Best all round gravel tyre

I’m looking for a pair of new gravel tyres, new frame means that I can size up to 700×45 and a decent amount of overtime last month means that I can afford to buy a pair. Previously my go to has been Schwalbe G-one All rounds, and I’d be happy enough to go with those again, but there have been lots of new tyres released by most manufactures since I last bought a pair so was wondering what else is good out there.

Usage will be road, disused railway tracks, South Downs way and sun baked (hopefully) bridleways. Mud is not a consideration, don’t go near the stuff these days😀 and need to be relatively fast rolling on the roads, certainly not slower than the Schwalbe’s which I find surprisingly sprightly on the tarmac.

Thanks.

I don’t think you’d want a tyre that wasn’t all round, says he who recently put exactly those on to go tubeless. I like them, but miss the more aggressive profile of the CX Comps I had on previously.

I don’t think much roles faster than what you have. There are faster options but most really are road tyres

https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/cx-gravel-reviews

I use Maxxis Ramblers on exactly that terrain. They’ve been very easy to set up tubeless, reasonably durable and grippy, if not very fast-rolling.

Specialized Pathfinder Pro. Excellent long lasting tyre, which apparently a lot of the gravel endurance pros use with the branding masked off.

I use Specialized Pro 38c as thats the biggest tyre my Domane can take for exactly the same riding as you minus the South Downs way and very happy with them.

Challenge Getaway. Super comfy.

Big fan of Teravail Rutlands. Decent range of sizes in 700c too.

I still stand by this even though they are 42mm especially when Fustle bikes had them on BOGOF

Pirelli Cinturato  M – in 40 or 45 – expensive (unless Merlin have them on sale ) – great long lasting tyres

Question – how do the experienced gravelista’s rate Gravel Kings?

I have nothing to compare them to as they are all I’ve had on my new gravel bike. Seem to roll well enough, but doesn’t seem much in the way of forward traction in sloppy conditions

My gravel king experience is

Sk are great as road tyre that can go off road. Not a winter tyre but can cope with more than i expected

Semi slicks just seem to puncture all the time. Its think flints working their way through. Some how the knobs in the sk make this happen less often

FYI both run with tubes

Another tick here for Pirelli Cinturato.

Whilst GKs were good, in my experience they seem to blister and bulge the inside lining once a good thorn had gone through them running tubeless. Did it on 2 lots for me and had to then run tubes to get my money out of em as they were buggered for sealant.

Can’t vouch for ‘best’ but I’ve happily been using Vittoria Terreno Dry for a few years now.

Reasonably consistent tubeless installation, roll well (only just recently beat a PB with my road bike on a long road climb that I had previously set on my gravel bike with Terreno tyres) and are surprisingly good in soft stuff, I think the edge knobs dig in.

Am sure I could find more supple or lighter (i.e. Rene Herse or Challenge tyres) but I’m not willing to gamble on robustness or the consistent tubeless installation.

A ‘safe bet’ I would say.

Conti’s version of the g-one all round is called the terra speed. For me they’re really similar but the contis feel slightly sexier to ride – I assume on account of the black chili compound.

Thanks all, I’ll be using my lunch times wisely this week and looking into your recommendations.

Terreno Dry rear, Terreno Wet front. All year round.

how do the experienced gravelista’s rate Gravel Kings?

no grip in anything but very dry conditions, clog easily and don’t clear well, wowful punture resistance. other than that i really don’t like them. not tried the new design though.

Can you still get wtb nanos? They were great in 40c on my old cotic escapade. I know tyres choice has moved on but they seemed fast on gravel and had reasonable grip in the slop and did ok on the road when pumped up.

Conti’s version of the g-one all round is called the terra speed

Love my Continental Terra Trail Shieldwall tyres, bought for about £20 an end. They’re pretty quick, pretty tough and are good on most terrain. They’re a bit drifty in mud and dusty trails but are lots of fun and are predictable. Liked them so much I bought a few of them, but as they wear so well (much better than the Terreno Wets they replaced and the Schwalbe G-One Bite before them), they might be on the bike until the crappy weather returns later in the year 🤞

Fitted them last Autumn and the rear is wearing in nicely for the summer, the ultimate penny pincher tyre strategy. I’ve grabbed the odd Strava KOM and many a top ten. I even did a snowy CX race and didn’t finish last. 😉

Terra Trail comparison, and beats the Schwalbe G-one All-round in weight and rolling resistance.

https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/cx-gravel-reviews/compare/continental-terra-trail-vs-schwalbe-g-one-allround

Continental Terra Trail Shieldwall Tyre – Foldable Puregrip Compound: Black/Black 700X40C

Marginally lighter and faster than the Terreno Dry, but apparently not as tough.

https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/cx-gravel-reviews/compare/continental-terra-trail-vs-vittoria-terreno-zero

Continental Terra Trail in review

I concur with the reviewer mostly, but I’ve only encountered one pinch puncture which was enough to dent the rim, but was sealed with an anchovie which is still working fine.

Has anyone tried the Maxxis Reaver?

I’m a Maxxis fan of MTB tyres and am thinking of giving them a try on the gravel bike.

I have used different tyres on my various gravel bikes I’ve owned. The ones I can remember:

wtb byway – very road oriented and a bit prone to tram lining if I didn’t get the pressures right. Had them tubed and tubeless on different bikes.

I had the G-ones for a short while but had them tear when I encountered some flint.

I had the Pirelli’s in H compound and found them harsh (tubeless, low pressure as I dared) but rolled ok on the road. Wasn’t impressed with the feel of them though.

