I’ve been a dedicated roadie for way too long and very used to 30mm max tire width. I got a new to me Aspero which has the original 38mm tubeless Panaracer SKs. They feel a little slow to me and I’m wondering for packed gravel roads if 38mm Gravelking SS or going down to 36mm might be more ideal. I’m still messing around with PSI, currently at 45.
For fast gravel rides, what tires are you riding and width? Sheeeze though, gravel riding is fun and the Aspero geometry is nice.
*XT SPD pedals ordered and on the way, not riding Look road pedals on gravel again.
by Kinky_Wizard69
7 Comments
Love the pirelli cinturato m’s. They apparently have lower rolling resistance than the cinturato H per bicyclerollingresistance.com. 38mm is a nice spot for fast gravel and can hold its own on most single track too. The gravel you posted in your photo though looks like you could probably get away with thick slicks unless it gets too muddy
As wide as you can fit in the frame.
[Www.Bicyclerollingresistance.com](https://Www.Bicyclerollingresistance.com) will tell you everything you want to know about what tires are fast.
You probably *feel* like they’re slow because you’re accustomed to the smoothness of roads compared to gravel surface. Gravel itself can really suck the watts. If you’re used to riding a feather road bike on smooth pavement, a more relaxed and heavier gravel bike is naturally going to feel a bit slower even if it isn’t.
I have had great luck with 42 pathfinders over the last few years for mixed gravel and pavement riding. They *feel* a little mushy compared to the 33mm file tread cyclocross tires I was using before but they are really not any slower on pavement and give me a lot better ride in gravel and dirt.
“Noob” isn’t really a factor. Gravel riding is not exactly a technical skill. Just base your width on the roughest surface that you regularly ride on.
Tire width or tread pattern isn’t really an indication on rolling resistance, it usually really depends on the specific compound and thickness. I’d recommend checking out the [Bicycle rolling resistance](https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/) website if you want to compare the rolling resistance of different tires.
Personally, I’ve always found that wider is better, but I enjoy exploring rougher stuff. I’m currently riding 47s and am considering making the switch to 2.1 XC MTB tires, since they’re usually slightly faster and more supple than comparable gravel tires. However, if I was only riding packed gravel, I’d probably get some 40s, even though you’d probably be fine on 35s or even 32s.
A lot of roadies tend to think that smaller tires are faster, but even the WorldTour guys are usually riding 28s or 30s, even going with 32s for the rough races like Strade Bianche or Paris-Roubaix. Smaller tires “feel” faster because of the road buzz, but the truth is that road buzz causes energy losses due to the vibration, as well as tiring your body out.
At the end of the day, it’s your setup so feel free to experiment how you like, but I don’t think that going down in size will help you much, given that your tires are already pretty small in term of gravel standards. However changing compound can completely change the feel of a bike.
Looking at your current tires, they weigh 420 grams and cost you 20.9 watts at 29kph. Changing to gravelking SS will reduce that to 410g/19.2w, which isn’t a huge change. Here’s a few one you could consider (please note that I have no experience with any of them, I’m just looking at the rolling resistance website):
Rene Herse Snoqualmie Pass TC Extralight 44, 330g/13.5w
Continental Terra Speed TR 45, 490g/16.4w
Schwalbe G-One RS Super Race 40, 445g/16.2w
There’s probably plenty others out there, these are just the one that stood out to me. The Contis seems pretty highly rated, I’d be curious to try it out. If you’re really looking to shave a few grams, the Rene Herse seems ideal.
If you’re interested, I’d recommend checking out [Dylan Johnson’s video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuxUWFziuGI) on tires and rolling resistance, there’s plenty of good information there.
[More fake news about tire width.](https://www.renehersecycles.com/12-myths-in-cycling-1-wider-tires-are-slower/)
I have nothing to add here but just wanted to say that Chatfield State Park is a great ride. I was there on Memorial Day and it was just perfect.
Super happy running 42mm Pathfinders (tubeless). Usually run them at 45psi for road and 32psi on proper gravel. It’s like settling into an easy chair after years of running 28mm Gatorskins, and faster too.