With the return of wet weather, and spurred by this forum discussion, it’s a good time to take a look at the current tubeless options for wet weather (and of course these tyres are especially useful in the winter). Swapping lightweight race tyres for sturdier rubber is a sensible idea for riding in wet weather and through the winter, with extra puncture protection and tread compounds designed to provide more traction in the wet. With the rise in popularity of tubeless, there's a growing choice of winter- and wet-weather-specific tubeless tyres. We've rounded up our favourites for your consideration below.

• Reduced susceptibility to punctures makes tubeless tyres a good choice for wet weather.

• Most of the tyres here also come in wide versions for better cushioning and grip when road surfaces are obscured by water.

• Thicker tread, tougher carcasses and anti-puncture layers also help ward off flats.

• It's debateable whether the wet actually increases your chances of a puncture, but it's not debateable that changing a tube in the wet is a dirty, unpleasant task best avoided.

• Unless you like getting covered in road crud in which case, well, YKIOK.

15 of the best wet-weather tubeless tyres for 2020

• Maxxis High Road Tubeless — £44.34
• Vittoria Rubino Pro TLR G2.0 — £39.00
• Goodyear County Ultimate — ~£42
• Vittoria Terreno Zero TNT G2.0 — £33.99
• Panaracer GravelKing Slick 38mm — £29.99
• Pirelli Cinturato Velo — £43 - £49
• Ritchey WCS Alpine JB Stronghold Tubeless Ready 35mm — ~£42
• IRC Formula Pro Tubeless X-Guard tyres — £55
• Bontrager R3 Hard Case TLR — £38.49
• Specialized Roubaix Tubeless Ready — £31
• Hutchinson Fusion 5 All-Season — £34 - £38
• Mavic Yksion Elite Allroad — ~£40
• Schwalbe G-One — £44.99
• WTB Horizon TCS Road Tyre — £35.99

Why tubeless?

Let’s get the why bit out of the way first, just in case you’re not already a fan. Almost zero punctures being the biggest advantage over a regular inner tube clincher setup, and nowhere is that more of a benefit than during winter riding. Okay, so the installation can sometimes be a tricky old mess, but it’s getting easier all the tyre with better tyres, rims, tubeless kits and pumps. This guide below takes you through the tubeless installation steps and shows it doesn't need to be all that difficult.

Read more: How to fit a tubeless tyre

I’ll happily admit to being a road tubeless convert. My personal tubeless epiphany came during one cold and wet winter ride many years ago. Riding along a busy road the rear tyre suddenly burst a leak. Fortunately, the sealant in the tyre quickly plugged the hole (and thanks to mudguards I was suitably protected from a stripe of gunk up my back) and the escaping air quickly stopped with only a small pressure drop. Importantly, I didn’t need to stop while this incident occurred and continued the ride.

Read more: Buyer's guide to tubeless tyres — all your options in new technology rubber

What are your options?

Despite the clear advantages of tubeless tyres, the choice is still somewhat limited, though it does get a bit better every year. There’s still a reluctance from some tyre brands to go near it, while others have fully embraced it, willing to invest in the technology to make it a viable alternative to regular clinchers.

What do you want from a wet-weather road tyre? You want extra durability compared to a summer race tyre, with a carcass and tread that is more resistance to the debris that can litter wet roads during the winter months. You might want a bit of extra width, provided your bike has clearance, for additional comfort and the benefit of lower pressures. Tread materials for winter tyres are often modified to provide better traction when the going is slippery.

Read more: 18 of the best road cycling tyres

11 wet-weather and winter tubeless tyre options

Maxxis High Road Tubeless — £44.34

Maxxis' High Road Tubeless tyres have carried over all the great points from the non-tubeless version, such as excellent grip levels and great durability, but with the added bonus of not having to stop and fix a puncture.

Puncture protection is taken care of by Maxxis' K2, a layer of Kevlar composite under the rubber, and it does a very good job. With a test period that's included heavy, sustained rain washing the debris and hedgerow cuttings into the road, I haven't had a single issue with cuts or punctures.

Read our review of the Maxxis High Road Tubeless
Find a Maxxis dealer

Vittoria Rubino Pro TLR G2.0 — £39.00

The Vittoria Rubino Pro TLR G2.0 is a very good general riding tubeless road tyre or even wet weather race tyre. It is designed for high miles on poor road surfaces and this is where it shines, though it isn't as fast as others.

