Tested: What is the Fastest Gravel Tire Size? The Answer Might Surprise You
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.พ. 2025
- Today we put 35mm, 40mm, 45mm, 50mm and 2.2 mtb tires to the test on Silverstone's Pedaling Efficiency Rig to try to get a better idea of what the optimal tire size is for gravel riding and racing.
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Here I am, a pure roadie, about to watch a 30 minute video about tires I'll never use on dirt i don't want. Let's go!
Same. I don't even own a gravel bike 😂
You are not alone on this! 👊
Have a go at gravel and/or XC MTB!! It’s lots of fun
Yes, it sounds like you guys are gravel curious.🤣
P0 40mm are calling to you.
Find someone who loves you like Dylan loves talking about tires.
😆
Dylan actually loves tires, not just talking about tires. Again... Dylan really loves tires.
😂😂😂
"Don't trust your feelings, they're wrong" is true in so many scenarios.
😁
Duh. "Trust your feelings" is only for X-wing trench runs...
Sounds like a directive from Obi Wan
these are not the feelings you're looking for
I’m no pro but when I raced in 45’s my time was slower than in the 40’s. So maybe I’ll go to a 50 😂
The production quality of the video was great--the tire graphics and such were awesome. Nicely done.
What a nice upgrade to already great content
I ride a quick 12 mile gravel loop M-F for my work lunch ride. I use Strava for data retention. I was riding the 38mm Pathfinder Pros that came with my Crux. After watching Dylan's videos, I swapped to Schwalbe Thunder Burts (29x2.1) which measure about 50mm on my 25mm internal width Roval Terra CL wheels. These are probably the largest sized tires that would fit on my Crux. Not only am I smashing my PRs on literally every segment of my quick route, the ride feels significantly better and way more fun. I will never go back to skinnier tires. Thanks for the data Dylan and good luck with your goals this season!
I started racing the DK200 on Thunderburts back in 2014. Pretty much everybody laughed at me for running a mtb tire. They absolutely are faster.
No frame rubbing on the crux? Specialized claims 47 is ok, so it can take the extra 3mm. Great!
When I put 2.0” Maxxis Ikon MTB tyres I thought “finally, this is what I always thought a gravel bike would feel like”
Totally agree. Had been running gravel tires on my drop bar hardtail and just shifted to 2.25 Thunder Burts. Picked up a few PRs on my normal route riding at what felt like around a 75% steady tempo. Smooths out the gravel and smooth xc trails much better. TBs still roll pretty fast on pavement, as well.
Great, does the thunderburt 54mm in 700c only result in 50mm? How is that going with clearance? Just asking. Same situation here with a Crux. I have a second set of 650b zipp 101 xplr wheels with 27mm internal width. Should fit up to 2.1 or 54mm as officially advertised by specialized. Going to run torino nice rally in august. Is about 50/50 road/gravel. 700km with 18.000 altimeters. Any suggestions?
I am glad you mentioned fatigue at the end.
Being uncomfortable is fatigue just like pushing really hard. Comfort fatigue will reduce your watts.
Uhhhh, can you rerun the tests at 9 mph for a friend?
Also, since weight doesn't matter, looking forward to diet science (donuts+beer vs TheFeed would be a good test).
He said the benefits of big tires would be even higher at slower speeds - good thing, cause I got a slow (and kinda fat) friend too. He was glad to hear this information. 😀
@@vantarpon6849 yes that's what he said, I'm now looking for a gravel bike that fits fat bike tires! I too have a very slow friend!
@@simonstucki you should tell your friend about the Surly Moonlander
@@vantarpon6849 he is assuming a linear relationship between speed and watts saved. Which we already know is false for aerodynamics so it is a very big assumption
weight doesn't matter when you are worrying about grams. If you start pounding donuts and adding KILOgrams, you got problems.
Nailed it! Now we need a vid with you:
1. using 'adaptive' tyre pressure tech in a race.
