I have a few bikes that are primarily ridden on gravel and most of my riding includes gravel, but none of my bikes are gravel bikes. And having made the list below, it looks like I don’t own any gravel tyres, either. So, here’s a list of road and MTB tyres* on non-gravel bikes ranked by gravel grade from road to technical singletrack, which mostly maps to Silca’s grades 1-4.
* There’s a 700x35mm version of an XC tyre on the Gunnar, so maybe that one is (was) a gravel tyre when it was available, but it seems to be no longer.
700x38mm Vittoria Corsa Pro Control on Hunt 40 Carbon Disc wheels
Bike: 2020 Lynskey R300 “road” bike
Gravel Category: Class 1-3
Setup: Tubeless, measured tyre width: 35.2mm at apx. 40/45psi (F/R). The rims are hooked (as all rims should be) and are 22mm internal rim measurement.
Why: The R300 is primarily a road bike, but I don’t like riding on roads. So, it has road tyres that work offroad. Road tyres can be excellent gravel tyres, depending heavily on the terrain and your comfort level sliding around with variable front and rear traction. The 35mm Continental GP5000S TR is known for being good offroad, but I have a preference for Vittoria and decided to try out the Corsa Pro Control. Vittoria do offer a 42mm version of the Corsa Pro Control, but I’m already pushing the published 32mm tyre clearance limit on the R300 and thought the 38s were enough. The tightest margin seems to be between the tyre and seat tube, where there’s about 6mm or clearance. The chainstays maintain at least 9mm of clearance with these, so maybe those 42mm tyres would fit after all. The R300 has an Enve All-road fork with 40mm of tyre clearance, so no concerns with the 38mm (35mm measured) Corsas there.
Other thoughts: The Corsa Pro Controls are excellent on reasonably well maintained gravel and dry hardback, marginal if there’s any mud around, and useless in wet grass. These make tame singletrack a lot of fun, but stay away from rocks and be careful on roots. Oh, and they’re quite good on the road as well.
700x35mm Vittoria Mezcal on Hunt 4-season rim-brake wheels
Bike: 2001 Gunnar Crosshairs cyclocross bike
Gravel Category: Class 1-4
Setup: Tubeless, had inserts, measured tyre width: 36.1mm at apx. 45/50psi (F/R), 17mm internal rim measurement.
Why: The Gunnar has had a huge variety of road, cyclocross, touring, and gravel tyres ranging from 23-38mm over the 20 years that I’ve been riding it. There are two main factors limiting tyre choice on the Gunnar: rear tyre clearance at the chain stays and front tyre toe overlap. I rode the Ritchry Speedmax in 30, 32, and 35mm for years, then the Kenda Slant 6 was my go to tyre for gravel and singletrack for quite a while. Tyre width on the Gunnar hit a peak around 2012-2014 with some WTB All-Terrainasarus 38mm front and 35mm rear. Those were reasonably practical tyres, but the toe overlap was excessive. The Gunnar has toe overlap with anything about a 30mm, and those tall 38mm WTBs were too much. So, these 35mm Mezcals with their XC tread are good all-around tyres with a good compromise between size and toe overlap.
Other thoughts: The Gunnar does have a second wheelset with a pair of tubed 700x32mm Vittoria Corsa N.Ext tyres on Fulcrum Racing 5 LG CX wheels. These were my “road” wheels, but they also saw use on gravel and singletrack. The Corsa N.Ext tyres are decent enough on class 1 gravel, but cornering was alway sketchy and singletrack was hit or miss, and the tubes are always prone to pinch flats. These wouldn’t be my first choice for offroad, but if I was going to ride them I’d want to make sure it’s very dry with no mud and no wet timber bridge decks.
I also used to have a pair of Effetto Mariposa Tyre Invaders in some Kenda Flintridge* and later Alluvium tyres, but decided not to install the inserts on the current Mezcals. I haven’t had any pinch flats with the Mezcals and don’t see a need to use inserts for the type of riding the Gunnar sees these days.