Vittoria made a big thing about its use of graphene in its tyre compound when it first used the technology. This 2.0 version features a similar compound, but with enhanced wet weather grip, according to Vittoria.

The '3C' compound feature, Vittoria says, increases wear life and provides better rolling resistance, though it doesn't specify what that's in comparison to. I found the tyres to be grippy, with plenty of traction on both wet and dry roads. On steeper climbs in wet weather, there was no slipping from the rear wheel.

Read our review of the Vittoria Rubino Pro TLR G2.0
Find a Vittoria dealer

Goodyear County Ultimate — ~£42

The Goodyear County Ultimate gravel tyre, which uses a specially developed Silica4 compound, offers a decent performance across road and light off-road, with good puncture resistance but perhaps a bit less suppleness than the best tyres of this type.

Goodyear describes the County as "multi-surface", which could describe its intended use as well as its tread design. Goodyear has really crammed in all the different types of tread across its 35mm width. In the centre, across around 8mm of the tyre, it's fully slick. Either side, there's about 5mm of diagonal file tread, which then segues into a fine hexagonal stipple. The outer edge of the tyre adds some square tread blocks, designed to cling on when you're cornering on a loose surface.

Read our review of the Goodyear County Ultimate

Vittoria Terreno Zero TNT G2.0 — £33.99

The Vittoria Terreno Zero tyre is nominally a gravel tyre, but it's fast-rolling on tarmac, with good puncture resistance and a reasonably grippy compound.

The Zero tyre uses a lot of the technology from Vittoria's established cyclo-cross range – the Terreno Dry, Terreno Mix and Terreno Wet models – but with a tweaked tread pattern more suitable for hardpack gravel without sacrificing performance on the road sections in between them.

Pumped up firm, they're good for pure road use, and would make for a great commuter tyre through the winter thanks to their wide profile and plenty of rubber on the road.

Read our review of the Vittoria Terreno Zero TNT G2.0
Find a Vittoria dealer

Panaracer GravelKing Slick 38mm — £29.99

The Panaracer GravelKing will take some beating on rough roads in this whopping 38mm size. We've already reviewed both the 26mm and the 32mm versions of these tyres and this pothole-conquering, gravel-busting 38mm version in Nile Blue is just as impressive. It's light for a 38mm at 337g, is very easy to set up tubeless and comes in restrained black as well as blue, green and ivory. What more could you want from a winter tubeless tyre?

Read our review of the Panaracer GravelKing Slick 38mm
Find a Panaracer dealer

Pirelli Cinturato Velo — £43 - £49

The Pirelli Cinturato Velo TLR is a very good tyre, especially during the winter months, offering plenty of cold and wet weather grip while also providing loads of puncture proofing. The small cost to the rolling resistance is worth it for the durability.

Read our review of the Pirelli Cinturato Velo
Find a Pirelli dealer

Ritchey WCS Alpine JB Stronghold Tubeless Ready 35mm — ~£42

Ritchey has gone inverse with the tread on its Alpine JB WCS Stronghold tyres to create a tyre that grips on light gravel and rough sections of broken country lane while also offering a smooth ride if you want to get a shift on on the tarmac. A very impressive all-round tyre choice indeed.

You'll need room in your frame for 35mm tyres to fit the tubeless version of the Alpine JB WCS Stronghold, as the 30mm version is only available with a conventional casing.

Read our review of the Ritchey WCS Alpine JB Stronghold tyre
Find a Ritchey dealer

IRC Formula Pro Tubeless X-Guard tyres — £55

IRC might not be the most familiar tyre brand in the road bike market at the moment, but its Formula Pro Tubeless X-Guard road tyres offer exceptionally good performance, with easy tubeless installation and great durability. The price does put them at the top end of the tyre market, though.

Traction is impressive, too, whether in the dry or wet, but it's the latter where they IRC tyres pull ahead of the latest generation Schwalbes. The IRCs feel more predictable and planted in the wet, and handle fast corners superbly.

