Pirelli has been updating its fast-paced tyres of late, and the Cinturato Gravel range has been getting the same treatment; the M HPs come from the same High Performance factory in Italy as the road models the Lidl Trek team race on.

Construction

The Cinturato Gravel M HP sits within the Cinturato Gravel range. This consists of the H for hardpack, S for soft conditions such as heavy mud, and the M which sits in the middle. The RH and RM are the race models with a lighter construction and faster rolling resistance.

The Cinturato Gravel M features a semi-slick central tread with small grooves between for optimised rolling resistance on hardpack gravel and tarmac. On the sides the tread features taller protrusions with larger spacings between them for holding traction on loose gravel and in muddy conditions.

There are currently two options for this tyre, Speedgrip, and SmartEvo GR. These are the new SmartEvo GR while the Speedgrip is the previous generation. SmartEvo GR takes cues from the brands SmartEvo road racing tyre compound. Designed to be lighter rolling, while higher grip both on and off road, in rain or shine. This tread sits atop the new ProWALL Gravel casing, 120 TPI up from 60 TPI in the previous TechWALL casing. This should result in a more supple ride and greater deformation of the casing for faster rolling. It features additional side wall support to protect against impacts there, along with a puncture protection belt under the tread section of the casing.

For the tyres on test, I went for a 50/45mm combo front and rear. Measured width for the 50mm on the No6 G45R wheels with 28mm internal width was 53.92mm at, while the 45mm rear on 26mm internal width was 42.7mm at 22psi.

Sizes range from 35-50mm in 5mm increments in 700C, with 45 and 50mm for 650B wheels. Classic gum, Retro tan wall, or Standard black colourways are available.

The Ride

Normally, I find tubeless tyres easy to fit with just some elbow grease, or maybe my trusty rubber grip gloves, and only for the second bead. These tyres required levers to get the first and second bead on, and a great deal of elbow grease and gritting of teeth. Given I was fitting these on relatively narrow gravel rims at 26 and 28mm internal width, that does put these firmly in the category of ‘harder to fit’ tyres. However, this does mean that they seat easily with a track pump and do not leak pressure in the slightest. It’s also worth remembering that these are directionally fitted tyres, with rotation direction printed on the sidewall. You won’t want to be removing these and re-fitting again in a hurry. But two tyre levers will make life a lot easier.

I originally fitted two 50mm tyres to the Seka ExAero GR frameset. The claimed 57 and 52mm clearance front and rear should have easily accommodating the tyres. However, once seated the 50mm Cinturato M measured in at over 53mm, so clearance at the rear was incredibly tight and not suitable for muddy conditions. Pirelli sent me a 45mm tyre, which came in at just over 47mm. I have seen this on the road going Cinturato tyres as well where the measured width is a good deal wider than advertised; it's a factor worth considering when looking at frame clearances.

It might also explain the weight, as these are rather weighty tyres. They are not part of the RH or RM race-line that Pirelli have for the fastest and lightest tyres. But looking at the new Continental Dubnital 50mm tyres, those are around 580g for 50mm, while the 45mm Pirelli Cinturato M comes in at 625g actual. The 50mm of course adds to that weight.

Riding on these tyres though, I quickly grew to love them. On the tarmac, riding over to the Forest of Dean trails, the tyres don’t ‘feel’ as fast, in part due to the 22 PSI pressure, recommended by Pirelli, dampening the vibrations and feel considerably. But my average speed on the road was only 1.5-2kph slower than with 30mm road tyres and wheels. Once I hoped on the trails, they really came alive.

The central tread is very close, so it acts almost like a slicker road or hardpack gravel tyre. Along fire roads, compact gravel, and tarmac, the tyres roll impressively well. But when you venture on to loose surfaces that’s where the magic happens.

I ended up using these tyres for the Gralloch UCI gravel race. In Scotland, I was expecting rain and mud, so wanted a tread pattern that would add some grip. But also, the course is renowned for being a puncture trap with large sharp stones. For the most part, the course is hardpack gravel, but on the muddy section, and across loose and chunky gravel, I felt very happy in my choice of using these M tyres.

Bombing down the descents at over 40mph or being forced onto the rough line while fighting for position, the Cinturato M filled me with confidence. I had no issues with locking up under heavy breaking into tight corners either. There were a few occasions where leaning the tyre over the tread caught me before a slide occurred. The tread blocks are the same size on both the 45 and 50mm tyre, but the spacing is wider on the 50mm. Given the front wheel is the one you want to wash out the least, this was very welcome and gave me tangibly better traction. The only downside was the finale downhill tarmac descent, where the large gaps between tread blocks was a little sketchy on tarmac hairpins leaning the bike over. But that is not what these tyres are designed for.

Puncture protection is of course another key area, especially when racing. I was fortunate to avoid punctures, despite taking less-than-ideal lines on various occasions and hitting some massive holes out on the course. Wide tyres with low pressure but high air volume do help with this a lot, as well as being extremely comfortable. Inspecting the bike after the race though I could see, mainly on the rear, a good deal of cuts and nicks in the tyre. However, none had penetrated the puncture belt, so no sealant had been needed to repair the damage . Given how notorious the Gralloch course is, this is compelling evidence for the Cinturato Gravel M capacity to avoid punctures. Perhaps the H (Hardpack) version would be ‘faster’, but to finish first, first you must finish.

Were I at the fitness level where I could be making attacks on climbs though, I have to say the weight of the tyre is a potential limiter for those looking for the absolute peak of gravel race tyres. They roll exceptionally well, but steeper inclines and accelerations on those do highlight that added weight. But then the durability is often compromised when reducing the weight of tyres.

Value

As much as I really like these tyres, they are on the more expensive side, given that they are not the most race focussed gravel tyres available. At £74.99 / $94.99 they are more expensive, in GBP, than the Continental Dubnital (£66.99 / $86.95 ) and similar to the very race focussed Schwalbe G-One RX Pro (£75 / $91), and Panaracer GravelKing ZX R-line (£64.99 / $84.99). Only the Vittoria Terrano PRO tyres, at £85 / $112, are more expensive. Weirdly the Vittoria is heavier in 45mm even with the race focus and similar tread pattern though.

But value is a very subjective matter, especially for gravel tyres. On the road, a more fragile road tyre generally lives its lifespan save for an abnormal puncture, otherwise it seals and carries on rolling. On gravel, puncture protection is far more than a small nick or cut, as sharp stones and branches can create large cuts that can take a few minutes to sort out with sealant, plugs, or inner tubes. In this scenario, for me, a tyre that will avoid those issues becomes of great value. Additionally, the grip and comfort afforded by the Cinturato Gravel M was extremely valuable to me in the race. Compared to other gravel tyres I’ve tested, they also deal with loose surfaces far better giving reliable traction and feedback.

Having tackled the most abrasive gravel race the UK has to offer, along with plenty of varied off-road and on-road testing, the Pirelli Cinturato Gravel M certainly deal with anything you can throw at them. Of course, you can get unlucky and suffer a blowout puncture on any tyre if you have a high impact sharp stone impact at the wrong angle.

For me personally, the balance of smooth rolling on and especially off-road, combined with the comfort and excellent traction, plus a tyre that is clearly very rugged, makes for a superb option for sharp gravel, longer duration off-road adventures, or wet weather gravel. They are not cheap, and not the best value overall, but I massively enjoy them and would be cautious of moving to a more fragile tyre even for racing.

Conclusion

The Pirelli Cinturato Gravel M tyres may not be race day specialists like the RM model, but this updated version offers a superb balance of fast rolling on and off-road, supple and comfortable ride feel, and awe-inspiring confidence on loose or muddy surfaces. They’re fast enough to qualify me for the Gravel World Championships, and although other tyres might have more ‘speed’, but the resilience of these means less time lost fixing punctures. They are not cheap, and for some will not represent the best value, nor are they a hardpack specialist. But as a tyre than can perform well pretty much everywhere in every condition, they are a superb choice.

Schwalbe offers a formidable and comprehensive line-up of gravel tyres, with the three Pro models occupying the top tier. The G-One RS Pro is a semi-slick, the G-One R Pro is a general-purpose, small block tyre, whilst the G-One RX Pro is the most aggressive of the range. I would stop short of calling it a full-on mud tyre (I think Schwalbe’s G-One Ultrabite is even more aggressive), but the RX Pro certainly looks like it could cope with most conditions.

In a telling reflection of modern trends, the RX Pro starts at 40mm, and is available in up to 55mm width, in both black and ‘transparent’ (tan) side walls, so read no further if your frame doesn’t have at least 40mm of tyre clearance. Furthermore, there is no 650b option at all for small wheel fans.

Construction

Under the skin, the RX Pro features Schwalbe’s new Race Pro construction, which includes a 25mm wide V-Guard puncture-resistant layer. This layer is 5mm wider than the previous version, providing greater coverage against pesky thorns and other sharp objects. The 3-ply carcass has 67 tpi. Schwalbe states that the dual compound Addix Race rubber has also been refined, reportedly providing both greater grip and reduced rolling resistance.

The tread consists of a centre line of widely spaced chevrons (or boomerangs, as Schwalbe calls them) and three different-shaped lugs on the shoulders for grip when cornering. Overall though, the tyre has a round profile without the squared-off look that overly tall side knobs can give.

Schwalbe gives the weight as 570g for the 45mm size, but I weighed my tyres at 598g and 594g, so more than 50g heavier than claimed for the pair. Hardly a deal breaker, but a bit disappointing. Width-wise, mounted on Scribe’s 24mm internal width Gravel 40 rims, the RX Pros were 45.5mm wide.

The RX Pro is hookless compatible, should that be your preference, and is, of course, tubeless ready too.

It is also worth mentioning that Schwalbe says that it is the first tyre manufacturer to use Fairtrade rubber, so that its suppliers get paid more for their produce.

The ride

The G-One RX Pros arrived just in time. The lovely Pirelli Cinturato M gravel tyres on my Cannondale Topstone were starting to struggle a little as autumn transitioned swiftly to winter via a couple of weeks of seemingly constant rain, so I was very happy to make the switch to the more heavily treaded G-One RX Pros

Whilst the trails to the west of Sheffield, out into the gritty Peak District, aren’t generally too bad in terms of mud thanks to their sandy nature, the tracks out east and south can get pretty sloppy - so naturally this is where I went for my inaugural ride on the RX Pros.

A 50km loop with a friend really showed up the difference that tyres can make in terms of ride enjoyment. The Panaracer Gravelking SKs on my mate’s Specialized Diverge are great tyres, but built for mud, they are not. Where I pedalled merrily up slopes and through mud baths, my pal was off and walking. Off course, this is no great surprise given the tread on the Gravelkings, but it was a stark illustration of the benefits of having the right rubber for the terrain nonetheless.

Those kinds of conditions don’t allow for much in the way of nuanced assessment of rubber compound or carcass tpi count, but they certainly allowed the RX Pros to show off their tread design. Schwalbe highlights that the widely spaced lug pattern is ‘self-cleaning’, and it is impressive how little they clog up. Even a muddy, grassy field, the traction nemesis of many tyres, failed to stop the RX Pros from gripping.

The post-Christmas freeze and subsequently frozen trails gave a chance to try the RX Pros in firmer conditions. Again, they impressed me a lot, with continued good grip and about as much compliance as it is reasonable to expect on frozen, hoofprint-riddled tracks.

The big surprise, however, was their performance on tarmac. A tyre with this much grip and well-spaced lugs shouldn’t feel this good on asphalt. The first clue was the lack of noise when rolling along road sections between trails; there was little in the way of vibrations or buzz as you’d normally expect from an off-road tyre, and subjectively, they felt quick and not at all draggy. The round profile also reduced the squirmy feel that some tyres with a squarer footprint can give when cornering.

Oh, and by the way, tubeless setup was easy and air retention was near faultless too.

Value and conclusion

Overall, an extremely impressive tyre. To make a grippy tyre is maybe not so hard, but to make a grippy tyre that also rolls well on the inevitable road sections and hardpack, as well as providing ample traction in difficult conditions, is much trickier.

Usually, I’d err on the side of speed and rolling resistance in my gravel tyre choices, choosing to endure the usually short sections of genuine mud in return for more fun and less effort elsewhere. However, with the Schwalbe G-One RX Pro, it seems that this compromise is no longer necessary, and whilst I perhaps wouldn’t run them as a pure, dry summer race tyre, their operating window is much wider than the tread pattern might suggest.

This versatility goes a long way towards offsetting the high RRP of £75 / $91, which is at the higher end of gravel tyre pricing, but then again, it seems that the G-One RX really does deserve its ‘Pro’ moniker for its performance.

French accessory and clothing brand Ekoi has entered the high-end tyre game with a high-performance tyre built for modern racing.

The Ekoi 29 RR is, as the name suggests, a 29mm road racing tyre that is built for speed in the modern era, foregoing the former standard widths and constructions of road tyres. The tyre is notable for its sleek-looking black and white color scheme, its clear messaging against pairing the tyre with hookless rims, and an expensive price tag for the company’s first run at racing rubber.

Yet, with Ekoi providing clothing, helmets and glasses in the WorldTour already, the brand is clearly intending to make something that is WorldTour worthy straight from the onset.

While it is yet to be seen if the Ekoi 29 RR makes its way into the WorldTour peloton, it has made its way onto my wheels for testing in the Arizona winter, where road riding throws many demands at a tyre.

After more than 1,000 kilometres of testing, I'm nowhere close to the end of the tyre's life, but I have learned enough to pen a review of this race-worthy tyre.

Specs:

• Product reviewed: Ekoi RR 29
• Hero materials:  350 TPI cotton, natural latex, aramid bead
• Actual weight: 279g
• Tubeless but not hookless compatible
• Size options: 29mm
• Colour: White side walls only
• MSRP: $134.99 USD / £95.83

Installation and upkeep

Right out of the package, the Ekoi tyres feel unique. Instead of the typical tan sidewall casing, the Ekoi RR is a true black and white scheme. The side wall is incredibly lightweight and pliable, while the tread pattern features a criss-cross of grooved rubber.

Installing the tyre was by far the most challenging aspect of the testing experience. The light, supple sidewalls allowed it to go onto the rim relatively easily, something I’ve struggled with on similarly constructed tyres. However, while I could inflate it with a floor pump, I wasn’t able to seat the bead on my hooked ENVE rims, where I can usually pop road tyres into place without fuss. Instead, these Ekoi tyres required an air compressor and a few extra tricks to get them fully seated.

Once they were on, there was a need for consistent reinflation in between rides, and I needed to add sealant after just a week of riding. Whenever I would get ready to ride, the tyres would be essentially flat. I never had any issues on rides, with the tyre pressure remaining consistent throughout long rides; however, when my bike was at home overnight, the air would leak out. Ultimately, this is a nitpick – if anything, it has made me more diligent at keeping my tyres at optimal pressure – but it is something I have monitored.

Ride quality and durability

Away from the foibles of installation and upkeep, the ride quality of the Ekoi RR 29 was incredible for day-to-day road riding. Since testing was done in the off-season, I have yet to verify race speed, but anecdotally, they impressed. January has been happy hunting for Strava PRs, with the Ekoi RR 29 feeling like a master of the rough, inconsistent tarmac of Arizona.

The secret sauce for the tyres' performance and feel is the sidewall. While the rubber tread seems fast enough and decently durable, what makes these tyres stand out is their ability to absorb road vibration and imperfections at optimal pressure for 29mm tyres.

Increasing evidence suggests that the fastest tyre pressure is around 75 psi, regardless of surface quality and tyre width. While Cycling Weekly cannot verify those findings, 75 psi was a great pressure for these tyres as it hit a fantastic balance of structure in turns and high power output, while offering superb ride feel and comfort. A lot of that comes from the 350 TPI casing, but the general construction feels like it is bang on the right track.

The biggest surprise of the test was durability. Phoenix is a puncture-prone place to ride a road bike. Not only are the city streets filled with debris and clutter, but the quieter suburban roads are also filled with thorns, loose metal and glass. With the lightweight sidewall and high TPI, my big worry was a disaster flat at any moment. Fortunately, the tyres actually performed far above the average for flat prevention.

Over a thousand kilometres of riding, I’ve had zero flats. By contrast, the previous two road tyres I used both punctured within the first five hundred kilometres. That said, I could roll out the door tomorrow and flat immediately, but so far the tyre has survived some very rough terrain, and the tread still has plenty of life left, even if the white sidewalls are far less clean these days.

Value and conclusion

What might cause a few folks to baulk at the Ekoi RR 29 is the $134.99 / £95.83 price tag for a largely unproven tyre. That pricing puts the tyre in the price range of the most premium offerings from Continental and Vittoria, which are undoubtedly more proven tyres than the Ekoi RR. Nevertheless, after riding the tyres, they sure do feel like a premium racing option for those willing to take the risk, and who do not have hookless rims – a key point to note once again.

Even so, the pricing still feels ambitious for a product whose long-term durability I’m still assessing. At present, it slightly undermines the value proposition. That could change over the coming weeks if the Ekoi RR continues to perform well as the kilometres accumulate, but for now it’s a difficult recommendation for budget-conscious cyclists. For those with more room to spend, however, I would absolutely suggest giving them a shot. It’s a very good-looking tyre, something genuinely new and different, and it delivers real performance on the road.

Few tyres caused the stir that Continental’s Race Kings made last year.

Sure, tyre discourse is a niche-within-a-niche of cycling culture, but when Dylan Johnson started championing the mountain bike tyre as a gravel-racing option, people took note and conventional wisdom about gravel racing and gravel tech was thrown out the window.

While it seems trivial, the hype around the tyre, specifically the 2.2 Black Chili compound, got to the point where the Continental Race Kings (a popular choice among the gravel pros) were sold out for months on end. Racers like Johnson stockpiled the tyres; others decided against tyre sponsors to get in on the action. For a time, the Race King was the king of the gravel hill, despite being a mountain bike tyre.

Continental built on that momentum in 2025, rolling out a new line of improved mountain bike tyres. The Race King was revamped, with a full range of options for casings, tread patterns, and new model names. The Race Kings are now called Dubnitals, and like their predecessor, they were sold out in the United States within just a few weeks.

We’d hoped to include the Dubnitals in our year-long test of best mountain bike tyres for drop-bar bikes, but persistent supply issues meant we had to publish the story before we got to even try them.

In the end, we found them on a third-party website a nd finally got some time on the rubber. Are the Continental Dubnitals worth the wait if you want to ride the wide-tyre wave?

Tyre specs

• Product reviewed: Continental Dubnital Race Rapid 2.2
• Actual weight: 690 grams
• Tread: Elevated knob pattern
• Hookless and tubeless compatible
• Size options: 27.5x2.2, 27.5x2.4, 29x2.2, 29x2.4
• Balck or tan side wall options
• MSRP: $87. 99 / £59.95

Ride impression

Right off the bat, the Dubnitals were easy to work with. Due to the nature of my job, I ended up swapping the tyres onto three different rims within two weeks. And each time I was able to seat the tyres with just a floor pump, making the task easy. Nothing is more frustrating than a challenging install requiring an air compressor or a run to the local bike shop.

Once riding, the Dubnitals were equally easy to get along. Some competitors, like the Maxxis Aspen ST or the older Vittoria Terreno XC, have a very small window of PSI where the tyre feels optimal. Pleasantly, the Dubnitals have a larger window that works, allowing for a higher PSI on hard surfaces and a lower PSI on loose terrain. The Dubnitals are incredibly responsive to different setups.

The tyres' prominent knobs compared to other mountain-bike-tyres-turned-gravel-options certainly didn’t make it the fastest going to and from the gravel roads and trails. The noise of the tyre on the road was louder than I was used to, which is not necessarily a test of speed, but it is still part of what makes tyres feel slow. Yet on fast, sharp corners, the sidewalls were sturdy enough to hold and prevent the tyre from diving, which happens with other, lighter sidewalls.

It's not until you hit the dirt that the Dubnitals come into their own; it almost feels like the tyres accelerate. The tyre's power and popularity comes from those elevated knobs, which add traction and ensure incredibly predictable handling, even on very loose desert terrain. Stopping power is quite pronounced as well. Sure, the knobs might hinder the tyre's pure speed, but anecdotally, that speed delta is hard to parse out.

According to those who do put the tyres through rigorous quantitative testing, the data agree. The speed penalty is not nearly as steep as the handling benefit suggests. Here is data from John Karrasch, whose method of testing is widely seen as top of the class in terms of quantitative outdoor field testing:

While it’s natural for racers to fixate on outright speed, gravel racing is rarely a pure speed equation. It’s an efficiency problem. On gravel, efficiency isn’t earned solely through low straight-line rolling resistance (though the Dubnital holds its own with the top contenders there), but also through braking traction, cornering control and the confidence to maintain momentum across broken, unpredictable terrain.

That broader definition of efficiency is where the Dubnital becomes a genuinely compelling race option. Compared with narrower, gravel-specific tyres, and even established mountain bike benchmarks like the Race King, the Dubnital consistently preserved speed through corners, rough sections and technical features. Instead of forcing riders to scrub speed and re-accelerate, it rewarded commitment and stability.

Over the duration of a race, those gains can outweigh marginal watt savings from rolling resistance alone. While several of the leading mountain bike tyres in our comparison test performed well in this regard, the Dubnital clearly stands out for its handling and composure.

Additionally, where I feel the Dubnital could outpace the other top options is around its long-term durability. I am still early in the tyre's lifetime, but I have ridden the same rubber compound on my mountain bike with the Continental Trinotal tyre. That option held its tread on the rocky trails around Phoenix, Arizona, far longer than previous tyres I have tried. It should follow that the Dubnitals may also have a long lifespan.

With that said, I did have a flat on the Dubnitals while riding rugged terrain. I sliced one on some sharp rocks badly enough that a quick plug wouldn't do the trick. I've also heard of riders experiencing punctures with these tyres on the rougher gravel terrain of Kansas and Arkansas. That very well could be a case of the prominent knobs catching smaller, sharp rocks and slicing tyres along the base of the tyre knobs, but that is speculation. It is just something I am monitoring.

Value & Verdict

Ultimately, the Continental Dubnital is a very strong all-around tyre that thrives across a wide range of surfaces and terrain. It may not be the lightest or the fastest in its category, but in real-world gravel racing and riding, those metrics tell only part of the story. What the Dubnital delivers, exceptionally well, is efficiency through control. Its predictable handling and braking traction through rough sections allow riders to maintain momentum rather than constantly shedding and rebuilding speed. That confidence is worth far more over the course of a long race or demanding ride than marginal watt savings on smooth ground.

It's this balance that makes the Dubnital one of the best mountain bike tyre options for drop-bar gravel bikes currently available. Going forward, I could easily see myself using it for racing, rowdy off-road rides, and even a bikepacking adventure or two.

Value only strengthens the case. While availability has been inconsistent, current pricing sits around an $88 / £60. Compared with the most direct competitors like the Vittoria Peyote, Schwalbe Rick and Maxxis Aspen ST, the Dubnital matches, and sometimes even undercuts, the field. Given its performance, handling advantage, versatility and expected durability, the Dubnitals' value arguably places it at the top of the growing category of extra-large gravel tyres.

For me, it doesn’t get much better than the Dubnital. They were well worth the wait, and they set a high bar for what this emerging segment should deliver.

Hutchinson first reached out to me a few years ago, during my tenure as a product manager, to offer samples of the then-new Made in France tyres, but at the time, I really only had eyes for WTB. Honestly, Hutchinson wasn’t really on my radar at all, and they surprised me. For the next two years, my Sonder was shod with both the Tourareg, which happens to be one of our best gravel tyres, and the Tundra.

However, they both have similar issues. While they perform well overall, the HardSkin casing suffers from high rolling resistance and lacks compliance. So I wanted to know, by adding ‘Race’ to the title, have Hutchinson managed to reduce rolling resistance? And ultimately mix it with the big names in the gravel tyre arms race?

Construction

The Caracal Race is part of a triptych of tyres under the Caracal umbrella. The aforementioned, which I tested in 45mm, features an all-new SwiftEasy casing. Hutchinson claims this is a “groundbreaking design that redefines the standards of flexibility and high performance”.

This is achieved by using a high TPI (threads per inch) of 127 and, instead of overlapping many layers to create a puncture-resistant, airtight seal, they instead bond the protection strip directly to that casing. The result is a claimed 10% reduction in rolling resistance and “Supreme Comfort and Deformation Capability”.

The Caracal is also offered in a ‘standard’ suffixless version that utilises their HardSkin casing and is also available in 40 & 45mm. To complete the set, there is also the Caracal Allroad, a narrower 35mm version with the same construction as the race, designed for the new breed of fat-tyre road and endurance road bikes.

Returning to the Caracal Race, the SwiftEasy casing is only half the story. The Caracal also now features the Mach Thread 3.0, which first appeared on the Blackbird Road tyres. The Mach Thread compound aims to offer a better balance between durability and speed, with a claimed 25% increase in efficiency.

On my scales, the Caracal Race comes in at 585g/1.28lbs, which is 15g more than the claimed 570g/1.25lbs but well within most brands' +/-8%; in fact, it is less than 3%, which is very good.

