Dylan Johnson is a very credible guy, love his videos too.

I’m running 47-55c tires on 700c wheels on all of my gravel bikes. Favorite tires include the Rene Herse Fleecer Ridge (55c) and Oracle Ridge (48c), and the Vittoria Terreno Dry in a 47c.

Dylan always holds my interest - one of the best. I realize this is about what's fast, but for most of us it should also be what's fun. I almost always include some single track in every gravel ride I do (roots, rocks, off camber slick mud etc), and Rambler 700x45 is money at 23F and 26R (psi). I'd ride the 50's, but any mud on the tires scrapes the fork. Those Pathfinder Pros look fast, but don't see much/any centerline braking traction on mud?

After a few years at 38mm, I finally maxed my frame with 45mm Conti Terra Speeds, and after my first race this season, it was great. The comfort alone was worth it, but the handling improvements were great. Smashed some real chunk descents filled with ruts and puddles.

You did a great job editing and letting Dylan talk. Really good editing, no dead time and tons of useful information. GJ. Now, what were the results of your helmet testing - was there a difference and was it repeatable?

I think I got it right thanks to his advice for my last gravel race!

Historical correction-going full circle. Gravel riding was a real and small thing before the industry/racing and the UCI took over. It was actually an alternative to the racing zeitgeist. JFF/all road riders cared more about comfort than speed. As far back as 2008, Bicycle Quarterly had articles about the merits alt/wide/650B tires We learned long ago that with many wider tires, there is a very minor speed drop off-if any. However since 2019, roadies came in to the new gravel racing scene and brought their road racing narrow/aero zeitgeist with them. Now, Dylan is fighting this uphill battle with them. We can't help Dylan unfortunately-only cheer for him. There are too few of us, and we are probably on the side of the road, making coffee, vapping, or or a setting up a tripod for great landscape photo. 2 very different worlds. Next Dylan might learn that a 650B tires might offer more benefits for racing than drawbacks.😳 Love Dylan's passion and content. Best wishes to him.

I've been running the 700x47 Pathfinder Pro tires on i30mm rims at 26psi. Very fast rolling while providing a very smooth ride.

I run 50mm front (vittoria terreno mix) and even on rough asphalt it's not much slower than 32 (pirelli cinturato velo). Found out to my surprise by comparing watts and average speed. Gravel definitely could benefit from wider tires, but for compliance and confidence.

I am in my late 50s and running the the Maxxis Rambler 650x74 tires on gravel and love it. I am running a 700Cx35 tire on the road. Both wheel sets for my 2023 Giant Revolt.

2015 I’m running 2.4 specialized renegades at 20 and 18psi at a local XC MTB race. 🤨😬🤯🧐(crowds expressions)

I had 42mm Gravelkings and switched to 40mm Maxxis Refuse. We don't have deep enough gravel for the Gravelking SK.

Have 42mm Pathfinders on my Warbird and they are 🔥

My Ridley X-Knight will just barely take a 40mm in the rear. The 40's I now run are way more comfortable than the 35's I took off. Just as fast w/ the ability to roll over chunky stuff w/o fear of pinch flatting my tubeless setup.

One thing I've found is that it's impossible to keep consistent power over a given section, and thus basing the results on speed for a given power yields unreliable results. The workaround is to ride a section at a given cadence, using the same gears for each test run. It's much easier to maintain a set cadence, so you get up to speed before hitting the start point for your test section, hit the lap button, and ride at the same cadence (which results in the same time for each run, as well, since you're using the same gearing) for the segment. Hit the lap button at the finish of the segment and see what the avg power for the segment was. Lather, rinse, repeat with the different tires on test. If you ride the same segment at the same speed, in the same position, the lowest power required wins.

Majority of the time I have 2.1 MTB tires on my gravel. Regardless of terrain

I think we will see gravel bikes just become hard tail MTBs and the customer will have a choice of drop bars or flat bars. I would recommend the rhombus pro 47 on. Rolls great, grips great

This is actually very helpful, i never know what tyres to use

I also understand the Dylan’s bike handling skills are most likely far beyond the average cyclist such as myself. While the pursuit of speed on gravel often comes with a decrease in traction. Ive tried the Pathfinder Pros myself and found while the work good on straight lines and super fast on tarmac, I could not get them to hook up on technical turns… Being as such, I would love to find some more reviews on grip vs speed, Im currently experimenting with Pirelli Cinturato M in 45 and Rene Herse Manostash Ridge in 44c, and just finished off a pair of Terra Speeds which are horrible in wet conditions.

Personally I've found the k830 Kenda nimbus 700 x 38 ( depending on rim width) to be a good all round tire for wet or dry they have good speed and traction at least for me. I try to wear out a set of tires every year

Tyre chat *rubs thighs*

You barely have to test it. On a flat gravel road I will literally just coast by people with 40mm gravel tires while I'm on my 2.1 Rutlands.

This is an old clip, we need an update for 2024 from Dylan

Oh…. Tires

Sure, wider tires are faster when you run the lesser tires on too low of PSI. Only in the cycling industry can heavier, fatter things be marketed and believed to be faster than thinner lighter ones. All these rolling resistance tests are a giant scam. Why? Of course, because you need to buy a new bike to fit the new tires bro! Where does it end? Why aren't we racing on fat bikes? Why aren't they faster than a road bike?

Rim width is just as important as tire width. Put a wide tire on a skinny rim and it'll be horrid.