Cyclist0114

Hello,
I use my CX bike as.. CX bike ( ), road bike, and also gravel bike. I have road wheelset and second for "terrain". Now I use Schwalbe X-One 700x33c tubeless. Great tyres for grass and mud, but slow and noisy on roads, also I think "heavy" for gravels. Looking for gravel-specific tyres and don't know what will be better - Panaracer Gravel King or Schwalbe G-One? I'ld like to also use them without tubes.

Max. size is 700x38 (I write this, because Gravel Kings are 38 in real, yep?), maaaaaybe 700x40 but it must be real 40 mm.

vinuneuro

G-One and the standard Gravel King are meant to be all-around tires. They are competent but neither are outstanding on gravel since they also have to roll well on the road.

Since you already have a road wheelset, I would suggest something more gravel specific. Gravel King SK is an excellent tire and pretty good weight even in the bigger sizes. It's available from 35-43mm.

Spoonrobot 

I have gravel king slicks 700x38, mounted tubeless on 23mm wide rims they measure out to 40-40.5mm at 35-40psi. Also see this note from Panaracer: https://www.panaracer.com/news/detail.php?id=13

shoota 

Agreed on the 35mm GK SKs. THey are 37-38mm on my wide rims, roll great on pavement, are perfectly fine on gravel, and are tough.

Cyclist0114

Ok, so GK SK 35 is good choice but.. will they faster than X-Ones?

79pmooney

One reason for seeking the best compromise gravel/pavement is if you ride to your gravel. I rode the 30 miles of gravel on the Trask River Trail across the Oregon Coast Range last summer, probably the most intense "gravel" I will ever do. (Grades to 18% both up and down, steep and tight corners and "gravel" of 1 1/2 to 2" stones.) I rode 40 miles to get to the gravel and 20 miles after. Not having aggressive and slow on pavement tires was a real blessing! (They did just fine on the gravel save the fall over I did when I lost traction on one of the 18% ups. (36-24 gearing isn't "low" in that situation! Not the tire's fault.)

I did this on Panaracer Paselas, 38c in front, 35c in back. I felt I had near perfect tires for the day. Now I did drop the pressure a lot when we hit the gravel, then pumped up when we got back to the pavement.

Ben

shoota 

Doubtful. I've got around 2000 miles on my front GK and it's just now starting to show some knob wear.

vinuneuro

I think he's asking if they'll ride faster than the X-One.

The SK's are pretty light for their size and what they are. The reviews indicate they roll well. They're a very popular gravel race tire, probably with good reason.

Good point.

Spoonrobot 

I don’t believe it’s possible to ride up an 18% grade composed of 1.5-2 inch stones on 35mm tires.

Even more ridiculous with a 36/24 low gear.

chas58

No, the x-one is a surprisingly fast tire. I like tires with more volume and less weight, but speed is not a reason to change (unless you go for skinny slicks).

TimothyH

Gravel King SK are a good all around tire. Their performance on pavement however, doesn't live up to some of the reviews which tend to be a bit dramatic. That isn't to say they are bad, but for pavement they are not on par with a Schwalbe G-One for example.

Maybe my roadie background biases me toward a more supple road tire but the G-One's lack of knobbies didn't slow me down on gravel as much as the Gravel King SK's knobbies do seem to slow me down on pavement. I'm open to the possibility that this might change as I become more skilled off pavement.

@Spoonrobot mentioned Gravelking Slicks and I might try a pair. I'd switch back to G-One's in a heartbeat if they played nice with my rims.


-Tim-

Cyclist0114

@TimothyH I think comparing GK SK and G-One is not fair - both has different tread. GK non-SK is pretty close to G-One and also G-One Bite is pretty close to GK SK.
I decided to try GK SK (700x35) - X-One's aren't slow, but only with higher pressure (60+).

TimothyH

That was my entire point. I'm sorry I didn't make that clear.

Your question was about wanting something quieter and lighter for the road and specifically mentioned the G-One and GK slick. The GK SK may be better than the X-One but it isn't going to be as light or quiet as the GK slick or G-One. That's my point.

I didn't want you to buy Gravel King SK's thinking they would be a nice on pavement as G-One's or GK slicks. GK SK's are great tires but not as good on pavement as many of the reviews claim and some here seem to believe. Similar to what you describe about the X-One, the SK's are noisy and need to be pumped up to be really good on pavement.

I guess you are about to find that out. Please let us know if you agree after a few miles. I do hope they are better for you than the X-One though.


-Tim-