Fitting and inflation

Fitting was a breeze compared to the last tyres I tested; no tyre levers required here. The Caracal Race popped on with strong thumbs and good technique, if I do say so myself, and inflated with just a track pump. Once inflated to 30psi on my 25mm internal rims, they read 46mm wide on the verniers.

I must say, while after 500km/300miles I haven’t had any punctures, they do seem to lose air much faster then expected, but I suspect that is due to my laziness and not the tyre, as I didn't replace the rim tape before fitting.

The Ride

Hutchinson has, without a doubt, made the Caracal Race faster; In fact, my maths suggests considerably more than the claimed 10%. While I don’t have the means to do this test myself, a quick visit to my favourite website, bicyclerollingresistance.com, corroborates this. The Caracal Race at low pressure loses you just 16 watts, versus the Specialized Pathfinder (my current go-to-gravel tyre) at 21 watts and the older Toureag in a 40mm, not the 45mm version I previously ran, is nearly double at 29 watts; that is a near 45% decrease in rolling resistance.

That puts the Caracal Race up there with the Schwalbe G-One RS as one of the fastest gravel tyres - Chapeau, Hutchinson, thats quite the transformation. It would appear that, during my time on the Caracal, they have also been able to do all this without reducing grip or durability.

It is hard to ignore the likeness and similarities between the Caracal and my favourite Pathfinder. Both sit at 46mm on a 25mm rim, both have a slick central strip with smaller knobbles that grow to a large outer block, while the Hutchinson sits just under 600g/1.3lbs, the Specialized sits just over. Despite this, and the reasonably smaller rolling resistance deficit, it’s night and day which is the better tyre. The lower weight and lower rolling resistance make all the difference, with the Caracal feeling livelier and a more rewarding tyre to ride. It can feel almost effortless on any surface.

On the flipside of all this praise, any improvement in compliance from the SwiftEasy casing is not hugely noticeable, especially when on rough or chattery terrain. In fact, the Hardskin is more supportive when hitting large rocks or hard compressions; the SwiftEasy gives way much more quickly, and I can compress it much further. This is good for the hands during the reactive phase, but it could result in a damaged side wall, though no sign of that yet. Some might be okay with this, but I'd rather not ding a rim.

Value and conclusions

Hutchinson has really upped their game with Caracal Race; I have found it hard to fault. Even with the lack of improvement in overall comfort, I'm happy to accept the extra durability, for the other performance gains Hutchinson has found.

And now to the cost, which I have purposely left until now. If what I have said hasn’t already convinced you, then the price will. I mentioned the Schwalbe G-One RS earlier, which is the benchmark for fast gravel tyres and also price, coming in at a hefty £75/$90, really only Rene Hérse and Challenge regularly come in higher. So, at just £55/€59,99 (Hutchinson isn’t widely available in the US, yet, sorry pals) that all but seals the deal for me.

After three years of research and development, René Herse, known for its high-performance bicycle tyres and components, launched its first semi-slick tyre model back in January.

Semi-slick designs are commonplace in gravel cycling, and René Herse readily acknowledges its late arrival to the category, stating: “we have a lot of respect for pioneers who came before us. We also have a healthy degree of scepticism when faced with groupthink and innovations that don’t make sense. That’s why, until now, there hasn’t been a semi-slick gravel tyre in the René Herse program. Simply put, the established way to make semi-slicks resulted in tyres that were neither particularly fast, nor did they grip particularly well.”

With its all-new Corkscrew Climb model, René Herse promised to deliver “not just another semi-slick” but rather a tyre that’s meant to be the best of both worlds: fast like slicks, grippy like knobbies.

Brand owner Jan Heine tells Cycling Weekly that the Corkscrew Climb was developed in response to the demands and insights of its sponsored gravel racers.

“We’re lucky to get direct feedback from our racers…They love the speed and durability of our casings—that’s why they chose our tyres. They like riding slicks on most courses, figuring that the least tread also has the least resistance. But if it’s muddy, they need knobs. For that, they’ve been using our dual-purpose knobbies.”

While the knobbed René Herse tyres are praised for their speed, Heine revealed that in internal testing, they discovered that under high power outputs, the knobs can flex and squirm slightly, leading to power loss. While this isn't much of a concern for most riders, it does become an issue for athletes like Ted King or Brennan Wertz, who are taller, heavier and frequently produce outputs of more than 500 watts during races.

And so, the design team went to work. Three years later, the result is a 700 x 44mm semi-slick tyre with a slick centre for efficiency, three rows of large knobs for traction.

Rene Herse tyres have generally reviewed well, so we were keen to put this new addition to the test.

Meet the Corkscrew Climb

Rene Herse’s first-ever semi-slick tyre is named after the biggest climb of the old SBT GRVL race course: the Corkscrew Climb. The 2025 edition of the race was moved to a new 37‑mile closed loop circuit in Hayden, CO, and did not feature the climb. Rene Herse’s sponsored athlete and national gravel champion Brennan Wertz did win the 2025 race, but he did so on the Barlow Pass slicks, instead of these semi-slicks – opting for a narrower tyre and pure speed.

The Corkscrew climb is a 44mm tyre with the same large square knobs as seen on the Oracle Ridge, and pairs them with a slick centre. It’s certainly beefier than most semi-slick gravel tyres on the market but among the rise of mountain bike tyres used in gravel races, these seem almost tame.

When looking at the Corkscrew Climb tyre, there are a few main patent-pending design features that stand out:

• there’s a slick centre with a minimal chevron tread that, Heine says, is meant to improve braking performance;
• a gradual transition from slick to knobs thanks to a row of half nobs anchored to the slick centre;
• two rows of large, rectangle knobs that are staggered for noise-cancelling benefits. Heine says the large knobs flex less and are faster than smaller knobs;
• the centre and knobs are all the same height.
• a rounded profile.

Specs:

As with most René Herse models, the tyre will be available in four casing options and two different sidewall colours.

• Size: 700 x 44
• Casings, weights, prices:
  • Standard: 517g, $82
  • Extralight: 481g, $96
  • Endurance: 552g, $96
  • Endurance Plus: 564g, $104

The Ride

Like so many high-end, niche brands, René Herse is a brand that elicits strong opinions. Its loyal fanbase swears by the performance of its products, while critics are quick to voice their concerns.

I’ve had the opportunity to test ride a variety of René Herse tyres models over the years, and I’m generally a fan. The supple casings provide a remarkable ride feel but also reliable traction and superior comfort over rough terrain. I’ve found that both the traction and speediness often belie the tyre width or tread pattern. By that, I mean that the slicks have more grip than one would expect and the knobs and width don’t feel sluggish when you hit the pavement.

That said, they’re not without their challenges. Personally, I tend to avoid the Extralight casing as it can be more prone to punctures and sidewall weepage. And as a reviewer, I am constantly swapping tyres, and some René Herse models can be tricky to remount and seat once they’ve been used. They’re also quite spendy.

Still, the advantages often outweigh the disadvantages. And when I saw the brand venture into the semi-slick category earlier this year, I was eager to test the new tyres myself.

I’ve been riding these tyres on and off since the beginning of the year, giving me the chance to try them in everything from snow and thick mud to dry, dusty summer conditions.

Visually, the Corkscrew Climb immediately sets itself apart in the semi-slick category, which is typically defined by closely spaced, low-profile tread patterns. In contrast, this tyre combines a 17mm-wide slick centre with generously spaced, square knobs lifted directly from René Herse’s Hurricane Ridge and Oracle Ridge models. The result is a semi-slick that looks far more rugged and trail-ready than most of its peers. But as mountain bike tyres are becoming increasingly common in gravel racing, this bold tread suddenly fits right in.

For my test set, I opted for the Endurance casing. The tyres came in slightly underweight and measured true to size. They came in at 44.65mm on my Shimano WH-RX880 wheels, which have a 25mm internal rim width.

The tubeless setup was a breeze, and the tyres have held air very well, meaning you don’t have to pump them up every time you’re headed out the door.

Over the past seven months, these tyres have seen everything from cracked pavement and hardpack gravel to downright sloppy trails and even some rocky terrain. The grip is certainly there, even in the muck, and I’ve yet to get a puncture – thank you, Endurance casing.

The Corkscrew also feels faster than its all-knob siblings, but that is an entirely subjective impression, since we haven’t conducted any lab testing. But BicycleRollingResistance.com has, and their results ranks the Corkscrews just below the Hurricane Ridge in rolling resistance, but the margin is surprisingly slim.

Of course, lab results on steel drums don’t perfectly translate to real-world performance, and on the road and groads, the Corkscrew Climb is no slouch.

I should also note that I will never produce the kind of power output of riders like Ted King or Brennan Wertz. Therefore, I can’t claim to have actually, tangibly, experienced the power-diminishing flex of knobs that these semi-slicks aim to address.

What matters more to me is ride feel, traction and grip. Even if the Corkscrew Climb isn’t significantly faster than its fully knobbed siblings, the slick centre provides a broader contact patch on paved and hard-packed surfaces. That translates into more grip through the centre, while the large outer knobs are called into action during cornering, keeping you planted when things get loose.

With that said, in dry summer conditions on fast, non-technical courses, like we saw at this year’s SBT GRVL, I’d admittedly be more inclined to choose a faster, less-knobby tyre like the Schwalbe G-One RS, the Cadex AR or perhaps even one of René Herse’s slick options such as the 44mm Snoqualmie Pass.

But for bikepacking or routes with mixed terrain and trail sections, the Corkscrew Climb is a very solid option. And here in the Pacific Northwest, with its long rainy season, it also makes for an excellent wet-weather all-rounder.

The Corkscrew Climb does leave me with a question: does this semi-slick design offer a tangible advantage over the brand’s “dual-purpose knobs,” which are also marketed as equally capable on pavement and dirt? For example, when would one choose the fully knobbed 44mm Manastash Ridge TC over the semi-slick Corkscrew Climb?

From a ride feel perspective, there’s little to separate them. On mixed-surface rides, I’ve never felt significantly slowed by the Manastash’s full-knob tread pattern. And on wet, hardpack terrain, the Corkscrew Climb may even offer better grip due to its centre contact patch. So does the Corkscrew Climb replace the Manastash?

Both are versatile and capable, and your decision may just come down to how much pavement you expect to ride or, if you're someone like King or Wertz, how much power you’re putting through the pedals.

When it comes to traction and ride feel, particularly in wet and technical conditions, the Corkscrew Climb is a durable, dependable, and a strong all-rounder. But if outright speed is your top priority for front-of-the-pack racing, there are faster semi-slicks available.

Verdict

The René Herse Corkscrew Climb is an unusual but thoughtfully executed semi-slick that strikes a good balance between speed, grip and versatility. With confident traction in wet and technical terrain, a smooth tubeless setup, and the brand’s signature supple ride feel, it’s a compelling option for riders tackling varied conditions, particularly those who value control and comfort over marginal gains in speed.

As part of Continental's recently refreshed gravel tyre range, the Terra adventure is the most robust and grippy option of the five models available. The trend of squeezing mountain bike tyres into gravel bikes has been widely reported, so it's no surprise to see a major brand launching MTB Lite rubber in a quest to produce the best gravel bike tyres. I was lucky enough to ride them on the fabulous technical trails in the Tuscan hills, but how did they fare on a wider range of terrain on my local trails in and around the Peak District?

The construction

The Terra Adventure uses what Continental refers to as their trail casing, which, as the name suggests, is borrowed from their XC mountain bike range. It features a single-ply construction with extra reinforcement in the sidewalls and under the tread for maximum puncture protection.

The tread is more aggressive than the rest of the range and features a 3-3-4 pattern of knobs in the centre of the tyre, with angled and slanted side knobs for maximum corner and off-camber grip. The knobs are also chamfered in one direction to reduce rolling resistance when rolling forward, while still maintaining a squared edge to dig into soft ground when climbing and braking. This is all fairly standard stuff to the flat bar riders amongst us, but reasonably unusual for gravel, where width and rolling resistance seem to be more important.

It uses Continental's latest grip compound, again borrowed from its mountain bike range. Noticing a theme yet? This doesn't roll as fast as compounds used in its road and commuter ranges, but, as you'd probably guess, it is a softer durometer and offers better grip, albeit potentially with less longevity. I had the standard black version on test, but a transparent or brown sidewall version is also available for those (like me) who prefer a tan wall.

I had the 45mm version on test, which tellingly is the narrowest version available. I'd like to test the 50 or 55mm versions, but unfortunately, my Cervelo Aspero and Ribble Ti test bikes won't accommodate anything wider on the rear.

The tyres came in at a respectable 527g, which, given the amount of tread and grip on offer, is pretty good. For comparison, similarly meaty tyres, such as the Schwalbe G-One Bite and Ultrabite, weigh 540g and 745g, respectively, and the Vittoria Terrano Mix weighs 550g in the same 45mm width.

The ride

Fitting was reassuringly easy on the Mavic Allroad SL wheels I used for the majority of my test period; their 25mm internal width I find ideal for gravel, and it also gives the tyres plenty of sidewall support. Continental uses the ETRTO standards for measuring its 45mm width, which is based on a 23mm internal rim. When mounted to the Mavics, they actually measured up a bit narrow at 43.83mm. Not the end of the world, but worth keeping in mind if you are sizing up and worried about clearance.

Continental doesn't have a guide for tyre pressures like Vittoria or Silca. Instead, it stamps a recommendation on the sidewall of 29 to 65 psi, which to me is far too wide a range and on the high side, too. I started with my usual base setting of 35 psi and settled on 31 psi for the front and 33 psi for the rear for most of my test period, which I found to be a good compromise of comfort, grip and rolling speed. They handle pressures down to 22-3 psi well at my 80kg weight without any burping or rolling, but I did find it had a detrimental effect on rolling resistance.

Despite its aggressive look, it rolls surprisingly well. It's not as quick as something like a Schwalbe G-One RS or Vittoria Terrano T50, but I was pleasantly surprised. There's an audible buzz when on tarmac where they can feel a bit squirmy in corners, but off-road, that's quickly forgotten, and it's when you hit the trails that they really shine.

They don't offer true mountain bike levels of grip, but they are very good for a gravel tyre, with plenty of support and feedback on softer terrain; this lets you push the bike in the corners and helps cover up the occasional poor line choice too. Handily, they are also very good under braking; should you get carried away on a descent, again with lots of feedback before locking up, and even when locked up or mid-drift, they break away smoothly, which makes controlling any slides much less of a lottery.

The robust build has held up well on the famously unforgiving rocky trails in the Peak District too. I've had no punctures or tyre burps in three months, and there's no noticeable wear to the sidewalls, which is very impressive. They are usually the first thing to go for me as many gravel tyres simply aren't built to deal with rocks and roots rubbing the sidewalls.

It's not only the sidewalls that have lasted well; the tread has too, despite using a grippy and slightly softer compound, with all edges still sharp after numerous technical (for gravel) and long-distance rides.

They excel in loose or soft conditions and are adequate rather than exceptional on smoother surfaces, which is to be expected given the aggressive tread and high levels of grip they offer.

Now that the trails have dried up, I would prefer a faster-rolling version with a smoother tread, but still using the same impressively robust carcass construction. Continental says it's working on such a model, so watch this space.

Value and conclusion

At £54.95 / €61.95, they are in line with other high-end tyres, such as the Vittoria Terrano Mix or Mezcal, which both retail at £54.95 / €58.95, and they are considerably cheaper than the Schwalbe G-One RX Pro at £75 / €74.90. Though competitively priced, they are still not cheap, but they have lasted impressively well and show no signs of wearing out anytime soon.

I was initially unsure how these would perform, as I prefer a less grippy tyre for gravel than I would on an XC bike. I have found that running XC tyres on a drop-bar bike encourages you to ride overly technical terrain and quickly exposes how unsuitable a gravel bike can be in such situations. Thankfully, these are closer to gravel in my eyes, with a nod to their flat-bar cousins, offering more than enough grip paired with impressive robustness and rolling speed.

For those looking for fast race rubber, you'll be better served elsewhere, but if your idea of gravel takes in all kinds of terrains and surfaces and the slower speed isn't a problem, then these could be right up your street. They would make a great tyre for bikepacking, which shouldn't come as a surprise given the name, as they roll well enough, but the extra protection gives peace of mind and is one less thing to deal with on long rides.

In recent years, I have become somewhat immune to brands touting their best gravel bike tyres as the best ‘all-round’, ‘do-it-all’ and ‘go-anywhere’ options. Don’t get me wrong, there are a select few that do work well, but they are nearly always left or right of centre. Dig into the data, even just a little. You will quickly discover that the weight and rolling resistance figures of these ‘do-it-all’ tyres are not significantly outperforming much wider cross-country MTB tyres, and it makes you wonder if we could be learning something from them?

Do we need a slightly different approach to gravel tyres? I certainly thought so, which is why I was very excited to put the Pirelli P-Zero Race TLR 40mm to the test.

Officially launched back in late 2024, the Pirellis are only now widely available. Light, supple, sticky rubber with a single focus, being fast on hard-packed and surfaced roads and tracks. Could this be the tyre to change the game?

Construction

Pirelli makes no claims about this being a gravel tyre at all; it is even listed on the same page of the Pirelli website as the more road-going sizes. They utilise the same SpeedCORE tubeless-ready casing construction, derived from their motorsport expertise and finished in Pirelli’s SmartEVO compound rubber. A compound which has become well-known for its fast-rolling nature and durability, as Andy Turner found out when he reviewed the P-Zero Race 28mm versions back in 2023.

At 464g/16.3oz on my scales, the P-Zero’s saved me some serious grams compared to the 47mm Specialized Pathfinder Pro’s coming off the bike, which weigh in at 600 grams. Total savings are exactly 270g/9.7oz. While this is not light by road bike or even by ‘fast-gravel’ tyre standards, with the likes of the Schwalbe G-One RS Pro just over 20g/0.7oz lighter, their rolling resistance figures and puncture protection are what draw you in. According to bicyclerollingresistance.com, I should save ten watts over the Specialized tyres but have nearly double the puncture protection of the Schwalbe G-One. A win-win, it would seem.

Once I had them mounted, more on that in a minute, they inflated to 39mm at 40 psi, on a 25mm internal, hookless rim from Token. Which is a just over 1% difference from the advertised size; I'll forgive Pirelli for that.

Fitting and inflation

Tyres fit differently depending on the internal rim width, whether they are hooked or hookless, and the depth of the rim bed. Given that both 25mm internal rims and hookless are the norm for gravel and increasingly wide road setups, the P-Zeros are one of the hardest tyres I have ever had to fit. I had at least half a dozen attempts and a good couple of hours of wrestling.

Two of the chunkiest tyre levers I own finally got them over the line (credit to Muc-Off Rim Stixs; hands down the best tyre lever out there), and sheer brute force.

This incredible tight fit meant that there were little to no arguments when it came to inflation, as they popped up almost instantly with a track pump and sealed straight away - a silver lining, despite my red, raw hands.

The Ride

With my starting point set at 40psi, I was immediately impressed with the P-Zeros. They felt fast, and this was supported by a string of PBs, mostly on paved sections, which buoyed my mood after the fitting fiasco. Once I got off the cycle paths and onto country lanes, it was immediately apparent that 40psi was the upper limit of the tyre. The extra protection in the casing means it is not the most compliant, and the only way to combat this is to lower the pressures. This didn't bother me, as I knew it would benefit me when I ventured off-road, and it had no detrimental effects on efficiency.

After testing through a reasonably mild and dry UK winter, I found that I settled at 34 psi, with no need to adjust front to back and with zero punctures or air loss issues to report.

Headed into the spring, I ventured out to find some more challenging terrain for the P-Zeros to tackle. Why did I wait? Well, while I'd love for them to work all year round, I think a slick tyre on wet South Downs chalk is probably asking a little too much. However, again, the P-Zero surprised me, particularly on the hard-packed gravel of the ‘old coach road’ where semi-slicks can feel no faster than a knobbled tyre. They consistently felt fast regardless of the surface, which is precisely what I'd hoped for.

Gravel bikes with their longer top tubes, slacker head angle and larger offset forks just aren’t going to handle like the best road bikes, no matter how good the tyre is that you fit. Indeed, my Sonder Camino Al, equipped with Pirelli’s, was not inspiring confidence when leaning into a corner. While they never slipped or lost traction, even in wet conditions, a combination of the low pressures required, gravel bike geometry and the shape of the tyre meant I was rarely quicker than I was with a semi-slick tyre, which essentially has the same issues on the road.

While I wouldn't expect them to perform well in the corners off-road, given the lack of tread, they quickly highlighted the limits of gravel bike geometry when it comes to the blacktop. While that's not all the P-Zero’s fault, it kind of puts a damper on what I think a lot of people would hope this tyre could achieve.

Conclusions

Of course, Pirelli never intended for this tyre to be a gravel tyre, so one could argue that the Pirelli performed exceptionally well. Providing decent performance on hard-packed gravel and more straightforward bike paths and roads. However, I believe it's road prowess, or slight lack thereof, which is likely the characteristic people will be hoping for when they buy this P-Zero, wasn’t remarkable enough to justify switching away from a semi-slick.

Overall, what the Pirelli has taught me is that there is still work to be done when it comes to slicker gravel tyres and the pursuit of the best ‘do-it-all’ tyre. However, there are a select few semi-slick gravel tyres that are very good, performing above and beyond what I’ve experienced in this test. Tyres like my Specialized Pathfinder Pros, which will be going back on my bike now that I am done testing.

If you are lucky enough to live and ride somewhere that enjoys hard-packed, dry trails and finely gravelled tracks, then the latest gravel tyre from WTB is for you.

The S version of the Vulpine is WTB’s fastest gravel tyre, substituting the lightly chevroned centre line of the original for a fully slick ridge. It’s aimed at gravel racers who value speed and low rolling resistance above all else, and definitely isn’t a general, all-round kind of option.

It’s available in 700c x 40mm and 45mm widths and comes with either black or tan sidewalls. Anyone choosing this type of tyre is unlikely to be using 650b wheels, I guess.

Construction

With a full name that includes more letters than a postman’s sack, the WTB Vulpine S 45 x 700 TCS Light/Fast Rolling 120tpi Dual DNA SG tyre proudly wears its tech on its sleeve. Its defining feature is the fully slick centre line, differentiating it from the standard Vulpine, which has a central ridge with tread. The shoulders of both tyres are identical, with a rounded profile that has larger lugs on the edge with smaller knobs next to the centre line.

The idea with the Vulpine S is to provide the least rolling resistance possible when going in a straight line while still providing grip when cornering. As WTB says, it is a ‘race-focused’ tyre.

As for the initialisms: TCS stands for ‘tubeless compatible system’, ‘Light/Fast Rolling’ denotes the tyre’s level within the range (although all their gravel tyres are this level), 120tpi is the thread count, with higher numbers indicating a more supple ride, ‘Dual DNA’ is the rubber compound that combines durable and grippy areas and finally, ‘SG’ indicates that it has puncture protection in the sidewalls.

WTB claims that a 700 x 45c Vulpine S with tan sidewalls weighs 560g, and the two I tested sat on the scales at 560g and 567g, so pretty darn close to spec.

The ride

As often seems to be the way with gravel tyres as opposed to tubeless road tyres, installation and inflation on my carbon wheels was very easy, and air retention (using WTB sealant) was also nigh on perfect right from the start. The inflated width was bang on the stated 45mm.

I have to confess, I did wait a few weeks after putting the tyres on for the trails to dry out a bit—there is no doubt that the Vulpine S and mud would not be the cosiest of bedfellows, and nor are they intended to be. However, once the wind and occasional burst of sunshine had done their job and dried out the Peak District, I went out on some regular loops.

Sections of road and smooth trails were despatched quickly and efficiently, without the characteristic buzz that usually accompanies knobbly tyres on that sort of terrain. Rougher tracks were also fine, as long as they were dry or rocky, with the fairly large-volume tyres doing a good job of providing comfortable passage.

On steeper or muddier ground, I was always aware that there was a finite amount of traction available, and so I tried to ride with measured inputs so as not to overwhelm the tread. It was a similar story with braking - it was quite tricky to modulate stopping power as just a fraction too much pull resulted in the tyre losing grip and sliding. I was understandably cautious when using the front brake!

I didn’t suffer any issues cornering, on or off-road, but again, I was suitably respectful of the tyre’s design brief and didn’t try any extreme lean angles. To be fair, the shoulder lugs are a similar size to those found on many other gravel tyres, so once engaged there should be some grip but it is still a little disconcerting barrelling towards a bend only to glance down and see what looks like a rather smoother tyre, thanks to the slick centre line.

None of these comments are meant as criticisms. WTB clearly aims the Vulpine S at gravel racers, who could be expected to have a decent level of skill and who should understand the tyre’s benefits and limitations. I enjoyed my rides on the Vulpine S; it was great not to feel (and hear) energy being sucked away by big lugs, but where I ride in the Dark Peak is quite sandy and drains quickly with nice, grippy gritstone trails. I don’t think I’d have had such a good time in the White Peak, for instance, with slippery limestone and claggy soil.

Value and Conclusion

Tyre choice for off-road riding is nearly always a compromise. A balance between durability, weight, grip and rolling resistance. The WTB Vulpine S clearly sits at the less grip, more speed end of the gravel tyre spectrum and should be judged as such.