*- Those 700x35mm Kenda Flintridge tyres didn’t really fit. I trimmed all the side knobs of the rear Flintridge to (mostly) keep it from buzzing the chainstays.
29×2.2 Specialized S-Works Renegade on Easton ARC 25 Offset rims
Bike: 2011 Lynskey Ridgeline dropbar 29er MTB
Gravel Category: Class 2-4
Setup: Tubeless, no inserts, measured tyre width: 54.1mm/2.1″ at apx. 28/30psi (F/R), 25mm internal rim measurement.
Why: I did not choose these wheels or tyres. This was Eric’s bike, and this was his preference. I first rode this bike with these tyres back in the northern hemisphere winter of 2024/2025 and my first impressions were that they weren’t ideal snow tyres, but held their own well enough. Now, having ridden them in sane conditions, I’ve found that they’re quite good. While I have some reservations about their casing and durability, I have been impressed with their speed on fast gravel and cornering on both gravel and hardpack. In the winter here, which ends next week, there is often a layer of “green ice” that unseats almost any tyre, and these are no exception. I’m saving this bike for the warmer and drier months that will be here soon.
Other thoughts: What is green ice? This is a term I first heard in Adelaide where it was used to describe the growth of a usually green moss-like plant that tends to cover damp hardback found primarily on southern-facing hillsides that don’t see the sun all winter. There just so happens to be one of those southern-facing hillsides that I ride to get down to the Main Yarra Trail here, and it’s caught me out a few times on a bike and on foot. The only tyres I currently have that I trust on this stuff are the 29×2.6/2.4″ (F/R) Maxxis Forekaster 3C MaxxTerras that I have on the rigid singlespeed, and even then it’s marginal.
27.5×2.25 Maxxis Rekon Race on Stan’s Crest Mk3 rims
Bike: 2008 Kent Eriksen dropbar 650b MTB
Gravel Category: Class 3-4
Setup: Tubeless, no inserts, measured tyre width: 56.5mm/2.2″ at apx. 28/30psi (F/R), 23mm internal rim measurement.
Why: The Erkisen was originally a 100mm hardtail built for 26×2.1″ tyres, and the first tyres I installed on it in 2008 were tubed 26×2.1″ Panaracer Fire XC Pros. The Eriksen was converted to dropbars in 2019, still with the 26″ wheels and some stylish tan-wall Schwalbe Nobby Nic 26×2.25″ tubeless tyres. The initial 650b set up was Maxxis Ikon 2.2×27.5″ front, Maxxis Aspen 2.1×27.5″ rear. The Ikon is a reasonably good, predictable tyre, and the Aspen is a fun, loose rear tyre, at least in the small 27.5×2.1″ size. The limiting factor for fitting 650b rear tyres in this 26″ frame is the rear brake bridge, and the 27.5×2.2″ Ikon would rub the brake bridge, hence the Aspen 2.1″. However, I found that the low-tread 27.5×2.2″ Rekon Race fits the rear, and I swapped to a pair of these when the Ikon/Aspen needed replacing. The Rekon Race isn’t the grippiest tyre around, but it’s reasonably predictable and pretty fun. I currently have a 3C MaxxSpeed Rekon Race on the front and a harder dual compound version on the rear. I would like a 3C MaxxTerra on the front, but it seems the market for soft compound, low tread 650b XC tyres is too limited. Go figure.
Other thoughts: Good 27.5″ tyres in fun sizes for singletrack aren’t easy to come by. I know these Maxxis tyres aren’t the most efficient, but neither is a dropbar MTB with 46cm Ritchey Beacon bars that flare to over 60cm, which is wider than the Titec 555mm flat bars I originally had on this thing in 2008. The point here is more fun than fast or efficient, and Maxxis tyres generally allow for a lot of fun. I did prefer the feel of the Ikon on the front at the limits of traction, but both the Rekon Race and Aspen are good enough on the rear.
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