2. using hypergain beast mode in a race.
in the cookie dough flavor
Tested: What is the fastest supplement? The answer might suprise you
@@erich8258in the cup cake flavor
@@an33nielsen52is it EPO? 😅😅😅
I think I say this in every video you put out but especially for this one... THANK YOU for the completeness/prefacing/footnoting/context you provide on any and all of your comments. Us proper bike nerds appreciate the long format and all the swirling (yet extremely well presented. I did think heeeey Dylan upping his came with an ESPN-esque graphic to present his info) thoughts. Love it mate.
As an engineer, I think Dylan is an engineer. If not, he should engineer his career towards engineering.
I became an engineer just reading this comment
He's not an engineer, but he should definitely consider going to work for a bike company after his racing career.
Im not sure if you covered this or not but theres one thing I cant help but focus on. Loose surfaces. Road and cobbles are easy enough to simulate on that Silverstone rig, but off road the surface you ride on is loose and the material moves under the tire. Best case its hard packed and doesnt move at all, but worse case is something sandy or muddy and it moves a lot. It seems (but I shouldnt assume) that on looser surfaces wider is better as it helps to float the rider on the surface - lower contact pressure, less sinking into the surface. An extreme example would be using fat tire bikes on snow or the beach.
In my very limited experience in looser rocky surfaces, the more the tire deforms the better. I have two sets of tires, one pair of knobbly 700x42 with high puncture resistance and one pair of 700x40c Cinturato Gravel H, the ones tested in the video, and even though they are skinnier and less knobbly, they feel a lot more secure in loose surface, I suppose because they can deform better to fit the terrain.
Sort of. Sometimes the tire that is skinnier will cut into the muck and hold the turn and a wider tire won't and will slide. Why ice skates work better on ice than shoes and you want to ride the edge of your surfboard to carve waves.
@@ZenEndurance While you are correct he is clearly not talking about mud. He’s talking about loose gravel and for that wider is always better.
@@stevevarga8621 Again, not always the case, depending on the gravel, it's not the tire gripping the gravel but the gravel rolling underneath the tire that loses traction, many times I've felt a narrower tire gets under the top layer and finds traction where as the larger tire just sits on top and the gravel rolls underneath, thus losing traction. So I repeat, it depends.
@ Well I have to disagree. Think about what gravel is. Small loose rocks of varying depths to create a road. Asphalt is very similar accept it has a bonding agent ie tar to hold it together so it doesn’t move around. So gravel roads are a path of tiny but very loose stones. The thinner the layer of stones the less movement. The thicker the layer, more movement. Thin layered roads ie really well packed roads usually with lots of clay mixed in are firm and very asphalt like. We call that Gucci Gravel and you don’t even need a gravel tire. But when you get to deeper or fresh gravel then the wider the tire the better because you will float on top. Cutting into gravel is not good because sinking in is massive friction. I know this from personal experience. Riding in gravel events on fresh deep and loose gravel, those with the widest tires float above and ride away with ease and control. I know you’re going to tell me about some roads you can cut through the gravel and get to the firm under layer but sorry no, that’s not how gravel works.
Hats off to Rule 28! Thanks for sponsoring this testing and content!
This is what we’re all about ❤. Kit is just one part of getting fast. We do our part and love supporting Dylan in his pursuit of EVERYTHING fast.
We can't get enough of tyre chat 😂
we never get tyre-d with that topic
@@perrymeister898 yes, we love to be a dick about bike rubber.
I want to explore some seat post chat.
@@jayobannon5359 seatpost chat is 2026 I'm afraid 😜
Super well structured video good job mate
As an engineer and cyclist, this is my kind of video. At my level, tire choice on a gravel rig will make pretty much no difference (but I do run a set of mtbs), but still love the data! Nice video as always Dylan!
I’ve been following my feelings and riding MTB tyres on my gravel/Bikepacking bikes for over 10 years
Nothing beats real world experience
Great video, as usual Dylan. I have a few comments to add which only makes tire decisions even harder. You mention the 70% of pavement on the BWR’s. After having done one I realized that although there was 70% pavement, that did not represent 70% of your riding time. With technical single track being so much slower, the total amount of time on pavement vs gravel vs single track was closer to equal, so be careful about that calculation. Try to calculate time vs distance.