Read our review of the IRC Formula Pro Tubeless X-Guard

Bontrager R3 Hard Case TLR — £38.49

Most of the Bontrager wheels are now tubeless-ready, and to complement them the company has started adding tubeless tyres to its range, and there are now quite a few to pick from. The R3 Hard-Case Lite TLR is its flagship road tubeless offering and is designed to be durable thanks to a butyl liner providing the reliability you want and need in the winter. It’s available in 24 and 26mm width options.

We haven’t tested this tubeless tyre yet, but have tested the regular clincher version - you can read that review here

If you crave more width, the cheaper A2 Hard-Case Lite TLR tyre is offered in extra 28 and 32mm width options, and if your bike has space for them, those are probably the ones to pick for winter riding.

Specialized Roubaix Tubeless Ready — £31

The Roubaix Tubeless tyre from Specialized is pitched as an all-rounder and we reckon it has all the right ingredients for a reliable winter tubeless tyre. Of course, we haven't tested it yet but that's something we'll be aiming to address very soon. Why we think the tyre will be good for winter cycling is because it uses the company’s Gripton compound, which we’ve found to be very grippy in a range of conditions, dry and wet, with shoulder sipes to increase traction through the corners. It features a 180 TPI casing with an Endurant flat protection and comes in 31mm width, weighing a claimed 375g.

Hutchinson Fusion 5 All-Season — £34 - £38

The Fusion 5 is a brand new tyre from the French company that pioneered Road Tubeless many years ago, and with three models to choose from the All Season 11Storm looks the ideal choice for surviving a winter of cycling.

road.cc has tested the Performance version of this tyre. We were highly impressed with the ease of tubeless installation, traction, rolling resistance and durability. The All Season version has a specific tread pattern designed to improve wet cycling performance and has Kevlar reinforcement to prevent punctures.

The new tyre is available in 25 and 28mm widths and weighs a claimed 325g for the former.

Mavic Yksion Elite Allroad — ~£40

Not all bikes are going to have space for 30mm wide tyres, but if your bike does, these new Yksion Elite Allroad tyres from wheel specialist Mavic look like being a good option thanks to the tubeless-ready construction and bead-to-bead polyamide casing reinforcement.

The tyres also have a tread pattern designed to ramp up traction in adverse conditions, with side grooves for extra cornering grip on dirt and loose surface roads, while the centre section is smooth for fast rolling on the hard stuff.

Schwalbe G-One — £44.99

Not so much a winter tubeless tyre as an adventure and gravel tyre, but we’ve been impressed with the rolling speed of this dimpled tyre on the road, and if the roads are covered in mud thanks to local farmers then they do offer a compelling benefit over narrower slicks.

Once you're off the good roads and onto the average ones – and we have plenty of them around here – any conceivable difference in rolling speed is easily outweighed by the comfort of the big air chamber, and the fact that you don't have to ease off and pick your line: just batter on through. I've not managed to put a hole in them that the sealant hasn't immediately coped with. Plus you can take them off-road as well, and they’re right at home on the canal towpaths, bridleways and trails like the South Downs Way.

There's now a road version of the G-One Allround pictured and reviewed above, called the G-One Speed. It comes in a narrower 30mm width with V-Guard protection that could be a good choice for more road-based riding, providing your frame has space for them.

Read our review of the Schwalbe G-One

WTB Horizon TCS Road Tyre — £35.99

Throwing a bit of a curve ball into the list here, the fat WTB Horizon is another possible contender. Granted, it won’t fit all bikes and it might require a new set of wheels, but if it fits this is a durable, grippy, comfortable and fast rolling tyre that might, as the name suggests, open up new horizons…

It’s a 47mm wide tyre which is simply massive compared to everything else in this article, but on a 650b wheel (an old French standard resurrected by the mountain bike industry) the outside diameter is roughly the same as a regular 700c wheelset.

The tread pattern is mostly slick save for a few grooves and chevrons on the shoulders, and the grip is impressive in the wet. They instil bags of confidence on treacherous roads covered in water, mud or wet leaves.

Read our review of the WTB Horizon

Related reading: How to winterproof your bike — protect your ride from the wet, salt and crud

Explore the complete archive of reviews of tyres on road.cc

The best gravel bike tyres combine off-road grip and cushioning with a tread light enough it's not too slow on Tarmac. Exactly which are the best gravel bike tyres for you will depend on your riding surfaces, weather and ambition, as well as the capacity of your bike; not all will accommodate the latest 45mm and 50mm rubber. This guide brings together a variety of the best gravel bike tyres in 30mm to 55mm widths, designed for tackling mixed terrain with a focus on off-road capability.

