Gravel bike on the (mostly) road – what tyres?

[Jacobus Louw]

3 minutes ago, TheoG said:

Thanks, just checked, they dont have any speed kings in stock ...  

Just maybe phone too. They usually are able to get pretty quickly. But the lady has told me they are sukkeling a bit with tyre stock in general. 

[TheoG]

Just now, JakesZA said:

Just maybe phone too. They usually are able to get pretty quickly. But the lady has told me they are sukkeling a bit with tyre stock in general. 

👍 I did email them.

[Kom]

1 hour ago, JakesZA said:

Good day friends in cycling!

I currently ride a Titan Switch Elite Carbon gravel bike, with carbon wheels and 40c Panaracer Gravel King SK+ tyres. I find that I now mostly ride on the road, and quite often want to join group rides. The GKs are great all rounders, but their width and (semi) aggressive thread pattern may be causing an awful lot of rolling resistance. 

I stand before you to seek advice on what tyres, and what width to get. I'm thinking of the GK slicks, Vittoria Terreno Zero, etc. But could more aggressive road tyres be the answer?

I don't know. Send help pls.

Thanks in advance for ANY input.

Jakes

Depending on how comfortable you are with setting up tubeless etc Id advise that you just get a proper set of 28mm road tires you keep on the bike, then swapping back to your gravel choice when needed.

Ive in the past had a spare set of wheels to "easily" switch between road and gravel, but this didn't work for me personally, brake disc alignment, even cassette alignment just never seems to match, so you end up aligning brakes and indexing gears when you swap which can be a pain. Then of course wear and tear on two cassettes running one chain was another minor factor.

[MORNE]

41 minutes ago, TheoG said:

Thanks, just checked, they dont have any speed kings in stock ...  

These guys are the distro’s…well the shop is their front. try them.

https://eastcitycycles.com

edit: sorry- for panaracers

Edited February 15, 2022 by MORNE

[Jacobus Louw]

30 minutes ago, Kom said:

Depending on how comfortable you are with setting up tubeless etc Id advise that you just get a proper set of 28mm road tires you keep on the bike, then swapping back to your gravel choice when needed.

Ive in the past had a spare set of wheels to "easily" switch between road and gravel, but this didn't work for me personally, brake disc alignment, even cassette alignment just never seems to match, so you end up aligning brakes and indexing gears when you swap which can be a pain. Then of course wear and tear on two cassettes running one chain was another minor factor.

That's exactly my sentiment. I actually bought Lezyne's air tank pump exactly for the possibility of having to regularly change tyres. I'm no stranger to this. I remove my own tyres quite often to redo rim tape, clean off dried up clumps of sealant and replace sealant. 

 

[Spy007]

Pirelli Cinturato Gravel Hard 40C Tubeless Tyre Cycling Tyre

R 749

Free Delivery

 

and they have stok. takealot.

 

 

 

[NeverNotRolling]

29 minutes ago, Spy007 said:

Pirelli Cinturato Gravel Hard 40C Tubeless Tyre Cycling Tyre

R 749

Free Delivery

 

and they have stok. takealot.

 

 

 

Pirelli Cinturato Velo is also an option for OP's majority road riding I'd like to think.

[LuckyLuke]

Conti Terra Speeds

[capediver]

Panaracer also make a "semi-slick" version of their GK's.....East City Cycles in CTN are your friend for stock

[capediver]

Also.....Advice: get 2 sets wheels, one with slicks for the road and the other for SK's for da gravel!

[Comrade J]

I am using the Panaracer (if you find any) very fast, unforunately  if you run 80 (tar)/20 the rear wont last that long

[Pikey]

6 hours ago, JakesZA said:

Thanks JulienR – these look rather splendid. Can one run them tubeless without having to endure the controversy of running road tyres tubeless? 

Specialized Sawtooth are brilliant tyres. Have been running the 42’s for ages on 3/4 different bikes and absolutely love them . They bulletproof! But for mostly a road ride ,a tad heavy. 

 

The Spez roubaix 30/32 that @JulienRmentioned are probably a bit more what you after. I used these on a bike that did 50/50. On the road they plenty fast , they really are. There is obviously a trade when going off road but not as much as you might think. I was really surprised when run at the right pressure how much they actually soaked the chatter in the rough stuff. 

They are a great trade of tyre .

Edited February 15, 2022 by Pikey

[lechatnoir]

6 minutes ago, Pikey said:

Specialized Sawtooth are brilliant tyres. Have been running the 42’s for ages on 3/4 different bikes and absolutely love them . They bulletproof! But for mostly a road ride ,a tad heavy. 

 

The Spez roubaix 30/32 that @JulienRmentioned are probably a bit more what you after. I used these on a bike that did 50/50. On the road they plenty fast , they really are. There is obviously a trade when going off road but as much as you might think. I was really surprised when run at the right pressure how much they actually soaked the chatter in the rough stuff. 

They are a great trade of tyre .

Yeah, these Roubaix' are good tyres. I did Eroica on a set of 32s (Canyon Endurace) and they were pretty quick on the smoother gravel and faster on the tar compared to GK SK's. But when it gets sketchy, beware and slow down. As pikey said, correct pressure is your friend

[LazyTrailRider]

Pathfinders FTW: https://www.specialized.com/za/en/pathfinder-pro-2bliss-ready/p/157870?color=237517-157870

My gravel bike is actually just really my road bike, and they're super quiet and very quick but still absolutely fine on smooth gravel.

[Baracuda]

I have the GK Slicks which are a lot faster than the GK's that you have. They are nice and tough and can deal with a little off-road well. however, if you are solely planning to ride on road, I pop on a pair of Spez roubaix 28c and they fly. I would not ride off-road with them, but they light and fast.

 

[NickGM]

24 minutes ago, LazyTrailRider said:

Pathfinders FTW: https://www.specialized.com/za/en/pathfinder-pro-2bliss-ready/p/157870?color=237517-157870

My gravel bike is actually just really my road bike, and they're super quiet and very quick but still absolutely fine on smooth gravel.

I have these too and love them.