My other comment/warning is that a lot of, actually most, gravel bikes will not take 2.2’s. I purchased a new Stigmata with the thoughts of putting 2.2’s on only to find the damn seat tube is in the way. Most bike manufacturers have be caught blind sided by this sudden jump to 2.2’s. You have to actually try them on to see how they fit. Same goes for the gravel suspension forks. Everybody is way too tight.
Good point about time and the tire you might be looking for is the 2.1 Schwalbe Thunder Burt, it's shorter than a RK.
Thanks for the video, Dylan! I love that you always endeavor to apply science to an industry that is constantly trying to sell us new products with no science and until recently, no testing to back up claims of performance improvements. I appreciate that you acknowledge the limitations of your testing. It shows a real dedication to transparency!
However, there is one finding that I believe you got wrong and that is that “weight” doesn’t matter. I’m not talking about static weight which made your tire choice for BWC NC wrong. I’m talking the weigh in motion (dynamic) of a spinning wheel. Your testing was done at a static speed once you achieved 36KPH or 40KPH. As we know, cycling is NOT static. Heavier tires are slower, all else being equal, due to the Centripetal Force needed to accelerate them up to speed. As cyclists, we do this countless times during a ride, especially on gravel. While a heavier tire will conserve speed longer, the force needed to accelerate that same tire back up to speed will be greater. Every time we apply ANY brakes; we waste that extra momentum and yet have to accelerate back up to speed.
Again, love the video and look forward to more science to nerd out over!
Obviously more mass requires more force to accelerate, but is it significant over the length of a race compared to the rolling resistance improvements? Where are the numbers (data/analysis) to back up your point?
If you don't brake, then you're getting that extra force back, minus losses of course. The key point is there are valuable gains by training yourself to stop pedalling to slow down before a corner rather than using your brakes. This is obviously most applicable where you are not jockeying for position, and on longer rider where endurance is more of a limit than short term power.
Thanks DJ for clarifying the tire myth with all your lab time!!!! I've been very happy racing on my Conti Race Kings last season.
Great video. The cornering and descending benefits seal the deal for mostly off road!
Damn good video Dylan!!!! You are becoming the gold standard for info for us bike nerds!!!
Thanks. Best 27 min spent today. (And I really liked your GCN shout-out)
Qualitatively, the net takeaway is simple and intuitive. Wider tires & lower pressures are faster on rough surfaces, narrower tires & higher pressures on smooth surfaces. The trick is to quantify it, which is exactly why this kind of testing is so useful.
I built up an XC beast on Race Kings and got the gravel itch the next year... Couldn't understand at first why my sleek gravel rig felt quick, but almost always averaged 1-2kph slower on my usual route... Yep makes sense
I have just found the same, my XC bike has been on Race King/Cross King combo for a few sets now. Just bought a gavel bike and it just does not roll!
And this is why CX is so hard and every psi matters. We are forced to run 33mm tires which are less than optimal which means we have to run on the ragged edge of pressure between traction, rolling resistance and puncture risk. The fastest tires are silk walled and incredibly compliant. But if you do puncture, the pits are usually a short run away where you can grab spare bike and worry about how much that tubular tire is going to cost to replace till after the race. Just need Challenge to do a set of 60mm silk tubular!
CX tires are also taking the downhill approach, of narrow but big lugs so they dig in when you load the bike into corners. CX tires are downright gnarly compared to a lot of the gravel semi-slicks out there. And the 33c + drop bars restriction is kinda specific to high category CX, a lot of amateur level CX races are "run what you brung" and you'll see lots of gravel bikes on gravel tires and XC MTBs on the course.
One of the reasons I switched from CX to gravel races. CX tires are expensive af, hard af to mount, and you can’t economically use them for training. Gravel tires: mount once, ride forever.
Which is why the UCI needs to fix CX by allowing modern cycling tech.
Those 33mm’s are not used by any amateur rider.
Even people riding CX bikes herein the forest have 36-38mm gravel tyres on them.
Awesome video all around! Thank you for putting the time and effort to make it. 👊🏻
Absolutely loving this! 10min intro deep dive into everything you considered! Thank you so much for this! Extremely interesting!