These are not year-round, multi-purpose fit-and-forget tyres. If you ride somewhere suitable and/or are prepared to swap tyres or wheels as appropriate to the conditions, then the Vulpine S will shine in the right circumstances, providing a rewarding return on any effort put in.

It costs £65, which is neither cheap nor expensive for a decent, tubeless gravel tyre. Value rather depends on how much use you are likely to get out of a dry weather tyre, but if you are prepared to accept its limitations, then the Vulpine S is reasonable value given its performance and feature set.

Gravel tyre width is a moving target at the moment. At some point, we can expect sizes to stabilise but we have yet to reach that inflection point. Right now, many gravel bikes do not have clearance for tyres larger than 45 mm, but for bikes with the space, there are several newly released tyre options in the 50+ mm range.

The reason for wider tyres is simple: more volume allows for lower pressures, which combined with thin, flexible sidewalls bring increased traction and comfort as well as decreased rolling resistance. Because pressures are low, the sidewalls are less prone to cuts and punctures (if you’re skeptical about this, imagine a full balloon vs. a partially deflated one: the full one will pop if you look at it the wrong way while the deflated one will thwart even a pair of scissors).

The Schwalbe G-One RX Pro tyre slots into Schwalbe’s new gravel Pro series as the most aggressively treaded of the three. It is designed to maximize grip in rough terrain and muddy conditions while still rolling well and clearing debris efficiently. It is available in three sizes: 40, 45 and 50 mm (as tested here).

Design and construction

The G-One RX Pro uses the same carcass construction and compounds as Schwalbe’s MTB tyres. What has changed is the size (they’re smaller) and the tread patterns, which were designed specifically for gravel riding. The RX Pro features dual compound tread (harder in the center, softer on the shoulders) developed in conjunction with Schwalbe-sponsored professional athletes.

The RX Pro has a chevron center tread with interlocking intermediate knobs that abut longer, alternating side lugs. All of the knobs are spaced out to aid with mud clearance, but together they form a cohesive shape that keeps tread on the ground regardless of the angle of the tyre.

The carcass design has been updated from previous gravel models with a wider protective layer under the tread. There are two sidewall colour choices (Black and Transparent) on offer.

Previously, Schwalbe only offered gravel tyres up to 45mm but that’s no longer the case with the introduction of this new line. When I asked my Schwalbe contact about tyre width, they said: “With the growth of the gravel market and the trend growing wider, we’ve started to offer all Pro line tyres in sizes 35mm-50mm widths in 5mm increments. As frame clearances evolve we will most likely see tyres going even wider in volume.”

I’m predicting a wave of 55mm tyres in 2027; mark your calendar.

Specs

• Name: Schwalbe G-One RX Pro
• Price: $88 USD
• Available Sizes: 40, 45, 50 mm (model tested)
• Weight: 619 grams
• Colours: Black, Transparent (Tan)
• Hookless compatible: Yes

The ride

After unboxing, the first step I take when testing tyres is to weigh them. Schwalbe lists the G-One RX weight at 615 grams. My test tyres came in slightly heavier than that, but not by much.

Installation was smooth: The trickiest bit was at the beginning—fighting the first bead onto the rim took some effort, but once that was complete the second bead popped over easily by hand, and my little air compressor had no trouble getting the tyres to seat fully. It’s rare to find tyres that install this easily. On 25 mm internal rims, the RX Pro tyres measure 49.5 mm.

Once I installed sealant and inflated the tyres up to about 40 PSI to sit overnight, I then dropped the pressure using my highly calibrated “squeeze test.” Silca’s tyre pressure calculator corroborated my approach almost exactly, spitting out an answer of 22/23 PSI based on my inputs (weight, tyre size, and expected terrain). I have found Silca’s calculator to run a bit high in the past, but this seemed pretty spot on. On a rootless route, I could probably go lower.

My first ride on the tyres took me through Seattle’s quieter neighborhoods to a park in the city that contains a mix of loose gravel and some singletrack. The ground was damp but not soaked. On mostly chip-sealed and concrete-paneled roads on the way there, I felt like I was floating. Sometimes, it takes a while to find this pressure sweetspot, but I got there from the first pedal strokes. Off road, I was very impressed with how they performed on both singletrack and gravel paths, providing the confidence I’m accustomed to on a mountain bike.

On subsequent testing days, I had trouble getting these tyres to lose traction even in loose sandy soil. The tread pattern and thin casing really do a good job connecting with the ground. I also felt comfortable leaning the bike over on pavement, without experiencing any squirminess sometimes present with knobby tyres on tarmac.

Whether or not the dual compound helps with rolling resistance remains an open question. I’m not sure that the harder rubber actually makes the tyres any faster on pavement. It should wear better (ergo, last longer) but it probably makes the tyres slower everywhere except on a steel drum test. Schwalbe uses a smooth drum roller for its testing, so it’s not surprising that this is the direction the company went with the design. I have some doubts about this testing method, as I think it is not reflective of real-world riding conditions.

I was curious to know whether or not Schwalbe tested these new gravel tyres against its quite fast-rolling Thunder Burt XC model. Here’s what I heard back when I asked: “We do not have any direct comparisons between the Thunder Burt and G-One RX Pro to share. We utilize specific testing protocols for our categories based on their use case. So, the Thunder Burt and G-One RX are tested at different air pressures and speed, making the numbers we have inaccurate for direct comparison.”

In addition to spending some time on the RX model, I also had the opportunity to test out the new RS tyres, a semi-slick intended for smoother roads. It has a directional tread, depending on which wheel you install it on, to prioritize either grip or rolling speed. I got on similarly well on these tyres and think that one of the most intriguing benefits about this suite of tyres is the ability to mix and match tread patterns between the three. With identical sizes and casings, it’s very easy to swap in a grippy front and slick rear, or any other variation one wishes to try, and have them perform well in concert.

Value and conclusion

Not everyone needs or wants 50mm (2.00 inch) tyres, but if you have a bike with sufficient clearance, I highly recommend trying them out. The more we collectively understand about the science underpinning rolling resistance, the more that wide tyres seem like a no-brainer. The key, however, is in the casing. It’s easy to focus on width, but width only matters if the casing is supple enough to soak up variations in the ground. This takes time and experimentation on different terrain and at different pressures to understand. And there are downsides to wider tyres: more weight and additional aerodynamic drag. Compared to the increase in rolling speed and comfort, however, I'm inclined to focus on the positives.

Schwalbe has done an excellent job with this tyre and, more broadly, this series. Using these three tread patterns in combination, and mixing and matching as needed, should allow riders to optimize traction for any gravel ride or race they might undertake. It’s really all I can ask for from a tyre. And while they are expensive, good tyres are always worth it.

When I started cycling over 15 years ago, everyone raved about Continental GP4000 tyres, so, of course, these were what I fitted on my first road bike. For those British roads during the winter months, I'd go for a set of 4 Seasons. Back to 2024, and the flagship GP5000S is one of my go-tos. They're so heavily discounted this Black Friday at Merlin Cycles that I'll be stocking up myself.

You can check out a review of the Grand Prix 5000 AS TR tyres, which have a fairly similar ride feel, but are tailored for all seasons with improved grip, durability and puncture protection. The GP5000 S TRs are really designed with summer in mind, that said, I've taken them on the odd gravel adventure so they'll cope alright on winter tarmac.

Why do I love these tyres so much? Well, they feel great — they're nice and supple and super grippy, even on wet roads. They're also really fast. The way they feel out on the road is down to Continental's Black Chilli compound, which has been the compound of choice since the release of the GP4000s and is clearly still going strong.

There's better puncture protection in this tyre than the TL predecessor, with stronger sidewalls so they will cope better on poor roads, or even sections of gravel. I took some older GP5000s (set up with inner tubes) to Strade Bianche and they survived just fine. The Vectran breaker used in Continental tyres is also highly tear resistant.

Being tubeless-ready, I can set them up on either my old Dura-Ace C24 rim brake wheels with inner tubes (although it does increase rolling resistance so not ideal), or my tubeless-compatible Hopes. Tubeless tyres can be tricky to fit, but these go on 'fairly' easily (it's all relative I suppose, but I've had far worse!) and were easy to seat. There are a range of widths available too, from 25mm to 32mm, though 30mm is the widest currently available at Merlin with this stonking offer.

As tyre brands go, Panaracer finds itself in a highly enviable position among the gravel set – it manufactures what is widely considered to be the benchmark tyre. A bit like the good old Continental GP series for road bikes, they're not necessarily everyone's favourites, but they're rated by many and few riders haven't tried one.

Tyre comparisons on forums and group rides will usually circle back to 'how does it compare to a GravelKing?'.

This especially applies to the do-it-all GravelKing SK – small knob, if you were wondering – which is the tyre we have here, and has been around for eight years now. The benchmark of benchmarks, if you like.

The GravelKing range has been relaunched for 2024 and now contains more versions than you can shake a stick at. Seventeen, to be exact.

They vary from the treadless, roadgoing version – the GravelKing Slick – through the Semi-Slick and the SK, to the more extreme X1. There are lightweight versions of each (R-Line), as well as extra-tough versions too (Plus), spanning what has become a veritable GravelKing multiverse.

As with its many stablemates, the GravelKing SK comes in a wide variety of sizes, from 30-50mm in 5mm increments, and three 650B sizes are available as well as one each for 29in and 26in.

Construction

As far as gravel tyres go, it is this SK version that stands in the Goldilocks zone, with enough useful tread for off-road riding, but not so much that riding on the road becomes a chore with a loud, buzzy soundtrack.

The profile is a very rounded one, with little in the way of shoulder knobs. It's folding, and tubeless-ready, as denoted by the 'TLR' in the name.

The tread uses what Panaracer calls Zero Slip Grip (ZSG), which it says is engineered specifically for gravel surfaces to maintain traction across a variation of temperatures and to perform well on tarmac too.

Most of the tread comprises a wide, central channel of the uniform small knobs referenced in the tyre's name. On either side of that runs a pair of dot-dash tread lines, followed by another pair, right on the outside curve of the tyre.

There is puncture protection in the form of Panaracer's TuffTex casing, which reaches from bead to bead, while the beads benefit from the company's Beadlock technology, which is designed to best seat the tyre on a wide variety of rim types, hookless included.

The tyre comes in two standard colour options – all black, and the now-ubiquitous black/brown that we have on test. If you fancy standing out from the crowd, Panaracer's popular multi-coloured releases have become a regular (but limited edition) fixture. The latest option is 'matcha' – which pretty much amounts to a muted fluoro green – with the same brown sidewall we have here.

In use

The first step is of course to get the tyres mounted up, which can occasionally prove a bit of an adventure on its own and not necessarily an enjoyable one.
Both GravelKings, though, went on without a hitch. They even went on without a booster pump – a simple floor pump did the job. That may or may not be the Beadlock in action but either way, it didn't seem to hurt.

The tyres look quite big on the rim, with that lack of a 'shoulder' emphasising their bulbous, rounded cross-section, but inflated to a spot-on 45.1mm at 30psi on our 22.4mm internal depth rims.

On the first few occasions, I took the tyres out inflated to 35psi, which I usually find to be the on-road/off-road sweet spot for my generous, 90+kg weight. This seemed to work very nicely on the tarmac, with the tyres offering an urgent and zippy ride that belied their size. But once off-road, on anything rougher than hardpack, they were uncomfortably hard and somewhat skittish.

With a bit of experimentation, I found 30psi to be the ideal compromise, preserving much of their zip on the road but offering a decent amount of confidence and comfort once off it.

Unless you and I are the same weight, you'll probably need to adjust these pressures again – but just be prepared to go down a few psi compared to what you may be used to.

For me, there was no doubt that my keenness on the lower pressures was in part due to the low-profile, fast-rolling tread and, in particular, the lack of shoulder knobblage.

They were quick to squirm during my frequent encounters with patches of mud (it's been one of those oh-so-British summers). This was in contrast to the WTB Riddler, for example, which has a similar tread but a more pronounced and aggressive shoulder that, in turn, you pay for on the road.

Verdict and value

The GravelKing SK's ease of fitting and multi-surface abilities made it a nice tyre to test and one that I hope to put plenty more miles on. There is a limit to those abilities, and that is found in the damp and in the mud when the trail gets more slippery. Unfortunately, those kinds of conditions make up a fair portion of the year in and around Surrey's leafy hills, so I will be fitting something a bit more gnarly as the conditions close in.

This could well be a set of GravelKing X1+, or perhaps the WTB Riddler, whose shoulder knobs have kept me upright in more than a few situations.

In terms of value, I have always found the GravelKings to be very keenly priced. These retail at £54.99 / $64.99 but can often be found significantly cheaper without looking too hard.

The Continental Aero 111 tyre is, in many ways, very similar to the GP5000 line. It uses the same Black Chili Compound for grip and reduced rolling resistance, and the Vectran Breaker for added puncture protection. It’s only available as a front tyre and comes in 26 or 29mm with the 26mm weighing a claimed 250g but coming in at a very similar 252g on my scales.

Where things get different are on the exterior of the tyre. Designed with Swiss Side, Swiss aero experts across motorsport and cycling, the tyres have been designed with “48 precision-formed, vortex-generating cavities that create controlled turbulence, ensuring prolonged airflow attachment to the rim, resulting in reduced aerodynamic drag and improved crosswind stability”. This results in a sizable reduction in drag at higher speeds according to their own testing, saving up to 4 watts at 30kph and 20-degree yaw vs the GP5000S TR 25mm tyre, and nearly 20 watts saving at 45kph and 20 degrees yaw. It’s worth noting though that as speed increases, effective yaw angle decreases, so 20 degree yaw at 45kph is an extreme figure to encounter in most real-world testing.

Fitting and riding

As with any tyre, the first part of the review process is fitting it. I fitted these to some DTSwiss ARC 1100 DICUT DB 38 wheels, a pair that Continental actually developed the tyre to perform with! These wheels have been stubborn with tyres before, but the Aero 111 was a new level of difficulty to fit and required more forearm and grip strength than should be expected of any road cyclist. After much frustration and the donning of special rubber grip gloves, I was able to get the tyre on. Seating it was easily done with a track pump by removing the valve core, and it held pressure well throughout the day with not a huge amount of sealant.

Fitted to the DTSwiss front wheel, the tyre sits nicely flush with the rim, both of which are 26mm claimed and measured. The idea is that the tyre works with the rim profile to extend the effective rim depth while also creating turbulent vortexes to keep airflow better attached. In terms of claims, Continental says the tyre performs fractionally better than the GP5000 S TR on the same wheel at 30kph and 0-10 degrees yaw. When this increases to 10-20 degrees the Aero 111 saves 6 watts, and when the speed increases to 45kph and yaws 15-20 degrees the saving is a huge 18 watts. Taking a critical view of this though, as speed increases the effective yaw angle drops, so 15-20 degrees yaw at 45kph needs one hell of a crosswind. The 30kph figures however are far more realistic. Another claim is that the tyre is more stable in crosswinds with less of a stall, where air pressure changes suddenly and creates a jolt of movement.

Taking all this test data into consideration and applying it to riding on the road, it is hard to get any real quantifiable data as the conditions and circumstances are not controllable. The best I can provide is subjective feedback, but having spent a decade training and riding nearly 200,000km, I have become good at being very in tune with the equipment I use. It was interesting using the tyres on the DT Swiss wheels, as testing with Pirelli tyres revealed that these wheels were not the fastest in crosswinds and were subject to stalls, although they did not pick up the wind much due to being shallower. With the Aero 111 tyre on, the front felt like a deeper section wheel in crosswinds. This translates to feeling a tad faster, but also in gusty conditions it felt like they got caught by the wind more, although they remained stable. Again, subjective data is not a very accurate measure, and some speed gains could be because these tyres also perform well when it comes to rolling resistance. However, testing with the same equipment, bar the tyre, and accounting for a change in rolling resistance, average CdA on MyWindSock is a little lower with the Aero 111 than with the Pirelli. But this is still going to be prone to margin of error, especially with such small differences and so many uncontrollable factors of riding outside.

A tyre, however, also needs to be good at cornering and not be fragile. The Aero 111 performs exceptionally well across both of these areas. The Black Chili compound is as gripper as ever and the wheel sticks to the tarmac even when banking into corners at high speeds. The addition of the Vectran Breaker seems to work well as over the course of nearly 1000km it hasn’t had a single puncture or a nick in the tread, even with riding through persistent hedge trimmings. As a race day tyre set up combined with a GP5000 S TR rear tyre, the Aero 111 performs as well as any high end race tyre when it comes to grip, rolling resistance and puncture protection. The promise of a small but potentially tangible aero gain across a range of conditions just sweetens the deal.

Value

At £89 the Aero 111 is not a cheap tyre. But when you consider that a Pirelli PZero RS Race is £85, a Vittoria Corsa Pro Speed is £90 and a Continental GP5000 S TR is £80, then the Aero 111 is not bad value. Add to that it is a front tyre so will last 2-3 times longer than a rear tyre and it is fairly good.

Ultimately, the performance is on par with these equally priced tyres, but the Aero 111 promises to add something that little bit more, marginal gain or not, you get a bit more performance for your money.

Conclusion

The Continental Aero 111 tyre is something fairly unique in the current market of performance bike tyres. Other tyres offer an aero gain but not to such an extent, especially in crosswinds. It performs exceptionally well when it comes to grip, rolling resistance and puncture protection when compared to other similarly priced performance tyres.

Where the Aero 111 offers something different though is promising to increase the aero performance of your wheel. It’s hard to quantify if it really does, but a few behavioural cues of the wheels in crosswinds suggest that it does improve aerodynamic performance in higher yaw angles.

This comes at a slight expense of a shallower wheel catching the wind like a deeper wheel, but the hope is that the improved aero performance for the weight of a shallower wheel will aid overall performance nicely.

Trek's in-house accessories brand Bontrager has a wide range of hybrid bike tires, made specifically to meet the demands of city riding. Among them, the H2 Hard-Case Lite Hybrid tires were designed for everyday use, for commuters to road cyclists alike, at an affordable price point. They prioritize durability, versatility and puncture resistance.

Bontrager H2 Hard-Case Lite Hybrid: construction

The Bontrager H2 Hard-Case Lite uses a 30 TPI casing. This threads per inch rating suggests that the tire is heavier than average but considerably more durable. A lower thread count suggests stability, while a higher thread count tends to be more supple.

This tire features a semi-slick tread design for grip on a range of surface types and road conditions.

The tire comes exclusively in black, with reflective sidewalls for extra visibility. I've found that the reflectivity works incredibly well, especially for those early morning and late night commutes.

As most hybrid tires, the H2 is a clincher tire. Clincher tires get their name because they “clinch” to the rim of the bike. They are known for their tough wire beads and ease of changing a flat– if ever needed. Fortunately for me, changing the tire was never required. 

The recent H2 Reflective Hard-Case Lite tire comes in five widths, all at 700c. You can choose from 32mm, 35mm, 38mm, 40mm and 45mm. Depending on the width, the tire is between 565-785 grams. We’re reviewing the 700C x 35mm tire here, which has a weight of 635 grams. 

Bontrager H2 Hard-Case Lite Hybrid: the ride

Where I live in western Massachusetts, I am surrounded by rolling hills, bumpy roads and frequent potholes. I love riding gravel trails just as much as I enjoy gliding down smooth pavement, so I have consistently been searching for a more versatile tire. I have been looking for something that will enable me to ride across more varied terrain without sacrificing comfort or support.

This Bontrager H2 transformed my ride in providing me with more stability. While riding over hundreds of kilometers, I was continually impressed by the tire’s durability and security. I successfully rode over pavement, gravel, debris and even pieces of glass without suffering a single flat tire. The tire remains fully intact, so I believe Bontrager has truly lived up to its durability promise. It is well-suited for city biking, swerving and the inevitable potholes.

When I first received these tires, I needed a way to navigate the slick snow that covers the roads during the long New England winter. These tires have been my trusty companions through snow and hail, into springtime rain showers and during the hot, humid summer days. All the while, I have had zero punctures, tears or cuts.

My commutes range from 4 to 12 miles (6 to 20 kilometers), while my recreational rides are typically between 24 to 50 miles (40-80 kilometers). This hard-case lite tire works wonderfully for all distances, and I feel confident in their ability to withhold durability with longer rides and mileage. I was able to use these tires up to five days per week, regardless of the weather and road conditions.

While it's a reliable daily tire, I won't recommend this tire for longer road rides, racing or fast road rides. They're simply to heavy, and can feel slow at times. However, for commuting and multi-surface jaunts, this tire is well worth its $40.00 / £29.99 price tag.

Bontrager H2 Hard-Case Lite Hybrid: value and conclusion

There are a lot of bike tires on the market at a variety of prices. The Bontrager H2 has a middle-of-the-road pricetag of $40.00 / £29.99 but its features and reliability is more akin to a more expensive tire like Continental's Top Contact II Hybrid tire, which retails at $66.95 / £59.95.

The latter features a more grippy tread pattern and would perhaps outperform the Bontrager tire in off-road terrain. The Bontrager H2 was designed to fit the needs of riders who are commuting primarily on roads — and does so very well. Perhaps then, the H2's nearest competitor is actually Bontrager’s own R2 tire, which sports minimal tread and less rolling resistance. However, the R2 tire has been more prone to punctures, whereas the H2 has proven to be much more durable. Additionally, the H2 tire offers a more grippy tread and size options, which makes it a better choice for commuters and everyday riders. 

While reflecting on my numerous rides with the Bontrager H2 Hard-Case Lite commuter, I kept coming back to its durability. This tire is build to last. It was designed to withstand all types of road conditions and weather, and it is wonderful for anyone who wants one set of tires to serve multiple purposes. 

The Bontrager H2 Hard-Case Lite Hybrid tire is durable and reliable. It is well equipped for all types of roads, conditions, and weather. At an affordable $40.00 / £29.99, this tire will improve your commuting and cycling journeys with incredibly high puncture resistance. Not even shards of glass can stop you. 

I should preface this review by sharing that my first experience with René Herse tires (formerly branded as Compass Cycles) wasn't a good one. I was attending a bike launch where most of the bikes received some fresh René Herse rubber the night before the journalists' arrival. And while the tires' grippiness and rolling speed initially impressed, seating issues and the vast number of punctures quickly soured the experience. 

It's hard to tell whether the extra light casing or a rushed setup was the culprit, but internet forum chatter and word-of-mouth reviews would have one believe that my experience wasn't all that rare. Yet the same time, René Herse tires have an almost cult-like following with randonneurs and adventure cyclists everywhere — they're even the tire of choice of gravel cyclist Ted King and the queen of ultra-distance riding, Lael Wilcox. So I was keen to give these tires another go. And I am glad I did. 

The René Herse brand, a brief history

René Herse Cycles is a component brand with a rich history dating back to 1930s France. Frenchman René Louis Théodore Herse was a bike racer and craftsman who introduced a series of lightweight aluminum bicycle components in 1938. He started making complete bikes two years later to great success. His bikes were ridden to many race victories, especially in endurance events like the Paris-Brest-Paris, and are highly sought after by collectors to this day. 

After Herse's death in 1976, his daughter Lily Herse —herself a successful bike racer— continued the René Herse company before entrusting Jan Heine, a Seattle-based cycling journalist and founder of Compass Cycles, with the René Herse trademark and assets.

In 2019, Compass Bicycles officially changed Its company name to René Herse to fully 'safeguard the trademark and legacy'.

René Herse Tires

Jan Heine has long been at the forefront of the wider, high-performance tire trend. He claims he even coined the term "AllRoad bike" back in 2007 after having ridden these wide-tired endurance bikes for a decade as a randonneur. 

"We started making tires because we wanted to ride high-performance tires on the gravel roads of the Cascade Mountains. We came from a decade of racing on hand-made tubulars on the road and in cyclocross, and we wanted the same feel and performance in wide clinchers for our adventures," Heine explains.

"Back then, wide tires existed, but they were heavy touring tires. When you come from 240 g tubulars, it's hard to fall in love with 600+ g tires! It wasn't just the weight; the thick casings and heavy rubber coatings made these tires sluggish and slow. So we decided to make our own tires."

Nowadays, René Herse offers a variety of tire models for 26", 650b, and 700c wheel diameters with widths ranging from 26mm to a beefy 55 mm. To keep things simple, René Herse offers just two tread patterns —slicks or knobby—, which Heine claims, cover "99% of the conditions you'll encounter on your rides."

Most tires are tubeless compatible and are offered in Extralight, Standard or Endurance casing options. All tires are made in Japan with the "finest, most supple threads, with a minimum of rubber, to create the most supple tires you'll find anywhere."

The René Herse Barlow Pass Tires

• Clincher, folding bead
• Tubeless-compatible
• Maximum pressure with tubes: 75 psi (5.2 bar)
• Maximum recommended pressure – tubeless: 60 psi (4 bar)
• Actual width on 20 mm rim (internal): approx. 38 mm
• Actual width on 23 mm rim (internal): approx. 39 mm
• Recommended rim: 17 - 29 mm (inner width; hookless: +1 mm)
• Weight: 385 g
• Price: $74 per tire

Most days, I ride from my North Portland home, up and over Forest Park, along the Skyline ridge, and onto the farm roads beyond it. Most rides involve some mixed surfaces ranging from asphalt to singletrack, and none of it is very smooth. For this, the all-road tread pattern made the most sense. It features a nearly slick tread with a very herringbone pattern and ribs for added grip.

