Tufo Gravel Thundero 700 x 48 off road rolling resistance test results.

This is a tire I was able to get a look at a few times before actually testing it. I have had multiple bike fit customers running either this tire or the 48 mm HD version, and they had nothing but good things to say about them. It took a few months for someone to actually send some in for testing…but I finally got a set recently and put them through the Cat 1 and Cat 2 gravel testing protocol.

These measured out to a 49 mm width on a 25 mm Reserve rim and were super easy to inflate. Tufo claims these tires can truly do it all…roll fast, ward off punctures, and provide some grip on wet and dry terrain. They also have a high TPI construction. Sound familiar? It should by now, as often times even some of the worst tires on the market have the same description as ones that are absolutely fantastic. Onto the results!

This was a tire I didn’t think about much while riding, and that is a good thing. They did quite well on the Cat 2 Gravel track…on par with the “fastest gravel tire on the market” the 40mm Caracal Race. Good stuff BUT the real story here is the Cat 1 / easy gravel results! These thing were way up high on the leaderboard here, continuing the quite interesting mix of tire sizes in the top 5. This tire is also available in a 30 gram heavier reinforced HD version with the same compound, which I would imagine is fairly fast also. Tufo also makes a knobbier Swampero, alas not in a 48mm, which is unfortunate as they rate it quite high for racing.

All Gravel results are my own via Chung Method / Virtual Elevation testing. ✅

Obviously, larger tires will require lower pressure than smaller ones to get the best speed and handling in general…especially off road. The Wolf Tooth calculator is very good in my usage for gravel and mtb tires. The Rough Gravel setting seems to get quite close to best pressure for not only rolling efficiency but also comfort and handling. I will start with that based on the measured tire size, go ride some, recheck pressure once the tire warms up, the reasess the setting based on how the tire is riding. If it feels obviously harsh, go down 1 psi at a time. If it feels squirmy or I am smacking the rim on hard hits, I will go up 1 psi at a time. Often I end up sticking quite close to what the calculator says initially but it isn't written in stone. Many calculators get too high a pressure for off road tires. Rolling efficiency is actually almost identical across a bigger span of tire pressures off road than most realize, which means it is quite easy to get the pressure where the tire will be fastest…the rest is fine tuning to rider preference. Even though I’m testing I am also enjoying being out there so take the extra steps to see how the tire performs best.