Simko

Hey folks

I ride a surly CC, with conti 700x28 tires with a very smooth profile, never taken this bike offroad.
on my normal route, i turn away from one gravel road that I've NEVER gone down,


Can anyone recommend some decent tires that will be good on loose gravel, and still be OK on road?

DG Going Uphill

The fatter the better for gravel, especially if it's larger rocks or very loose and deep. I have found a happy compromise with Vittoria Randonneur Hyper (https://www.bikesomewhere.com/bikesom.../44/3506/29872) tires in 32 mm -- great on the road and hard pack, supple, light, and excellent flat protection. I fill them to 55-60 psi in back, depending on the trail. They aren't wide enough for for the worst of gravel, but will work for most roads.

knobster

The one's I use for this purpose is the Specialized Borough CX Armadillo Elite. I think they do fairly well on pavement and I've been very impressed with them on gravel and dirt paths.

meanwhile

Search for Will Dehene's thread on Marathon Dureme's. Buy them in 35 or 40mm for gravel; they'll still be fast on the road.

Fonk

I ride Richey Speedmax on the gravel and have been very happy w/ the setup.

fietsbob

32 wide WTB Alterrainasauras is OK, a bit more rolling resistance on the road because the tread blocks
like all knobby textures do , move a little with the energy of pedaling.
but they are decent and relatively low priced .

gresam

Just ride on what you have... seriously. I took my Ridley road bike to Colorado twice this summer and rode up several mountain passes that were just dirt roads, at best, and never had an issue. I had to worry about picking a lone through loose rocks and such but on a gravel road you won't anything to worry about at all. Descending was the hard part for me. One of my rides went from 5800' to 10,800' in 16 miles so the grade was steep enough to make the descent on slicks an interesting affair. I ride 700 x 23 Tufo S33 tubulars on Bontrager XXX Lite rims and have no issues. Just ride it, you won't have any problems.

mikerhymeswith

many choices - consider size of gravel and how fast and how often you ride gravel; if you are racing, definitely give tubeless a try - i just started and have been impressed - using hutchinson bulldogs on ultegra tubeless ready wheels with stans latex solution - getting ready to try a stans cross conversion kit with michelin mud 30mm on last year's cross clincher wheels