Perhaps the mods can split this into a different topic, but I just picked up a gravel bike that came with Vittoria Terreno Dry tires in a 700x38, but I’m wondering what most of y’all with more experience gravel riding prefer? These seem like they’ll be fine for bike paths and commuting but I don’t know if they’re going to be good for more aggressive roads. I’m thinking of getting Maxxis Ramblers in 40c. Any thoughts?
Tubeless, obviously but what about inserts? Pressures? So much to learn!
I’m running 40mm WTB Raddlers on my bike right now. They are a nice mix of chunky side lugs and a fast rolling center. They will be my last set of tan walled tires though, because I find sealant (and air pressure) weeps out of the sidewalls. I’ve got some 42mm Maxxis Ravagers and they’ll be going on next. I’m running Cushcore inserts front and rear. For pressure I’m between 30 and 26 psi on the rear, and 26-24 on the front depending on the conditions.
I’ve heard that about tan sidewalls. The Ravagers look interesting, but probably not as good a choice as the Ramblers for occasional commuting with only one wheel set. Guess I’ll need to pick up a second set of wheels for the ‘real’ tires.
Ramblers are a great all around gravel tire. I ran them from 2016 up until last year. I’ll be going back to them, but in a wider size next year.
I’m running 650b-50mm Schwalbe G-One Ultrabite, 50-60 psi, tubeless, no inserts. Use them for commuting and gravel. No issues, no flats this year.
I’m running with 700 x 40 Maxxis Ravengers. Great tire that doesn’t let me down in the rough stuff. Definitely not a commuter/BLT tire. If I lived in HRM I’d probably look at vittoria (wish they’d make a tire comparable to the ravengers then my mtb and gravel bike would match) or Rene Herse (because style) I don’t see me ever going beyond 700 x 40. Would like to throw an insert in the back tire at some point. Running 35ish psi. Should probably run 30 for comfort but I’m usually biking in the asshole of the world.
I swapped out the stock Vittoria Zaffiro Pro size 30’s and now use Continental GP5000’s size 28. I ride road and the BLT and SMT with no issues.
I’m using 700x40, Clemente MSO X’plorer. They are now branded Donnelly. I have a set of 700x38 Donnelly EMP on my other Gravel bike. Neither are tubeless, and no inserts. Two flats in 4 years (my fault).
Terreno Dry is a great tire for mixed use. It uses the same philosophy that many semi-slick gravel tires use- fast rolling centre with capable cornering knobs on the outer edges. Many of these types of tires punch far above their weight in non-muddy conditions. Wet gravel, dry gravel, pavement, rail trail, broken rock, etc are not a problem for semi-slicks.
Where they suffer is on wet/muddy organic soil. They offer poor braking on greasy/wet grassy terrain and minimal cornering grab in slick conditions.
Banged across many kms of very rocky terrain in Atl Can on semi-slicks w no issues. I’d argue that they offer better puncture resistance since the tread face is a bit thicker than a knobby tire which has to sacrifice a bit of casing thickness in order to add the weight onto the knobbies.
I run 29-31 up front and 30-32 out back with a gravel Air Liner in the rear. Tubeless of course.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BzljbSHH8zm/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Might have to rethink them. Thanks for the user based info.
Excuse me, do you have any Grey Poupon?
My Search came with Vittoria Drys they are very well reviewed, known to be very versatile and have great dampening.
Have a read through this group test and with some experience on the Terreno Drys you may be able to extrapolate what tire you may want to switch to if you do feel you need to switch Gravel tire group test – On the search for the best all-rounder | GRAN FONDO Cycling Magazine
I did switch out my Terreno Drys as Norco cheaped out and put non-tubeless tires on. I went with the Tufo Thundero because I wanted less rolling resistance over increased grip. They aren’t great in greasy mud but never found myself wanting in any gravel or single track condition I’ve encountered, although I haven’t experienced them on wet roots yet. If my Terreno Drys would have been tubeless I would have stuck with them.
I don’t use liners and have ridden my gravel bike in Mcintosh run, I’m pretty light though.
Yeah, I need to pull mine off the bike as it’s not at all clear which version they are. I see TNT tubeless in some of the reviews of my bike, but the weight makes me think they’re just the folding versions.
TNT sidewall is grey, the foldable (non tubeless) version is black as far as I know.
That’s what I have. There’s no information other than size on the sidewall, but these wheels are heavy, which makes sense as each tire is 750+gms!
What size are they? 750g seems like a lot, the 700x38 TNT is supposed to weigh 490g, the 650x47c is 550g.
750g is heavier than my XC tires.
Are they wire bead??
750 gms is the weight of a Vittoria Mezcal 2.35 mtb tire, doesnt sound right that a T-Dry 40 weighs anywhere near that in folding TNT. Dex’s # are accurate for that product.
Okay yeah the non-tubeless ones without the grey sidewall are what came on my bike. They rode fine but I was nervous about pinch flatting them as they required tubes. If you like them traction wise just swapping them out for the TNT version or another tubeless tire will save you a lot of weight once you figure out if you need more grip. That was really my only reason to swap was I wanted to go tubeless.
In terms of the gravel race scene the Pathfinder seems to be one of the most popular non-sponsored tires but I didn’t like the idea of going full slick centre, although I’ve heard it does well to reduce punctures by deflecting things that might get stuck into a knob or between knobs.
