superslomo

Went for a ride with the little one in a trailer on the trails at Minnewaska State Park yesterday with my wife. I was on my Cannondale T800, with the original touring wheels and tires on (Conti TopTouring 700x38s), she on a trek hybrid with bontrager select invert 700x35s (as I recall). They were both okay, but fit into that space where they aren't particularly good at anything... not great on gravel (not enough grip), not great on pavement (too much drag), and I'm wondering what recommendations the hive might have.

I'm putting gatorskin 28s on hers, and I have grand prixs on my more road-ish wheels for my bike, but I'm wondering for both of us what sort of knobblier tires you might suggest, and how to figure out how large a tire I can run without issues...

Any thoughts are appreciated.

meanwhile

Grip on gravel is a problematic concept - lots of grip too easily converts to gravel being thrown around. But also with the same speed sometimes not, because how gravel is sized and shaped and textured (and how wet it is and who knows what else) seems to matter. The best solution seems to be either a file tread or a file tread with sharks teeth at the edge. (But these teeth can destroy safe emergency cornering on the road.) Run the widest tyres you can and don't have the pressure as high as for the road: try to distribute the load over a wide contact patch rather than using teeth. Gravel designs are still shaking down, but in general knobby designs are in a minority:

Gravel Racing Stuff

As for what you can fit: measure how much is left with the current tyres when someone is sitting on the bike and add. The subtract what you like for caution and tread, and gamble on the accuracy of the tyre manufacturers figures...

You *might* want to try the new Schwalbe Almotions for road and gravel. They're supposed to be a big upgrade over even the Marathon Supreme on the road and very gravel friendly:

Pressreader - Schwalbe Professional Bike Tires

..But no one has reported back on them yet and they're pricey. At least as non-racing tyres go. Oh - you probably want to avoid the dedicated gravel racers entirely as they'll have shorter lives and probably won't have puncture protection. (The Almotions should last a long time and be puncture resistant - Schwalbe excel in these things.)

If you really want to optimize, then you may want to buy an exceptionally good pump and carry it around with you - you'll may want different pressures for best behaviour on gravel and tarmac, and a minute or two of pumping makes sense if you change surface type for an hour or two.

In summary: "Gravel - it's complicated!"

NormanF

Pricey.... if your bike can take huge 29er tires, there are better options out there.

I'd go with the Schwalbe Big Ben. At the moment, though, I'm hooked onto a set of Freedom Cruz 29ers with a 52 mm width for 40 euros that's less than the cost of ONE Schwalbe Marathon All Motion Tire.

meanwhile

I was taking it for granted that he couldn't run Big Bens as this is the cross forum. The Almotions are pricey, but they should give much better road performance, allowing just a single wheel set.

Barrettscv 

I would look at the Kendra Happy Medium Pro in a 700x35: Happy Medium Pro

These are fast and smooth riding on pavement and provide good traction on most gravel.

Another tire that would be more durable would be the Clement Explorer USH: X'PLOR USH | Clement Cycling, Cyclocross Tires, Adventure Tires, Mountain Bike Tires, Road Bike Tires

ThermionicScott 

I'm with @meanwhile -- your tires are probably about as big and textured as you'd want for all-around riding. Now might be a good time to play around with tire pressures to see if that helps, but spending more time on gravel and working on your bike-handling skills (both of you ) will pay the biggest dividends.

meanwhile

Schwalbe give the Almotion a higher rating for speed than they do the Supreme - the tyre that has virtually defined "fast with no drawbacks." And they're touting it as a good gravel tyre... But yes, it is expensive!

meanwhile

...But it can be a good idea to wear 3/4 length pants - I just take the bottom of the leg off cheap BDUs - and gloves while doing this, if you're going to be aggressive about it!

Andrey

I also ride a lot in Mennewaska State Park . I always rode a cyclocross 700x30-34 tires . They have plenty of grip and at the same time they roll decently on the road before I get to the park.

On the last ride I put a set of Kenda Happy Mediums (700x40). I hated the rolling resistance of Kenda in that width, plus they do not seem to improve the ride at lower pressures than the WTB Wolf tire in 32mm that I had before that. I am waiting for a set of Conti Cross Speed in 35mm designed for gravel. Hopefully they will improve the ride and give me a decent speed on the road.

I am also thinking of putting the latest Panaracer GravelKing tire in 28mm or Clement LSS on my long distance bike, so I could ride in Minnewaska Park.

Many years ago I had a Continental TopTouring tires in 28 mm. I could not wear them out but I did not like riding them because of the huge rolling resistance on the road.

For riding on the roads and in state parks and trails like Minnewaska, Mohank and local rail trails I think I will be putting Challenge , Clement, Grand Bois or GravelKing tires. They will give me speed, nice ride and enough grip to ride in those parks.

fietsbob

May not be a perfect tire for both pavement and riding on Marbles, ie Loose Gravel .

I have used Continental Travel Contact tires .. their purpose is riding on a bike tour taking you past the end of the paved roads ..

So a smooth center band is flanked by a row of knobs ... Reinforced sidewalls, 'gatorskin' .. for the intended purpose the width made are Just 622-37 & 559-47 .

TGT1

I really like the Conti Crossrides. 42mm

Effectively solid center stripe (overlapping knobs) so the rolling resistance on pavement isn't any higher than a high pressure road slick, and wide enough to not sink into soft sand spots and handle loose gravel well with the pressure let down a little.