I'm planning on doing a 2 day, 200 mile ride this summer and potentially another 1 or 2 organized centuries and a bunch of riding leading up to these.
My current bike is a stock REI ADV 2.3 with 40mm WTB Nano tires. I use it 90% on road and 10% on gravel. I live in the PNW where a lot of the "gravel" I'm riding is basically rooty forest roads, some double track, occasional single track, some bikepacking in the mountains.
Now ideally, I would have two bikes. One for road and one for gravel. But I share a 1 bedroom with my girlfriend and we simply do not have space for another bike (I already have an ebike for commuting).
What I'm trying to figure out is the best tire approach going forward. Riding 200 miles on chunky WTB Nanos seems less than ideal, though I'm not sure what the actual difference in effort would be.
Options:
1) Do nothing. Be a little slower on the road.
2) Get new tires that are better on the road (which?). Then if I'm on gravel, either accept that I won't have as much grip, or swap out my tires before gravel days (pain in the ass with tubeless).
3) Get a whole new wheel set, with a new cassette, rotors, etc. Sounds like this would be $500 minimum, likely $1k+.
Right now I'm leaning towards #2 and at least getting tires that are more suited for road riding but still capable off-road. Was looking at something like the Renee Herse Barlow Pass 38mm or Panaracer Slick. Any thoughts? I live in Seattle so I need something good in the rain as well.
by trimTheJib
5 Comments
Try some Hutchison Caracal Race or Schwalbe G One Rs Pros before deciding if you want a whole other wheelset.
Can find these for 100-200 all day on eBay or from distributors
Would you be carrying any load with you on the 200 mile trip?
I have Pirelli Cinturato Gravel H on my bike, and honestly they’re fantastic. Fast on road, stable and grippy off road.
Something like the Specialized Pathfinder or Panaracer Gravelking SS is quite fast on the road but still pretty capable on gravel. I’ve been using the latter to commute on roads but weekend on class 2 ish gravel and love them.
If you’re doing the STP you can do it on your current tires. If you want it a bit easier you can try to fit 30c slicks. The best reason to have two wheel sets is if you’ll be frequently switching between fully asphalt rides and gravel rides.