I commute on a gravel bike, a Canyon Grail AL7. Few years ago I bought this bike with the intention of riding on unpaved surfaces, however, I ended up always riding on paved surfaces for both commute rides and longer rides. Should I change to road tyres to reduce the resistance while riding?
by KerbodynamicX
9 Comments
Yes
Yes, to reduce resistance and noise
You should, of course
I’ve just done this on a mountain bike that I’ve been using for commuting for the last 1.5 years. The difference is incredible. Granted the tyres I was using were more aggressive than the ones in your picture, but it has made a considerable difference in the speeds I can hit and the effort I need to put in.
Road are better even if there’s some gravel on the way.
Yes
I just put some Conti Contact Urban 35Cs on my bike which previously had gravel tires. They’re awesome. Highly puncture resistant. Low rolling resistance. Relatively light for how puncture resistant they are. Very grippy. They’re noticeably faster, smoother and handle nicer than my old Panaracers. The only things the Panaracers did better was absorbing larger bumps.
Throw on some [Schwalbe Efficiency’s](https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/tour-reviews/schwalbe-marathon-efficiency) and forget about your tires for the next 10,000 miles.
I run them on my commuting/gravely/errand running bike. Love them.
Depends on your gravel road or the given road gravels