtail.

[Spdntrxi]

I pulled off my Barlow Pass because it had been raining on/off in the pleasanton ridge area last month and have been using WTB Cross Boss and I like them so far. Heavy buggers though.

[jtakeda]

Originally Posted by XXtwindad

What's the single track connector trail between the Miwok and Bobcat? I think it's the Marincello? How would the Barlows do on that?

jtakeda or prototoast: any thoughts on taking the Barlows up Canyon trail to the East Ridge? That's a beast of a climb. Is there enough grip on the Barlows?

I’d agree with prototoast. I think gearing is a bigger factor.
Put it this way, I’m more than happy to walk 1-2 sections than give up a nice fast tire that works on the other 90%

That being said I rode BPs on the rock section of Mt Umunhum, I almost crashed, but the tires held up fine.

[John H.]

My favorite is the 700x40mm Maxxis Rambler. Decent on pavement, terrific offroad.
Or Schwable Thunder Burt 27.5X2.1 if I go 650b- But these are not for going fast.

[Pinned]

Originally Posted by dem

Compass are much too fragile for south bay (sierra azul, almaden, etc) and southern scruz mountains (montebello, russian ridge, longridge, pescadero, portola, butano, etc) - I destroyed them pretty much instantly - big cuts, sidewall slashes, etc.

Assuming you're riding dumb things like me, a tire with a bead-to-bead belt is pretty much required unless you like walking home from the middle of no where.

I generally use a Specialized Trigger in 700x38. They are tough and roll decently.

There's no free lunch with tires, despite all the Compass hype.

The Compass tires seem to be too fragile for any gravel riding - wouldn't trust them here in LA or up in SF. Mine got torn up way too easily, didn't like the road tires either. Everyone I've spoken to in the real world has had the same experience and been perplexed about the amount of hype online, but someone must be having good experiences to garner the praise. They weren't for me though.

Gravel King SK in 38c or 43c are both a great do all option. The new WTB Venture 40c is awesome - it's got an aggressive tread but rolls very quickly on the pavement. If you're riding more pavement/fire roads the Schwalbe G-One Allround is a good choice, they hold their own in the dirt but lack the cornering knobs of the others listed.

[jtakeda]

Originally Posted by Pinned

The Compass tires seem to be too fragile for any gravel riding - wouldn't trust them here in LA or up in SF. Mine got torn up way too easily, didn't like the road tires either. Everyone I've spoken to in the real world has had the same experience and been perplexed about the amount of hype online, but someone must be having good experiences to garner the praise. They weren't for me though.

Gravel King SK in 38c or 43c are both a great do all option. The new WTB Venture 40c is awesome - it's got an aggressive tread but rolls very quickly on the pavement. If you're riding more pavement/fire roads the Schwalbe G-One Allround is a good choice, they hold their own in the dirt but lack the cornering knobs of the others listed.

Theyre fragile tires for sure. but this isnt sharp rock "gravel" were talking about

[JimmyTango]

The Oakland Hills are home to me, and Marin dirt is something I’m very well acquainted with and my favorite tire for drop bar days with >49% dirt in the bay is 40c WTB Nanos.

I know they weren’t on the OP’s mind, and I know they seem way too heavy and knobby to be included in this discussion... but they roll incredibly well (given the overall design) on pavement thanks to the very solid tread spine and handle dry chunky bits (think descending railroad grade or east ridge at speed) better than any other dirt tread I’ve ridden.

For context: I’ve ridden billions of miles on drop bar bikes in the East bay, but almost always on pretty aggressive treads (CX tires more than “gravel”) or on roadie 28s so my experience with fat but smooth rubber is kinda limited. That being said the Nanos are better by a mile on pavement than any other tire with significant tread and just as aggressive as they look on the dirt. Only WTB Crossboss are better for pure traction in corners or under power on Bay dirt, but still not as good as Nanos on fast, non-technical descents (extra tread and extra volume go a long way in these cases) and can’t hold a candle compared to Nanos on pavement.

If you have a dedicated wheelset with true pavement tires for rides that don’t need to be good off-road, Nanos are a great option for the “half plus” dirty wheels.