Very cool video! Would love to see something similar with the new Schwalbe G-One RS Pro, R Pro and RX Pro in 40mm, 45mm and 50mm. Also because they have thought about changing the casing on the new Pro series. Then you could also fit in the MTB Thunderbirt tire, and therefore eliminate the different compound/brand.
Also taking in account different tyre pressures. One question I have because it's not 100% clear to me: did you test cobble stone pressures on pavement? Or pavement pressures on pavement and cobble pressure on cobbles? That influences the rolling resistance A LOT, I assume.
He mentioned around 7:50 that the tire pressures were optimized for each surface.
are the new schwalbe tires somewhat puncture resistant? I try to avoid schwalbe tires because in the past I they were horrific when it comes to puncture resistance, since I switched I had 1 puncture in a bit over 20'000km on those bikes. to be honest it's been a while and the tires were the marathon supreme (fastish touring tire) and a Smart Sam folding tire (don't know the exact model, that was so long ago that at that time there were no gravel tires and I wanted something a bit wider than a CX tire, since I had a frame that could fit up to 47mm.)
@@simonstucki I think the newer Schwalbe's have got much better with the puncture resistance. Over 4 years I've had no flats on 3 different sets of Schwalbe tires. I'm looking forward to trying the R Pro's soon.
GCN likes you, Dylan, that said something nice about you recently, tho' I can't recall what exactly but I think it was something about big tires and you're the main man with the big tire gravel plan based on your use and success on them. The ad campaign should be "I'll have whatever Dylan's riding." 😀
its about time you upload😭love the videos man!!!
I just explored the “feels faster” phenomenon with my 7 yr old daughter last week. She just moved from her old princess Huffy with 18” x 1.5” wheels/tires, to a Specialized kids bike with 20” x 2.2”. She ripped around the cul de sac much faster and more smoothly than previously, at least in my visual perception (which is biased because I was probably more excited than she was). When she finished, she was super excited and grateful, but I sensed a hint of let-down when she noted that the bike seemed slower than the other bike. I explained that the bigger tires and much smoother package might be causing that perception, but I’ll use your example and take her for a drive on the freeway in my ‘03 Accord with 300k miles haha.
Thanks for open sharing this findings. You're a true sportsmen giving away insights to your competition 🤓
Babe wakeup! A new Dylan Johnson video dropped!!!
Fantastic results, this actually gave so much info for me as a MTB rider considering a street/gravel tire.
Dylan, you crushed it. Great info, data, graphs and presentation
Been looking forward to this video dropping! Great job as always DJ!
as an engineer i feel at home with your content. you are fit and smart! thats also a boost in unbound ranking 😂❤
Great video DJ, the cycling world is a slow moving beast, thanks for speeding up the process 💪
Excellent video. The editing was real nice!
Love that (not so) subtle poke to gurus such as Nathan, Peter and Alexis 😁
Amazing. As a data scientist, I encourage you to include variances/confidence intervals/sigma around your values (at least in your personal analyses). My sense is the larger differences are significant but some of the smaller ones probably are not. Even if you don't have a ton of replicates, you could estimate the variance with monte carlo sampling or other methods. Still some of the best YT bike 'science' around - nice work!
My tl;dr: If the gravel race is chunky and slow (like a mtb race), ride mtb tires! If the race is smooth and fast (like a road race), ride skinny tires!
Unbound gravel race is chunky, but not slow (winner averaged 22 mph for over 9 hours) - and MTB tires are recommended.
Thank you for your service Dylan 🤘😁🤘
I have been rocking conti 2.2 race king since early 2022. I did so I can ride single track on my Lauf, and loved how it felt everywhere.
very thorough on your explanations and reasons why and why not to use these tires . keep up the good work
So good to find a tyre geek even more geeky than any I know personally! Cool vid
Great video. I do think the data shown proves that 32-35mm slick road tyres will be the fastest for Roubaix because they're doing the cobble sectors at 40kph+.
Except if you're Van der Poel it's more like 50-60kph 😂
Switched to conti race king 2.0's after one of your previous videos. Did have to drop to 650b to get the rear tire to fit. The biggest benefit for me has been confidence off road - feels way better around corners and under braking - my handlings skills aren't great so this has made my riding a lot more fun!