Currently GK Sports which roll well enough but aren’t great off-road. Mine are oem and although marked tubeless they wouldn’t seal so back with tubes.

no grip in anything but very dry conditions, clog easily and don’t clear well, wowful punture resistance. other than that i really don’t like them. not tried the new design though.

I’ve been running a pair of 700x50c’s for the last couple of years, agree with the above but run them tubeless and the only puncture issue I’ve had was because I got a big puncture when the sealant was almost out.  Had to put a tube in, but once topped up they sealed quite happily and I’ve probably done 500 miles on them since.

I’m looking at Conti Terra Speed’s next, in a 45c – since I’ve been doing some road riding with 25c slicks I’ve realised just how slow the GK’s are on tarmac, so looking for a bit more ‘speed’.

I never ride in mud, even though I ride all year around but my riding is a combination of local (roads) lanes and farm/estate roads along with the usual Border fireroads.

Found this:

https://granfondo-cycling.com/best-gravel-tire-review/

I like G Ones and they were my go to, but I’m running Cadex AR now – not an obvious choice, I know. 170 TPI so I think made by Maxxis.

Much faster on the road than G One (about 2mph slower than 28c GP5000, anecdotally) and surprisingly good off road all through winter. When they wear, I’ll replace with the same again.

https://www.cadex-cycling.com/global/showcase/cadex-ar-tires

Hmmm, never seen a tyre test where they rate their aesthetics before:

The Challenge Getaway and the Specialized S-Works Pathfinder are the best looking tires on test thanks to their appealing tread pattern and genuine tan-walls.

Gravel tire group test – On the search for the best all-rounder

Bloody roadies who now ride off-road 😂

Those Cadex aren’t cheap are they.

I’d expect two for £60 😀

They do have a nice fast summer tread pattern with a bit of extra shoulder tread though.

Gravel Kings?

My Cervelo came with GKs, they seemed OK on the first few rides. First long ride (!00km, Salisbury plain) I had three punctures (tubed, thorns) and at the end of the ride noticed a big slash in the sidewall, probably from flint.

Took the opportunity to change to Vredestein Aventuras set up tubeless and have found them very good both on and off road. The only puncture I’ve noticed was a large one which was probably caused by glass or metal, sealed with a couple of plugs and no issues since.

https://road.cc/content/review/vredestein-aventura-gravel-tyre-293251

Give the WTB Resolutes a look, I treat my gravel bike as an xc mtb but these seem to roll well enough and are predictable off-road in most conditions. Have also done some longer 100k+ rides happily on them.

Haven’t had many issues with punctures, only had to plug them once. Also work well with tyre inserts if you want to drop pressures slightly but haven’t bothered on my latest set (which were bogof!).

I went from G-Ones to Cadex AR40s, the AR40s are exciting in the slop, but just about work. Not the most robust but comfy and fast rolling.

I like them.

Those Cadex aren’t cheap are they.

I’d expect two for £60 😀

ouch. They must have had a price rise, I’m sure they were £42 previously, and discounted a bit from there. I think I paid £70 a pair.

I’m thinking myself to a stand still with this, I have discounted a few for various reasons and have found some others, I think I have norrowed it down two options at the moment, neither of which were suggested above and these are:

Pirelli Cintauro Adventure and WTB Riddler.

Anyone using these and care to comment?

Thanks.

Avoid the WTB Riddler unless you’re only going to ride in the dry and rarely venture off road, genuinely one of the worst tyres I’ve ever used. Resolute on the other hand is a great all rounder 👍

DON’T GET RIDDLERS!

I have never used such a flimsy tyre. Lots of manufacturers seem to include it with their bikes, and I assume this is because WTB can only give them away.

I have WTB Nanos at the moment, and they’re great.

I didn’t mind riddlers but then I’m not expecting mtb levels of robustness and grip…

on a set of raddlers now that seem ok but might put a riddler on the back for the summer.

My Free Ranger came with a pair of Panaracer Comet Hardpack which I have to say I’ve been pleasantly surprised by.  On tarmac they seem to be pretty rapid while being reasonably assured on the mix of foot, bridle, river side and park paths that make up my off road excursions.  They’re a good sized 38 and seem to be pretty good wear wise too.  The downside is they are wired, heavy and not tubeless.

I changed them for a set of G One Allrounds in 38 which by comparison are significantly smaller in terms of both height and width.  They were fitted after sitting in the “I’ll get round to that job soon” pile for two months and were it not for that I would have taken them back.  Schwalbe do them in a 40 but don’t know if this would be a notable increase in size.

Pirelli Cinturato H seem to be well thought of but the look rather square in profile to me although this could be just the camera angle.  I’m very keen to try a set of Tufo Thunderos HDs which get really good reviews but are seemingly like hens teeth to track down.

I’m in the same boat upgrading to bigger tyres but going in circles. Currently on GK SK tyres but the bead has gone loose so struggling to seat tubeless plus a bit fragile. Helpful suggestions here and those Tufo Thunderos have great reviews. Bikeinn have the standard ones in stock which I may try.

https://www.tradeinn.com/bikeinn/en/tufo-thundero-tubeless-700c-x-40-gravel-tyre/137706322/p?utm_source=google_products&utm_medium=merchant&id_producte=11452731&country=uk&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMImNv82KnvhQMV2ZlQBh0FZAS4EAQYAiABEgKkhPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I used Riddlers and Raddlers and despite some very inappropiate riding, the only problem I had was with a shard of glass on the road.