Mixed-ride tires (650b content...)

[SlowPokePete]

I've been on Schwalbe Thunder Burts (650x2.1) for almost a thousand miles and have been surprised at how well they roll on pavement and all around.

That said, I have some Rene Herse Juniper Ridge (650x48) on deck...

SPP

[guido]

Ritchey Curve bars and Babyshoe Pass tires are my faves in category...

[rsl]

I've been riding WTB Byways (650b x 47) since last October. I've got about 1700 miles on them and my local rides are about 80 percent gravel and 20 percent pavement here in Northern Idaho. Our gravel ranges from chipseal and hardpack, to loose gravel and washboards. Over the summer I was on a cross-country road trip and did a mix of fireroads, midwest gravel, sandy forest service roads, several rather long paved road rides, and even some singletrack.

I've enjoyed these tires on every condition in which I rode them. They're very durable, but still feel like nicely rolling tires. When they finally wear out I'll probably try either a Schwalbe G-one or Compass/Herse, but I have a hard time imagining either of those would be noticeably better.

Mine are mounted on a set of Hed Belgium + laced to I9 torch road hubs. I run them with cheap tubes, about 35 to 40 psi.

[Octave]

Sounds like fun but I typically start from my house as I am very lazy. I have to admit I never tried to ride gravel in these areas but this would actually be fun. Except for the fact that my gravel bike is in CA ! I will follow you, I always wondered who that Directeur Steezois guy actually was...

Voila c'est moi.

You live up by Aix, non? There's also some really nice gravel up by you, then. In fact, I was thinking about heading up that way tomorrow. Check my strava afterwards to see the route (Montagne Sainte-Victoire, etc).

[sk_tle]

I've been on Schwalbe Thunder Burts (650x2.1) for almost a thousand miles and have been surprised at how well they roll on pavement and all around.

That said, I have some Rene Herse Juniper Ridge (650x48) on deck...

SPP

Rocket Ron front and thunder burts rear was my favorite light&fast combo when I was racing XC in non muddy races.

[Will Neide]

- Thomson bars (though I'll probably switch these out for something with more flare if I can get someone to buy them from me)

My favorite is still the Salsa Cowbell. It's been out awhile and it's just comfy from every position. I currently have Ritchey WCS EvoMax's on my one bike and I think they are good, but I like the curve of the Cowbell drop better. The drop of the EvoMax is too rounded for me.

I'm not sure I can add any tire info that hasn't already been mentioned. I like Schwalbe and Panaracer, but WTB has some nice offerings as well. I tend to run the slickest tire I can get away with. I don't like overly knobby tires for gravel.

[thollandpe]

I tend to run the slickest tire I can get away with. I don't like overly knobby tires for gravel.

+1. The only time I'm looking for more knob is when I'm on leaves. That seems much easier to handle than when you're hitting real road speeds on a paved corner and discovering that you have too much knob.

[Lionel]

Voila c'est moi.

You live up by Aix, non? There's also some really nice gravel up by you, then. In fact, I was thinking about heading up that way tomorrow. Check my strava afterwards to see the route (Montagne Sainte-Victoire, etc).

I am in Eguilles. I will check this strava stuff !

[one60]

Thanks! So far I really love it. I've put about 1000km on it over the past two weeks, with two 140+km rides like the one I described in the OP and I have absolutely zero complaints (except that I didn't realize that SRAM MTB stuff uses a shifter barrel adjuster and road uses a derailleur barrel adjuster, so when you mix and match you have no adjuster, which means I have to recable to I can install an inline...). It handles super super well and has that magic-carpet feel that only nicely built steel bikes seem to give me. I'll be bikepacking across Corsica in a couple of weeks so I'll see how it handles fully loaded!

That amount of flare is exactly what I'm looking for, the only thing is that one of my favorite features of the Thomson bars is the flat top section, which is a) nice for cable routing underneath due to the crevice and b) really comfortable for riding long climbs on the top. I'd love a bar with that Zipp flare but a flat section around the stem.

The Zipp XPLR appears to have both these attributes. Caveat emptor, have yet to lay hands one one.

Zipp's Service Course 7 XPLR Handlebar by the Numbers - BIKEPACKING.comInfos Velo : Zipp Service Course SL7 XPLR et 7 XPLR : au service du gravel !

[huckleberry]

Every once in a while there is something here I can answer! I've been using a mix of Vittoria Terreno zero 47, the Terreno Dry 47 and the Vittoria Mezcal in a 2.1. I settled on the Dry over the Zero as it has a bit more bite but not really enough to slow the tire down on the road. I'm pretty heavy and run the tires at 35 rear and 30ish front. I put the big meat on for more fun off-road, but I wouldn't want to do my 40 mile round trip commute on them. The only tires I havn't tried are the larger Rene Herse tires, but I have a feeling I won't like them off-road.
IMG_2220.jpg

[GrantM]

I run Gravel King SK in 650bx 1.9/2.0 size (not too sure) on my gravel bike and I must say I love the volume but underwhelmed by the grip level of these tires. Add to that they tend to be noisy on smooth pavement. They also seem to be very fragile as well although my experience can only be described as anecdotal given the small sample size ( one pair ).

