To put it simply my new Cannondale CAADX 105 arrives next week shod with Rapid Robs. Was intending to swap out to Vittoria hypers but if the notion takes me to deviate off road a bit they won’t be any use. So recommend me a fast road tyre that will grip off road as well

To be honest, the rapid robs are fairly rapid, but wear very quickly.
I’d leave them on and use them to get an idea of what you’d like to change for the next set.

I’ve had a wee search on google and the Clement xplor USH look good with a low centre tread and nobbly side walls for off road grip. But I’m sure there are loads of other variations that do the same job just don’t want to waste cash on the wrong set.

I’d look at Schwalbe G-Ones in 35mm width
Can go tubeless if you have the right wheels for it?

Big fan of tubeless for these kind of mixed terrain bikes. Can get the pressure down low enough for comfort/grip and not worry about snakebites.

Those Schwalbes are expensive though and if you can’t go tubeless I really like Schwalbe CX comps. Fast on road, grippy off road and the last I got were about £6 each?

i have schwalbe g ones on mine… 700×38 tubeless and they’re bloody ace on every type of terrain imaginable

apart from thick mud, or really wet grass… in those conditions they kind of aquaplane, for want of a better term… they’re an early(ish) spring, to late(ish) autumn tyre for me, then i switch to MAxxis Mud Wrestlers 700×32, again tubeless

Schwalbe sammy slicks

Challenge Gravel Grinder

Clement Xplor MSO here, on a Sonder Camino setup tubeless in 40c. Thoroughly recommend them – the lack of a smooth centre section doesn’t seem to slow them down and gives a bit more grip in the wet.

http://road.cc/content/review/225474-clement-xplor-mso-tyres

Unless you are riding mud,grass etc tread is not needed. Gravel has all the grip you’ll need. Tubeless is nice but you won’t need low pressures especially. Currently using knackered Challenge Strada Bianca’s which are sold as as Sunday best, don’t expect much toughness, tyres. At 30 mm about right for fast gravel bashing.
If you want to play in the mud get some tread and accept rapid wear.

Stradas are fast, but hardly grippy off road!

Gravel Grinder or Panaracer Gravel King SK are both worth a look.

Just fitted some 40mm tubeless G-Ones – really impressed as they’re only a few kph slower than a 25mm road tyre. Got mine from Bike24.de – 36 Euros each whilst typical UK price is £55! Went on real easy tubeless too – wrangled them on without levers and inflated first time with a trackpump.

I have Conti CrossSpeed 35’s and Xplor Clements. Both similar, both very good at what you are after.

Think it’s between the clement xplor and the g ones but leaning more towards the g ones, they look fast on the roads and give me the grip I want off-road but not cheap.

Cheers all

G Ones are excellent on the road. I love the speed version, but the knobbles do wear down. And then you have a Schwalbe One ;-). And simplest tyre I’ve ever mounted tubeless. Really like them for all sorts of riding.

The tan wall panaracer gravel grinders look the nuts! We sell them and can’t get enough

Marathon Cross.

Where exactly are you using the bike?

If it’s gravel, as above you can use a slick, you only need grip for grass and mud

If it’s gravel, as above you can use a slick,

Yep, around 50% of my ride is gravel (fire road) and I always just use road tyres (23c currently), albeit it puncture resistant road tyres as punctures are very common due to sharp bits of flint.

Hypers on gravel fire road type stuff are fine, even in the damp

peteimpreza – Member
Schwalbe sammy slicks

just started using some 35mm sammy slicks – gravel and road, wanted something with a bit of a nobbly edge for damp/leafy uphill trails as a skills compensator – seem to do the business

previously been very happy with 32mm swalbe marathons for gravel – very predictable – thinking about throwing a pair of expensive Mavic Yksion all road’s in the bin – nearly worn out the back in 1000km or so and slide out unpredictably in loose gravel did get some benefits on the road at 30mm and tubeless but much happier with the sammy’s and seem ok on road

?peteimpreza are you running the sammy slick’s tubeless?

@rocketdog have you a link to those tyres struggling to find anything

http://road.cc/content/review/227022-panaracer-gravelking-sk-tyre

^^^sk a useful abbreviation – i’ll expect to see underwear labelled sk and bk now as to ak ?

Special ed Roubaixs are good for anything short of loose or muddy. Sawtooths roll well for there size, if they fit your frame.

Liking the Panaracer Gravelking with tan walls but struggling to get them in 35c all seem to be out of stock

I suppose I should be a bit more specific here about the terrain, 12 miles of road riding then onto the Ulsterway ( primarily gravel/stones walking highways off the beaten track used primarily by hikers, these sections are interlinked with tarmac and then around 20 miles of road back home.

I have Vittoria Randonneur Trail 38s on my gravel bike at the moment. There are good for my mixed-mode commute of about 70/30 road / trail.

The only downside is they are a bit heavy.

I don’t think you can go wrong with G-Ones for the sort of riding you’re talking about. They’re proper quick on the road, acceptably grippy off road on anything bar mud and wet grass and are reasonably robust with it. Work brilliantly in tubeless mode too. The only thing wrong with them is that you have to shop around to find them at non-extortionate prices.

I sometimes use one out back with a WTB Cross Boss up front for more grip when it’s wet and slidey and that works pretty well too. I’m on the G-One all-round 35s, but the G-One Speed 30, which Ive also used, is also more capable than you’d think on gravel-type off road, just less volume and not quite as much grip on rougher stuff.

I’m sure there are other perfectly acceptable alternatives, but if you can find them at a reasonable price, G-Ones really are as good as the reviews say ime.

Just took the plunge on these
http://road.cc/show/tags/panaracer-gravelking-sk-tyre-2017/145770

I’m a sucker for a tan wall tyre plus only £55 the pair posted

Anybody tried the Big One? Considering for my drop bar 29er/ commuter. Mostly roads and canal towpath.

Which if the tires above would be suitable for commuting and toepaths/bridleways? Also I’d like to run tubeless and can run 38mm max

Just a word of warning on the Gravelking SK – there are TLC (tubeless specific) and non TLC versions and I emailed Sigma Sport about it last week as their website wasn’t specific about which version they were selling although the library image was of a TLC tyre.

According to Sigma, the distributor for Panaracer have not brought the tan wall TLC version to the UK yet and as far as they are aware they can only get the non TLC ones. Many people seem to have these set up tubeless without issues and Panaracer themselves have said that these can be run tubeless below 55psi but they do not have a tubeless bead and some have had issues apparently.

http://ridinggravel.forumchitchat.com/post/are-all-panaracer-gravelkings-sk-tubeless-8392005

I’m a big fan of the G-Ones. They’re fast, grippy, comfortable and durable. I found the Strade Bianche tyres cut up far more (though they were also very comfortable). The Gravel Kings I wasn’t wowed by – second or third best in most regards.

Cheers for the insight bregante had a good read through that forums comments and seems to depend on the rim tyre combo used so I’ll wait and see what tyres arrive next week

Changed my Gravel Grinders for some road tyres to participate in a sportive, actually felt slower!!!!! Changed back to my Grinders. I ride local forest roads a the “smother” bits of my local trail centres.
90k road ride last weekend with others on their road bike. On the rough country roads around here I wasn’t the slowest 😉

Forgot all about my 2.35″ G-One TLEs, they roll amazingly on the road and great on dry off-road too. Only negative for me was a rear puncture on way to work one day, no idea what I went over to cause the ~5mm gash a few minutes from work, but the killer was the hour walk of shame back home because I didn’t have a spare tube and pump with me.