hayai_240

I am thinking of adding some gravel riding to my riding routine. I already have a cyclocross bike that I will use for the gravel rides. I am a big fan of the Clement tires and want to stick with their tire selections. I am looking to start from the Tolt Pipeline Trail, jump on the Snoqualmie Valley Trail and finishing at the end of the Iron Horse Trail after the Snoqualmie Tunnel. I'm not too familiar with the condition of the gravel trails, which is why i'm asking here. Based on my tire options below, which one would you recommend? The MSO tires are described as their gravel tire so I am leaning towards that.

Clement X'Plor MSO 700x32
Clement X'Plor MSO 700x40
Clement X'Plor USH 700x35

geronimo2000

I've ridden the SVT and the Iron Horse on 28's - I'd expect that the 32's you're looking at would be plenty for that route.

toddles

I've ridden all these routes - whole distances - on 32s. Having said that, Tolt is the worst by far. 35s probably would be better on it.

toddles

Tolt has loose gravel in general. Iron Horse has very loose gravel going around Lake Kacheless heading east out of the tunnel before returning to a packed surface just after the dam. The SVT has loose gravel from the bridge near the Mt. Si golf course in town to the I-90 overpass. I usually ride the roads through this stretch and hook back up with it just before the freeway.

ACree

I like the Clement LAS on gravel as well. It does wear fast, but rolls fast while the file tread handles well. 23mm road tires work on the SVT. The IHT is equally smooth and packed at least to Rattlesnake, then the gravel gets looser approaching the Snoqualmie tunnel. If you mean the portion of the Tolt Pipeline between Woodinville and almost to Duvall, it's also well packed and smooth (or was when I was on it last), but is much steeper than the rail trails.