Only the Race King ProTection is the really fast one and that is only available in 2.2". If you are on 2.0, that is a different tire with a thicker, heavier casing.
Not a bad one, but heavier and slower. Bicycle rolling resistance has both versions tested, you can look it up there.
The naming of the different Race King versions by Conti is quite idiotic, "ProTection" doesn't sound like the thin, light, fast version...
@@lieblingsleguan1591 most things Conti do with their mtb tires is silly.
@@lieblingsleguan1591 Yeah I had to get the "Shield Wall" version which is slower but the only one that comes in 2.0. 2.2 would be pushing the clearance limits of my rear triangle just a bit too much. Could switch my front one out at some point. I don't race so the handling / confidence side of things is a higher priority than speed for me. No idea why conti can't just make the black chilli version in 2.0!
There we go assuming. Per BRR the difference of the protection vs shieldwall is ~6 watts (both in 2.2). That width difference could have a bigger effect than that. They're likely faster on the street.
Exactly the same thing I've had to do with my gravel bike. The 2.2 Protections do fit but clearance is too tight for me and UK wet winters.
2.0 Shieldwall arrived today so will be testing tomorrow.
I'm not racing so the ~6 watts increase is a lower concern vs comfort and odd road grip.
Excellent video, informative and entertaining. Keep up the great work creating these videos!
Interesting. Love the disclaimers and the thorough explanation for the testing's settings and limitations. That said, I think that this one can't be simply extrapolated. This is precisely the issue you mention about controlling variables.
I do have a suggestion - as an engineer, whenever I see that the maximum rig rested was the best, I get the impression that the setup wasn't thorough enough. If 2.25 wasn't "big" enough to have a net overall disadvantage, we need to keep going. Plus-sized. 2.5 ", 3", heck, let's do 4" and 5" fat tires too to see when there is a swing point.
Incidentally - something is clearly anomalous here - if you ignore the Conti there is clearly a "u" shape for the rolling resistance of the tires but then the SpeedKing behaves in a very different way. Maybe it's the casing. Maybe it's the lack of a tube. Because this would definitely ask for testing a 55 mm gravel tire and go to a 2" and a 2.5" Conti - and a 3 and a 4". One obvious choice is trying the Pirelli Scorpion 50's-60's. And maybe the different treads. Same with the Conti's - is the Speed King better than the Terra Trail? Terra Speed? Is there a difference between the Terra Trails according to the tread they have - and size? And for the MTB Raceking, is a 50 better than a 55?
Something is wacky here and a valid conclusion from the test may simply be: Continental is better than Pirelli. Or Tubeless is much better than tubed. I am not saying that this is the case (or that the results from the test are "wrong"), but that this is an equally valid conclusion. And 100% agree that a tire that "feels" fast is probably not. I already ride 40, 50, and full on 2.2 knobbies depending on the event. Noting that the knobbies actually corner worse on fast pavement if that's an issue.
I've done a lot of Dutch beach racing. A beach is an ever changing mix of hard and really soft surface. With wider and softer tires than most (when that wasn't the trend yet), I found that I could hold wheels on hard surfaces, but left others far behind when the sand got softer. Race differences were made on soft/loose/rough surface. I think a lot of this translates to gravel racing and an added bonus of wide tires is that there's a bit less flat risk with low pressures.
In other words: It's not just what's faster on paper on the mix of surfaces of a given course. What counts is where the race gets or can be made hard.
That said: When world champs are in the flat part of Belgium and it's dry, just bring file tread CX tires... 😝
Very nice analysis! Your observation about a smaller tire with a thin casing is precisely what I have been testing over the last few months. I have a gravel bike (built up on an aluminum hardtail mtn bike frame from the 90s - so steeper head angle than modern mtn bikes) setup with a 26 inch 2.2 Race King on the back (latex tube) and a Challenge CX tubular (33) on the front. So far I'm 3,000 km into the test with no flats on either tire! Maybe just good luck but I have found after 40+ years of racing tubs on the road, that puncture resistance is not tightly coupled to casing thickness. In my experience, TT tires flat less often than gator skins. For the gravel, I'm beginning to think this may be a better setup especially with a Lauf fork to offset the increased CR and pounding on the 33 on the rougher gravel. It's worth noting that a tubular CX tire can easily be run with 20 psi or even less if necessary. For most rides I run the Race King at 27-29 psi and the Challenge CX at 34-38 psi. It's also worth noting that much of the gravel off the mountain sides here in Vancouver comes in the form of dykes - so pretty tame.
