For one reason or another I can see my gravel bike doing a lot of my miles this year. I’ve got a dedicated CX bike so I’m not actually all that fussed about performance as I’ve got other bikes for that, but after a puncture this morning I’m questioning how long the existing Schwalbe Sammy Slick will last, in 300 miles I’ve already taken the center of the ‘file’ tread off (I’m heavy and it’s a singlespeed).

So I’m thinking 700×42 Marathon Plus Tour? Just wondering if there’s anything in between ~500g budget gravel tyres and 950g touring tyres. I thought about slime, or those puncture protection strips but then the total weight ends up the same, but the tyre doesn’t last any longer.

Tubeless is an option, but means more expensive tyres, and I don’t know how well sealants play with the heat generated by v-brakes, and my experience of cross tyres on non-tubeless rims is abysmal (they all blow off at 45psi).

You really want high mileage and thus rubbish grip? Personally I like the conti protection tyres ie travel contact. Marathons are like riding on mahogany to me.

I don’t know how well sealants play with the heat generated by v-brakes

I don’t believe this will be an issue, but happy to be corrected

You really want high mileage and thus rubbish grip? Personally I like the conti protection tyres ie travel contact. Marathons are like riding on mahogany to me.

Yea, although the only bikes I’ve ever ridden with them were horrible bikes (boris bikes, hire bikes, etc) so dont know how much is down to the tyres.

Conti do the Contact Plus, which is basically the same spec as the Marathon Plus? So I presume you mean the version with a kevlar breaker not the full on puncture proof version.

My commutes probably only ‘gravel’ for about 5 minutes in 1h45 of riding, but it’s a fun 5 minutes (and there is an option to make it more like an hour if I take a 15 minute diversion on the way home). Most of it is just riding on the road/pavement.

Maybe I should just compromise and go for CX Comps which have a bit more treat than Sammy Slicks so should last a little longer. I suspect the Sammy Slick isn’t going to look healthy past 1000miles or so based on the wear so far.

Marathon Supreme wired 700×42 £20. Weight somewhere around 500g

https://www.spacycles.co.uk/m2b0s142p3263/SCHWALBE-Marathon-Supreme-wired

I’ve used them for USA coast to coast tours with plenty tread left at the end. Although they are near enough slicks, on a bike with stable steering, they are fine on dry gravel like towpaths fire road etc. I’ve done some miles on USA gravel roads as well. AS long as you are aware on the limitations they are fine on sections of gravel.

For UK conditions and better stopping and steering on loose gravel a Supreme on the back for good wear and low road rolling resistance combined with something more knobbly on the front?

The standard Marathon greenguards might be a better bet. Cheaper, lighter, less rolling resistance, still last ages.

vittoria voyager. various models. start at a fiver on planet x

I’ve got specialised sawtooth 2bliss on my commuter, went up tubeless a doddle, comfy enough, roll well enough and not too scary over muddy roots. Think I paid about 25-30 an end for the 42s on offer.

Personally I didn’t particularly like Marathon Supremes on gravel, but YMMV. As far as I’m aware the Marathon Mondial is kind of the gold standard for wear; there seem to be plenty of tales of them still looking good after many thousands of rough touring miles with very few punctures. SJS have them for £18 a pop at the moment and they’re listed as about 600g. Possibly ideal? Or there’s the Almotion… more expensive but supposed to be very easy-rolling, and the tread looks tolerable for gravel. I bought a pair to try when I also tried the Supremes (both in 2″ size) but they came up a little larger and were too close to my guards, so I didn’t get the chance to test them out.

Personally I didn’t particularly like Marathon Supremes on gravel, but YMMV.

Hmmm, futher googling implies it’s the 26″ version that has a block tread on the shoulders, the 700c version compacts that up into a tread with channels which probably wont work quite so well.

Might stick with the idea to swap from sammy slick to CX pro which I already have on the front so know works on the ‘gravel’ bit. And at ~£10 an end at least it’s throw away money if it get’s cut or wears out! The tyre almost pays for itself in a days commuting and should keep some semblance of ‘zip’ in the bike.

vittoria voyager. various models. start at a fiver on planet x

The older trekking version looks promising, only 35mm I can probably live with that for £8, tread looks optimized for straight line rather than cornering grip though, nothing on the shoulders, but that should help it avoid the worst of the puncturing stuff.

I have been using Schwalbe Marathon Evo Extreme for the past four/five years, now superceded by the GT365 I think.
Tough hardwearing tyre, have done hundreds of km on gravel with them including 2 Dirty Reiver 200kms and no punctures from penetration and still to wear them out in spite of lots of riding on tarmac.
Surprisingly good in mud too.
Roll reasonably well on tarmac , I typically run 45 to 55 psi depending on terrain and size.
I mainly use the 35mm ( 50 psi min.) , but do have a pair of 40mm (45psi min) but are noticeably a bit heftier, but good for the rougher stuff.
A good choice if you do encounter muddy sections on your rides.
Have occasionally pinch flatted but that was my fault not the tyres, too low pressures and a rocky sections of forest roads at high speed is not a good combination, I had not checked the pressures for a while.
I use Supremes on my Tourer ,also good and fast rolling , survive occasional gravel excursions, but not for me a gravel tyre of choice due to lack of tread.

Land cruiser ftw!

I’ve been really happy with some Vittoria Revolution G+ tyres I bought from from PX.
38c, but with loads of volume. They look bigger than than the 42c tyres on the other half’s bike.

Roll really fast on road, but good grip on the gravelly bridleways round me.
I’ve done some long mixed surface rides on them (60+ miles) and not had any issues with punctures.

Only £15 each too 😄

I agree with @ajantom above.

I had a similar issue a few months back, and spent a long time looking for commuting tyres that could stand up to a rough route. I commute on badly maintained cycle paths, poor canal paths, over a couple of fields and some actual gravel. The Revolutions have been reliable so far: no punctures, good grip and reasonably fast.

I got them from PlanetX at 5.99, they’re now 9.99
https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/TYVITREVW/vittoria-revolution-700c-wired-tyre

The Graphene version is 14.99. I have no idea if graphene makes them better

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/TYVITREVW/vittoria-revolution-700c-wired-tyre