Gravel tyre size.

[paul marais]

Hi guys. New to gravel and keen to get a bike that can take a wider tyre. What should I look out for and any advice on bike /frame choice. I don’t want to have to do this twice. Should I build a bike or buy a complete one. I am a veteran MTB racer looking to add to my fun 

[splat]

Have a scroll through these threads:

 

 

[Michael S]

11 hours ago, paul marais said:

Hi guys. New to gravel and keen to get a bike that can take a wider tyre. What should I look out for and any advice on bike /frame choice. I don’t want to have to do this twice. Should I build a bike or buy a complete one. I am a veteran MTB racer looking to add to my fun 

What do you consider as wide?

If you are a mountain biker, then your mtb wil remain the trail bike and the gravel setup will be the road and gravel road machine. (This is similar to my current setup) i.e. not real rough stuff where you would have taken your mtb. ( this is the opposite to a roadie coming from road where the gravel will do double duty as an mtb).

For this 50mm stated clearance is probably more than fine for what you need. You can do 2.1 maby 2.2 in dry non muddy conditions if need be. 

With that you have plenty options. 

Titan scout, Giant revolt are good value. I imported a chinese frame (tideace gv201 / tantan gr201) and built a highish spec bike for 40k odd. All new bikes will have that, second-hand just keep an eye.

Very much horses for courses on what you want to ride on.

 

[paul marais]

Hi Bud, thank you for the reply. i appreciate it, very ride would be 2.2. i am not sure what 50mm is in relation to that as this tyre thing really confuses me. 

 

[cadenceblur]

12 minutes ago, paul marais said:

Hi Bud, thank you for the reply. i appreciate it, very ride would be 2.2. i am not sure what 50mm is in relation to that as this tyre thing really confuses me. 

Inches to mm

12 minutes ago, paul marais said:

 

[Michael S]

For reasons unknown to man, road tyres size in mm and MTB tyres size in inches and the crossing seems to happen at 50mm (±2 inches).

So if you want to run wider than 50mm it goes to MTB tyres (2 inches and up) instead of gravel tyres, which tend to stop at 50mm. 

 

[paul marais]

thank you... slowly getting it 

[DieselnDust]

Road and gravel tyres are sized in metric because of road /cx origins

 

mtb tyres sized in inches because USA origin 

 

build a hardtail with drop bars and a suspension fork

[Michael S]

If you want dabble in some road biking, max chainring might the issue with the hardtail.
 
With a hardtail you could get say a 38tooth on the front and a 10smallest on the back  then you can pedal at 55kmph at 105 odd cadence.

Horses for courses I guess. 

What will your indented use be @paul marais?
 

[paul marais]

Howzat. I have A road bike. So not necessary to worry about that. Will be for exploring and sometimes hitting a gravel race. 100milers 

[splat]

19 hours ago, paul marais said:

Hi guys. New to gravel and keen to get a bike that can take a wider tyre. What should I look out for and any advice on bike /frame choice. I don’t want to have to do this twice. Should I build a bike or buy a complete one. I am a veteran MTB racer looking to add to my fun 

What sort of budget are you looking at  ?
Building a bike is fun, and you get exactly what you want. Not the most cost effective route though.

Apart from tyre width, there is also the gearing rabbit hole. 1x vs 2x etc.
Cost sensitivity may affect you choices here.

These bikes would be on the top of my list if I was starting again:
Giant Revolt (reasonable price range, but stock may be an issue)
Santa Cruz Stigmata (pricey, but not sure who has what stock)
Specialized Diverge (reasonable price range, but stock is an issue)
Scott Addict (reasonable price range, but stock may be an issue)
Curve Kevin 4 (titanium)
Litespeed (if you were feeling exotic)
Titan Switch (to support local...)

[MrGT]

Take it from me. Go for a frame that can take the widest tire possible. That moment when you go down a hill on a rockish gravel road and you pedaling to keep up to the MTB chaps freewheeling down next to you and then passes is less than stellar.  Wider is faster except if you live where the dirt roads are so smooth it may just as well be tar. FYI I have a Speciialized diverge with max 42mm on a dry day. 

[PWN]

Get a gravel bike that can fit at least 50mm or 2inch MTB tyres and make sure you are running the correct tyre pressure.

Most of our roads are quite rough and the extra rubber helps to absorb the bumps and roll a bit smoother. I'm running 48's(and my frame can go up to 2.1inch) It helps me to feel a bit more confident on the bike, you don't have to be so careful when compared to the guys running 40/42mm. I do have some friends who are firm believers in a 45mm max and that works for them but the added comfort, puncture resistance and better rolling resistance works for me.

Don't know if this helps but I changed my 44cm aluminium gravel handlebar to a 40cm carbon handlebar and for me the overall handling was a big improvement. I was able to keep up with the MTBs when descending where normally I would fall behind a bit. I'm not the best at descending, even on my MTB. So I will test it a bit more and see whether I will switch back again.

 

 

 

[paul marais]

Legend. Thank you 

[Danger Dassie]

Reallt depends on the kind of riding you want to do, although MTB dropbar conversions can tend to be a bit too long. Older hardtails are generally perfect if you're really looking for tyre clearance. 
For me, 42-45mm is the sweet spot on and off road. But again, it is a nuanced spectrum depending on the kind of riding you're looking at. 

My current gravel bike has relatively limited clearance and rim width, with max 47-50mm up front and 42-44mm rear, but the geometry is spot on. I've been giving it gas on a few MTB trails and keeping up with few problems. Even claimed a few segments. Been running 42mm wide tyres on average.
I would personally consider tyre liners though. 

[Super Sywurm]

I'm  a bit outdated when it comes to gravel and road bikes, even though I am waiting for my Giant Revolt to be couriered.

Is road bikes and gravel bikes being ridden tubed or tubeless?  Keep in mind I am asking for bikes that will be used for road riding.

 

 

 

I'll go check and see what Google tells me.

Edited November 25, 2025 by Super Sywurm