Gravel tyres

[guidodg]

5000 km on Pirelli Cinturato M , still another 1000km at least to go, they have never let me down in all sorts of conditions and they roll fast on gravel too…

[cadenceblur]

13 minutes ago, guidodg said:

5000 km on Pirelli Cinturato M , still another 1000km at least to go, they have never let me down in all sorts of conditions and they roll fast on gravel too…

the medium compound? I have the 45mm M and they are great - my first gravel tyre though - so can't honestly compare

[MaMc]

1 hour ago, W@nted said:

Has anyone tried the new 2.0 formulation of the Silca sealant? I have ordered a bottle with my new tires. Interesting claims about it lasting more than 6 months. Also now apparently injectable through most valves...

I have been using orange seal original, but it does require quite frequent top ups.

Where are you buying in SA? Or importing

[Chrisjvv]

23 minutes ago, guidodg said:

5000 km on Pirelli Cinturato M , still another 1000km at least to go, they have never let me down in all sorts of conditions and they roll fast on gravel too…

Any leeds on a shop that have stock of 45mm cinturato M's. I can't find any in Pretoria?

[W@nted]

17 minutes ago, MaMc said:

Where are you buying in SA? Or importing

I live in the NL, so ordered directly from Silcas euro store.

[guidodg]

21 minutes ago, cadenceblur said:

the medium compound? I have the 45mm M and they are great - my first gravel tyre though - so can't honestly compare

the M is not a compound but the tread pattern, running 45s on my Topstone and will fit 50s soon:)

a good combo is the M in front and the H behind...but all quite hard to find locally so ordered from Merlin or Ridewill

[Jbr]

I'm receiving a AirTrack 2.2 and a Tracer 50 today or tomorrow, looking forward to seing what fits where

[cadenceblur]

18 minutes ago, guidodg said:

the M is not a compound but the tread pattern, running 45s on my Topstone and will fit 50s soon:)

a good combo is the M in front and the H behind...but all quite hard to find locally so ordered from Merlin or Ridewill

ah, yes correct - typed too quickly

[W@nted]

[mikkelz]

First ride on the 45mm Pathfinder tyres this morning (~32/30 PSI). It's only my 3rd gravel ride (got the bike two weeks ago). I also upgraded the wheelset, Roval Terra CL (25mm inner width) and Rova Terra handlebars (40cm instead of the stock 42cm) after the first two rides. So I'm not just comparing tyre widths. And I have no science to back up my claims. However, it feels freaking awesome!

I rode pretty much the same route as my first ride on the bike which had the stock 38mm Pathfinder tyres (previous model) and it feels like a different bike!

Much more confidence, better momentum once up to speed and a bit more comfortable (lower tyre pressure + increased volume). I could probably drop the pressure (I think the Silca calculator suggested 27/24, so I might try 30/28 next ride).

It felt like riding a hardtail MTB (as opposed to a road bike on a mountain). 😅 I ride an Epic Evo Comp ('23) on the same trails and didn't feel out of place. There's rocky patches (loose rocks) that I battle with on my full suspension due to traction, so I wasn't disappointed when I couldn't ride the odd steep uphill bit.

And the best is when I get back onto the tar between home and the mountain. Feels not too far off my road bike (Tarmac SL7 Expert).

[guidodg]

there is no substitute for wider and bigger volume gravel tyres...putting on the 50mm Cinturato Ms soon:)

[W@nted]

Fitted the new pathfinders last night. The tire casing and thread are definitely thicker than the Schwalbe G one RS tires. Interesting that the front wheel had almost no orange seal left. All solidified against the tire with no liquid left.

 

Did a 50km tar ride on the pathfinders this morning. It was very windy, so cannot compare the speed to the RS tires yet. They did feel a bit harder than the RS tires, think I will drop pressures to 28/30 psi. Was running 35 psi on both this morning. 

 

The Silca sealant is quite thick, compared to orange seal. Also a noticeable amount of fine carbon strands in the sealant. Had almost no pressure drop through the night after installing, so it seems like a good rim/tire/sealant combo. The RS tires I had to inflate almost every 3rd day. 

[Jbr]

I tried fitting the airtrack 2.2 at the back just to see, turns out it fits, and it's probably rideable if you're 100% sure it won't be muddy at all (clearance about 2 to the chainstay drive side, a little more comfy non drive side).

Wheels are Lun Grapid 45 with 25mm internal and 32mm external, on a non-UDH crux

 
Since we're at the end of summer and SA's is looking like a wet course, I'll be keeping that in mind for later, and will be using the 50 for now at the back, and keep the 2.2 for the front. 

Also it makes the bike quite a bit heavier that with the Tufo 48 HD (I also added quite a lot of sealant as the tyres are so big)

 

 

Edited Friday at 10:20 AM by Jbr

['Kaze Pete]

How to fit 29x2.25 tyres to a Giant Revolt?

eg: Vittoria Terreno XC Race

[splat]

On 3/27/2025 at 11:27 AM, Chrisjvv said:

Any leeds on a shop that have stock of 45mm cinturato M's. I can't find any in Pretoria?

I have been using the Cinturato H (on my 3rd or 4th set), but they have become as rare as rocking horse poop.
But I see that there is a Cinturato Adventure.

Has anyone tried those ?

[W@nted]

Some more feedback on the new spez pathfinder tires. I did n mixed ride yesterday consisting of tar, gravel, jeep and singletrack. Pressures at 28 and 30 psi. Tires were faultless and felt planted. Not once did I run out of grip.
 

Really just a solid all round tire, confidence inspiring. On flat tar road, 30km/h at 200W is quite similar to the Schwalbe G one Rs. They also fee more durable than the RS.