That car analogy is exactly what came to my mind a few years ago, when I rode a modern road bike with wider tires at the correct pressure for the first time. It felt so smooth, I would've sworn it was slow if I didn't have all the data on my wahoo right in front of me.
Light casing on a gravel tire: WTB Resolute 42mm (measured 45mm). These are a nice mix and don't flat very easy (got 1 puncture last year on very sharp rough roads around Houffalize, Belgium)
Great video. Wasn't able to read through the 575+ comments below, though it looks like the Wheel Efficiency Test is the same methodology that car enthusiasts do by putting their car on a dyno to determine HP at the wheels versus brake horsepower (the advertised HP delivered by the engine) Very interesting stuff!
I have been using the Rat Trap tires since 2015, still happy with them on any road.
Funny to see Scott's classic disinterested Bonk Bros expression @ 2:27.
His had some good valid points, like why does a big gravel race finish on a road! LOL
Now this is a great analysis, im suscribing for this kind of great content. Thanks!
I like the little details like the actual tread pattern of the tire tested spinning with the watt savings
The biggest tires I can fit on my bike are 45s, so I went with Tufo Gravel Swampero front and Tufo Gravel Thundero rear both in 44, and both with tubolight evo inserts with Orange Seal Endurance. I can run lower pressure and they legitimately are faster than the gravel kings I used to have, even though they have more knobs. My next gravel bike is going to have MTB tire clearance for sure.
Who says school science is never gonna be useful. Need it to follow Dylan!❤
Great video. For follow up testing it would be interesting to see what optimizations mixed widths could bring. A significant portion of the aero impact is likely from the front tire and its transition to rim & frame. Conversely on the rear at least half of the comfort speed advantages for rough stuff can be realized with far less aero loss, or at least that is what one would expect without testing.
It will also be interesting to see if vendors come out with deepish rims designed for a smoother transition to 50/60mm to mitigate some of the aero losses of super wide. The current widest outer width semi aero gravel wheels that I am aware of are Zipp 303 XPLR & lightbicycle WG44 & WG55 all of which are 40mm outer.
Just speculating here but the reason the 50mm tire tested so badly vs the smaller tires of the same casing & design could be the lightbulbing shape it is taking relative to the other same casing tires from the rim used. Maybe a wider inner rim would work better with the 50mm?
Duke Baccara WRX 42 aero, 43mm outer-width rim👌🏻
The added nuance of how surface affects RR is very interesting. I'd love to see a similar "all sizes" test with a faster tire, say G-One RS, and see if the fastest size shifts. Could be 45mm is optimal on cobbles if the race king was scaled to that size.
Shots fired - I ran Kings for Unbounded XL - few punches but Silca had me covered and I never needed to stop or add air
5:13 - Nice shot at Dizzle!
Awesome work Dylan 🎉
Great video! Appreciate all your work and sharing this info
Very interesting analysis. In MTB they have in recent years found out that wider rims mean better long-term performance, and we can now see tires special for wider rims as "Wide Trail" (WT) in Maxxis.
In your case, the Vittoria Mezcal that we can see in the backgound, that I guess you use a 29x2,1" for a 52mm wide, but which is the real width in the rims that you are using??? It's a very important information that you might want to add in future videos. In MTB it's a very important information.
I put thunderburt 2.1's on team clx IIs and while riding on smooth asphalt isn't great, everything else is absolutely fantastic. Especially on California B-roads, which have meteor craters for pot holes, its liberating to go full gas and not care. The tires just soak up everything. On a mixed surface loop, its just a put-on and forget option.
I wonder if tire companies will start experimenting with different tread patterns on more speed focused XC tires. When you have a wide surface area like a 2.1+ MTB tire, the tread pattern could probably make a difference to reducing the aero penalty.