I opted for the middle road width of 38mm. In the René Herse tire lineup, each tire width and tread pattern combination carries its own name. So the Barlow Pass tire comes only in 38mm width with the all-road tread. You can, however, choose your casing —Extra Light, Standard or Endurance— as well as a tan or black sidewall. 

I went with the timeless tan wall look and the Standard casing, which is billed as the more affordable option —which is a relative term because this rubber is costly!— while being "comfortable and fast, yet also strong to withstand considerable abuse." Considerable abuse is exactly what I, a notorious under biker, tend to put my bikes through. 

The setup and ride

The setup was easy enough. While René Herse recommends using Panaracer's SmartSeal natural latex-based sealant, I used whatever I had on hand along with my air compressor and experienced no noticeable seating issues. On my Roval Terra CLX wheelset, with 25mm internal width, the Barlow Pass tires balloon up to nearly 40mm. 

Now, I was late to the wide tire trend. I was a road racer, and old habits die hard and all that. But I also just couldn't stand the sluggish feel of early gravel tires. Tire technology, both in terms of tubeless compatibility and rolling speed, really has come a very long way in the past 5-8 years, and nowadays, I test more good tires than bad ones. I now know that wider doesn't necessarily mean slower, and comfortable trumps all — assuming there's decent puncture protection, that is.  

In the past few months, I've abused, I mean ridden, the Barlow Pass tires over some 600 miles or so, and I can honestly say that René Herse tires live up to the hype. 

Sure, large-volume tires at low pressure will always add some cush to your ride, but the smoothness and road feel of the Barlow Pass tires are unlike anything I've ridden before. They roll every bit as fast as the comparable Panaracer GravelKing sicks or Schwalve G-One Speeds, but add significant comfort.

Yes, comfort is highly subjective, but the suppleness or pliancy of the tire is actually tangible. The tire absorbs the road's vibration while helping you stay planted, giving you more grip around the corners and traction on loose terrain. I've been pushing the limits of this nearly slick tread since I received these tires, and I've been pleasantly surprised with the amount of traction they provide on gravel and the occasional singletrack short-cut. It's not until you get above a 12% grade with a top layer of fine gravel that the tire loses its bite. And on asphalt surfaces, the ride is buttery in the best sense of the word. They're simply a joy to ride. These tires are excellent for those who ride on rough urban streets, chipsealed farm roads, light gravel or any combination thereof. 

Unlike my first René Herse tire experience, I've suffered only one puncture thus far —on the sidewall— which the sealant took care of quickly enough. I've yet to try the Extralight casing, and I'm not sure if I'd risk getting punctures for the 35g weight savings. With that said, Lauren de Crescenzo won SBT GRVL and (the unofficial) Gravel Worlds on the same set of 700C x 44 mm René Herse Snoqualmie Pass tires with Extralight casing. 

Thus far, my experience with the Barlow Pass tires has been nothing but pleasant, and I sure hope to get many more miles out of them because if I were to fault these tires for anything, it's that they are a premium product with a premium price tag. The 'affordable' standard casing option will set you back $74 per tire, while the Extralight version goes up to $90 a pop. That's even more expensive than a premium Schwalbe tire!  

On July 20, 2023, Pirelli announced a recall of these Pirelli P Zero Race TLR tires in the size 28mm. You can find more information about the recall in our news story here and on Pirelli's website here.

Pirelli is an Italian tire company that has been the official tire supplier to Formula 1 since 2011. More recently, they moved back into the road and mountain bike markets, with high performance models being used by the Trek Segafredo World Tour teams.

Pirelli P Zero Race TLR: construction

Being the first of Pirelli's tires to be made in Italy (France is the usual country of manufacture), the P Zero Race TLR incorporates the brand's 'Speedcore' technology, which incorporates amarid fibres into the rubber of the tire to improve puncture protection without impacting rolling resistance. 

Also present is the new SmartEVO compound, which combines three different polymers into one compound to produce better grip and lower rolling resistance in all weather conditions. 

Advertised at 295g but coming in fractionally heavier at 296 and 300g, these are still lightweight race tires in the 28mm option. Fitted to Parcours Chronos wheels they measure 29mm in width. 

There are 26, 30, 32, 35 and a whopping 40mm also available - with the 28 and 30mm models being hookless compatible.

They also come in different colours. For those who watch F1, these match those which denote several different tire compounds - but in the case of the bike tires, the difference is only aesthetic. Still, this means you can match the tires to your bike or, if you like, or go for a classic gum-wall option instead.

Pirelli P Zero Race TLR: the ride

Fitting the tires was nice and easy. No tire levers or grippy gloves were required. I put them on a pair of Parcours Chrono wheels which have been optimised to work best with 28mm tires. However, this does mean that to maintain pressure you definitely need to use sealant, something I’m sometimes a bit lax with. My first ride required a few pump stops due to this error on my part.

Once sealed up and maintaining pressure, the first thing I noticed with these tires was how comfortable they made the bike. Potholes in the West Midlands are notorious, but the roads genuinely felt smoother with these fitted and the extra air in the tires. They also interfaced really well with the rims keeping a nice rounder shape and also not bulging over the edge of the rims. With regards to sealant, though, you need a decent amount - I initially didn’t put enough in the front and the air pressure still went down quite quickly. I do think a foam insert may be a good idea for added security.

As for speed, these tires feel fast! They feel a bit more supple than the Conti GP5000 that I have been using and the reduced rolling resistance of the 28mm tires over 25 appeared to help too. Rolling along the flats they felt rapid and ate up the tarmac leading to some higher average speeds for the same power, compared to what I normally experience. 

Riding out of the saddle on steeper climbs, even with some moisture present, resulted in no wheel slip and traction was great. Cornering-wise, the roundness of the tires allowed for a very consistent feeling of grip as I banked over on the bike, with the supple and grippy compound used inspiring confidence. For dry weather they feel as fast as any tire I’ve used and in the wet exceed that.

In terms of wear, there hasn’t been any noticeable flattening on the profile after a few hundred kilometers and impressively there have been no nicks or cuts from road debris yet. I have also not needed to plug any punctures as of yet, but that is as much as testament to the sealant as of the tires. Even so, the lack of punctures is always a good sign

Pirelli has claimed that its new Italian production of the tires and the new compound results in a 24% improvement in 'smoothness' over their last tire in 28mm. However I have yet to find any conclusive testing which backs this claim up - and it is a big claim. 

The only comparison I could find was conducted by BicycleRollingResistance.com and they found an improvement of 1.1-1.2 watts saved compared to the previous Pirelli PZero tire (all conducted at 90 psi, 29kph, 42.5kg load). They also found the New GP5000 S TR was a bit quicker and the Vittoria Corsa Speed G+ 2.0 was the fastest - but that both were neither as grippy nor as protected against punctures. 

Pirelli P Zero Race TLR: value and conclusion

At $99.90 / £78.99 per tire these are certainly a premium product, so it’s only fair to compare like with like. At $95.74 / £79.95 per tire, the Continental GP5000 S TR are similar value, but can be a pain to install. The fast but fragile Vittoria Corsa Speed TLR G2.0 tires come in at $102.12 / £75 with the regular Corsa being more durable, and a little slower, at the same price. The Specialized S-Works Turbo RapidAir T2/T5 comes in cheaper at $82.97 / £65.00, but does have fast wear. 

With the price of current top end road racing tires, the Pirellis sit comfortably in the range of many competitors - not great value but not bad value either. One thing that can be said for certain is that they perform brilliantly, are fast and comfortable, and (based on some independent testing) are less puncture prone and have better wear life than other fast race tires. This combination could result in a greater lifespan with better value as a result, but longer term testing would need to be conducted to confirm for sure.

The Pirelli P Zero Race TLR 28mm tires are a superb tire choice for those looking to make their bike as fast as possible. The easy installation means the fitting process is no longer something to be dreaded, while the speed, low rolling resistance, and brilliant grip are all apparent from the off. 

The promised improved lifespan and better puncture protection makes the price tag justified in-line with other top-end race tires. Although not the fastest available, the balance of speed and longevity as well as puncture protection offers the peace of mind not found with the most fragile and speedy race tires.

The Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires build on their long held reputation for reliability and puncture resistance. They are also able to be used on e-bikes, as well as conventional bikes.

Marathon Plus tires claim to be flat-less, thanks to their unique patented puncture protection belt. They offer a long life, dynamic rolling behaviour and an anti-aging technology - which prevents ugly cracks in the tire sidewalls - and rank amongst the very best road bike tires for reliability and puncture resistance

That puncture protection belt is super strong and manufactured from a highly elastic special rubber. Even sharp thumb tacks/drawing pins cannot puncture it - and it is rated at 7/7 on Schwalbe's puncture protection scale.

It is purposed primarily for tarmac roads and paths and secondarily for light gravel surfaces, such as canal tow paths.

There are a wide variety of sizes from 35-349 (16") to 47-622 (700c/28") available, with 18 options in total.

Schwalbe Marathon Plus: construction

The Marathon Plus 28c tire uses a wire bead with the ADDIX rubber compound being used in the tread. Underneath the tread, the SmartGuard anti puncture strip uses a proportion of recycled C50 rubber from old latex products. 

The 28c tires weigh 750g each (which I confirmed with my scales). They also require an inner tube, rather than being tubeless compatible - but considering the puncture-proof credentials, sealant really would be overkill. The tires feature a reflective sidewall, which is good safety feature, particularly for night or winter commutes.

They are also e-bike ready with this model being E-25 (up to 25kph - UK assisted maximum), whilst others in the lineup are E-50 (up to 50 kph) compliant.

Pressure range is listed on the sidewall as 5.50 - 7.50 Bar (80 - 110psi) for the 28c model, but this is much higher than you'll really want to be using them. Previously Schwalbe has advised us to use as low a pressure as you can before the tyre feels like its folding over a bit in the corners and moderate square-edge hits touch the rim.

Schwalbe Marathon Plus: the ride

My first job, after weighing the tires, was to fit them. I decided to try them with the Pinnacle Laterite 2 bike that I had on test. The Pinnacle's wheels had a 17mm internal rim width, which was a reasonable match for the Marathon tires. I did find that the wire beaded tires were a bit of a fight to fit. They weren't a tight fit, like some can be, but more awkward. 

What I found was that the stiff sidewall/bead would pop off the rim on the opposite side to where you were fitting the tire. You almost needed three hands to fit them, with two hands to hold the bead in place and the third to lever the tire into place. Since that isn't the case, it meant that the struggle went on for a while...

I lined the centre of the sidewall writing up with the valve, for the sake of good form, and initially pumped them up to 90psi. Even at this pressure, you can feel a softness under the central ridge of the tire if you squeeze it. This is the 5mm thick puncture guard (the blue section in photo below), which is able to resist punctures from thumb tacks, says Schwalbe.

Although they are nominally a 28c tire, when fitted to the rims mentioned above I found that they came up a little wide. I measured the tires at 30mm - worth bearing in mind if you have tight tolerances, say with fenders, you may wish to size down to keep a safe gap between the tire and bike.

Once out cycling, I was pleased how comfortable they were to ride with. I was surprised how well they hid their 750g weight too. The Laterite test bike came shod with Schwalbe Lugano II wired bead 25c tires, which are less than half the weight of the Marathons at 365g - and yet the Marathons felt more comfortable. 

Both setups felt that they kept similar pace, although I didn't take any timing measurements. Schwalbe claims that the rolling resistance remains excellent, certainly when compared to other tires with puncture belts of similar thickness. This would seem to be a reasonable claim, as they did roll well.

The one area that let the Marathons down a little was with harder cornering. There is a corner I ride which tightens up on you mid bend. The road surface is nicely tarmacked and quite smooth. When I first rode it with the Marathons it was 6°C / 43°F and a cool, cloudy day with damp road surfaces. As I leant in initially, I didn't feel as secure on the Marathons as I normally do on other tires, so I straightened up a bit a took the corner wider, wondering if this was because the tires were new and not bedded in yet. 

So, a few rides later I tried the same bend again. Conditions were broadly similar (9°C / 48°F this time) and I found the same thing. I had to straighten the bike up mid-corner as I didn't feel 100% secure. Note that with the Lugano tires there was no issue when ridden two days later. 

But other than this tight and technical corner, I didn't have any issues with the Marathons' handling. I wonder whether is is the softer anti puncture strip that is causing this slight squirming sensation. I do appreciate that this is a tire purposed for reliability over performance, and that you're probably not riding super hard on a commute or a trip to the shops!

One of the key reasons to use these tires is because you don't want the inconvenience of punctures. So, as if on cue, a local farmer was hedge cutting on the lane that I was riding. I'd normally tiptoe through the shards, but sensing a testing opportunity I rode full tilt through the detritus. Nothing! I even deliberately rode back down the same lane on the return leg to catch more hedge cuttings. Needless to say that the tires remained fully inflated. 

After six weeks of riding, and removing them from the test bike, I inspected them closely for any wear, rips, cuts or thorns and could see nothing untoward. My friend has been using a pair of these (32c) for a number of years without issue. In fact he needs to replace the rear tire soon as he's worn it out!

Schwalbe Marathon Plus: value and conclusion

At $50.00 / £44.99 RRP these tires are fairly expensive, yet represent good value for money as they come from a quality manufacturer, last well and are highly puncture resistant. The improvement in rolling resistance is a good thing and the fact that they use an amount of recycled C50 rubber in the SmartGuard is an environmental and recycling plus, too. The reflective sidewalls are a good safety feature when riding at night.

Although they are a quite heavy at 750g, this is similar to others in this segment. They rolled surprisingly well, which probably helped to hide their weight, as well as being a comfortable tire to ride with. Although they weren't great with hard cornering it should be kept in mind that this is not their purpose. Moderate cornering was good. 

Overall I enjoyed ticking off the miles with these tires as they rolled well and didn't leave me fixing a flat at the side of the road in the rain! 

Having started out in 1982 making aluminum bikes and components, American Classic has relaunched in recent times. Initially it’s focus is on tires, offering a range for gravel, road, mountain and city riding, all at affordable prices.

The Aggregate tires are part of its gravel line-up, which currently consists of five models, with treads for a range of riding conditions and terrain.

American Classics Aggregate tire: construction

While tread patterns for road tires occupy similar ground, all being varying degrees of slick, the best gravel tires are different. The sheer variety of surfaces within the gravel nomenclature has given rise to a wealth of sizes and patterns, designed to take the rough, the smooth and everything in between, in their stride.

American Classic has labeled the Aggregate as “the optimal all-around tire for paved, hardpack, and light gravel terrain”. This translates to some pretty mellow looking hexagonal ‘knobs’ that populate the surface of the tire, running down both the centre of the tire and the edges. If you’re familiar with Schwalbe’s G-One All-round tire, then it’s a similar looking pattern. In fact, it's one that’s used by many of the leading tire brands and makes the ‘light gravel’ tire a pretty crowded marketplace.

The tire’s compound is AM’s Rubberforce G, which it says is designed to deliver “impressive grip in the dirt”, which is what any gravel rider is after. It also promises impressive resistance against abrasions, tears and cuts.

Stage 5S Armor construction is also in play; this consists of a 120 TPI casing, a tubeless-ready coating and a nylon bead-to-bead fabric. The goal is a lightweight tire that’s supple yet durable enough to withstand off-road conditions. 

The tubeless-ready Aggregate is available in three sizes, 700x40, 700x50 and 650bx47, and three colour options, black, tan and brown sidewall. We’re reviewing the 700x40mm brown sidewall option here, which has a claimed weight of 480 grams.

American Classics Aggregate tire:the ride

The majority of my gravel rides do in fact include some sections of tarmac or asphalt. These vary in length; sometimes it can be a truly mixed ride, with many miles of road used to link together off-road sections, other times it can be far shorter, in essence a brief jaunt to my local wooded trails. During the winter I’ll even use my gravel bike for road rides as the weather, and with it the road surface, deteriorates.

On said roads the Aggregate performed admirably, especially given its lack of any slick tread typically found on all-road tires, usually in the form of a strip that runs down the centre of the tread. However, the knobs were just small enough so that rolling resistance wasn’t overly impacted, and while they were noticeably slower than slick high-volume tires, such as the GravelKing Slicks I’ve ridden a lot over the years, or even the similarly pattern Continental Terra Speeds I’d tried out recently, it meant that I could cruise along without feeling like I was rolling through treacle. 

As advertised, this was the case on tightly packed grit paths and smoother woodland trails too. The Aggregate, with its shallow knobs, is at home on the light stuff where grip is less of an issue. However, hitting loose sections of gravel and the grip is compromised as you’d might expect, especially when cornering. This was accentuated after heavy rainfall and as the trails became muddier, the tires began to struggle. But ‘gravel’ has too wide a remit for one or even two tires to cover all the possible riding conditions and it’s only fair to judge the Aggregates across the terrain they’re designed for.

However, across all conditions the construction and compound help create a surprisingly comfortable tire. I’d unfairly assumed that given their price, they might sacrifice a little of the suppleness normally associated with more expensive rubber. But not so. 

As you’d expect with any tire, it took a ride or two to figure out the optimum pressure, but once I’d done so they offered a ride feel that belied their budget tag. Are there more comfortable tires on the market with a similar tread pattern? Yes, the aforementioned G-Ones and Terra Speeds to name but two, but both are more expensive and the differences are pretty negligible.

As for puncture resistance and general durability, so far, so good, with zero punctures to date, and no tears or cuts in the tread or sidewall either. 

Value and conclusion

There are plenty of minimal tread gravel tires available. The American Classic Aggregate joins the crowd but has a USP that allows it to stand out - its price. 

At $45 per tire it’s exceptionally good value, especially when you consider its reliable performance. While it’s not a leader in any category it doesn’t have any obvious flaws either.

And while you’re unlikely to get excited about the Aggregate in the same way you will a tire from a boutique brand like Ultradynamico or Rene Herse, or perhaps even one from Schwalbe or Continental, it allows you to get riding for a fraction of the cost.

For comparison, the Schwalbe G-One Allround tire has an RRP of $88 per tire. In a 40mm width it’s a little lighter at 420g but has a pretty similar tread pattern to the Aggregate.

The Panaracer SK TLC starts at $59.99 per tire and weighs 420g per tire for the 700x38c size. They’re certainly a high-performing tire and received full marks when we received them a few years ago.

Can you really combine a low rolling resistance, excellent good grip, hard wearing rubber and puncture resistance into a single tire that doesn’t weigh a tonne? Certainly Schwalbe thinks it can with the Durano Plus.

We set off in the cold to try and verify these claims and see how it compared to the rest of the best winter tires for road cycling.

Schwalbe Durano Plus tire: Construction

Recommended for all round use the Durango Plus is described by Schwalbe as “the most puncture resistant tyre available”. It is available in 700 diameter with a choice of 25 or 28c widths as the folded version and 23, 25 or 28c with a wired bead. We tested the 28mm folding version. There’s also the Durango DD tire available which has a little less puncture protection and a 100g weight saving over the Plus.

Understanding all the different compounds and attributes of Schwalbe’s tires can be a bit of a challenge, a comprehensive glossary would certainly help. In its absence I’ll do my best to translate.

The tire is made from Schwalbe’s Addix Performance Compound rubber which has been designed to optimise both grip and durability. In other words, it’s a combination of softer rubber which gives good grip but wears easily with tougher rubber which gives good durability but lacks grip. Between the inner carcass and outer rubber layer is sandwiched a 5mm strip of ‘Smartguard’ elastic rubber which is difficult to penetrate and therefore gives the tire puncture protection.

Schwalbe Durano Plus tire: Fitting

I fitted and ran the Durano on two sets of wheels; an older set of Bontrager Race Lite wheels with aluminium rims and tubeless tape, and a new pair of carbon rimmed Elitewheels Drive 50Ds.

One of the first two tires that Schwalbe sent out for testing developed a number of blisters when it was first inflated. These were confirmed by Schwalbe as areas of delamination (separation of the layers of the tire), likely due to the layers not being completely aligned during manufacture (tire layers are lined up and vulcanised in a press akin to a hot sandwich press). 

I’ve had this once before with a road tire (not Schwalbe), on both occasions the manufacturer identified a production fault and warranty replaced the tire.

Schwalbe Durano Plus tire: The ride

Instantaneously the Durano changed the feel of my bike, simultaneously providing brilliant grip alongside a nice and quick roll. The more I rode and trusted the grip of the tire, the more confidence the tire gave back. It’s been a long time since a single change in a component has made such a difference to the feel of my bike.

Admittedly it’s hard to objectively test puncture protected just by riding. What I can say is that I’ve ridden a good few hundred kms on these tires (including debris-strewn city streets and some inappropriate gravel trails) and haven’t suffered a single puncture despite pulling some small flints out the rubber. In my view the SmartGuard puncture protection strip does the job it’s supposed to and stops these shards penetrating.  

The weight of the tire is certainly its downside (427g on our scales). But, of course, it’s heavy for a reason. Personally I’m happy to accept a bit more rotating weight in the winter knowing it is likely to save me a puncture repair or two.

Schwalbe Durano Plus tire: Value and conclusion

At $52.50 / £43.50 the Durano is one of the more expensive winter tires we’ve tested of late but it’s not its own in the price bracket. The Challenge Elite ($55 / £46) and Pirelli Cinturato Velo ($80 / £63) will cost you a similar amount or even more.

The Schwalbe Durano Plus might not be the lightest tire on the market but its quick rolling, nicely grippy and has great puncture protection which is a pretty good combination for the winter and beyond. 

Schwalbe Durano Plus tire: Specs

• Specification
• Size: 700x25 or 28c
• Weight: 427g as tested (28c version)
• Pressure: 85-115 psi
• Type: Folding

In addition to the well-received G-One RS tire, Schwalbe released a second gravel tire this year. 

The latest and seventh addition to the German tire manufacturer’s gravel line, the G-One Overland is meant for adventurers, commuters and e-bikers alike, and especially for those riders who combine asphalt, gravel and a bit of dirt all in one ride. 

Schwalbe’s ever-growing line of G-One gravel tires dates back to G-One Allround, which launched in 2015 at a time when gravel racing was still a relatively new concept in mainstream cycling. We’ve since since the launch of the G-One Speed, a tire designed for specifically for Paris-Roubaix and later became a beach racing favorite; the G-One Bite, a wider, knobbed tire for rougher terrain; the G-One Ultrabite for muddy conditions; the G-One R claimed to have “mtb grip,” the super speedy and Unbound-winning G-One RS and now, the G-One Overland.

Schwalbe G-One Overland: construction

Marketed at those who seek adventure right out of their own front door, the G-one Overland strikes me as a modern take on a touring tire, meaning quick-rolling, durable and, in line with today’s trend, multi-surface.

Unlike the distinct circular low-profile knobs of the G-One Allroad tread pattern, the Overlands sport higher profile, elongated lugs on the outside for cornering grip and a tighter, horizontal center tread with a little bit of bite but also some swiftness.

The outer compound is Schwalbe’s Speedgrip, which is a universal compound offering grip, durability and decent speed. Underneath, a Super Ground carcass taken from Schwalbe’s Racing Ralph mountain bike tire is said to deliver three-layer puncture protection.

Despite being touted as the Leatherman tool, do-it-all tire in the G-One line, the size offerings are rather limited. The Overlands are available in black and in 700c only — no tan-walled 650bs! And the width offerings are limited to 40mm, 45mm and 50mm (2.0 inches).

As usual, Schwalbe tires don’t come cheap. A single G-One Overland tire will set you back $88.00 / £64.99 / €64.90.

Schwalbe G-One Overland: the ride

Straight out of the box, the Overlands have more heft and sturdiness to them than their more race-oriented tires, and that was evident also in the tubeless setup. Setup was still quick, just not quite as easy as the supple lightweights like the G-One RS. 

But these are true set-and-forget tires. Once set up, they hold air perfectly and the compound seems resistant. I’ve yet to spot so much as a single cut or scrape on them — and that’s not due to a lack of trying!

Nearing 600g grams for the 45c set, the Overlands are indeed on the heavier side, yet once I got rolling I was pleasantly surprised with their swiftness and comfort. 

On the asphalt road, the knobs certainly belie their speed. Up the steep gravelly climbs and  down zig-zagging singletrack, the knobby tread goes to work. The center offers enough bite to help you up and over the climbs and the lugs allow you to roll through the corners with confidence - even in moist conditions. 

Now that the rainy season has fully set in here in the Pacific Northwest, however, the tread profile isn’t high enough nor set apart enough to deal with true mud, but on road and gravel, I think the Overlands will serve well as an everyday mixed-surface training tire. 

I do wonder if these Overlands are going to replace the G-One Allround tire over time. While heavier, those who are familiar with the Allround will enjoy the added durability and increased grip the Overlands offer. 

Schwalbe G-One Overland: value and conclusion

As mentioned above, the G-One Overland tires are spendy and a tad heavy as well. You could get an equally durable yet lighter and faster-rolling all-round tire like the Specialized Pathfinder Pro for $30 less or even the trusty Panaracer GravelKing SKs will meet your muti-surface needs for $28 less. 

