Hypno Toad

I'm working on a long-planned adventure ride - climbing Mauna Kea. The bike for this adventure can take up to 32 mm tires. The climb starts with 34 miles of climbing, going up over 9,000 ft, on pavement. The last 8 miles (4,500 ft) of the climb is gravel with loose sandy sections with grades kicking over 15%. My bike has great gearing for climbing a wall (33/32), but I want a tire that will give traction on soft sandy climbs.

My first pick-thought is GravelKing SK 32mm - I know they are very popular with the gravel folks I ride with - but I don't know my 'narrow' gravel tires very well (my typical gravel bikes roll on 700x45 and 26x4).

Let me know your thoughts on 32mm tires that can ride both pavement and soft sandy climbs. Thanks!

autonomy

Ehh, how sandy are we talking? If it's sandy enough to sink in, then 32mm will be a pain even with a tread. You'd want a wide contact patch for that; it's more about bike control than grip at that point. If it's closer to 'a little bit of loose sand' than you should be fine. FWIW the GK SK are fairly grippy, just a hair more grippy than XPlor MSOs in my experience. I ride the 40mm version and usually have no problems unless the sand is deep enough for the tire to sink. You'll need to watch out on descents more so then on climb.
Another one to look at would be Vittoria Terreno Dry. I really wanted to get a set of them but they were on backorder for weeks; should be a faster-rolling tire than GravelKing but nearly as grippy. Not sure what the stock looks like this year. And, of course, there's the Schwalbe G-One and the various offerings from WTB though not all are made in 32mm.

Just for reference, this kind of stuff is perfectly doable on 28mm slicks but you do have to be careful especially on steep terrain; 32mm tires with tread would give you much more confidence.

unterhausen

The 32mm SK might be large for a 32mm, anyone know? Which dimension is the limit on this bike?

I probably would get the GK+ file tread 32mm if it's just sand.

msu2001la

There really aren't a lot of 32mm knobby tire options out there, and for a 15% loose surface climb I would definitely want some tread, and as wide a tire as would fit.
32mm Gravel Kings are probably a top choice. If you can squeeze in 33mm, there's a bunch of CX specific tires out there that might work. Two of my favorites:

https://www.challengetires.com/shop/...s/dune-2/55047
https://www.donnellycycling.com/coll...ready-clincher

35mm Conti Terra speeds seem to measure a bit small on some rims, so they might be an option if you can squeeze them in.

tangerineowl

Diamond tread would be good for sand.

chas58

well, I'm thinking any 33mm CX tire should work unless you are really tight. I've used Schwalbe G-One in their CX version, and they are about the size of my 32mm tires.
That said, I spend most of my skinnier time on Conti GP5000 slicks (32mm). Personally, I've worked on developing a smooth pedal stroke and can do just about anything with slicks, short of real greasy stuff (wet rocks, roots, grass).
There are 30mm CX tires too (or used to be). some are mud some are semi-slicks for gravel riding on traditional road bikes.
Speed max:
https://www.levelninesports.com/ritc...xoCHqwQAvD_BwE

You thinking tubless?

Badger6

Challenge Dune (small shoulder knobs, running along a diamond file tread) or Chicane (bigger shoulder knobs running along a diamond file tread). The Chicanes were my go to tire for several years riding loose to chunky (not boulders, but bigger rocks) gravel. I'm login to run the treads off the Spesh Pathfinders my bike came with, then mount the Challenge Gravel Grinder (essentially a Chicane, in bigger volume). The tread is durable and hooks up well. I've never ridden on the big island, but I recall the "gravel" was sometimes treacherous with the volcanic rock, I'm sure you're taking this into account since it may chew up the tires pretty good, depending not he surfaces on the road you will ride.

Hypno Toad

This is why I come to BF ... I get stuck in a rut thinking of one solution (gravel tires) and totally forget to think about CX tires. Thank you for the great tire options!!

I might go tubeless, but it's not required either.

To an earlier post, I don't know the conditions well, but from other ride reports, I understand it'll be dry powdery sand. I understand road tires will not be able to make the gravel climbs. I'm no stranger to steep gravel climbs*, just nothing this long or at this altitude.

* I've been riding gravel races for 10 years and see a wide variety of gravel conditions. The bike I plan to bring to Hawaii is not my typical gravel bikes, I have a Bianchi Infinito, it won't take a wide gravel/CX tire (max 32-33 mm). With a good tread that rolls well on the pavement sections, and offers traction while climbing loose sandy gravel. As I posted in the OP, I've got the gearing to stay in the saddle and spin, keeping weight on the rear wheel and avoid spinning out.

