UKC

One of the tyres on my gravel bike (bought last summer) is probably on its way out, not helped by a puncture caused by a sharp piece of metal hidden in some sand/gravel. The bike was sold with Maxis Receptor tyres (650x47, https://www.maxxis.com/uk/tyre/receptor/ ) which are OK for most of my cycling - mostly quiet roads, including a lot of surfaced but poorly maintained roads to farms with potholes, loose gravel & often a bit vegetated, but also off road mostly on forest tracks & similar. I suspect maybe a quarter of my riding is off road, mostly easy, often on tracks which are parts of green & blue mountain bike circuits on the map published by the local tourist office although I have ridden bits of red circuits (although only one completely & had to push for maybe 100 m). I'm in the southern French Alps so the climate is relatively dry, & in winter I ski rather than cycle, so mud is rarely a problem.

Given I ride quite a lot of roads I was wondering about going for 40mm tyres, would I notice a bit difference off road ? My only comparison is an ancient mountain bike with knobly tyres which are probably 2 1/2 inch and experience on my old road touring bike, often used for what used to called 'rough stuff' cycling which had 700x32 tyres .

Any suggestions or links to useful reviews ?

some ideas here: https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/cx-gravel-reviews

I guess they're not currently set up tubeless if you're getting punctures? Whatever you get next if you use them tubeless they will be better. There is, of course, a learning curve, but it's really not that complicated if you've spent your life fiddling around with bikes a bit. And once you've done it, it's lighter, more comfortable, grippier and more puncture resistant. 

I don't think the width makes a massive difference to speed on road. I currently have a 50 mm tire on the front of my gravel bike. It works perfectly on rough terrain and gravel tracks and really doesn't seem to make any difference to my time to work when I ride on or mainly on the road.

Panracer Gravelking SKs without doubt the worst tires I've ever tried on any type of bike. This could of course just be very bad luck but doesn't seem to be! Currently on my bike I'm on my second pair of Goodyear connectors and they've been great, they seem to be able to do everything okay.

Ask a question about bike tyres and you'll get as many different answers as there are cyclists in the room!!   ... but for what's it worth, after alot of experimenting I've gone 50mm on the front 40mm on the rear with Maxxis Ramblers on my gravel bike which suits for pretty much everything apart from a lot of mud

And at least one of those answers will be telling you to go tubeless if you're not already.  (Said answer may or may not also contain a helpful response to the original question).

Sorry, Toby.

I agree about you being a million different opinions which are all very personal to bike, conditions and personal preference. I'll tell you what I've been riding with and am very happy with (enough to get them again, which is a good sign).

For summer riding on what sounds like very similar to you - roads, farm roads, gravel farm tracks, cycle paths (asphalt and gravel), forest trails, canal tow paths and occasionally straightforward single track. Rarely muddy. I've been using teravail washburn 700c x 38 tyres (light and supple version) with Vittoria latex inner tubes. They served me well all last summer with about 2000 puncture-free kilometers. They feel fast and easy rolling (obvs entirely subjective, but my reference point is road bikes, rather than an MTB background where everything feels easier! ) with 3-3.5 bar in them (system weight ca. 105kg). I've found them to feel light and comfortable and with decent grip, doing rides on them up to 250km. I like latex tubes and they subjectively feel smoother and faster than butyl. I can't be bothered with tubeless, and like the convenience of a tube. I was worried about punctures with latex, but have not found them any worse than butyl tubes. The only real downside I've found is that they don't hold pressure as well as butyl tubes, so I don't think I'd use them for everyday commuting, but I understand that tubeless setups can also often need topping up.

So yeah, it's all personal preference, but for the type of riding you do, I would be very happy running what I have. 

Doug's choices will be easier with 650 tyres or do most come in both sizes?

Hi Toby,

As someone relatively new to cycling, I'm curious as to what separates a good tyre from a bad one? I use a Gravel Bike as opposed to road bike, not because I want to ride rough trails with drops, but because the frame geometry suits my aging body better. 
 

Most of my riding is done on local roads, with only a few shortcuts on trails, so I decided to swap the 38mm knobbly tyres that came with the bike for 32mm Panaracer Gravelking SKs. They work perfectly for me, definitely less drag on tarmac and decent enough grip for mild off-road territory.

Should I expect them to wear faster than the 'best' brands?

Pete.

Ah yes, well spotted. It seems they do the Washburn in 650b as well, although I don't know how many different widths. 

Picking tyres is easy. Just get the ones that are light, comfy, aero, have low rolling resistance, last a long time, are grippy in the wet, grippy in the dry, puncture resistant, easy to fit, look good and are cheap. 

It's a bit like the old adage about tents: light, roomy, durable, cheap - pick three.

I don't know about Gravelkings, maybe they will wear quicker, maybe Toby found they pick up punctures, but I wouldn't over-think it. Tyres are personal preference, so if as you say they "work perfectly" for you, I'd say stick with them!

Thanks everybody. As I thought, no easy answer. Have to go into town tomorrow so will see what's on offer locally. Seemshaving 650 wheels will limit my choice, guess that makes life easier in some ways

If it helps any...

I have two bikes: Specialized Crux equipped with 38mm Maxxis Ramblers. These do great on hardpack, asphalt, strade bianchi and forest roads. Their only shortcoming is rough farm roads and rocky gravel (which I'm assuming you ride quite a bit in southern France). The tyres themselves are not the problem and deal with it just fine, I haven't got a single puncture with them in what must easily be about 1k km. But the responsiveness of the frame and relative narrowness of the tyre make for a bumpy ride on rough gravel. 

The other one is an old steel monstercross 26er with Maxxis Ikon 57mm tyres. This is my bikepacking/rough roads rig. The steel frame and fat tyres just smooth out bumps as if it's nothing. Comes at a weight penalty though, so I'm not using it as a commuter much. It sets me back about 10-15 minutes at what's an 1 hour 45 minute ride on the Crux.  

In your situation I would personally opt for a tyre 42-47mm wide, with slightly more profile than the ones you currently have. I just checked, and the Rambler comes in 650b so those might be a good option. 

If you are riding mostly on-road I would err on the side of narrower tyres. I own a hard-tail MTB and realised that for anything more than gentle off-road it is a lot more comfortable, nicer to ride. As such I stopped trying to use my gravel bike for proper off road and now use it for either on road, or on road plus perhaps cherry picked bits of off road - compacted gravel tracks etc, avoiding rough bridleways/farmtracks - as such I went back to 33mm Vittoria gravel tyres, they feel a lot swifter than 40mm on road and still grip ok off road (albeit non super-comfortable if it gets bumpy)