Gravel Tyre Width for SA roads

[Wayne pudding Mol]

I have just done almost 300km on Western Cape gravel roads - smooth ones in the Overberg area and rockier ones in the Klein Karoo.

 

I ran 38c GravelKing SKs on an old Ritchey Swiss+Cross CX bike- 38psi front and 43psi back and they were perfect. They are as big as I can get past the Canti brakes but not sure I'd have gone for the 43c or 50c even if they fitted.

 

Sweet spot indeed

Some of us are soft.  Your gravel bike has road gearing - the 43sk's are my sweetspot for plushness although I must agree that that the 38s do the job a bit faster

[Monark]

Eddy the yster...

[broncoza]

Do a fair bit of gravel riding in Magaliesburg;  roads in some places are heavily rutted and full of rocks,  GK SK+ 48mm 650B smooths out most of the rougher stuff.  Look at going Carbon bar to take out the high frequency vibrations as well,  match that with some thick bar tape and you should be golden

[Danger Dassie]

38c often measures at 40c on wider rims. Personally feel a good all rounder 40c tyre is the best best for a variety of conditions. 
Been running Kenda Flintridge Pro (40c) for a few years now and I've been supper impressed with them. They don't have the most supple feel but they are proving themselves pretty bombproof all rounders. 
Have done a few Walkerville, Pary/Vredefort, van Gaalen rides etc with them. So far so good, and with tubes.

[christovdw]

So ive been tempted to try out gravel riding, and fortunate enough to pick up a GT Grade at sportsman's on clearance. Some some minor upgrade like wheels, and Tiagra 10 speed while keeping the same ratios.

 

The GT can only fit 35c, maybe 38c dependong on the brand, so wanted to see what most people are riding for the rocky SA dirt roads before I go all in?

 

A new bike with clearance for wider tyres is an option later on, but avoiding that would be nice... At the moment I use the GT as a nice all weather road training bike but I'm tempted by the offroad flavour!

 

What you running, and why?

I run 38c Maxxis Ramblers tubeless front and rear on a 23mm rim.  It's about the biggest that will fit, but they are pretty robust so it works well where I ride.  Comfort is decent on long rides and grip is decent.

[NickGM]

Just be aware that there is a difference between the GravelKing and the GravelKing SK.

 

The GravelKing in smooth while the GravelKing SK has quite a tread pattern.

 

Most people don't specify.

 

I found 38c to be the sweet spot while running the SK version.

 

The SK literally stands for "Small knob".

[Butterbean]

The SK literally stands for "Small knob".

Giggity

[Jewbacca]

The SK literally stands for "Small knob".

That's a bit aggressive!

 

I did not know that, but it makes sense. Like Camps Bay clubs on a Sunday, the strip is full of small knobs! 

[Butterbean]

So the comments so far are stoll throwing up seriously varied responses. Admittedly i am no hardcore cyclists, and in my mind a bike that has road bars and geo with space to fit 2.0 mtb tyres seems so perfect. I dont rrally care too much for the tarmac ability.

 

In gonna give some 38s a shot, and see how they go, seems they ahould he adequate, so herento hoping! Shot fellas