However, the G-One Overland has a more aggressive tread than the other all-rounders, and impressed with its uphill bite and cornering grip on both gravel and dirt. They strike a good balance between off-road grip and on-road speed that’s not easy to find. 

Durability can only be tested over time but  I’ve yet to experience any air leaks, punctures or even any visible scrapes or cuts.

If your everyday ride features a mixture of surfaces and you’re looking for a durable, set-them-and-forget-them tire that won’t slow you down, the G-One Overlands are certainly worth consideration. I, for one, will be happy to spend a bulk of my winter riding on them. 

The new Pirelli P Zero Race 4S 700c tyres are are new, four-season variant that the Italian brand has just added to the relaunched P Zero clincher range. 

They have been designed for all-year-round riding and to provide great handling as well as high puncture resistance. 

They come in two widths - 26c and 28c - and are all 700c with a folding bead. The tyres on test (28-622) weighed 261g and 263g compared to the stated weight of 260g. They are also a tubed-only tyre, no messy tubeless sealant here!

Construction

The Pirelli P Zero Race 4S tyres use a 120tpi casing with a TechBELT Road anti-puncture Aramid strip underneath the SmartEVO compound rubber that makes up the tyres' tread. As with all things a tpi (threads per inch) rating is a compromise. The lower the number (eg: 60) the more durable a tyre will generally be, but it is also likely to be heavier. less supple and therefore and less responsive. Conversely the higher the number (eg: 240) the lighter and more supple a tyre will be but at the expense of durability. 

So by choosing a 120tpi casing - which is relatively high for a nylon casing, beating the Continental GP 5000 (three layers of 110tpi) and Vittoria Corsa N.EXT (100tpi) and then adding the TechBELT layer to aid puncture resistance it should be possible to achieve the feel and durability of the tyre that you require. 

Pirelli uses SmartEVO compound, which is a single-compound mix using three different polymers to provide a balance which Pirelli claims solves the trade-off that traditional rubber compounds suffer from. In this way they aim to provide better grip and rolling resistance in any weather condition.

The ride

I have been riding with these tyres since the colder weather of April 2022 until the heatwave in July 2022 and they have coped really well with a temperature range from 2-3 degrees up to 30 degrees, and no, I didn't try them on that 39.1-degree day.

They were very grippy/tacky to the touch upon fitting to a Borg26 wheelset.  I did wonder how that grippy feeling would translate into rolling resistance, particularly over time and temperature. Over the test period the grippiness has remained when touched, so it wasn't a surface treatment; rather down to the compound itself. Also interestingly, whilst I wondered whether the grip might translate to higher rolling resistance as the temperature rose, it hasn't felt as though it has. 

I found that these tyres rolled very nicely and gripped fantastically well, The ride is supple, comfortable and fast. They coped with washboard sections of road easily and softened the jolty vibrations that can occur with those surfaces. 

I wondered whether the feeling of speed and responsiveness that I like in the Borg26 wheels might be masked by a different set of tyres, but not at all. In fact I found that they complemented each other well. 

The Borg rim is 20mm wide (internally) and Pirelli uses a WAM (Width As Measured) system so that you know the actual width of the tyre when fitted beforehand. It's the first time that I've tried this: the prediction was around 28.5mm and I measured 28.2mm. This allowed it to fit in my frame etc nicely. Previously I had a Continental Grand Sport Race 28c tyre which came up to 30.5mm width when paired with the Borg rim, and unfortunately I had some rubbing as it was too wide. I like the WAM idea. 

I have been using the Continental Grand Prix 4 Season tyres for many years now and it's been my benchmark for a fast, comfortable, puncture-resistant, quality tyre for all-year-round use. I have to say that the Pirelli may have stolen its crown. Certainly if the last four months of use are anything to go by. I reserve full judgement after a full year's use though. Sometimes tyres go on to try out and whilst fine or good, you can't wait to put your old favourites back on. This time the P Zero Race 4S are staying put and will only be changed to test something else. I really appreciated the combination of fast, grippy and comfortable. 

Over the test period there have been no tears or splits to the tyre and I haven't had any punctures either. I noticed a small hole in the tread however, until I realised that it was a wear gauge! So all good.

I ran the tyres at the recommended 81psi from the 'Fine tune your performance' section on the box. A 28c tyre on a 15c rim for my weight range was 90psi then -9psi as I had it on a 20c rim. It certainly felt about right to me.

Value

These tyres are intended for performance and endurance riding primarily, and are certainly capable of being ridden all year round. If you wanted a boost to performance for an event you could consider saving some weight and putting on some P Zero Race tyres on, or equivalent.

Pricewise they come in at £62.99 RRP which is similar value compared to Continental Grand Prix 4 Season at £65.95 RRP and cheaper than the Continental Grand Prix 5000 at £74.95 RRP. However the GP5000 can be run tubeless. The Pirelli Race 4S and the GP 5000 feel similarly grippy/tacky to touch as well. I have only fitted a GP 5000 tyre for a friend but not ridden them as yet.

Conclusion

As I reviewed my test notes I kept finding the same phrase reoccurring; "Fast, grippy and comfortable".  It is your classic 'training' tyre, and it can be viewed much like 'training' wheels, whereby should one wish to swap them out for racing or a fast event you'll feel the benefit. Or, if like me, you want to keep up with friends on rides it'll be you that is the limiting factor not the tyres... So get your excuses in early if you're not riding that well as the old 'tyres are a bit draggy' excuse will be off the table. I will happily accept the compromise that these tyres bring and I look forward to the autumn and winter rides that will be arriving soon enough.

Whilst there are lighter and racier tyres as well as more treaded, sturdy and heavier ones, the Pirelli P Zero Race 4S really do cover all bases extremely well. If you're after a fast, all season tyre, this is well worth considering.

Although the Schwalbe X-One Bite is ostensibly a thoroughbred cyclocross mud tyre, it can make a great addition to a gravel bike, broadening the trails that can be ridden over winter, until the slop starts to firm up again around April.

>>>Read more: Best gravel tyres

It’s useful to note that the “X-One” denotes that the tyre is part of Schwalbe’s cyclocross range, whereas tyres with “G-One” in the name are part of Schwalbe’s gravel range.

Although there is both a “G-One Bite” and an “X-One Bite”, these are not a wider and a narrower version of the same tyre. The tread patterns are very different between them – reflecting the (typically) distinct demands of cyclocross and gravel and just how much “bite” is required.

Schwalbe X-One Bite: The construction

Unlike most other mud tyres, the knobs here are mainly cylindrical rather than the straighter edged more blocky designs we usually see. Schwalbe does admit that these other tread pattens would be able to provide more grip in one particular given direction – but in that case, the levels of grip would change dramatically, should you start travelling in a different direction.

The idea behind cylindrical knobs is that they provide predictable grip in all directions. So even when you are slipping sideways in the mud, you still know exactly where the limits are and you won’t get any sudden surprises as the direction of travel changes.

Down the centre of the tread, these cylinders elongate into vertically oriented ellipses, which are designed to act a little like the keel of a boat, helping with cornering traction and off-camber banks.

As a cyclocross tyre, the X-One Bites are designed to provide the maximum grip within the UCI’s limit on tyre width of 33mm. To this end, the profile is much flatter than you would normally expect to see, so as to put as much rubber as possible in contact with the ground.

The tyres are tubeless, as you would expect, and they are only available in one width, 700x33c.

The ride

Setting up

As tubeless setups go, this was among the easiest. Getting the tyres onto the rims was admittedly a little harder than with the supplest of clinchers, but it was by no means a wrestling match – certain clinchers would even put up more of a fight.

Inflation was straightforward as well, popping onto the rims first time without even needing to add sealant first. After adding in the sealant and leaving the tyres overnight, they had barely lost any pressure and there was no weeping at the sidewalls.

So far, so impressive.

For reference, I was using a set of DT Swiss G 1800 rims, with an internal width of 24mm.

Hitting the trails

Pedalling along the roads and off to the woods, there is a perceptible increase in rolling resistance over a gravel tyre. Although the tall and soft knobs are well suited to the dirt, they don’t transfer so well to the road. If you’re in the market for a set of tyres to use all year round, these are probably a little too specialist for that – the Schwalbe G-One Ultrabites would be a better bet.

But in the domain for which they are intended, the X-One Bites really excel. The grip is genuinely super predictable, in twisty sections when sideways is as much the order of the day as forwards, I always knew exactly how far I could push them. While on slippery off-camber clay, the long centre knobs did their job well, keeping me on the high line and not washing out.

Riding up steep and muddy sections, for the most part there was still plenty of grip, although I did notice a little more rear tyre spin than with other cyclocross mud tyres I’ve used.

This wouldn’t concern me for use in a ‘cross race, because at those moments I would generally be off the bike and running anyway. But for general use, when you’d prefer to keep your feet in contact with the pedals rather than the ground, it is worth considering whether the riding around you requires a tyre that grips best in a straight line or is predictable in the corners.

Racing or riding?

Schwalbe’s branding of the X-One bite couldn’t be clearer: this is a tyre designed for the muddiest of cyclocross courses – and as a pure cyclocross tyre the X-One Bite does perform excellently.

So, to some extent, it seems a little unfair to judge it on how well it performs in more general riding, on trails with the kinds of rocks and roots seldom seen on a cyclocross course.

But I do think this aspect is worth discussing, because out of the entirety of Schwalbe’s range, I think these are the ones best suited to gravel riding though a UK winter, with their excellent grip in the mud.

Though with that said, they do have their limitations in this regard – as is probably to be expected from a tyre that wasn’t designed with this kind of riding in mind.

Although coming up at spot on 33mm on my 24mm rims is exactly what you’d want from a pure cyclocross race tyre, this narrow width does mean you have to take a lot more care of roots and rocks, as it is so easy to shoot through the small amount of cushion the tyres offer and whack a dent into your rims.

This does make setting the tyre pressures an incredibly delicate balancing act between grip and rim protection. But with the tyres providing so much confidence in the slop, I found being a little more careful of square-edged hits an acceptable trade off.

With that said, I do wish there were a 37mm version of this tyre. Just a little more volume would really help to cushion those impacts and would fill in that gap in the range between the cyclocross and gravel tyres.

Value

At £60 each, the Schwalbe X-One Bites are certainly quite expensive. The Challenge Limus TLR is in the same ballpark at £54, but the Specialized Terra Pro 2Bliss Ready significantly undercuts both coming in at £45.

Although in my experience, the Specialized Terra Pro comes up pretty wide, with the nominally 33mm version measuring 36mm on a set of 24mm internal width rims. Great for a bit of bonus cushion when out on the trials, but something you would want to be careful with if entering any UCI sanctioned cyclocross races.

Searching through the archives of Cycling Weekly tech history, it would seem that we last reviewed a Challenge Elite (Open Road, in this case) tyre in 2014. Evidently, we were short on space at the time, because it's a 100-word assessment - but the overall impression was supple, fast and comfortable but not very durable.

Fast forward to 2021 and we don't have to squeeze our thoughts into a 100-word verdict to appease the demands of print anymore. And Challenge has come on leaps and bounds, too, it seems - addressing our criticism right on the nose with the new Challenge Elite XP clincher.

Challenge is best known for its handmade approach, and these are no different. However, they come with reinforcement designed to aid durability and puncture protection. Swapping these tyres on to replace a set of Hutchinson Fusion 5 Galactiks I can honestly say the ride quality felt far superior to me and puncture protection has proved good so far.

Challenge Elite XP tyres: construction

The USP for Challenge is its handmade process. Compared to the more traditional vulcanized approach, handmade tyres use more natural fibres which - as a general rule - are more supple, have lower rolling resistance, but are not as resilient. They're also more expensive to produce and not as 'fit and forget': they don't like to be left cold, wet or even in direct sunlight. However, the riding experience is notably different.

In the case of the Elite XP, this is a clincher tyre - and the optimum would be riding them with Challenge's own latex tubes, though (sacrilegious as it is) I ran standard butyl rubber tubes. For the avoidance of any confusion these are not, as per the trend in the market, tubeless ready. And I'm quite fine with that, albeit not very fashionable.

Elite has used its 'Corazza Armor' double ply casing, with a thread per inch (TPI) of 220. The brand says this casing provides sidewall durability while maintaining a supple ride. Corazza Armor was actually developed as a tool for gravel tyres. The compound used is also Challenge's 'Smart Plus', which was created as a 'gravel-specific' tread compound, elevating durability and traction.  For a tyre that is very much targeted at the road, there's quite a lot of gravel crossover. Again, I'm quite fine with that too (and it is infinitely more fashionable).

Also provided is the 'Gonzo PPS' puncture protection system, which sees Challenge use a flexible but tighter weave placed between the tread and the casing, with the aim of keeping sharp objects from penetrating through to the internals.

There's a bread protection strip, which aims to reduce the effect of chafing and rubbing against carbon rim brake hooks and to ensure that the tyre sits uniformly on the rim - avoiding that awful 'bu-bump' that feels a lot like a buckled wheel (you'll recognise the description if you've experienced it).

These come in 25mm and 27mm size, with the model on test being the latter - carrying a weight of 291g - less than the 300g claimed.

Measured with digital verniers, these came in at 27.5mm on the rim used - which is closer to the claimed width than many other tyres, with some 28mms coming in at 30mm in reality. This is a plus for me, but if you're used to buying 28mm and riding 30mm tyres, these could feel narrow.

Challenge Elite XP tyres: fitting and the ride

Where the majority of tyres are vulcanized into their shape, handmade tyres receive no such treatment. As a result, fitting one is a bit like playing a game of whack-a-mole: get it to seat at the valve hole and the other side pops off, return, and repeat. However, once the tyres have been fitted in the first instance and ridden on, they'll take the shape and the second fitting is always easier. In fact, since they're so supple it's much easier than most tubeless-ready tyres; I didn't need tyre levers at all and I don't have thumbs of steel.

Once popped into place with a satisfying ping, the tyres sat uniformly, as you'd hope.

Out on the road, the Elite XPs felt as comfortable and supple as any race tyre. Indeed, I've yet to try an out-and-out Challenge race tyre such as the Strada, but this experience has left me extremely curious. For a durable, winter ready tyre, the ride quality if the Elite XP is really quite exceptional.

Grip in the corners felt solid, and I didn't have any concerns in the wet.

Conditions have been particularly grim as of late, but I rode these tyres through some monster puddles (arguably small ponds), hammered it along the edge of the gutter 'just to see' and I've yet to hear the hiss of deflation.

Challenge Elite XP tyres: value

At £50, these aren't cheap by any stretch - that's £100 a bike.

However, compared to competition they're not far off either. In fact, the Continental GP5000 clincher has an RRP of £60, though it being cycling's (probably) most popular tyre there's plenty of deals available as retailers battle it out for your custom. Regardless, based on RRP, whilst the Challenge Elite XP is far from cheap, it's also not priced higher than competitors.

Hutchinson's Fusion 5 range of tyres is extensive: there are multiple versions, so before we go any further I'd like to make it clear that I'm reviewing the Galactik model, which is the fastest and lightest version, over the reportedly more durable 'All Season' and the middle ground 'Performance' style.

We scored the 'Performance' model an 8/10, and actually, Hutchinson is discontinuing the Galaktik model for the summer ahead - so whilst close-out stock is still available (hence the decision to plough on with this review), it looks like the brand might well have come to a similar conclusion to myself: my experience would suggest that the Performance model is a better bet for most riders.

Hutchinson Fusion 5 Galactik tubeless ready tyre: construction

The Galactik model carries a claimed weight of 240g, and incredibly both my 25mm tyres came in at exactly 240g on our scales. The 11Storm graphics and arrow shaped water shedding grooves initially had me chasing after the wrong scent - believing this would be a tough, winter tyre. Not so - Hutchinson calls this 'the tyre for pure racers finding speed and performance.'

All three Fusion 5 tyres come with the 11Storm compound: this is said to be sticky, providing excellent grip. The surface features arrow-shaped tread patterns reportedly to aid wet weather performance, but I'd usually rely upon compound over rubber etchings when seeking reassurance.

The model on test is a tubeless-ready clincher, so you can run them in either guise - though it's usually best to run a tubeless-ready tyre without tubes in my experience, as the tougher bead can make clincher set ups a bit arduous. The sidewalls also need to be tougher to prevent sealant from "weeping" out of the tyre, but this has a negative effect if you're running the tye with tubes, both on fitting and ride quality - the latter being eliminated by the lower pressures made possible when ridden as intended.

The tyre comes with a Thread Per Inch (TPI) count of 127, which is the same as one of my favourites, the Pirelli P Zero Velo. Because it is the fast, race model, there's no puncture protection belt - this sets it apart from the likes of the All Season and Performance models - which in tubeless ready guise have a Hardskin protection layer (Kevlar Pro Tech in the tube type).

Set-up and the ride

I initially set these tyres up as tubeless-ready clinchers at home, before taking them to the office to raid the sealant, rim tape and valve supplies.

With tubes, I found the bead was very tough and it took a fair amount of thumb abuse and a liberal layer of swearing to get the tyre on to the rim.

Set up and ready to ride at 75/80psi, the experience was fairly good - the tyres rolled well and offered grip in the corners, though I'd say with less of the supple joy of some of my other favourites within this class (the Specialized Turbo Cotton, Wolfpack Road Race Tyre - interestingly, both of which are clinchers, and Continental GP5000 tubeless).

Next, I set the tyres up tubeless - using the Muc Off sealant we use in the Cycling Weekly workshop, opting for 68/70psi. The first ride passed without issue, the tyres again gripping the road, and as you'd expect, with more confidence than the higher-pressure, tubed experience. However, on my second ride, I rolled over an object which pierced the tyre, going right through the rubber and resulting in sealant bubbling up out of the hole, unable to seal. The object itself flicked out on inspection, but felt like a thorn or piece of flint.

Since I wasn't carrying anything more purpose designed for the job, I used a new £5 note as a tyre boot and inserted a tube to get me home.

In the case that the sealant fails to work, the fault can be with the tyre, or the sealant - but when I tried to set the tyre up again with a different sealant, the white liquid leaked across the patio - signifying that the problem was the hole in the tyre simply being too big. This is a more common issue in the case of narrower tyres (sub 28mm), run at higher pressures. It's less likely to happen on a wide, low pressure gravel tyre. It is possible to fix a damaged tubeless tyre using a worm or a patch, so this wouldn't have to be game over if you'd shelled out for these tyres, but it wasn't a great experience.

Of course, the puncture fairy visits all riders, and it's not fair to say that this tyre is sub standard because I happened to roll over a piece of flint on a wet day. These are summer race tyres, and they don't come with a robust puncture belt. However, I can only review based upon my own experience. I have successfully ridden both the Turbo Cotton tyres and Wolfpack Road Race tyres over similar routes, in similar conditions, riding hundreds of kilometres with no flats.

In their defence, the Hutchinson Fusion 5 Galactik tyres stacked up well in terms of rolling resistance comparisons, performed by independent testers bicyclerollingresistance.com. The test was a 2017 model, so it's not an exact match but gives you an idea. They came in better than the Continental GP5000, better than the Wolfpack Road Race, and providing similar results to the Specialized Turbo Cotton.

At £44.95, these tyres do come in cheaper than the aforementioned (clincher) favourites - the Specialized Turbo Cotton, and at a similar RRP to the Wolfpack Road Race Tyre. They're also cheaper than the Continental GP5000 tubeless tyre, at £65.99. However, I've previously managed an entire winter of riding on the Conti GP5000 tubeless with no flats, enjoying a quality ride feel, too.

How do we score tech? Read about it here.

The Getaway is Challenge’s most aggressive handmade gravel tyre to date and is designed to have much better mud shedding capabilities than its colleagues – although the low profile tread is still oriented more for speed than for slop.

>>>Read more: Best gravel bike tyres

Although perhaps best known for its cyclocross tyres – ridden to success by Tom Pidcock amongst others – the Italian brand’s gravel range has a firm following, particularly amongst US gravel racers.

The construction

A tyre needs to be significantly more robust for gravel riding and racing than it does for cyclocross. The long distances and often remote locations mean that any assistance can often be quite a while away.

As a consequence, robustness has been one of the top priorities of the Getaway and technologies such as a “Ganzo Puncture Protection Strip” and “Corazza Armer Layer” have been included to toughen up the tyre.

This doesn’t mean no attention has been paid to the ride quality, though. With a hand-built construction and a 260 TPI (Threads Per Inch) carcass, the Getaway promises to deliver a high degree of suppleness.

You don’t get a great amount of choice between different versions of this tyre. There is, in fact, only one size: 700x40c and it’s tan wall only. Although it would be nice to see a little more choice, if there’s only going to be one version of a tyre, that’s going to meet the needs of the majority of people.

While some manufacturers have taken to simply painting the sidewalls of their tyres various shades of tan, with the Getaways you are actually getting the real deal – these tan sidewalls come courtesy of an authentic naked carcass.

In terms of the tread pattern, the knobs are very tightly packed down the centre of the tyre but as they transition to the shoulders of the carcass, the spacing becomes significantly wider. The intension of this design is to offer low rolling resistance when riding in a straight line on the centre knobs, while also incorporating good mud shedding capability on the shoulder knobs to help them hook up in the corners.

Making the ride even more rapid is the very noticeable domed profile of the tyre – even on a set of rims with a wide internal width of 24mm. This means that the actual contact patch of tyre is relatively small when travelling straight, which lowers the rolling resistance while providing the bump absorbing benefits of a larger tyre. It also increases the relative size of the contact patch when the tyre is lent over in a tight corner.

The ride

Setting up

Being handmade, these tyres are quite different to other tyres you might have experienced. These lie completely flat when they aren’t mounted on a wheel, rather than retaining a semblance of their shape as other tyres do.

This flexibility does make the Getaways a bit of a struggle to mount as the tyres had a tendency to just flop back off the rim, once I had gotten them partially mounted. The final stage of getting the tyres onto the rim also proved a little difficult as they were quite a tight fit on my DT Swiss G1800 rims and necessitated the use of my burliest tyre levers.

Getting the bead to pop onto the rim didn’t prove a challenge. But once they were initially topped up with 40 psi and given a good shake and spin, they did still leak air and were essentially flat after leaving them for 30 minutes.

I pumped them up a second time and took them for a 2km spin around the block, which seemed to sort them out. With a 90km road ride that afternoon and only my gravel bike immediately to hand, I was still nervous about leaks, I made sure the tyres were sitting at the max pressure of 40 psi before heading out.

Rolling out

I needn’t have worried. The local spin had done the trick and I returned with essentially the same pressure as I left with and I was struck by how well the tyres performed.

The suppleness of the casing was outstanding – even with the tyres at a far too high 40 psi, and outside of their intended focus on the road. I didn’t feel jarred going down the heavily pitted roads that were the product of some suspect routing, it really was incredible just how smooth the ride was – even with such high pressures.

I did have to put in a little more effort than I would have on a road bike with narrower slick tyres, but I wasn’t struggling to keep up – most impressive for a 40mm tyre which is pitched as Challenge’s more aggressive and grippier offering.

Taking the pressures down to a more reasonable 25 psi front / 27 psi rear and popping onto some trails, the Getaways were able to display their true level of cushioning. In terms of comfort and absorption of bumps, it felt like riding a 50mm tyre – but without the associated drag of a wider casing. They were super plush.

One thing to bear in mind is that although the Getaways might absorb chatter as well as a 50mm, they offer the same amount of protection from rim strikes as a typical 40mm would. So, if you are going over very rocky terrain – and not just wanting so smooth out more moderate trails – going for a tyre with a wider casing would still be wise.

Bombing down the bridleways, I found the level of grip to be respectable – around what you expect from a tyre with such a tightly packed centre tread. They don’t hook up as well as a more aggressive and open tread on loose, rocky climbs, but the compound is tacky enough and the casing supple enough that grip on large rocks that stay in place is really quite good.

On hard pack trails with a winter coating of slop, the widely spaced shoulder knobs did a great job at shedding the mud. This has the dual benefit of meaning you aren’t hauling as much clag around with you while also ensuring that the side knobs are clear and therefore better able to hook up in the corners.

In deep muddy conditions where there isn’t a hard pack base, these tyres didn't offer much in the way of grip. In these situations, you would be better off going for one of Challenge’s cyclocross offerings.

I set the tyres up with Challenge’s own Smart Tubeless Tyre Sealant, which is said to have been designed so that it will seal cuts up to 6mm, remain liquid after inflation with CO2 and won’t cause harm to the handmade tyres. Other than the problems with leaking air in the initial setup, I had zero issues with punctures or loss of air during the test period.

Value

At £83, these are undoubtedly premium tyres. They are twice the price of the Panaracer Gravelking SK TLC gravel tyre, which intends to provide a similar level of grip and speed and so impressed our tester that it received a full 10/10.

However, the Getaways do provide a sublime level of suppleness and if that is most important to you, then these are a great choice. But if your focus is more on the budget than on the performance, then these aren’t going to be the tyres for you.

Added to the G-One line up in 2019 the Schwalbe G-One Ultrabite is – as you may have gathered from the hyperbolic moniker – Schwalbe’s most aggressive gravel tyre. In fact, it's one of the most aggressive gravel specific tyres around; there aren’t many alternatives that match this level of burliness.

