[Closed] "Gravel" tyre light but super puncture proof?

Tubeless for lower pressures and more grip. It's great but when it fails is a proper messy faff!

For your use, and what I do on my commuter, for puncture protection your choice of lightweight tyre with kevlar protection (I use 37mm Vittoria Hypers), a tube, plus Panaracer flataway strips which are still excellent.

Nice and supple, maximum puncture protection plus minimal faff if you ever get a flat or puncture.

I've got Schwalbe G-One all-round tubeless. If you don't want punctures the don't buy these. Cut easily & rarely seal themselves.
Fast though.

WTB have some new SG2 casings arriving soon (if not already) supposed to be longer wearing, less seepage, more supple and puncture resistant.

Reviews seem positive.

I would also recommend looking at the kenda website for ease of choosing a light weight puncture protection tyre (use the slidey bar scale thingy)

I occasionally run the hellkat/helldiver or nevagal combo when riding certain routes in winter (deep mud followed by square edge rock) and ‘snakebite’ puncture protection seems excellent compared to other tyres used in the past.
So impressed that I will be trying a kenda gravel/mud tyre when funds permit.

My bike is a single speed and more for winter...I guess I'm asking the Impossible.

Not heard about flataway strip...will search

You won't get a tubed tyre that is light and supple but has excellent puncture protection.
Puncture protection is achieved by using thicker tyres of various materials but that always adds weight and removes suppleness.

I use Marathon Plus which are as heavy as it gets for given size but I don't even take a puncture kit with me. Every time I try a lighter tyre I don't notice any great difference in overall speed yet my rides take a lot longer as I am fixing punctures every other ride!
(This is mostly riding on sharp flinty gravel)

As usual it depends what your surfaces are like ,but I have been running Clement Xplors for a year on a mixed surfaces commute.They are not bad on the forest tracks,don't drag too much on the road and nae punctures.

I run conti travel protect protections

Much grippier and a bit lighter than marathons and not as dead feeling. Puncture protection is great

I’ve got Schwalbe G-One all-round tubeless. If you don’t want punctures the don’t buy these. Cut easily & rarely seal themselves.

I have those and they were terrible with tubes, I got loads of punctures. Tubeless they seem quite good on my gravel / commuter so far. Haven’t really used them offroad all that much.

I started using Flataway strips on MTBs before then going tubeless for the lower pressures and grip. then migrated the system to commuting. NOTHING has ever got through those strips!

So, yes you can have your choice of tubed tyre that is light and supple but has excellent puncture protection.

I've got a pair of These Trailtech G+ They're apparently "E-bike compliant" meaning they're built like a tank track.

I run them tubeless (TBH I'd not much fancy trying to cram tubes in them), But they apparently do a non-tubeless version if you're not keen on playing with latex and tape...

But I think anything sold for E-bikes means it's just of a more robust construction...

I’ve got a pair of These Trailtech G+

Guessing you missed the word "Light" from the requirements 🙂
I am not sure anyone would consider 800 grams as light for a 38c tyre.

(I use 37mm Vittoria Hypers)

I had those on my touring bike and did some quite daft off road stuff they weren’t designed for, plus a C2C and other stuff and never got a puncture, which I was expecting as they were really light compared to other tyres I had. Would have them again for sure.

Scwalbe Marathon Supremes are meant to be really good too.

Tyres from the Continental Contact range are pretty much as you describe, ones with the Safety System in. I use the Speed version, have done for years and by the time they wear out I'll have had one puncture max from them. I've tried Marathons too - horrific to ride in comparison, (and I still got a puncture, but it was from a 3" nail that went in and out the side so I'll let it off that at least)

The top contact look like a good option. Folding 37mm is under 600g

b230ftw
Full Member
Scwalbe Marathon Supremes are meant to be really good too.

They're nice rolling and lightish but wear out quickly and are relatively expensive. I use them for the touring bikes but have gone back to Paselas which last a bit longer, are cheaper and are about the same weight/roll the same - for touring on road.

I use wtb nano 40c tcs light in the winter - good tyre to run tubeless however the sidewalls are susceptible to slashes

Summer tyre is Panaracer GK SK which is a solid tyre - virtually no issues running tubeless during late spring/summer

I'm running the Hutchinson Toureg tyres in 40c. Reasonably light, good protection, good in all but mud, roll well. Not as supple as the WTB Resolutes I was running before, but tubeless, with softish pressures, they're not bad.

not Panaracer Gravel Kings, they are light, hard wearing and look cool but have all the puncture protection of a Poundshop condom

Light, puncture proof: pick one (K Bontrager).

PS does anyone elses predictive text come up with "Bongrager"?

Never had a problem with Panaracer GK in the SK format great tyre , as I say , for dry use!

Never had a problem with Panaracer GK in the SK format great tyre , as I say , for dry use!

its the regular file-tooth pattern Gravel Kings i have. the SK variant does look a little more robust.
they also do a 'plus' variant now with extra puncture protection- they'll be my next tyre purchase..

Gravelking slicks are awful, so many punctures! SK (small knob) are great, never have any problems.

I've got a maxxis refuse on the back of my CX bike, replacing a slick gravelking. Seems good and supposedly "refuses" to puncture. Still have an SK up front, just thought this might combo might roll quicker with a slick at the back. I can't tell the difference to be honest.

I think 510g for a folding travel contact in 37mm might be perfect. The land cruisers i currently use are about 710g. Plus I think the continentals will have more puncture proof

I used Travel Contact for a few years about 10 years ago and never had a single puncture and they roll well and grip well off road as side knobs are a decent size.
if a tyre is going to puncture it will puncture where I ride (I have puncture armadillos, Durano Plus, Halo Courier Berlin which are all supposed very tough, and heavy tyres) so they must be pretty good puncture protection wise.
Watch the BS Continental Sizing though as 37c actually measured up nearer to 32c so they are light for a 37c because they are actually a 32c!

For ~4.5 years of commuting on mixed terrain, 38mm https://www.spacycles.co.uk/m14b0s122p4645/SCHWALBE-Marathon-Cross-HS470 have been my most reliable tyres. I've had one puncture, where a screw somehow pierced between two central "shields." ~560g each, so lighter than 35mm Landcruisers, at ~70PSI+ they roll very well on tarmac and at ~50PSI they have decent grip offroad. Loads of tread life left, just recently started to get the odd sidewall crack appearing. Shame they only do wired bead, otherwise that would knock the weight down and make them rather desirable.

Tricky balancing act between the weight and thicker rubber tread/sidewalls plus any protection layers.

2.35" G1Speeds feel way faster than I feel they should be for such a large volume tyre at ~560g, but the microtread quickly wears on tarmac and I've consequently had a few punctures with them.

Conti Top Contact II looks very similar tread design to the Landcruiser, but never tried them. Maybe the G1Allrounds, perhaps with a Bite or Ultrabite up front for offroad grip?

They’re nice rolling and lightish but wear out quickly

How quickly do they wear out? I get a at least 2 commuting years out of Marathons but if there is a lighter option and they lasted a year I'd give them a go.