I use the same tires, and the only way I can describe it is they let me treat every surface like smooth tarmac. On a rough surface and narrow tires I have to get slightly more upright and loosen up my arms and upper body to absorb the bumps, or it's like holding onto a raging bull throwing me around, and that's not fast. Those wide tires allow me to keep my head low and put the power down.
Yet another great video Dylan. Very appropriate timing as just trying to decide what tires I want on my first new gravel bike, picking it up today, but will need to do a fair bit of customization, so let the fun begin. Really value your opinions on everything cycling. Keep up the great work Bro, really appreciate it.
Amazing work, Dylan
I always love your videos and the exploration of variables. I am surprised there was no diversion into PSI, but that’s a future (or maybe past) video.
In the world of endurance and trade-offs, I'd argue your best bet is simply don't get dropped. No amount of gear optimization will save you watts like having someone else do the work. Fast sections tend to be where the drops happen, and it looks like the 40mm would be the overall stand-out in preventing that pain.... however the 2.2 sitting in the pocket would benefit the most. The 2.2 has the best chance of closing up to a pack in the rough stuff too. The ability to catch up then hang on would likely give the most chances at the lowest overall wattage so long as the fast road section isn't one long bit.
I think for most gravel races, there are going to be times when one is on their own, in the wind, and needing to catch a group ahead, or where one is attacking off the front. It is at these critical moments where gear (aero and rolling resistance) can make a real difference. Of course, even when in the bunch, rolling resistance saves watts, so one is using less power, and accumulating less fatigue during all that time while drafting-this may make for more watts to spare at critical moments.
That applies to a few people in every race, the fastest few.
Trying to keep in a group that's too fast for you is going to be worse because not only do you get dropped, you're also down on energy for the rest of the race.
killer vid & data- i dev products & test stuff for a livin- nice work & thx Dyl
Dylan please test suspended seat post vs rigid! I can't wait to see these on gravel races.
Great video man, the never-ending gravel tire debate continues!
Very god video! My gravelframe can take 47mm tires but it looks like i can squeeze in some more mm off tire. What about the race king 2.0 or the thunder Burt 2.1,? Do you have any knowlege about them?
Great video, testing seems very thorough. We saw last season a lot of the XC pros were running 2.4 and 2.5 inch tires, and winning on those. Do you think the optimal width might be bigger than 2.2? Or is 2.2 the current gold standard?
XC courses are much much rougher than gravel courses though
He hasn't tested bigger, for instance - the "2.35" Thunderburt. The limit/problem is frame clearance.
My thoughts exactly. It’s hard to know where the balancing act is ideal and it seems to depend on the course. XC courses are definitely a lot rougher and XC bikes go a little slower so I could see wider tires being more beneficial in those circumstances.
2.4 has been the standard in xc since 2020 i think. 2.5 is a new one tho
I always bring up the 1995 honda civic vs a luxury modern vehicle, one feels like your are flying at 60mph the other feels like it is barely moving. This is do to all the extra vibrations (accelerations) your body feels. (typed this before he got to that part LMAO, I've said this on teh bonk bros a few times)
I see that you have some Mezcals on in the background. How do those compare to the Contis? Just asking because I have a pair of those I could try out and am wondering if it's worth it. Great video--thanks.
I participated in a road bike event last year. It was around 200km with about 4500m of climbing. I was using my Pathfinder 47mm because I'm a recreational cyclist and don't have dozens of tires to choose from. Compared to my gravel events in that year, it felt like I struggled way more than I should. Based on this video, I'm now thinking that I made it unnecessarily hard for me with those tires. I would have invested in a set of narrower tires but somehow I had it stuck in my brain that you need incredibly smooth pavement for narrower tires to really pull ahead.
It looks like that's not true though and you sacrifice a lot of power by going with a wider tire even on "average" pavement.
I’m riding an enduro bicycle (Trek Slash 8) equipped with a third wheelset fitted with Race King 2.2 tires as my gravel replacement bike ... on an Alps trip with friends who were riding gravel bikes. ;) Day and night difference between 29x2.6 Maxxis DHFs on enduro setup.