• Gravel bike tyres have been getting fatter, with 38mm and 40mm tyres replacing the previous 'standards' of 33mm and 35mm

• There are even 50mm and 55mm gravel bike tyres, though few bikes will take them and still have room for mud

• Tread designs of gravel bike tyres vary between an inverted-tread semi-slick like the Ritchey WCS Alpine JB Stronghold to the almost mountain bike knobbliness of the Maxxis Rambler

• For maximum versatility, consider having two sets of wheels, one shod with lighter-tread tyres, the other with knobblies; switching wheels is lots easier than changing tyres

• If you really want to go fat, see if your bike can take 650B wheels; the smaller rim size leaves room for the fattest gravel bike tyres

Contents: the best gravel bike tyres for 2021

• Six of a Kind: the very best gravel bike tyres
  • Best overall gravel bike tyre: WTB Resolute TCS Light SG2 — £37.99
  • Best for trail riding: Rene Herse Fleecer Ridge Endurance — £95.00
  • Best for speedsters: Maxxis Receptor — £49.99
  • Best for mixed Tarmac & dirt roads: Vittoria Terreno Dry G2.0 — £44.99
  • Best for reliability: Zipp Tangente Course G40 — £54.40
  • Best for mud: Schwalbe G-One Ultrabite — £39.99
• 23 more great gravel bike tyres
  • Goodyear Connector Ultimate — £40.00
  • Vittoria Terreno Zero TLR G2.0 38mm — £44.99
  • Panaracer GravelKing Semi Slick Plus TLC — £49.99
  • Maxxis Rambler — £33.99 - £49.99
  • Michelin Power Gravel tyre 33mm — £35.99 | 40mm — £32.00
  • Continental Terra Speed — £46
  • Teravail Rutland — £50 - £55
  • Rene Herse Juniper Ridge — £80/£95
  • Kenda Alluvium Pro — £36.89
  • Goodyear County Ultimate Tubeless — €51.99
  • WTB ByWay 650B x 47mm — £38
  • Panaracer GravelKing TLC — £40
  • Schwalbe X-One Allround — £24.95 - £41.99
  • Specialized Pathfinder Pro 2Bliss Ready — £45
  • Ritchey WCS Alpine JB Stronghold Tubeless Ready 35mm — £38.99
  • Rene Herse Steilacoom TC — £80/£95
  • Schwalbe G-One Bite MicroSkin TL-Easy 40mm — £39.99 | Other sizes £44.44 - £47.44
  • Kenda Cholla Pro — £27.49
  • Schwalbe G-One All-Round 40mm — £39.99 | 35mm — £34.99
  • Donnelly X’Plor MSO — €32.50 - €49.50
  • Panaracer GravelKing SK — £32.99
  • Surly Knard — £58.00
  • Vee Tire Rail — £39.99
• Everything you need to know to choose the right gravel bike tyres
• Cafe wisdom: road.cc readers weigh in on gravel bike tyres

Six of a Kind: the very best gravel bike tyres

Best overall gravel bike tyre: WTB Resolute TCS Light SG2 — £37.99

The WTB Resolute is one of the more open-treaded gravel tyres available, making it ideal for our British conditions. With the SG2 puncture-resistant layer, it's one of the best all-weather, all-conditions tyres you can get.

Tester Matt writes: "I tested these at a mix of pressures, with the official recommendations being 25-50psi – surprisingly low, and pleasing to see for a tyre of this type. It isn't the fastest of tyres on the road, but then that isn't what it is designed for. Although not silent it is reasonably quiet, perhaps helped by the closely-packed centre tread. Head off the surfaced roads and the tyre really starts to deliver, with traction for climbing and braking impressing on virtually all tracks.

“In really slippery mud it works better than any other gravel tyre I have tested, and its climbing grip helped me conquer gradients on slippery tracks that look impossible.”

Read our review of the WTB Resolute TCS Light SG2
Find a WTB dealer

Best for trail riding: Rene Herse Fleecer Ridge Endurance — £95.00

The Rene Herse Fleecer Ridge tyre, in this Endurance casing, redefines how to go fast and far off-road without compromising grip or feel. With a noise-cancelling knob design that works extremely well and a shoulderless cornering feel, it's like riding a slick on tarmac – it's that good. You're paying absolutely top whack for it, though, and it may not fit your frame.