[JimmyTango]

And one more qualification to my comment above: when I say “good on pavement“ I mean fast and efficient for the relatively heavy weight, and in a straight line...They are great for grinding along on the road alone or with a buddy, but (unsurprisingly) a bit extra if you’re trying to mix it up in a crit or KOM a Diablo paved descent.

[XXtwindad]

Originally Posted by Pinned

The Compass tires seem to be too fragile for any gravel riding - wouldn't trust them here in LA or up in SF. Mine got torn up way too easily, didn't like the road tires either. Everyone I've spoken to in the real world has had the same experience and been perplexed about the amount of hype online, but someone must be having good experiences to garner the praise. They weren't for me though.

Gravel King SK in 38c or 43c are both a great do all option. The new WTB Venture 40c is awesome - it's got an aggressive tread but rolls very quickly on the pavement. If you're riding more pavement/fire roads the Schwalbe G-One Allround is a good choice, they hold their own in the dirt but lack the cornering knobs of the others listed.

Heretics!

[XXtwindad]

Originally Posted by JimmyTango

The Oakland Hills are home to me, and Marin dirt is something I’m very well acquainted with and my favorite tire for drop bar days with >49% dirt in the bay is 40c WTB Nanos.

I know they weren’t on the OP’s mind, and I know they seem way too heavy and knobby to be included in this discussion... but they roll incredibly well (given the overall design) on pavement thanks to the very solid tread spine and handle dry chunky bits (think descending railroad grade or east ridge at speed) better than any other dirt tread I’ve ridden.

For context: I’ve ridden billions of miles on drop bar bikes in the East bay, but almost always on pretty aggressive treads (CX tires more than “gravel”) or on roadie 28s so my experience with fat but smooth rubber is kinda limited. That being said the Nanos are better by a mile on pavement than any other tire with significant tread and just as aggressive as they look on the dirt. Only WTB Crossboss are better for pure traction in corners or under power on Bay dirt, but still not as good as Nanos on fast, non-technical descents (extra tread and extra volume go a long way in these cases) and can’t hold a candle compared to Nanos on pavement.

If you have a dedicated wheelset with true pavement tires for rides that don’t need to be good off-road, Nanos are a great option for the “half plus” dirty wheels.

The 2.1 Nanos were my "go-to" XC tires for several years. Fantastic tires.

[fogrider]

Originally Posted by John H.

My favorite is the 700x40mm Maxxis Rambler. Decent on pavement, terrific offroad.
Or Schwable Thunder Burt 27.5X2.1 if I go 650b- But these are not for going fast.

I've been running the Ramblers (38s) and its been great! It's a pretty lightweight tire and seems to ride better pumped up.

[proletariandan]

Anybody tried the 45c Ramblers? I was a big fan of the 40s but even running 30-35psi the ride was too harsh on the dry stuff and anything lower meant rock strikes.

Moved to Resolutes, which are about 5mm taller on my rims and let me run down to 25-30psi, but am still jonesing for a lil more grip and cushion as I still feel pretty beat up after an hour or two of most of the stuff in Marin and the East Bay.

[sparky33]

Originally Posted by XXtwindad

Two other contenders are the Compass Hurticane Ridge TC and the WTB Resolute, both of which seem to be highly regarded. I really have a hard time believing that tires with that knobby tread fare well for an extended time on pavement.

I don’t know anything about your terrain.

Though I’ve sampled many tires.

The Resolute is a great tire, rolls fast and offers dirt grip...the Hurricane Ridge is similar maybe better. The Nano was once the gold standard here, but these two are both better than it.
The Steilacoom is amazing, oddly quick and grippy.

The slick variants by WTB, Compass and Panaracer are all really good, if slick is your thing.

The Hutchinson Override is an interesting tire as noted earlier. Slick center, file tread shoulders. Makes sense. I wish it were wider than 38. Not quite but almost as supple as other tires, maybe just the right amount of sturdy. The Black Mamba CX also comes in 38...the skinnier 34 is a smooth riding file tread.

Terrene Elwood is a neat tire, smooth like Compass but tread like an MSO. Check this one out.

The Schwalve G series has a useful dot tread. Though the dots wear on pavement and these aren’t nearly as supple riding as WTB or Compass/RH and others.

The GravelKing SK is one I would really like to try.

What about the 700x44 WTB Byway?