narrow gravel tires for winter & vintage road bike

Hey, let me greet you with one of the most inspiring winter riding photos I’ve ever seen (not mine, unfortunately):

[https://www.instagram.com/p/CalGkc\_pFtP/](https://www.instagram.com/p/CalGkc_pFtP/)

[Author: Matthew Domm](https://preview.redd.it/227ugfinpd2c1.png?width=1440&format=png&auto=webp&s=0ffd7e26516a868b811f0b9c87b4e07a69b7fbff)

What do I like about this photo? The challenge of winter, often gloomy, the reward of getting out of the house, under-biking, conditions that are hard to predict, more adrenaline as any kind of mechanical can get you into serious trouble when it’s cold and far from home.

I have suitable bikes for this kind of riding (3 out of 4 actually), but I want to do something that’s also visible in this photo – put fatter tires on the vintage road bike (from 1988, the one I have my eye on fits 37mm max) and later on braze the canti studs for 650b wheels.

I am looking for a tire for these mixed winter conditions. Riding on hard pavement, sometimes on compacted snow, sometimes on slush (where they spread salt). Here where I live, there is often no snow at all and it is almost dry. And I’d like to ride these tires in those conditions too. I’ve picked out a few models:

* WTB Vulpine 700x36c
* Michelin Power Gravel 700x35c
* Panaracer GravelKing SK 700x38c
* Maxxis Rambler 700x38c

Which of the listed tires will best suit the above conditions? I’m especially curious about the WTB Vulpine, which is said to be very fast on hard surfaces and the tread resembles that of winter car tires. I just have doubts that it won’t get stuck with snow too quickly..

by interior_explorer