Tester Mke writes: "The Fleecer Ridge is a strong, light, grippy and comfortable tyre that rolls fast on or off-road. It's offered in four casings and the Endurance version here is – for me in the Scottish Highlands – the Goldilocks version. It offers a higher thread count (and a puncture-protection strip) than the Extralight for better protection, but keeps the super-supple feel.

“The Fleecer Ridge impresses over some very chunky gravel. Test sectors that require significant braking on 38mm Steilacooms were blasted in the smallest cog with hands off the levers, such was the confidence inspired. Safe to say the tyre's capability far exceeds my own middle-aged willingness to discover the edge of my personal competence envelope. The ability to change lines mid-corner whilst transitioning between gravel, silt, mossy grass and mud can lead to a sense of control possibly at odds with the laws of physics.”

Read our review of the Rene Herse Fleecer Ridge Endurance

Best for speedsters: Maxxis Receptor — £49.99

The Maxxis Receptor is a light, minimally-treaded gravel tyre that delivers an incredibly fast ride. It has a supple design and some puncture resistance, a combination that helps make it brilliant on hardpack and roads. It could be a great race tyre if you know the conditions will suit.

Tester Matt writes: "Maxxis says the Receptor is purely for roads, hard packed dirt trails and light gravel, so I did what I could to avoid mud – and you should too. They're as out of their depth as they look. "Road sections really highlight how fast this tyre is. It gives an incredibly smooth and quiet ride and an average speed that's almost the same as a pure road bike. The 120tpi carcass is thin and supple, and really delivers lots of feel and feedback – especially at low pressures.

"Off-road on firm trails the speed remains excellent, with a communicative, supple ride on both small and large bumps. On the climbs and under acceleration the low weight noticeable, and the Receptor feels quick to get back up to speed."

Read our review of the Maxxis Receptor
Find a Maxxis dealer

Best for mixed Tarmac & dirt roads: Vittoria Terreno Dry G2.0 — £44.99

If your riding involves both dirt roads and Tarmac, then the Vittoria Terreno Dry is the way to go according to our riders (look out for a full review in the next few days). Where the Terreno Zero, below, has an almost slick centre section, for the Dry Vittoria uses a 'fishscale' tread. Those closely-packed hexagonal scales actually sit at varying heights, which gives tyre a little bite and grip. The tread might not be deep, but traction – both for braking and accelerating – is very impressive. The tyre deals with firm and loose surfaces well, and even if they get wet or a little muddy they still work.

For a fast-rolling tyre that can cope with more than just pure dust, the Vittoria Terreno Dry ticks lots of boxes. A wider version would be welcome – but it is, despite the 'dry' part of the name, a superb all-round gravel tyre.

Find a Vittoria dealer

Best for reliability: Zipp Tangente Course G40 — £54.40

Tester Stu Kerton has found the Zipp Tangente Course G40 to be a deeply reliable companion in long-term testing. In our discussions about which tyres deserved to be in the selection of the best gravel bike tyres Stu said: "One tyre I keep going back to is the Zipp G40. Like most gravel tyres it's no use in lots of mud, but everywhere else I can't fault it. They've proved to be very durable too.

"My new test route is a 30 mile loop with constantly changing surfaces, bit of tarmac, chalk, mud, grass, gravel (both wide hardpacked tracks & narrow technical stuff) and even some singletrack thrown in for good measure. The Zipps just work on it all."

Read our review of the Zipp Tangente Course G40
Find a Zipp dealer

Best for mud: Schwalbe G-One Ultrabite — £39.99

The Schwalbe G-One Ultrabite is the most aggressive in Schwalbe's gravel line, and features larger knobbles not only the other G-Ones but most other gravel tyres as well. This results in excellent grip when things get sloppy but increased rolling resistance, meaning they're best for those who venture way off the beaten path.

Tester Jamie writes: "The large shoulder tread makes muddy corners easier, and the added rear traction really comes in handy. The Ultrabite is perfect if you take your gravel bike to slippy fields or even muddy singletrack.