>>>Read more: Best gravel bike tyres

As a side note, it’s helpful to know the way Schwalbe’s nomenclature works for tyres designed for drop bar riding: Pro One denotes the performance road bike line, G-One is the gravel line, while X-One signals the cyclo-cross line. In order of increasing gnar, the G-One line goes: Speed, Allround, Bite, Ultrabite.

Schwalbe G-One Ultrabite: construction

Starting with the tread pattern, down the centre of the tyre are wide, horizontal paddles which are designed to provide grip when winching up steep, rocky climbs. Additionally, these knobs have the purpose of increasing braking traction and minimising the stopping distance.

Moving to the shoulders of the carcass, the knobs here switch to a vertical orientation. This is intended to provide greater lateral grip when cornering hard with the bike leant fully over. The spacing of the knobs also opens up a little bit and the knobs get a little taller, offering the tyre more 'bite'.

But the tread pattern is only half the story. Although the tread is what provides the majority of the grip in soft or loose terrain – where the tyres can dig in – it’s the compound that dictates the grip on hard surfaces, such as rocks and roots.

Schwalbe’s Addix SpeedGrip compound was originally designed for mountain bike tyres and is the second fastest compound in that range. This is what’s used in the Ultrabite tyres and it provides a little more of an even balance between rolling resistance and tackiness than the race focused Addix Speed compound.

Naturally the Ultrabite, along with all the tyres in the G-One range, is tubeless ready and recieives Schwalbe’s TLE (Tubeless-easy) rubber stamp of approval. The sidewalls have been made quite beefy, which helps with the initial tubeless setup and prevents any weeping of sealant. The stoutness also serves to aid the tyres’ performance when used with very low pressures and makes them more resistant to cuts from rocks.

The ride

Setting up

Before riding, first comes the setup – and the Ultrabites presented none of the troubles that tubeless has such unfortunate connotations with. Popping them onto the rim was admittedly a tiny bit harder compared with a set of well-used clinchers, but it was very far from the wrestling match some tubeless tyres present.

The initial inflation was a complete breeze, with the tyres popping onto the rim on the first try and continuing to hold pressure without a problem – most impressive.

Swapping the tyres onto a different set of rims two weeks after the first setup, it became apparent that I had actually forgotten to add sealant to the front tyre – which cast an interesting angle on my initial experience.

Having held its pressure so well over the first two week, I had no reason to suspect that the front tyre was missing the sealant. Also, in terms of puncture protection, the carcass was clearly robust enough that it had shrugged off thorns and flints and didn’t requiring sealant to plug any holes.

Obviously, I would prefer the reassurance sealant provides, so I did make doubly sure to add some to both tyres on the second wheelset.

Hitting the trails

In terms of the ride feel, pootling off along the roads and to the start of the trails, I was instantly struck by the speed with which the Schwalbe G-One Ultrabite rolled. Being 50mm and with an aggressive tread, they were admittedly a bit slower than a set of 40mm semi slicks – but they were far more rapid than looks would suggest and certainly didn’t feel like a drag on my ride.

Hitting the trails and onto some hardpack coated with a muddy sheen, the knobs performed well at biting into the dirt and quickly shedding the clag. Leaning over into the corners, the side and transition knobs hooked up nicely and inspired plenty of confidence with their predictable grip.

Moving onto to some loose, rocky tracks, the tyres continued to impress – this is definitely the terrain they most excel at. The tread does a good job at providing grip, even with the loose shingle and larger flints shifting under the wheels. The high volume of the tyre means that even when running low pressures, there is enough cushion to ward off rim strikes when blasting it down the other side – something that is often a danger with narrower tyres.

In deep mud the Ultrabites performed a commendable job at quickly shedding the mud and when winching up steep and sloppy climbs, the tread was reasonably good at digging in. But there was one notable area in which the tyres did not perform so well: any kind of off-camber pure mud – the type that doesn’t have any hardpack hidden underneath.

To be fair to these tyres, it is only because the grip is so good elsewhere that the lack of it in these conditions was such a contrast – they would still present an upgrade if you were coming from a set of semi-slicks. However, it really didn't take much of a muddy camber for the front end to just slip away, as if it were black ice rather than mud.

If you are looking for a tyre that performs well in primarily muddy conditions, the Ultrabite is not it. The X-One bite would be the one to go for in Schwalbe’s range of tyres.

Digging into the tread

The cause of the lack of grip on off-camber mud is quite clear when you look at the tread pattern. Although the horizontal knobs on the centre of the tread may be great for grip when braking in a straight line or hooking up on a loose climb, and the vertical tread on the shoulders may be great for digging in around corners. But when trying to cycle along an off-camber straight, those horizontal centre knobs do very little to prevent the wheel from washing out sideways.

I would have thought this could be remedied by simply rotating the centre horizontal knobs through 90° so that it is also vertical and can act a little like the keel of boat, helping to keep things tracking in a straight line.

I asked Jakob Massen, product manager at Schwalbe, about this and he explained that although rotating the centre knobs in such away would aid grip in those circumstances, it would negatively impact the tyres’ traction on steep climbs and when braking. And I have to say, on balance I think Schwalbe has struck the right compromise.

The Schwalbe G-One Ultrabite is not designed for pure mud – that’s the purpose of the X-One Bite – and you would want a narrower tyre for those conditions anyway, as thick mud significantly amplifies rolling resistance. Although it can cope with more than other tyres, its real forte is on loose, rocky terrain where the tread, compound and volume all perform excellently in concert with each other.

One final point to make is that the recommended pressure range printed on the sidewall seems way out. Mine suggest 45 to 65psi for the 50mm version. To put that in perspective, at 67kg body weight, I run around 10psi less than that minimum in 33mm cyclo-cross tyres. Personally, I settled for 18psi front and 20psi rear with the Ultrabites.

I mentioned this discrepancy to Massen and he helpfully informed me that Schwalbe is aware of this as an issue and in future only a maximum recommended pressure will be given – you’ll be free to go as low as you like!

Value

At £60, the Schwalbe G-One Ultrabite is undoubtably a premium option, although it's not alone in this price bracket.

The WTB Resolute TCS SG2 has similar claims of performance, but less aggressive and narrower spaced knobs which make it not grippy or as good at clearing mud. But retailing for £54.99, they are a little cheaper.

A closer contender in terms of tread bite is the René Herse 700C x 48 mm Oracle Ridge TC Tire. But if you thought £60 was a lot to spend of a tyre, you’ll baulk at the £87 price tag here.

In all, with far fewer aggressive gravel tyres on the market than their shallower-treaded siblings, there aren’t so many tyres to choose from. But there is also the Performance line of the Ultrabite tyres which share the same tread pattern but use a cheaper compound than the Evolution line and come in at £45. They are also perhaps the only tyres that are actually cheaper with tan sidewalls.

The Continental Grand Prix 5000 clincher tyres were selected for an Editor's Choice award in 2020. This year's list contains 78 items which scored a 9 or 10/10 with our tech team - this gear is the best of the best, and has received the Cycling Weekly stamp of approval. 

The GP5000 is not by any means a new product for 2020 - but these tyres are used by testers and brands the world over as a control tyre - they're fast, supple and resilient. If you're a road rider after an all-rounder clincher, this is it - so we couldn't leave them out of our list this year.

Continental's Grand Prix is an all-season all-rounder - it's one of those rare creations that manages to be a Jack of all trades whilst still masterful enough across puncture resistance, grip and rolling resistance.

Buy now: Continental GP5000 tyres at Wiggle for £36.99

A great deal of this straddling of specialities comes from its BlackChili Compound which, after 12 years, was improved for the GP 5000 with emphasis on finding the sweet spot between grip and low rolling resistance. You want the tyre to deform to the bumps, but not to form a jigsaw with the road.

>>> Best road bike tyres

Thread per inch (TPI) is important when it comes to suppleness too. A high number will make for a construction which provides a smooth, fast ride. Continental claim 330 TPI on its clincher. However, when making comparisons, be aware that this comes from 3 folded pieces of ply, at 110/60 TPI each.

Another evolution focused on the all important goal of not-stacking-it, is 'Lazer Grip'. Where in the past the tread pattern was CNC-ed into the tyre, it's now laser printed onto the shoulder, and Continental says that this offers improved cornering.

>>> Buy now: Continental GP 5000 clincher tyres at ProBikeKit for £39.99

>>> Buy now: Continental GP 5000 tubeless tyres at Merlin Cycles for £56.95

Tread pattern is considered by many as a sugar pill, designed to instill confidence whilst letting compound do the real work. However, Continental's research at its Korbach HQ still supports the approach.

After a season of testing on UK roads in Surrey and Kent, I found the tyres rolled well. I could push into the corners with confidence even on wet and greasy days, though they were tougher than a thoroughbred race tyre.

Of course, the GP 5000 is an 'all-round' tyre. You do have the benefit of the newly improved Vectran Breaker layer, the polymer which forms a multi-strand thread and acts as a blockade against foreign objects such as thorns, glass or flint. This is said to be improved by 20 per cent in the new GP 5000.

What you lose in marginal gain on smoothness and a slight weight increase, you get back in not standing beside the road fixing punctures and I had zero flats whilst using both sets of tyres on the rutted roads in Surrey and Kent.

More cushion and comfort

As well as working on grip and rolling resistance, Continental has had its ears open to the ever louder conversation around comfort.

For the first time ever, it has embedded what it called 'Active Comfort Technology'. This sits below the Vectran Breaker, and apparently without affecting rolling resistance, dampens buzz and vibration.

Such a claim is always going to be pretty subjective - but fitting the tyres to a bike I consider to be 'uncomfortable' and a bit clattery, I'd say the ride quality was improved by a fraction which is always a welcome advancement.

Aerodynamics and rolling resistance

We don't have the means to test aerodynamics and rolling resistance at the Cycling Weekly office. But, we do have friends who do.

Experts at Aero-coach compared the GP 5000 clincher (23mm), with the outgoing GP 4000 (23mm), and the GP TT - the clincher designed for all out speed, without the extra puncture protection.

The Aero-coach study goes into a great deal of detail. In short, with both elements considered, the GP 5000 clincher comes out top - 4.3watts improved over the 4000 at 45kph.

Fitting the Continental Grand Prix 5000 tyres

A tyre can skim over tarmac like a knife to butter, but it'll leave you with bloody thumbs and a lot of rage if you can't fit it by the roadside.

I fitted the clinchers to a pair of Prime Carbon RR38 disc wheels, and unfortunately the process was accompanied by thumb skimming and swearing.

However, this was also the case when removing the Schwalbe One's fitted to the same rim and the rubber felt supple enough to go onto a friendly rim much more quickly.

The tubeless version...

• GP 5000 tubeless
• 25mm to 32mm, 650b and 700c
• 300g to 370g
• TPI 3 ply 180
• £70

The first test for the GP 5000s was the tubeless variety, on smooth roads in Tenerife. They felt fast and rolled well, though even run at 80psi I’d say they are notably more ‘solid’ than a true race tyre. This is Conti’s first tubeless tyre, and the bead is pretty tough and thick – to ensure a tight seal – but this means they’re not the supplest in the business. This feeling continued on UK roads, where compliance becomes even more crucial.

The aerodynamics of the tubeless model didn't come up trumps, either, when AeroCoach compared a GP 5000 25mm clincher with a 23mm clincher, and a 25mm tubeless.

Wider tyres were shown to be faster, but unexpectedly the clincher was 1.2w faster at 45kph when compared to the tubeless of the same width. Aero-coach's Xavier Disley puts down to the thickness of the casing.

Fitting tubeless tyres is something that puts a lot of people off. The brand says the tubeless version is compatible with all tubleless ready rims, and so we selected the Cero AR24 wheels.

Once the correct valves for the wheels in question were located, the process took around 30 minutes. Again, it was tyre-lever-snappingly tough to get the rubber onto the rim, but I've found this to be the case with a range of tyres on the same wheel.

Continental suggest you use its own sealant, but since we didn't have any, we used the pink stuff you can find readily available elsewhere.

The tyre bedded in well eventually, and after several re-loads of the booster pump, held pressure without leaking.

The Goodyear Eagle F1 Tubeless Complete tyres were selected for an Editor's Choice award in 2020. This year's list contains 78 items which scored a 9 or 10/10 with our tech team - this gear is the best of the best, and has received the Cycling Weekly stamp of approval. 

Ask any steadfast clincher stronghold rider why they haven't crossed over to tubeless tyres and the highest scoring Family Fortunes answer would probably be "the faff factor". Goodyear Eagle F1 Tubeless Complete tyres, however, are about to change all that.

>>> Best road bike tyres 

Tubeless Compatible

To the motorsport fans, Goodyear Eagle will without a doubt ring a few bells already. It's considered the American brand's top range of sports performance tyre, gaining it the title of 2021 official tyre suppler to the British Touring Car Championship, European Le Mans series, four teams in the World Endurance Championship and the tyre of choice for the Brabham BT62 hyper car. It's an impressive list of endorsements. But can it do just as well on a road bike tyre?

According to Goodyear, it's the only bicycle tyre manufacturer to develop and make its tyres on a bike specific rig, with others using adapted car and motorcycle versions.

All in all, it's given the brand a lot of confidence with the Eagle F1 Tubeless Complete tyres, which we wouldn't disagree with.

Tubeless conversion

You'll need a tubeless ready wheel to run these tubeless, but the simplicity of the Goodyear Eagle F1 Tubeless Complete tyres is down to its duel bead design, which adds an additional section of rubber to create a seal with the rim bed, as is compatible with both tubeless crotchet and tubeless straight sidewall type rims.

You can read more about the tyre composition breakdown in the Goodyear Eagle F1 launch story.

Bar a cup of sealant,  there's no technical equipment required. I even had a friend, who had never tubeless converted before due to living in a flat and hearing horror stories of "when tubeless conversions go wrong" to fit them, just to see how a total beginner would get on. His exact words mirrored mine: these are game changers.

With no Co2 canisters or buckets of soapy water in sight, the tyre just pops over the rim, in his case a pair of Shimano C30 wheels, pumped up, with either a track or hand pump, and you're ready to roll.

There was an element of fiddling around the valve, but not enough to put anyone off fitting them.

The ride

Supple, comfortable, fast and, so far, durable. This is in pretty much most conditions that riding in the north of the UK provides, and although yet to get through a winter, it has at times not felt far off it.

After three months use, bar one rear puncture - that totally sealed after three wheel revolutions - there's still little to no nicks or cuts on the main tread.

Handling is predictable, and while not tested under race conditions, they have been lent on and more than held their own.

Our test pair of 28c tyres measured more or less bob on the claimed size on the fore mentioned wheels. Weighing 300g a piece, puts the Goodyear Eagle F1 Tubeless Complete tyres on a par with similar sized also tubeless compatible Vittoria Corsa G2.0 TLR and the Schwalbe Pro One tyres.

Value

The Goodyear Eagle F1 Tubeless Complete tyres have made going tubeless possible for the masses, without compromise on performance. The £50 a piece price tag isn't the cheapest, but all things considered, these offer fantastic value against the competition.

For the Michelin Power All Season the French tyre giant claims 15 per cent more grip, 20 per cent more puncture protection and a saving of five watts at 45kph, or 20 seconds over 40km, compared to its predecessor the Michelin Pro4 Grip.

The extra grip comes via a new generation ‘Hi Grip’ tread pattern and a new compound called ‘Grip Compound’, while the amped up puncture resistance is down to a new Amamid Protek+ belt.

Michelin doesn’t say how the increase in rolling speed was achieved, and if it’s necessary to ride at 45kph before a measurable difference emerges, it must be very marginal.

>>> The best road bike tyres: buyer's guide

The claimed weight of 270g per tyre for the 25c version (our samples actually weighed slightly less) is on the high side for a tyre that’s supposedly aimed all-year-round riding and not just winter. Its rivals the Continental GP 4 Season and the Pirelli P Zero Velo 4S are 40-50g lighter while the Vittoria Corsa Control undercuts it by a claimed 5g.

The ‘summer’ version, the Michelin Power Competition, is 55g lighter per tyre and it’s worth saying that I’ve been riding a set of these for over year without a puncture, even in some nasty conditions. I could have had an incredible run of good luck (now jinxed) but it suggests Michelin had already developed a pretty good casing and a compound that doesn’t cut without needing to add such large chunk of weight in extra reinforcement.

Four-season tyres generally work by using a stickier, softer compound that supplies better grip, especially in the wet, and you can feel how soft the tread of the Power All Seasons is, despite the carcass itself being fairly stiff with the aramid belt.

>>> What's the best tread pattern for winter?

The tread pattern is direction specific, with indicators to ensure you fit them the right way round. Although a tread pattern will not make any difference when cornering on wet tarmac, it can supply extra traction at low speeds on mud or wet leaves. I’m not convinced the Michelins’ tread pattern does much more than give riders more confidence than a slick tyre would – but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Fitting the Michelins to tubeless-ready Venn carbon rims was easy – with tubeless it can go either way, as we all know – but with standards still all over the place I can’t guarantee it will be as easy on every rim.

Incidentally, there’s no tubeless option for the Power All-Season and I think Michelin is missing a trick here.

The ride

The grip is what the Michelin Power All Seasons are all about and I was really impressed. I felt confident on fast descents in the wet and on slow, muddy corners with adverse cambers where I definitely would have backed off had I been on summer tyres.

Certainly, they don’t feel as fast as summer tyres – they lose suppleness due to the extra puncture protection, they’re heavier and they have a soft tread compound, so it’s to be expected. In addition, I ran them at a slightly lower pressure than I would dry-weather tyres just to maximise grip.

I rode the Michelin Power All Season tyres from the end of last winter through the spring and didn’t puncture once (there, that’s another set of tyres jinxed).

Value

At their full RRP of £47.99 the Michelin Power All Season tyres are cheaper than the Conti GP 4 Seasons, which have a list price of £54.95, and the Vittoria Corsa Control G2.0 is also priced at £54.99. The Pirelli P Zero Velo 4S is also more expensive at £49.99.

Four-season tyres should wear more quickly due to the softer compound, but I can’t say I’ve noticed this, and there’s a generous amount of rubber in its construction anyway.

Priced a bit lower than its four-season rivals, the Michelin Power All-Season is a good choice for a reliable, durable training tyre.

The WTB Resolute TCS SG2 tyres were selected for an Editor's Choice award in 2020. This year's list contains 78 items which scored a 9 or 10/10 with our tech team - this gear is the best of the best, and has received the Cycling Weekly stamp of approval. 

WTB has just released this brand new SG2 version of the Resolute, one of it's most popular gravel tyres. Promising increased puncture protection through an enhanced construction, does it improve upon the one weakness in the Resolute's armour?

What's new with the WTB Resolute SG2?

The new Resolute SG2 benefits from a two pronged attack in order to increase performance and provide enhanced puncture protection.  Firstly WTB has upped the thread count from it's usual 60 tpi (threads per inch) to 120 tpi, providing the Resolute with a much more supple carcass. This should enable it to deform and conform far better to provide a smoother ride with less deflection from any chosen line.

The best gravel bike upgrades

The real tech news lies in the SG2 puncture protection layer. This takes the form of a super thin nylon insert that covers the entire carcass bead to bead. Whilst this sounds like pretty much every brand's puncture protection method where WTB's version deviates from the norm is in the shape of the nylon fibres used. Rather than being the usual round shape these are flattened, meaning the layer has less of a corrugated shape thus requiring less rubber to fill the gaps when the tyre is constructed. This decreases any additional weight but also decreases the overall carcass thickness, improving the ride quality. According to WTB this layer also improves air retention.

Ride testing the WTB Resolute SG2

The new Resolute SG2 follows in WTB's other tyre wheel tracks in being exceptionally easy to set up tubeless. Pop it on, squirt in your chosen tubeless sealant and inflate. But where it deviates from most of the other tyres is it does this with minimal air loss. Often I have found that WTB tubeless tyre carcasses have been somewhat porous and have often had multiple points along the sidewall where tiny bubbles of sealant can be seen extruding and robbing the tyre of its precious air. This usually results in me having to put a little extra sealant in to ensure the entire inside of the tyre is covered. With the SG2 version I experienced none of this. It simply went up, sealed and remained up with zero loss of sealant. What was equally impressive is after the obligatory spin around the block to ensure the sealant is evenly distributed both tyres retained air overnight and when checked had dropped pressure by a single psi - impressive stuff.

WTB Expanse 32 TCS review

The Resolute's open tread is a little taller and more aggressive than many gravel tyres and as such is suited for riding on mixed terrain. It works exceptionally well on grass and on forest loam. The pronounced side knobs, grouped in pairs and individuals, provide a confident shoulder and combine well with the rounded profile to provide a predictable level of cornering grip. The central tread is quite widely spaced for decent mud shedding but what is noticeable is an almost continuous central ridge of tread that keeps the Resolute from feeling too sluggish on smooth hardpacked trails and tarmac. In fact even during rides where the offroad was kept to a minimum the Resolute doesn't feel too slow and maintains momentum quite well when freewheeling.

One of the gripes that riders have with WTB tyres is often the lack of decent puncture protection but after a solid period of testing before the official launch of the tyre I have to say that I think the SG2 system works. After riding through multiple gorse and thorn bushes, smashing my way up and down rocky trails strewn with sharp boulders and scooting along cycle paths awash with glass I haven't received a single puncture or even any evidence of any sealed punctures.

The new SG2 version does add an additional cost and a bit of weight over the existing Resolute TCS. It retails at a not too cheap £54.99, compared to £44.99 for the standard version and adds around 20 grams to the weight. But the 499 gram weight is still pretty competitive for such a protective tyre.

So has WTB just stepped it up a level in terms of reliability and performance? I believe the answer is most definitely yes.

Just like gravel bikes, gravel tyres are a hybrid between mountain bike and road products. There’s always a compromise to be struck between the speed of a slicker road tyre, and the traction of a knobby off-road tyre. All gravel tyres will fall somewhere on the spectrum between a full slick and a full-on gnarly mountain bike tyre.  Generally, gravel tyre manufacturers fall somewhere in the middle with a tyre that has a slick central bead and then more aggressive knobs on the outside for cornering traction.

Maxxis’ Rambler is a stalwart of the gravel market, having been released in 2015. It definitely leans towards the off-road end of the spectrum with raised rectangular knobs and crosses in the middle of the tread and raised knobs on the shoulder of the carcass for better grip when you’re really getting stuck into a berm.

I found that the ramblers set up easily on Enve’s G23 gravel rims, I use a small home compressor and they seated on the first try and easily held pressure for a few days. They didn’t seep sealant through the sidewall as some tyres do nor did they require me to call two friends and provide them with beer and pizza to help me mount them. They slipped on easily without even using a tyre lever. As someone who tests and mounts a lot of tyres, I can’t tell you how pleasant and unusual that is.

If you ever puncture on a gravel ride, you should easily be able to slip in a tube and ride home. Tighter fitting tyres almost inevitably pinch tubes and have left me with a long walk to phone signal followed by a long wait for a mate with nothing better to do than pick up a muddy cyclist on a Tuesday afternoon.

On the subject of punctures, Maxxis offer the Rambler in a Silkshield and Exo option. Both have some puncture protection but the Silkshield is slightly heavier and has a lower thread count. My 38mm Ramblers weighed 424g, a reasonable weight for a tyre of this size. They seem reasonably puncture resistant although an errant cactus managed to puncture my rear Rambler on my second ride. It worked well with the Orange Seal sealant I was using and quickly sealed up.

Maxxis sent me a set of 38mm Ramblers and they measured exactly 38mm on the Enve rims, given the width of the G23s, they might measure smaller on a more traditional rim. The casing is notably compliant, even unboxing the tyres I could tell they were reasonably light and flexible.

I prefer to run a lower pressure on gravel tyres, but I really struggled to find the perfect pressure with the Ramblers. In the mid 20 PSI range they were fun on sandy dry trails, but felt very sluggish on the road. At 35 PSI (the stated minimum on the sidewall), they tended to slip on steep gravel climbs more than I would like and at the stated maximum of 60 PSI I felt like I might break a wrist. I ended up riding about 30 PSI most of the time but couldn’t help feeling like they were never quite right. Perhaps a slightly wider model would have felt better off-road, I tend to prefer 40-42mm gravel tyres for anything other than the “basically road racing but dirtier” conditions of some US gravel events.

The Ramblers do give a nice predictable lean as there isn’t a huge transition from the middle of the tyre to the shoulder. Some gravel tyres can give the strange sensation of suddenly and dramatically biting once you get off the slick central bead. Despite this I found myself puckering more than I would like to admit on dry rocky trails. Although to be honest, everyone else on those trails was riding a mountain bike and wearing baggy clothes so they are probably not what Maxxis designers had in mind for a gravel tyre. They do offer the Ravager for more trail focused gravel adventure.

For hard packed gravel roads, the Ramblers are a great choice. They feel great on high-speed descents on the dirt thanks to their fast rolling knobs and the easy transition across the tyre body when cornering. They’re light enough for hilly races and mount easily. If you are riding your gravel bike when you really should be on a mountain bike, or a road bike, they aren’t great and there are better tyres in the Maxxis line for those applications, but as a true gravel tyre these do a good job. Maxxis also offer a tan sidewall version, you should get that if you can find it.