Fentuz

You might want to look at the schwalbe X-one bite or michelin cyclocross power

chas58

These were my goto tires for those conditions and limited tire clearance. Both are 700x30mm. That Kenda is crazy fast and crazy cheap.

chaadster

That Kenda Kwick, the K879, was my go-to winter tire for many years and several pairs, but I believe it is out of production now.

thehammerdog

I use Ritcheys 32mm and like them.
very affordable.

Badger6

Did you read the OP's original post? The tires you linked are good tires...just, not for the conditions of the ride he is trying to set his rig up for.

Fentuz

yes i did... you might not

this requires grip hence cyclo cross loose surface tyre... like the tyre Jeremy Powers used on some test on sand loose surface where the rim digs deep in the sand...

Otherwise, it is just hard pack gravel...

dwmckee

I agree with these choices and would add the Bruce Gordon Rock N Road. Though as stated width means more than tread in this case.

chas58

Yup, that is what I was thinking.

I use the Schwalbe - they are fast rolling tires with lots of grip. Especially when they are broken in (obviously when I'm torqueing down on 1000+ watts, those knobs are gonna distort, but they are fine for <500watts or when worn down a little).
I've seen some of the Michelin's - but it seems the sub 33mm tires are mud oriented. That said, the knobs are pretty short. The power Jet tire looks great if it comes in the appropriate size.

Hypno Toad

Too funny, I found a great ride report here on BF ... but found it thanks to Google:

Long report on my climb up Mauna Kea (Big Island of Hawaii)

autonomy

Ah, if you can describe it as 'dry, loose, slippery, powdery ashes' then that is a different beast from 'gravel covered with a bit of sand'. What I would do is bring the widest tire my bike could fit with at least a file or somewhat-knobby tread - G-One- or GravelKing-like (the big knobs are really only worth it for super-muddy terrain), run the lowest pressure, and ride that section unclipped. At that point you need a bit more technique than "power into it"

Fentuz

As you are limited by the size, this is why Xone bite is a good option. you could look at G one Ultrabite too which it pretty similar however made for gravel so wider. Either way, you need the most aggressive UCI Cyclocross tyre to get the grip and remain within 33mm max.

I used to ride rocky hill which a mixture of shingle cotswolds stones, mud, sand and according to Strava 16% on panaracer comet 38-622 and the wheel was slipping a lot, that was "OK" for 100 to 200 meters but I would not do that for 8miles.
I remembered the XC setup I had 20yrs ago, check for evolutions and swap the tyres for Conti XKing front (all season) and Conti XKing rear (deep wet muddy winter) or RaceKing rear most of the year, I got up these hills without issue now.
Point being your las 8 miles are MTB-XC territory and is going to be the hardest so you have to compromise; with MTB "knobblyness", you will be slower on road tarmac but you will have a chance on these 8 last miles.

Hypno Toad

The long story short, I didn't ride my Infinito, but rode my gravel bike on 50mm GravelKing SK ... and they were overkill and I never got them on the unpaved part of Mauna Kea. Here's a link to my ride report with all the details

https://bikesbeersstuff.blogspot.com...rld-mauna.html

mstateglfr 

So if the hardest ride is going one way, then the easiest route in the world is going the other, right? That route sounds like one I could handle!

Hypno Toad

tFUnK

Glad you made it happen. Sorry you were overbiked. I guess since this was a special trip it was better to be over-prepared than under-prepared, anyway.

Hypno Toad

Thanks!

Frau Toad is almost more interested in returning to this challenge than I am ... LOL. We were just talking this morning about the pro & cons of the Bianchi vs the Breezer. The Bianchi will be an asset with better gearing for the steepest ramps, and is much lighter to haul up the 45 miles getting to the short segment of unpaved road. I'm serious considering the revisit will be on the Bianchi and accept there will likely be some walking on the unpaved segment ... I think I'd end up walking anyway, only the fastest riders are going more that 5 mph so walking isn't sacrificing that much speed.

For reference: there is 4.65 miles of unpaved roads, starting at the visitor's center (9,200 ft); the last 2.5 miles to the summit is paved, and VERY steep, at high altitude. The whole segment from the visitor's center to the summit averages 11.4%, and kicks up to 20%.

KWillets

Your blog is correct about Waikaloa beach access. We once stayed in a condo there, but even as a legitimate guest I felt like a burglar walking around that resort.

IIRC there's public access all along the waterline and even some historic sites, but you wouldn't know it.