My hybrid bike comes with Kenda 38mm treaded tires, and I mostly do city riding.
I’ve been interested in exploring some gravel routes and wondering if these tires will do, or if I should invest in some gravel tires. I could lower the psi on these to give me more tire-ground contact area.
Do gravel tires typically have more rolling resistance for road riding than these hybrid/city tires?
Thanks!
by qwerty12e
18 Comments
You absolutely can! They typically have high puncture protection, higher rolling resistance, and they don’t roll as smooth as a higher end gravel tire.
I think these tires will be just fine! Go out and have fun!
The most speedy less knobby tires will have less rolling resistance but a rough gravel tire will have more!
There’s no reason these won’t work well on gravel if you’re looking to explore and see what’s out there. The puncture protection of the tires is great, but the downside is they roll slow on the road and don’t have great grip in loose chunky turns. That being said, those only matter if you’re trying to go fast.
They will be fine. People rode bicycles on gravel roads before gravel tires or gravel bikes existed. Before paved roads existed, even.
Less rolling resistance usually. You’d have a hard time finding a tire with more rolling resistance and that are slower than these. City tires are not designed for any kind of performance. They serve two purposes. Long tread life, high puncture resistance.
With that said, these will be fine on gravel.
Yes. Before gravel riding was a thing, back in the day I’d hit gravel roads on 700×23 tires.
Hybrid/commuter tires are often a harder compound rubber and have tougher casings for puncture protection compared to a performance gravel tire. They’ll probably a fair bit slower and marginally less comfortable but you’ll still have plenty of fun.
Yes
Yup
Sure
I use my 28c road tires on gravel, these will be GREAT
Bike may explode.
Ride your bike, have fun. Wear those out and then upgrade.
Depends on the trail. They would not be optimal for steep climbs or descents. But they’re fine for relatively flat trails.
You can always get wider tires if they don’t work for you (assuming your forks accommodate wider tires.
I frequently reduce my tire pressure while on trails and re-inflate if I have a lot of pavement to ride to get home. I carry an electric minipump to make it easier.
Depends on the gravel, how steep the hill is too.. but for the most part, you’ll be fine. I can think of one road in my area that a 38 mm feels iffy.
Nope. Anything but grvl tires are meant to explode when they touch dirt
depends on the trails. I use slicks of different widths down to 28mm on trails all around New England.
You can use 32c slicks on gravel. You’ll be fine.