'Gravel riding' conjures up a very different image depending upon who you ask. For some riders (predominantly based in the US), it's long stretches of unpaved gravel road. For those who live in cities, it's quite a lot of road miles followed by some fun in the woods, whilst for me -  based on the Surrey/Kent border (often travelling into Sussex) - it's pretty much light trail use with a healthy dose of rocks and roots.

>>> Best gravel bike tyres

Cyclists whose gravel rides include very little road and plenty of trail features will want a more off-road suited tyre than those who need to interrupt their trail sectors with large sections of road. Therefore, upgrading the often quite slick tyres specced on a gravel bike to something a bit more knobbly is a good idea.

Hutchinson's Touareg tyres aim to meet this need. They've got a smooth, chevron style tread down the centre designed to make them feel acceptable on the road, but they don't prioritise this sort of train. The Touareg takes notes from Hutchinson's mountain bike tyres, so next to the chevron style strip, there's an intermediate line of small-block style knobs before larger, more widely spaced knobs adorn the outside strip.

The outside knobs are joined together buttresses which run down the wall to strengthen the structure.

These tyres carry a 127 Thread Per Inch count. This puts it in a category with the more supple gravel tyres on the market - with the Bontrager GR1 Team Issue and Maxxis Rambler EXO TR tyres both on the higher end at 120. Hutchinson has added a hardskin textile grid reinforcement layer to protect against flats.

These can be run as clinchers or tubeless. I tested them in both guises. As a clincher, they saw me through a three-hour gravel ride over the Sussex downs (lots of chalk and rock) with no flats, and the tubeless set-up was simple - the supple rubber snapped on to a Shimano GRX rim without issue.

These tyres come in a 40 or 45mm width (in the 700c version). There's also a 650b version in 47mm, with a tan sidewall. I had the 700c model, in 45mm. Swapping this on from a 38mm Schwalbe G-One, I immediately felt much more confident on the more technical sections.

Riding on these tyres, I was suddenly able to tackle a short, steep climb and drop-off ledge that had been bothering me for weeks without any issue at all. There's no doubt that I felt more capable when riding techy terrain.

On dusty, chalky trails these tyres behaved themselves impeccably, and I had no unexpected skids. They're not really designed around mud-shedding, and I'd think twice about hitting the wet chalk of my local trails on these - for that, I'd really want something more cyclocross inspired, with wider spacing for better performance in the slip-and-slide.

On the road, the tyres felt smoother than I had expected based on the profile. However, this clearly isn't their chosen habitat and I'd advise those planning to mix their road/off-road riding to the tune of 50/50 to look for something with less off-road capability.

For the riding that I'm doing on gravel bikes - predominantly off-road - these were absolutely spot on. They're also extremely reasonably priced, at £33.

The claimed weight on these tyres is 550g. Tyres often deviate slightly from the claim. However - both of my tyres tipped the Cycling Weekly office scales at 630g, which is a uniform 14 percent increase on the claim. I weighed the tyres on two separate sets of scales to be sure since it seemed like quite a vast increase.

Swapping between the Hutchinson Touareg tyres and the less burly Schwalbe G-One tyres (claimed 460g for 38mm), my bike was notably heavier. For the increased confidence these tyres provided with me with off-road, it's absolutely a weight penalty I'm willing to pay - but those chasing off-road QOM/KOMs - as opposed to using gravel riding to switch off from training, heart rate monitors and power meters - may be less inclined.

The Donnelly Strada USH tyres were selected for an Editor's Choice award in 2020. This year's list contains 78 items which scored a 9 or 10/10 with our tech team - this gear is the best of the best, and has received the Cycling Weekly stamp of approval. 

Depending upon where you ride, choosing the right gravel tyre is often about compromises. Go too aggressive on the tread pattern and risk a draggy ride on the tarmac but on the other hand go too smooth and you'll lose grip on loose trails. Donnelly's Strada USH tyres sit more towards the smooth and fast end of the gravel tyre spectrum but they have a few features incorporated that go some way towards minimising the detrimental impact.

>>> Best gravel bike tyres

These follow the classic tyre design theory of matching a smooth chevron patterned central 'spine' with a wider spaced, more pronounced shoulder tread to each side, wrapping around to the sidewall. Donnelly has broken up the central section and alternates each chevron with two smaller arrow shapes to incorporate a little more open space. This opening up effectively increases mechanical off-road grip (and water displacement) without impacting road grip too much.

What's really interesting is Donnelly's shoulder chevron tread design. A detailed look at these seemingly simple rubber ribs reveals the fact that each is split into smaller sections. This division enables each section to conform subtly to the surface imperfections, increasing cornering grip over a wider variety of conditions than you might otherwise expect.

The best gravel and adventure bikes for 2020

I've been using these tyres for several months over the complete range of weather conditions and on surfaces varying from smooth tarmac, muddy bridleways to rooty and rocky trails.

The first thing to note was tubeless setup was a dream, instant seating and zero air loss, although Donnelly also state that the tyre can be used with tubes if that's your thing.

As most riders who enjoy a lot of time off-road soon come to realise, grip is a relative concept and almost as important is how a tyre behaves when it loses grip. In this respect the Strada USH tyres are really pleasing to ride as they break traction in a very predictable and repeatable way. The design of the tread actually gives them a little more shoulder traction than I would normally expect from this style of tyre but take them through loose gravel or mud and of course they don't grip as well as tyres with a more mountain bike style spaced shoulder tread. But when they lose that grip they tend to provide a controllable slide rather than dumping you on the floor, which is a good thing.

Where the Strada USH tyres excel is when travelling at speed across dry and hard packed trails and darting on and off-road. Here tarmac, dust, loam and sand are tackled with aplomb and grip is excellent without impacting too much on speed. I have been running the tyres tubeless and at 35psi and this seems to be the perfect balance between speed and grip (I weigh 75kg) - Donnelly rate the tyre between 40 and 60psi but I've had no issues running slightly less that the recommended. I've mainly been running them on a set of Stayer All Road carbon wheels, with an internal rim width of 22.5mm. With these wheels the tyre comes up as a true 40mm with a nicely rounded profile.

The tyres weighs in at 456 grams each which is on a par with most similar tyres (Zipp G40/WTB Venture) and they have been relatively durable. I say relatively as each tyre shows several patches of sealant where a puncture has been repaired, so it's not the thickest carcass. Tread wear has been minimal and apart from the puncture points there is no other damage evident. Plus the tanwall looks great.

Wolfpack has probably slipped under your radar in terms of tyre brands but this little German company has some clout behind it and its tyres are currently used by Team Astana.

It's founder Wolfgang Arenz has spent more than twenty years developing rubber compounds for some of the best tyre companies in the world, including bringing Continental's revolutionary Black Chilli compound to the market. So he knows a thing or two about what makes a good tyre. Wolfgang has taken this knowledge and created 'his most advanced compound yet' in the shape of Wolfpack's ToGuard revolutionary rubber.

The best road tyres for 2020

The Road Race tyre is the entry point into Wolfpack's three tier road range with a cotton version and tubular sitting above it. It uses a nylon carcass of unspecified TPI (threads per inch) and like the other two tyres is only available in a 24mm or 26mm width. I have been testing the larger volume 26mm for this review, it measured an actual width of 27mm.

I tested the fitment of the Wolfpack Road Race tyres to a couple of different wheels to see if there was any issues and was pleased to see that the fit was spot on. The tyre proved to be a nice snug fit without requiring multiple tyre levers to get on or off the rim. I finally settled for using the tyres on a nice set of Prime RR50 wheels. It as to be noted at this point that Wolfpack do not offer the Road Race in a tubeless version which I was a little disappointed about but hopefully that will come in the future.

I set the 26mm versions to 75psi front and 80psi rear (I weigh 74kg) and took them for an initial test and I have to say that the tyres impressed. I forgot that I was using untested tyres and absolutely hooned it into a couple of downhill corners with absolutely no squirm or understeer. The profile on the rim was excellent and the low-set, wrap around tread was even with no hint of a shoulder that could cause a lack of grip. It doesn't feel as out-and-out fast as a Vittoria Corsa or Continental GP5000 but its rolling speed is none the less impressive. The cotton carcassed version supposedly offers less rolling resistance so this might be a better option for a race specific tyre.

Buy now: Wolfpack Road Race from Wolfpack Tyres for £44.99

As most riders will attest the weather has been pretty atrocious so I have spent the best part of a few hundred miles on wet and very mucky, debris strewn roads whilst using the Wolfpack Road Race and I am yet to suffer a puncture, in fact the tyres are looking pretty free from any damage. This has to be down to Wolfpack's ToGuard rubber compound which has been designed to provide all-over puncture protection that stems from the rubber itself and not a belted insert like on other tyres. Not only does the system work, it also makes the tyre feel much more performance based than a proper puncture resistant tyre so this is definitely a good thing.

The Pirelli PZero Velo road tyres were selected for an Editor's Choice award in 2020. This year's list contains 78 items which scored a 9 or 10/10 with our tech team - this gear is the best of the best, and has received the Cycling Weekly stamp of approval. 

These tyres are not brand new for 2020 - but our tech team uses them on a regular bases as a control tyre, they come highly recommended and we just couldn't miss them off the list this year.

I had great expectations from the Pirelli PZero Velo racing tyres.

Whilst tyres are unquestionably important in bicycle racing, living with a self confessed petrol-head means I've had half an eye on enough 'Speed Academy' YouTube videos to be subliminally educated on their importance in automotive sport.

Pirelli primarily supplies new boots for cars and motorbikes - returning to the person-powered market in 2017 after a long absence. With its new 'velo' collection I was expecting to be blown away by expert rubber technology.

The PZero Velo road race tyre was accompanied in its launch by the Pirelli PZero Velo TT and Pirelli PZero Velo 4S, designed for time trails and sub-optimal winter conditions respectively. It's not a tubeless ready creation, like the newly announced Cinturato tyre.

Pirelli PZero Velo compound, tread and contour shaping

In a bid to re-enter the cycling world in triumph, Pirelli created a new molecule patent - calling it 'SmartNet Silica'.

The compound, it says, does away with the trade off we usually have between grip and low rolling resistance vs puncture protection - meaning we can have a fast feeling race tyre that's long lasting and reliable.

Pirelli says the compound features microscopic rod-shaped particles, that are arranged systematically, to provide a strong creation that isn't 'tough' in a way that feels like rolling on a permanently buckled rim, as some concrete-esque puncture proof rubber does.

The compound also offers greater directional performance and increased elasticity as well as decreased heat generation - which combined makes for better rolling resistance. The Silica has a "natural chemical water affinity", too.

An aramid fiber belt has been used as the breaker - offering abrasion and cut resistance whilst being light and flexible.

Compound has long been considered the most crucial element when it comes to grip - with those 'in the know' often asserting that tread can be just as much a psychological security blanket and shop-floor marketing tool as opposed to anything actually functional.

Pirelli, however, isn't over tread yet. It's used a motorsport inspired "Functional Groove Design" (FGD) which - also aesthetically pleasing in the shape of a lightning bolt - claims to provide comfort and water drainage. Apparently it's silent too, but I'm not sure I've ever heard noisy bike tyres.

The tread is longitudinal at the centre of the tyre, yet radial when you lean, and the flashes are positioned alternately to guarantee even performance across the tyre.

It's notable that the tyres look a lot wider than their label would announce. They're available in 23, 25 and 28c and the 25c's I'm riding look more like their bigger brother despite my running around 85 PSI. That's perhaps down to the 'ideal contour shaping'.

Pirelli's used 'Finite element method' (FEM) analysis (a very mathematical method engineers use for solving problems) which resulted in a different crown and sidewall radius designed to optimise performance, offering high speed stability and control coupled with responsiveness and optimum feedback to the handlebars.

Pirelli PZero Velo tyres on the road

We've established that Pirelli has bundled up a collection of its most confidence inspiring, automotive knowledge, and filtered it all into a tyre for road cyclists. But does it all translate on the bike?

In short, yes. The tyres feel fast rolling and race worthy in the way they grip the corners and having tried them out in the pouring rain for a crit at London's affectionately named 'Hoggenburg' circuit - which comprises of a fairly notable ascent and a long swoopy bend - I'd say the stickiness holds true in the wet.

After many hours facilitated by Pirelli's tyres fitted to Black Inc Thirty carbon clincher wheels on my primary bike - in training and an array of road races and crits - I've had one puncture in three months. The culprit was a shard of glass which not even the most concrete-mimicking of impenetrable breaker belts would have held off.

The only thing that's really let the tyres down was my expectations - and maybe the fact they don't quite get full marks on compliance.

I was anticipating greatness of the most extreme degree, and what I've got is goodness which I'd say is comparable to the old favourites - the much revered Continental GP 4000 II S.

At not far off half the retail price - £39.99 each as opposed to a whopping, but often reduced, £59.99 - GP 4000 II worthy performance is not to be sniffed at, especially since it is the industry leading creation.

Whilst the PZero felt on par to GP 4000 performance, the key competitor they both lose out to in my books is the the Specialized S-Works Turbo Cotton.

Pirelli claims that its new compound does away with the trade off between rolling resistance and puncture protection, but it's undeniable that the S-Works Cotton (though £58 a piece) offers a smoother ride over the roughest of sandpaper roads and therefore has to be the leader in compliance.

The High Road is on our Editor’s Choice list this year thanks to its superb level of performance. With low rolling resistance and grip in spades it also happens to be pretty supple and comfortable. The perfect all-rounder.

It’s amazing how little attention many of us pay to our tyres. We tend to find one that works well and stick to that, you’ll trade tales about how a friend of a friend once had a problem with X brand’s winter tyre and we’ll never try them, even if they’re the best seller in the market.

>>> Best road tyres in 2019

I have a theory that’s because no-one really likes spending money on tyres, they’re just something you have to have and so when you need a new set you’ll give it a thought, do some research, and probably buy the same set again. There’s no way you’re drooling over them on week of release like you will be the new Campag Super Record.

So it’s that inertia that confronts a brand like Maxxis, which despite being in the bike tyre business since 1967 and, so it’s website claims, being the biggest manufacturer of cycle tyres in the world, doesn’t hold the privileged of being many riders go-to tyre in the way Continental or Vittoria does.

It’s just as well then that the Taiwanese company has made a very impressive top of the range tyre here. The Maxxis High Road has been below the British Canyon-DHB team for the past couple of years boasts a 120TPI casing, pretty standard for a high end tyre, and Maxxis High Road’s new HYPR compound rubber, which it says reduces rolling resistance and increases grip over its previous rubber, while puncture protection is provided by a layer of K2 kevlar, lighter than its standard sibling.

All that tech does seem to have been successful and out on the road they feel supple and grippy – the two biggest asks of any tyre. In the crosswinds of storm Hannah I didn’t once feel like the bike might slip out from under me despite some fairly aggressive and impromptu lean angles.

Plus, while they could never be expected to turn the pockmarked roads of Surrey into a magic carpet ride they did feel a little more pliable than the Michelin Pro 4s I’d been riding for months before.

Now these Maxxis High Road tyres are really a race day-tyre but as I had only a few short weeks to test them I decided to abuse them on some of the most gravelly torn-up back lanes I could find. And they coped incredibly well. I didn’t have a single puncture, even on rides where my club mates succumbed to several, and the surface of the tyre had no major cuts after the first 300km of abuse.

If you’re in the market for a top end tyre and don’t mind paying a top-end price of around £90 a set of Maxxis High Road's (roughly in line with the likes of a Conti GP5000) then these are definitely worth considering. I’d say they’re even worth a switch from your usual race tyre of choice, I can assure you certainly won’t be getting a dud.

The shear joy of finding a gravel tyre that’s beefy enough for grip in the gloop, but will also run rapidly on the road. The retro Panaracer GravelKing stole our hearts when it got us out of trouble on a ‘bitten off more than could chew” ride in the Peak District.

The all round performance balancing act has been executed so well that it had to have a spot in Editor’s Choice 2019.

When it comes to tyres, I'm a creature of habit. I have a love/ hate releationship with testing them. I love the idea of finding the ultimate compound and grip, but live in fear of actually discovering where the grip runs out. So it's often one of the things I swiftly swop out on test bikes in favour of a pair that I'm accustomed too, and besides it gives me a better benchmark for understanding if it's bike or tyres that is (or isn't) performing.

>>> Best gravel bike tyres

So when the Panaracer Gravelking SK TLC gravel tyre came my way, it was with some apprehension that I stripped off the WTB Cross Boss tubeless ready tyres on the Vitus Energie VR Cyclocross bike to re-dress it in this new rubber.

>>> Gravel bikes buyer's guide: Best bikes for your adventures in 2019

Construction

The obvious first talking point it the colour way of these Panaracer Gravelking SK TLC gravel tyre is, which, to me anyway, is clearly a nod to the fully old school cyclocross Michelin Wild Gippers treads that were then glued to Dugast tubular casings. Michelin’s famous mint green tires haven’t been produced in almost 20 years, but had, and still have, an almost cult like following in the Cyclocross scene.

The colour and off-road ability is where the similarity ends, as even with the Gravelkings boasts of grip with those small knobs, means that these are hardly the mud tyres mentioned above. The mint green is also part of a limited colour run, which also offers a azure blue, so unless you're quick, it'll be standard edition black.

The Panaracer Gravelking SK TLC gravel tyre is in fact a blend of both road and off-road worlds. It's actually pitched as a more aggressive version than the standard Gravelking tyre, with the knobbly side walls boasting extra grip.

Panaracer says that at the centre of the tubeless compatible tyre runs a compound, Zero Slip Grip Natural Compound, that has the same low rolling resistance as the premium compounds, such as the ZSG Active Evo Compound, which Panaracer say produces a more malleable sticky tyre, ideal when grip is your only concern, but would wear out on the road pretty rapidly.

The Natural Compound on the other hand, has been specificity designed with enhanced wear resistance, which Panaracer believe makes it perfect for a long lasting tyre, without totally sacrificing ride quality or grip.

The Ride

For those who have read a few other reviews of mine recently, you'll know that currently, I can be mostly found in The Peak District hills about South Manchester and Cheshire. It's a beaut of a location to ride, but a hard core test of all riding terrain for any cycling products, so the Panaracer Gravelking SK TLC gravel tyre did not by any means have an easy ride.

The combination of genuine gravel trails, cobbles, off road and on road riding gave the tyres, not just a good going over for each geographical element, but also how well they transition from one to another, and I have to say I was really impressed with the balancing act that the Panaracer Gravelking SK TLC gravel tyre managed to perform.

The grip was totally sufficient for all but out and out mud. The greasy rocky/ grass decent round the back of Brick Works was unexpectedly well executed. As a solo rider in the middle of nowhere, I often spook myself when riding techy stuff, so to find that just letting go of the brakes and managing to stay upright surpassed my expectations.

Looking back, they also did an impressive job of getting me up to a section of the ride that I affectionally call 'THE GATE' for the first time since I've been dabbling with the hardcore cross/ gravel style loop I've designed. It's basically a gate that has no business being in the middle of a really steep section of bridal way through a field. It all looks benign enough, until you get within 50meters where the grassy incline rises up ridiculously steep to a point where you have to stay seated in order to retain traction, and zig zag riding to reduce the steepness is prevented by unwelcomed tuffs of moorland grasses and rushes blocking the way, making this a straight run climb, and says a lot about a how much tyre with what looks like minimal central grip can do.

This central file-tread pattern is also noticeably swift on the paved road. On one of my rides, I happened to stumble out of the bridal way just as a local club run was being broken up buy the testing road of Brick Works. My faffing with yet another gate meant I missed the opportunity to jump straight in with the fragmented bunch of riders, but this did give me targets to aim for once I was back on the bike. As they were all out on road machines meaning I wasn't expected to reel anyone in, so to get to the top, and take my turning for another long section of off-roading having passed half a dozen or so riders was pleasantly surprising.

It was the same ride that along the undulated next off-road section, across the tops of Sponds Hill, that I also managed to hit the rim pretty hard off rocks. I had forgotten that, although the Panaracer Gravelking SK TLC gravel tyre are tubeless ready, I'd set them up with tubes. I like to run a pretty low PSI too, so hearing the familiar 'ding' I immediately expected a rear pinch flat, but one didn't arrive. I can't say for sure that it was totally the anti-flat casing that prevented it occurring, but it did make me warm to the tyres even more.

Buy now: Panaracer Gravel King SK TLC at Probikekit from £27.49

Value

Price wise, the £39.99 for the Panaracer Gravelking SK TLC gravel tyre sits it at the upper end of the price point for generically branded gravel tyres, but compared to similarly knobbly peers, it's fairly middle ground.

So there are cheaper options on the market, but having the true go anywhere option of gravel, road and off road really gives these great versatility and means you can opt for one pair over three, making them really good value.

The thing with gravel road bikes, is that you want to be able to ride them on gravel and road. It doesn't sound that complicated, but when it comes to choosing what tyres to ride, finding a one that is grippy, puncture resistant and fast rolling can feel impossible. However, promising to tick all three of the above is the Bontrager GR2 Team Issue Gravel tyre, meaning we just had to take it out for a ride.

Buy now: Bontrager GR2 Team Issue Gravel Road Tyre from RutlandCycling for £37.99

The Bontrager GR2 Team Issue Gravel tyre is purpose built to roll fast while providing confident traction across all road surfaces. In fact, it's one of the early adopters of the gravel racing scene, and, according to Trek (Bontrager's mother brand) has already earned its stripes in some of the most demanding gravel races.

The shoulder to shoulder low profile block tread patten finds a pitch perfect position between grip and rolling resistance. The bike felt secure leaning in to rapid corners both off and on road. Admittedly I do normally tend to run my tyre PSI pretty low, and thanks to being tubeless ready, the subtle rubber compound of the Bontrager GR2 Team Issue Gravel tyre allowed me to get that malleable softness that I prefer for off the beaten track meandering.

This pressure preference does however often leave me vulnerable to two aspects of tyre ownership, a low rolling resistance and pinch punctures. The later of the two risks was unfounded, not only thanks to the afore mentioned tubeless properties, but because the Bontrager GR2 Team Issue Gravel tyre is bolstered by Bontrager's own tyre protection system 'Inner Strength'.

Bontrager say this 'Inner Strength' is effectively a lightweight nylon insert that provides a strong, supple sidewall protection for added tyre durability, and so far so good. Even the Peak District's finest flinty gravel runs are yet to make an impression on the tyres, either in the centre or side walls.

When it comes to the rolling resistance aspect, low pressure was great for some of the more off than on road rides, but a quick blast around the lanes, canal paths and cycle ways, soon left me wanting less squish and more vavavoom, so I whacked the Bontrager GR2 Team Issue Gravel tyre much closer to their maximum 50psi and the Vitus Energie VR Cyclocross bike I was riding flew.

Buy now: Bontrager GR2 Team Issue Gravel Tyre from Rutland Cycles for £37.99

On this style of terrain the tyres really show their value, rolling exceptionally rapidly, yet still providing sufficient purchase. There was a slight amount of 'pinging' off the odd larger stone, so think I would still ride a lower PSI if it was anything more gnarly, but on the drag strip of a disused railway, this was ideal.

Overall, I really rate the rubber, they certainly felt on a par with my much beloved Panaracer Gravelking SK TLC gravel tyre, but at £10 more, the Bontrager GR2 Team Issue Gravel tyre hasn't quite taken the top stop.

Schwalbe claims that the Schwalbe Pro One tyre is the fastest road tyre out there. That’s something that’s difficult to verify, although the Pro One tyres did seem to pep up my rides significantly when swapped out for another maker’s tubed tyres on my test bike. Tubeless in any case tends to be faster than tubed – see the video of our tests below.

>>> Buy now: Schwalbe Pro One 700x25c from Halfords for £37.99

Setting up tubeless can be tricky, although that’s much less the case than it was a couple of years ago. So I found that the Schwable Pro One seated easily with just a track pump both on Hunt’s rims and Mavic’s, providing a leakproof seal – something that not many tyres achieve first time.

Schwalbe points out that although you can ride the Pro One with tubes, it’s best set up tubeless. And running tubeless meant that I could drop the tyre pressure by 10psi to around 70psi for a really supple, grippy ride. The lower pressure also helps even out the characteristic imperfections of UK roads, adding plenty of extra comfort.

There’s a reassuring amount of grip from the Schwalbe Pro One tyres’ compound too, leading to confident descending and fast manoeuvring. Only when confronted on a narrow road with an oncoming horsebox did I lock up the rear wheel, but the skid felt controlled and was easily rectified.

As rims get ever wider, tyres too spread out and the 25mm Schwalbe Pro One tyres tested were around 29mm wide on Mavic 19mm internal width rims. Again, that helps put plenty of rubber on the road. Using a 25mm tyre avoids the weight penalty of a 28mm tyre, so you get faster acceleration, although clearance might be an issue with some older frame designs. As well as the 25mm tyre tested, the Schwalbe Pro One is available in 23mm and 28mm width for 700c rims as well as 650b and other options.