There is also a new 'plus' casing version of the SK with an extra layer of protection.
Also a 2.1 (52mm) size is coming soon, the current biggest is the 1.9 (48mm)

GRAVEL | PRODUCT | Panaracer Corporation

[j44ke]

Huh. Ultradynamico. Wonder if Panaracer is fabricator for these?

[thollandpe]

The Zipp XPLR appears to have both these attributes. Caveat emptor, have yet to lay hands one one.

Zipp's Service Course 7 XPLR Handlebar by the Numbers - BIKEPACKING.comInfos Velo : Zipp Service Course SL7 XPLR et 7 XPLR : au service du gravel !

I'm not buying it. Any of those "compact" or rapid hand movement bends just feel wrong to me. They artificially force your in-the-drops position to be in-the-hooks but don't properly do the job of either. For me it's critical to have a flat section in the drops that's as least as long as the grips on an MTB. Right now, Ritchey has a few.


Neoclassic. My former ride.


Evomax, my current ride. In the plus column are sweep (sweet!) and flare (nice!) but in the minus column is that the tops are the diameter of a kielbasa. Slightly flattened.


And maybe just on the cusp are some flavors of "Streem".

But those lower flats are necessities, I think, if you actually plan to ride there. Nitto Classic (albeit with some serious reach) and Noodle have it. I think Zipp has it somewhere but their terminology and photos are too obtuse to tell.

Catch me at a weak moment and I'll tell you that the "compact" bend is an abomination.

[jclay]

So I've been enjoying the ever-living heck out of my new bike with some 650b tires, discs..blah blah (yeah, I regret everything I ever said about not needing disc brakes, especially now that it's so wet here...). My quest at the moment is to find exactly the right tire for the type of riding I mostly do, which is about 60:40 gravel:road. The caveat is that the gravel around here is rarely hardpack fire-roads. Instead, it's a lot of technical work, a lot of climbing, and a lot of rocks. So I want something that handles all of that well but doesn't feel like I'm wearing a parachute when I'm on the road. I don't have gravel/dirt out my front door, so for instance this weekend I clocked 140km with about 3000 meters of climbing, but the first 30km and the last 10km were all on nice smooth-ish roads, with another 10km somewhere in the middle connecting two forests.

I'm currently riding the Donnely Strada USH 650x42 tires - they're great on the road, I drop the pressure a bit when I get to the gravel and they are pretty good, but definitely lose traction on the big climbs or technical sections, especially when it gets particularly wet. I'm sure this comes down to the compound of the tire rather than the tread, for the most part (or maybe not?).

So, does anyone else have similar ride distributions and has a tire they love that covers all the bases? Or am I getting too goldilocks about it?

I'm riding about 60% crushed gravel multi-use trails with a few short, choppy hills and am very happy with the Rene Herse Babyshoe Pass tires at about 30 psi (I'm about 165 ready to ride). I also ride the same route on my 700x33 Clement MXP cyclocross tires. I haven't taken both bikes out to do any back/back testing but just based on riding the same route many times on both bikes I'm quite impressed with the BSPs. I'll assume that the MXPs have better grip but the BSPs don't seem to give up very much. Of course the BSPs are stellar on asphalt.

One thing I have done is upgrade my Zefal Husky floor pump with a liquid filled, ASME Grade B Bordon Tube 0-100 psi pressure gauge. I've also logged the pressure for various rides. The result is that I know what pressures work best and I can accurately inflate my tires to them.

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/internet-bob/floor$20pump$20upgrade%7Csort:date/internet-bob/LPKrk-Tl53o/o1vpJjgjAgAJ
Flickr

[j44ke]

Every once in a while there is something here I can answer! I've been using a mix of Vittoria Terreno zero 47, the Terreno Dry 47 and the Vittoria Mezcal in a 2.1. I settled on the Dry over the Zero as it has a bit more bite but not really enough to slow the tire down on the road. I'm pretty heavy and run the tires at 35 rear and 30ish front. I put the big meat on for more fun off-road, but I wouldn't want to do my 40 mile round trip commute on them. The only tires I havn't tried are the larger Rene Herse tires, but I have a feeling I won't like them off-road.
IMG_2220.jpg

Is that South Boston?

[GrantM]

Huh. Ultradynamico. Wonder if Panaracer is fabricator for these?

Yes those are made by Panaracer.

Also the Blue Lug "fairweather" brand . *FAIRWEATHER* for CX tire by CG (rust) - TIRES & TUBES - BIKE PARTS | BLUE LUG ONLINE STORE
and Sim Works . The Homage Tire - Brown x Black – SimWorks USA

If you pay for a mold, Panaracer will make you tires to order.

-g