I got a cross-country tire for my 90s mountain bike and is like you said casing is soft and the bike flyes and is confortable. I use it in the city and it is really great. Now I want something like that for my road bike!
Comment on the feeling faster discussion. I think you're right. I often wondered why my large 29x3.0 tires at 13psi were faster than 2.2 at 20 psi when riding single track uphill sections. The 3.0 tires just took all the bump out of the trail and felt sluggish. They weren't
Those Mezcal tires you have on are awesome. Flat'ish center tread, fast rolling. Great that you are trying them
Mezcal = Garbage
great video,very well presented.
Fascinating. Thanks. My use case is entirely different. Roads and tow paths roots and sometimes hard railway ballast. I run Challenge Getaways 40mm. They have significantly lower resistance than Pirelli and deeper knobs. Also very subtle. Tyres matter. Again thanks.
Great animation work in this video!
I absolutely adore your videos!
Interesting discussion about the different pros, cons and argumentation.
Interestingly though I am so slow it doesn't matter which tire:)
Cheers
My issue here is that the gravel comparisons are done exclusively against the Pirelli Cinturato H. In a 40mm they have higher measured rolling resistance than the Race Kings. It would be interesting to see how some of the actually fastest measured gravel specific tires stack up: Hutchinson Caracal Race 40mm, Challenge Strada Bianca Pro HTLR 40s, Schwalbe G-One RS Pro 40s, Continental Terra Speed 45s.
New graphics look dope
I *just bought a gravel bike two weeks ago, been having a lot of fun with it. I'm NOT a racer, just a dude enjoying being outside when I can. I have a MTB and a road bike as well. I HATE taking the MTB over paved roads, and obviously won't even attempt going hard downhill off-road with the roadie... and I find that I'm surprisingly truly enjoying the gravel bike to just leave my house on paved, do the easier trails that I'd find boring on my MTB, and come home.
The gravel bike came with 45s, and I don't think the frame can take MTB tires (though comments below say the narrow wheel might actually make the tire narrower, so who knows). But based on this video I'll stick with the 45s and not bother with 50s.
Regardless, I love the geek/nerd data, the editing, backwards-hat Dylon, and the one-GCN-and-DurianRider-dig per video (I also watch GCN, lol!).
Watching this video with so much excitement. Great video. Keep up the fun 3rd person lol
Yeeeeooooo. BHD with those slick animations at 10:56 nice!
I recently bought my first Gravel bike and I was really surprised that it rolls very poorly compared to my XC bike on super fast Contis. Mainly feels down to the tyres. What I now need is XC Contis in 700c x 50.
Great video - very informative. I knew there was a reason I like riding my old Hardtail Mtb on our gravel group rides. It feels better than my new gravel bike. However, on pavement sections, especially downhill pavement, I get dropped immediately. Maybe the fast 45mm gravel tire is the best balance of the roads we ride in Colorado Springs area. Many thanks.
On fast pavement descents, over 90% of the forces slowing you down are caused by aerodynamic resistance though, not rolling resistance. Likely your position on the MTB is not as aero as your friend's riding gravel bikes.
I agree completely- aero is not happening on the Hardtail. It’s a 2 X and I still spin out too. The fast track 2.2 tires are screaming at 35 / 40 mph on the pavement. Thanks 🙏
If you don’t have room for a mtb tire I recommend going for a pair of 650b Rene Herse 48 mm ( thin and subtle casing) - as fast as, and lighter than 700c
I just like how my bike looks with MTB tires
This is hilarious thank you for the research!
Great video !
You should post more, even your bad experiences.
Awesome video mate really like it.
I ride only fat bikes but I do have a wheel set where I can put regular mountain bike tires on.
A fat bike is so versatile just a change of PSI.
Hard fat bike tire will roll on pavement pretty well actually And then medium pressures going over gravel and rough terrain like what you are saying it feels so smooth and effortless but it’s very deceptive that actually you can be going very quickly.
And then of course you can go down to very very low pressures where a fat bike tire Just smothers everything and you pretty much don’t even feel 2 or 3 inch high roots.
That turns a fat bike into a real all terrain machine.