>>> Buy now: Schwalbe Pro One 700x25c from Halfords for £37.99

At 264g, the Schwalbe Pro One tyres are light too, lowering inertia and helping your wheels to spin up just that bit more quickly, again adding a lively feel to the ride. Although their list price looks high at £67, as with most tyres you can find significant discounts if you shop around, putting the Pro One tyres in line with their competitors.

The Hutchinson Fusion 5 Performance tyre with its 11Storm compound now in a tubeless ready guise

Long mileage, good grip levels and puncture protection; that's the holy trinity of the cycling tyre that brands have long extolled. In much the same way, the Hutchinson Fusion 5 claims to have all three in spades thanks to its 'infernal' 11Storm performance compound. It's also available as an 'all season' tyre too.

As you'd expect from the original pioneer of road tubeless, The Hutchinson Fusion 5 is tubeless ready, meaning it can be run either tubeless or as a clincher. I opted to run mine as the latter, fitting the tyres onto a set of Campagnolo Bora One wheels. While I'm in favour of tyres being tubeless ready, and in particular the versatility that it offers riders, it can make fitting them a touch tougher than your clincher-only tyres and it took myself and another mean fingered member of the Cycling Weekly team to get the bead over the rim.

Before fitting them I'd been impressed at how light the carcasses felt. Weighing it at 238g, they are indeed skimpy and while they offered a significant weight advantage over the Continental GP 5000 tyres I had been using previously it did leave me a touch worried about their puncture protection. I'd also hoped it might make them easier to fit but, alas, it was not to be.

Buy Hutchinson Fusion 5 performance ready tyre at Wiggle for £34

Watch: Superbikes on superclimbs – Passo Gardena

Credit where credit's due, the 11Storm compound lived up to Hutchinson's claims and the Fusion 5 tyres did roll very well, feeling the perfect complement to high end carbon wheels.

What's more, I'm yet to suffer any flats despite the tyres being subjected to the repeated potholes of the Kent lanes – and that lightweight construction definitely gives them a bit of extra zip.

They're supple too, although their 127 threads per inch count isn't as high as the S-Works Turbo Cotton or the Vittoria Corsa's 320tpi, so I suspect the lightweight construction of the carcass has lot to do with it.

At £39.95 a tyre, the RRP of the tyres comes in well under any comparative tyres I've mentioned in this piece, and they're even more impressive because of it.

When Michelin introduced its Power range a couple of years ago, there were two notable gaps: the brand did not have a tubular – it said that clinchers were faster and easier – and none of its tyres were designed to be run tubeless. The Power Competition Gravel is the brand’s first road-going tyre to be tubeless ready.

>>> Best gravel bike tyres

Although we say “road-going”, of course the Power Competition Gravel is designed for mixed surface riding. It comes in the wider sizes you’d expect for this: 33mm, 35mm and 40mm. With the lower pressures you need for these widths, it’s slightly less demanding on a tubeless set-up than a 25mm road tyre.

Nevertheless, set-up was easy. It’s been a while since I have set up a tubeless tyre that has needed a reservoir pump to seat it and even longer since I’ve had one that popped off the rim – an indication of the increasing maturity of tubeless tyres and wheelsets and reduced manufacturing tolerances.

They were quite hard work to get over the rims of a set of Hunt 30Carbon Gravel Disc wheels, but once there seated easily with just a track pump and without significant air loss or exertion.

The tread pattern is a classic gravel design with an array of close, small knobs over the majority of the tyre, coupled to some deeper, larger, more spaced out knobs at the extremities.

It’s a good design for the dry summer and autumn conditions in which I rode the tyres. They rolled fast on road and hard pack, but didn't give as much grip when I hit the few muddy areas remaining meaning they didn't clear that well. The tyres are quite high-sided, so you can drop the pressure without too much risk of bottoming out on the rim when going over bumps. Although the tyre wall says 43psi minimum, I ran tubeless down to mid-20s without issues, which enhanced grip and roll-over on rooty routes.

There’s a new X-Miles rubber compound used for the Michelin Power Competition Gravel (as well as the Michelin Power Endurance road-going tyre), which Michelin says increases the tyre’s lifespan. It also says that the Power Competition Gravel has a “Protek” bead to bead protection belt built in under the tread, designed to keep thorns, flints and other ride-spoilers at bay.

With narrower widths available and its low-profile central tread, the Michelin Power Competition Gravel would work well for dry cyclocross races as well as recreational all-terrain riding. Michelin also sells the non-tubeless Cyclocross Mud 2 and Cyclocross Jet in 30mm width only, to cater for crossers.

If you are after a best day tyre, which will last the summer and give you a great ride feel with confidence inspiring grip in the bends, you don't really need to look past the Specialized S-Works Turbo Cotton tyres.

The supple ride quality can improve comfort levels and the tanned sidewalls gives the bike an overall great look. The best thing is though, they seem to last a little longer than rival lightweight and fast rolling tyres, a worthy inclusion into our Editor's Choice awards. 

These high-end tyres from American brand Specialized have been a great addition to all my bikes over the summer. So much so that I keep asking for more... please return my emails Specialized... although the Specialized S-Works Turbo Cotton tyres are best kept for the best days.

These Specialized S-Works Turbo Cotton tyres are for the race days, the KOM/QOM days, ideally on dry roads and not for the everyday, so don't go buying these for your winter hack or commuter stead.

That is because these featherweight tyres from Specialized are a cotton tyre and wear can be relatively quick, though a few months in, without taking much care of them - ie not worrying about how or when I ride them - I've only noticed a small amount of wear over 500 - 600kms. They even got through a 25 hour race without a worry of a puncture, even on wet roads.

The Specialized S-Works Turbo Cotton tyres are now available in 24, 26 and 28mm at varying weights and here I've tested the 26mm (weighing a claimed 240g) on a set of Roval CLX 50 wheels. Of course Specialized will have tested and developed these S-Works Turbo Cotton tyres on its own Roval wheels so the interface here works very well indeed.

These tyres use 320 TPI Polycotton which are very supple indeed. The Specialized S-Works Turbo Cotton tyres use the GRIPTON compound from the American brand too, as used on most of its fast rolling tyres.

This supple tyre rolls extremely well, they feel supper fast. I tested the heavier Vittoria Corsa Control tyres directly after these and they felt notably slower. Same wheels same bike. Although more comparable on grip levels, which is very, very good on the Specialized S-Works Turbo Cotton tyres.

Durability isn't as good as harder casing tyres but what do you expect from cotton cased tyres?! As I say though, these have worn evenly and slowly over the course of the summer, even on wet days they've avoided puncture but I could be lucky in that respect - we all know how it goes with tyres.

If you are looking for a bit of zing on your best bike, you can't do much better than these Specialized S-Works Turbo Cotton tyres.

We still rate the Michelin Power Competition tyres amongst our favourites and Michelin claims low rolling resistance too, which is backed up by our own testing. Coming in at around 200g, they’re light and we’ve found they offer excellent durability. It may be among the few road tyres yet to offer a tubeless option, but we’ve awarded the Power Competition an Editor’s Choice award as one of our favourite components we’ve used in 2018.

Most of Michelin's annual R&D spend of €700m goes into car tyres, where rolling resistance can account for up to 20 per cent of fuel consumption. The technology developed for cars, including silica-based tread compounds, has been incorporated into its range of Power cycle tyres and Michelin claims impressive results.

The Michelin Power Competition tyres are the replacements for the Pro4 Service Course, and are aimed at road competition. Michelin claims that the Power Competition saves 10 watts of power over the company’s previous top-end model and bases this claim on tests done by third-party tyre specialists, Finnish Energy. But what does it actually mean to you and me? Apparently, for a rider and bike weighing 70kg, this could save 85 seconds over 40km at 35kph over the old tyre.

>>> Buyer's guide to road bike tyres (video)

Alternatively it could equate to over a minute off the time to climb Alpe d’Huez, a weight loss of 1.5kg, 54 seconds on the 2015 Time Trial World Championship course or 2.8m in a 30 second sprint.

Watch: Can a tubeless tyre survive a nail?

Testing

At the launch event, we tested the new Michelin Power Competition tyres against the Pro4s on the company’s cycle tyre test track at Ladoux. We rode 5.5km at a constant 180 watts on the Pro4 Service Course before swapping for the Power Competitions and repeating the exercise. A group of 30 journalists rode an average of 0.8kph faster on the new tyre.

It’s an exercise which Michelin has repeated dozens of times with its own test riders, with strikingly similar results: overall the Power Competitions were 0.9kph faster than the Pro4s.The Michelin Power Competition tyres are available in 23mm and 25mm widths with claimed weights of 195g and 215g respectively.

Naturally we wanted to perform our own testing. In addition to field testing out on the road, in various conditions, engineer and pro rider, Dan Bigham helped us calculate the rolling resistance of these tyres. For the details of the rolling resistance test and the full results you can click here (it's towards the bottom of the page).

Our testing appears consistent, with the Michelins coming in third place just behind the Bontrager R4 and Vittoria Corsa G+. The key thing though, is that the Michelins are lighter, which will mean lower inertia and a more responsive ride feel. The Michelin Power Competition tyres are also lighter on your wallet too at about £20 less than the Bontrager R4.

It is difficult to quantify, but we didn't feel as comfortable in the wet on the Michelins, compared to the Continental GP4000. We did detect some slight slippage of the rear tyre in wet conditions too.

Another thing to note is that although stated as 25mm, they came up at 26mm on our stock rim when measure with calipers. Although light the puncture protection does appear decent and we didn't puncture while testing even on dirty wet roads.

The newly released IRC Boken is a classic gravel bike tyre, with a file tread across its centre coupled to a row of more widely spaced knobs at its edges. Unwrapping the tyre, the first thing you notice is how tacky the rubber feels. IRC emphasises its ultra-gummy compound, designed for added traction.

>>> Gravel bike buyer's guide

Like most gravel tyres, the IRC Boken is tubeless ready. Tubeless set-up is hassle free; it’s easy to get the tyre over the wheel rim and I was able to seat the beads and pump up to 60psi without any more effort than it would need to pump up an inner tube. There was little or no escaping air before or after the tyre beads popped into place, even before adding sealant.

The IRC Boken tyre comes in 36mm or 40mm widths. For the 36mm variant, IRC recommends inflation pressure between 45 and 65psi on the tyre sidewall, 40 – 65 psi on its website. Strangely, the minimum recommended on the site for the 40mm variant is higher at 45psi.

As with most wide tyres, running tubeless means that you can comfortably drop below this and realise gains in traction and a less bumpy ride, without the risk of pinch flats. I rode the IRC Boken tyres at 30-35psi without problem. Like most gravel tyres, there’s enough sidewall height to stop bottoming out on roots and bumps at low pressures.

The company says that the IRC Boken tyre is developed for extreme gravel racing. As you’d expect, there’s plenty of grip over rough surfaces in the dry, so they have been fine to ride in the drought of this summer. But the tread doesn’t have enough grip to keep you moving confidently once things get proper damp or muddy.

We’ve been impressed by Vittoria’s graphene-containing Corsa road tyres – so much so that the Corsa Speed found its way into our Editor’s Choice awards last year. Like the Corsa Speed, the Vittoria Terreno Mix tyres are also tubeless ready.

They’re part of Vittoria’s revamped cyclocross tyre range, with the company also selling Terreno Wet and Terreno Dry tyres with different tread patterns but using the same compound.

As with its previous Cross X series tyres, Vittoria offers the Terreno line in a tubular version as well as a clincher, with the tubs priced at £79.99 apiece and available in 31mm or 33mm widths.

The bead of the Vittoria Terreno Mix is quite soft and a tight fit to tubeless rims. I needed a tyre lever to get it over the lip. But this led to very easy seating, with just a track pump providing the necessary air volume to seal the beads.

The Vittoria Terreno Mix clincher (and also the other Terreno clincher tyres) comes in three different widths: 40mm, 33mm and 31mm, of which we’ve tested the 33mm version, a good width for cyclo-cross racing or general off-road exploring.

Whereas the graphene content may make the claimed difference in grip and rolling resistance on the road, tyre performance off-road is more about tread pattern and tyre pressure.

As you’d expect, the Terreno Mix is a bit of an all-rounder, with a tread pattern similar to the classic Grifo tread, but with comparatively low profile knobs. These are chevron shaped and closely spaced over the tyre’s crown, which leads to low rolling resistance on tarmac. Since the tyre has quite a rounded profile, these tend to form the contact patch on hard surfaces.

>>> Does my tyre compound matter?

Head onto softer ground and, with the right tyre pressure, the central chevrons and the side lugs start to bite. The latter are more widely spaced, so adding some grip and also clearing mud more easily. They feel very effective when the going gets soft; the tyre is pliant enough to give a really secure feel when rolling over the rough stuff too.

It’s quite a heavy tyre for cyclo-cross due to its thick tread and robust sidewalls. We didn’t have any problems with flats while testing the Vittoria Terreno Mix, perhaps reflecting this.

The Tannus Aither 1.1 25mm tyre is the South Korean brand’s latest solid tyre – it prefers to call them “airless” rather than solid tyres.

Before John Dunlop invented the pneumatic tyre in 1887, all bikes came with solid tyres and apart from being shaken to near death, no one ever got a puncture. Ever since, pneumatics have held sway – and cyclists have got used to carrying the necessary bits and bobs with them to repair a flat. Remember the last time you got a flat with all your mates standing at the side of the road getting cold?

So in theory a non-pneumatic tyre could be a godsend: no need to carry a pump, tyre levers and inner tube, or to call out the sag wagon.

Tannus has been developing the Tannus Aither 1.1 25mm airless tyre for over two years. It uses the same system of pegs to hold the tyre in the rim as the company’s previous tyres, and is made of a polymer resin similar to that used in running shoes. Check out how to fit them here (video).

>>> Puncture proof: are solid tyres an option for road bikes?

Fitting the Tannus Aither 1.1 25mm tyre is a bit of a faff: you need to select the right length pins for your rim, so that they pop into place reasonably easily but still keep the tyre in place securely. You don’t need rim tape, saving a bit of rolling weight, which you'll need!

You also need to make sure that all the pegs are bedded down evenly, so that the tyre is symmetrical on the rim. Fortunately, the Tannus Aither 1.1 25mm is wide enough to fit well onto the wider rims which are becoming prevalent on modern wheels.

But at least you only have to fit the tyre once. It’s probably worth asking the shop from which you buy the tyres to fit them for you. Tannus claims that the Tannus Aither 1.1 25mm will last for around 6000 miles of use, so it’s a fit-and-forget solution.

>>> Over 160,000 bikes with solid tyres sold by Japanese brand Chacle

I was impressed by the new tyres’ grip. You can skid out the back wheel if you brake hard on a wet road, but this is no worse or less controllable than the best pneumatics. Likewise, you can climb with confidence on damp back roads without wheel slip.

>>> Tannus Nymph tyre review

Where the tyre doesn’t fare so well is its ride quality. Tannus told us that the equivalent pressure for a pneumatic tyre is 115psi (although the website quotes 105psi). That’s far higher than we would usually run a 25mm tyre– we’d typically not go above 90psi.

This results in an uncomfortably jittery ride on typical UK road surfaces, which gets tiring after a couple of hours. Any smooth tarmac you do find comes as a relief – but you soon realise that it’s in short supply.

Interestingly, I also lost between 1 and 1.5 mph on the Tannus Aither 1.1 25mm relative to the same rides on pneumatics. This is probably due to effort going into moving the bike and rider up and down, whereas a softer tyre will reduce vertical movement.

If you’re riding for shorter lengths – say an hour or less – then the Tannus Aither 1.1 25mm could be worth considering. For commuters, its fit-and-forget qualities and the chance to abandon your puncture gear are definitely a boon. But for anyone wanting to ride longer distances, or who values ride comfort, a tubeless-ready solution might be a better bet.

These have come on rapidly in the last few years and many new bikes come tubeless-ready. You’ll still want to carry a pump and tube, just in case, but the sealant inside the tyre should deal with many smaller punctures.

A mud-specific gravel tyre seems like an oxymoron. But the Panaracer GravelKing Mud is a useful beast in UK conditions, where anything off-road, even if there’s a gravel base, is usually covered with a layer of slippery mud.

>>> Best gravel bike tyres

Most gravel tyres come with a tread of small knobs. These are great for grip and roll well on dry gravel, but have a tendency to clog and slip around if there’s any loose cover.

The Panaracer GravelKing Mud has an array of long, shallow knobs across its crown which provide some extra grip without adding too much rolling resistance. There is a set of deeper, smaller knobs at the sides to provide enhanced grip when cornering and cut into deeper muck.

>>> UK Cycling Events Adventure Cross Series 2018

There’s plenty of air volume in the 35mm tyre – it came out at around 38mm on Hunt’s rims. As usual, hitting the sweet spot for tyre pressure requires a bit of trial and error. I found around 40psi to provide reasonable speed on road, although you do slip around a bit in muddy conditions.

Dropping the pressure to 25psi resulted in enhanced grip in muddy conditions but a heavy ride on tarmac. I was also hitting the rims on bumpier tracks. You can still slip around and lose traction in really deep mud though. In deeper mud, a narrower tyre is likely to enhance grip as it should cut deeper and might hit the more solid base.

>>> Guide to racing cyclocross

The tyre has a rounded profile, so get the pressure right and you should be rolling on the crown of the tyre on harder trails. The tread pattern is not quite as aggressive as mud-specific cyclocross tyres like the Dugast Rhino, but it’s enough to keep you going forward.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOi4czjB1No

The Panaracer GravelKing Mud can be set up tubeless. It’s quite a tight fit to a tubeless rim, so once you get it fitted, seating and sealing are comparatively trouble-free. Panaracer says that it has incorporated anti-flat protection in its casing.

>>> Best gravel bikes for your adventures in 2018

The Panaracer GravelKing Mud is available in 33mm and 35mm widths and with black or these rather smart tan sidewalls. If you expect to encounter deeper mud, the 33mm version might be a better bet than the 35mm.

Panaracer’s other gravel tyres are available in the larger widths up to 48c, more common for riding gravel. But for muddy conditions, the Panaracer GravelKing Mud’s narrower section provides better penetration and grip and is less likely to float over the surface.

For racing tyres it's straightforward – you want something fast with reasonable puncture protection – but training or endurance tyres are slightly more complicated. You want something robust, durable, puncture proof, but that doesn't make you feel like you're riding through treacle. With claims of meeting all the above, the Specialized Roubaix Pro tyre could be just the ticket.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUwtBDZpooI

Video: buyer's guide to road tyres

Specialized Roubaix Pro tyre construction

The 120TPI folding clincher Specialized Roubaix Pro tyre is badged as endurance rubber. What this means in practice is that it should deliver good puncture protection while still being enjoyable to ride in terms of rolling resistance.

>>> The best road bike tyres reviewed: Puncture resistant tyres and fast tyres. 

The central tread of the Specialized Roubaix Pro tyre uses the house-brand Gripton compound. Its exact materials depend on tyre and application, but it's safe to assume that the tyre shoulders use a high-hysteresis compound which is good at absorbing energy, ideal for grip and surface adaption, while the central channel will be a low-hysteresis rubber, which is pretty resilient and therefore will have a faster rolling resistance.

The puncture protection comes in the form of bead-to-bead Endurant Casing, a lighter version of the Kevlar and Nylon used in Armadillo tyres, and BlackBelt technology – a strip of tightly woven material directly under the tread (found on all Specialized tyres).

There are three sizes available in the Specialized Roubaix Pro tyre range: 23/25mm, 25/28mm and 30/32mm, with us choosing to test the sensibly sized middle option.

The ride

I'm a self-confessed tyre geek. I spent years searching for my tyre Utopia and found it in the Michelin Pro4 range – and now am reluctant to ride anything else, but do recognise that even that can get overwhelmed on some terrain.

The Specialized Roubaix Pro tyre, however, loves on the rough stuff. As with all tyre tests, I'm always apprehensive about the first roll-out, never knowing where the exact bite point is (or isn't), but I've got to say I was really impressed with them. I stuck them on the crazy-high-end Zipp 454 NSW carbon clincher wheels and although theoretically at opposite end of the spectrum, they actually collaborated exceptionally well in winter riding.

If you're a rider of a certain age, you're probably still mentally, and possibly physically, scarred from any form of 'puncture proof' tyres. Specialized Armadillo were the main culprit, although I'm sure they are now much improved, with many wheels written off either by crashing with them on due to their angular profile offering zero grip, or being flung in to a bush where the mental grind of dragging yourself round on a club run with them on broke you long before the tyre ever punctured.

However, I have to say after several outings, both dry and wet, on the Specialized Roubaix Pro tyre, they are still totally intact. The rolling resistance was really impressive, so OK I was on the crazy fast Zipps, but I clocked 19 PRs and one third-place QOM with them on a really hilly cold and wet January, which frankly is just obscene for tough endurance tyres.

That's slightly misleading, as weighing 300g each you're not going to fly if you stick these on any old wheelset, but it goes to show that there wasn't a hint of a sensation that the roads were covered in sticky pudding.

Profile wise, Specialized has done well with the Roubaix Pro and delivered that nice parabolic shape that I crave on tyres. It allows for a lot of rubber to road contact, which gives me a lot of cornering confidence. I confess I didn't push these to their limits, it was far too cold for that, but I was in positions where holding wheels required quick corners and descents and they gave a great me more than enough feedback that they were firmly planted. In fact it was on those rides where I was just able to totally forget I was riding them, which is always the sign of a great tyre.

Value

Pricing for tyres is a minefield, but as your only point of contact with the road, it's not something that should be a race to the cheapest. That said, with a RRP of £29 a pop, the Specialized Roubaix Pro tyre, with the qualities I've seen over a couple of hundred miles of using them, seem to offer great value for money. They're a long way from a race tyre, but I'd happily ride them from October to April.

After years out, Pirelli has made a much anticipated return to the cycling tyre, releasing a new line that includes standard road tyres, time trial options as well as the Pirelli PZero Velo 4S all-season tyre.

The very first experience of the tyres, the initial mounting of them, is great, and getting them on the Zipp 302 wheels on a Cervélo R5 was a breeze, with no tools, grunting or swearing necessary.

As is often the case with Zipp wheels, the tyre is spread large on the rim, and our 25mm Pirellis actually measured a whopping 30mm across.

While this is enormous, it's no bad thing, as the tyres are supple enough to take the sting out of the harsh ride of the Zipp 302s and offer stability when riding.

Watch: Tubular vs Clinchers vs Tubeless – which is fastest?

While the initial setup bliss was appreciated, it did leave questions about the toughness of the sidewalls, and the possible fragility of the tyres. Happily, the autumn roads and the debris hiding under the leaves are yet to puncture them.

The Pirelli PZero 4S tyres didn't feel sluggish, despite their supposed extra winter bulk, and Pirelli boasts the importance of its SmartNet Silica and also the semi-slick centre of the tyre in helping them skip along.

Of course, as equally important is the 127tpi casing, which will definitely have contributed towards making it supple and fast rolling. Although, in comparison to something like the Vittoria Corsa G+'s 320tpi casing, it's relatively low.

The number of flash grooves is increased on the 4S model to three, which according to Pirelli is supposed to increase grip and thus far they've held their own on greasy autumn mornings.

So far, there's no tubeless option for the PZero 4S, but following what Pirelli said at the launch, we might see something soon.

The tyre enters the market at £43.90, still a good £15 cheaper than the Continental Grand Prix 4S tyres, which some see as the benchmark for winter riding.

We’ve had a Cannondale Slate on test at Cycling Weekly. The bike comes with 650b wheels shod with slick 42mm tyres. They roll well on road but soon give up on typically muddy UK bridlepaths. Enter the Schwalbe G-One Allround, one of the few tyres out there which is available in 650b size in a narrow enough 38mm/1.5 inch width to clear the Slate’s chainstays. It also has a tread pattern.

The Schwalbe G-One Allround is Schwalbe’s dedicated gravel tyre with closely spaced small, round knobs and uses Schwalbe’s Tubeless Easy technology for light weight and, as its name suggests, easy tubeless set-up.

As well as 650b, you can also buy the Schwalbe G-One Allround in 700c diameter 35mm and 38mm variants. If you run 650b and have a lot of clearance, there’s a 70mm/2.8 inch version. We’ve tested the higher-spec Evolution Line tyre, but there’s also a cheaper Performance Line variant of the tyre, so there are a lot of options.

>>> Open U.P. review

The Schwalbe G-One Allround is noticeably thicker-skinned than the Slate’s supplied Panaracer tyre. It fits easily on the Slate’s Mavic rims, too. I was able to get a seal quickly with a reservoir pump without too much drama. A track pump wasn’t quite up to the job though.

Having some tread definitely helps with off-road riding on typical UK bridleways. The extra grip leads to less loss of traction and sideslip on damp, muddy tracks, although deeper mud still results in a loss of traction.

>>> Six best gravel and adventure road bikes for 2017

The tread soon clears once on firmer ground, though. The Schwalbe G-One Allround tyres also feel sufficiently robust to cope with rocky and flinty conditions with reduced risk of sidewall damage.

On road the tyres still roll and handle well run at around 40psi. But if you’re going for a 650b tyre it’s a shame not to have the larger contact patch and lower pressure offered by a wider tyre.