"The ADDIX Speedgrip compound is borrowed from Schwalbe's mountain bike tyres, and gives excellent grip and good durability. I've covered about 600km on mixed terrain – including rocks, tarmac and of course gravel – with no sign of wear or punctures.

"The Ultrabite is a very capable offroad tyre that can turn a bog-standard gravel bike into a cyclocross or cross-country bike rival. These tyres are best suited for riders who spend most of their time on the slippy stuff and want the maximum grip possible."

Read our review of the Schwalbe G-One Ultrabite
Find a Schwalbe dealer

23 more great gravel bike tyres

Goodyear Connector Ultimate — £40.00

Goodyear's Connector Ultimate gravel tyre comes in this big 50mm width, for both 650B and 700C wheels. The 700C version offers versatile grip, great volume and the promise of a floaty ride. It's great on and off road, and may fit more frames than expected.

The Connector Ultimate is built around Goodyear's Tubeless Complete carcass, rather than its heavier and cheaper Premium one. This combines the tubeless bead with an airtight layer, reinforces it with anti-cut sidewall layers, and tops it off with R:Shield puncture protection beneath the central tread.

Tester Rob Wilmot writes: “On every dry surface I found, these tyres excelled – even pushing as hard as I could, there were no nasty surprises. My test period was largely dry, but from the few sloppy, wet areas I did find, the Connectors found grip and cleared mud quickly from their tread.”

Read our review of the Goodyear Connector Ultimate gravel tyre

Vittoria Terreno Zero TLR G2.0 38mm — £44.99

The Vittoria Terreno Zero TLR G2.0 is a slick gravel tyre that's designed for road and smooth off-road duties but is capable of much more. On the surface, the Terreno Zero is a large volume road or slick gravel tyre that is best suited to tarmac and finely graded off-road paths. But don't let appearances fool you, as it's more capable than that if you're willing to give it a go.

Tester Jo Burt writes: “On the road they're not the fastest tread-free gravel tyres around; not that they're necessarily slow, but they rumble along rather than skip lively compared with other slick gravel tyres, the thickness of the rubber of the centre tread the possible culprit here.

“The plus side to this is that they're incredibly robust, so happily take crappy tarmac and potholes in their stride, romp over packed gravel paths and perform far better than you might expect on other rougher surfaces. I've been running them all winter over all kinds of terrain, from smooth blacktop, across gravel of all grades, along rocky off-road to really-shouldn't-be-here thick mud, and they're deceptively capable over all of these surfaces and are also showing very little signs of wear.”

Read our review of the Vittoria Terreno Zero TLR G2.0 38mm tyre
Find a Vittoria dealer

Panaracer GravelKing Semi Slick Plus TLC — £49.99

The Panaracer GravelKing Semi Slick Plus TLC is a tyre designed for both road use and hardpack gravel trails, maintaining the high levels of grip and speed found on other models in the range. Easy to set up tubeless and with tough puncture protection, they make perfect sense for a whole host of applications.

Tester Stu writes: “On the road the SS+ is impressively fast for such a large tyre. At 460g it's no lightweight, but that's never really noticeable as the SS+ never feels stodgy. It's quite supple considering the reasonably low 120TPI casing, and gives a good degree of feedback, keeping you engaged with what's going on with the surface beneath you. This level of suppleness is even more impressive considering that the SS+ has a layer of Panaracer's ProTite protective guard from bead to bead and a nylon belt for puncture protection.

“Cornering grip on the road is good, providing plenty of confidence even at speed, and although it isn't up there with a full slick, I wasn't really conscious of the tread compressing when banking the bike over hard. All of this translates over to the gravel too. Grip levels are good, and when cornering hard on descents you get a little bit of extra bite from the tread on the shoulders.”

Read our review of the Panaracer GravelKing Semi Slick Plus TLC
Find a Panaracer dealer

Maxxis Rambler — £33.99 - £49.99

The Rambler is Maxxis’ first gravel-specific tyre and it comes in 45 and 50mm width options as well as a skinnier 38mm version (£45.38) with a tightly packed tread design, including ramped centre knobs for improved rolling speed when on the smooth. The side knobs have been spaced out more to improve cornering traction in the loose.

The 50mm version pushes the limit of what will fit in most gravel bikes, but if you can accommodate them they're brilliant.

Off-road and on rougher tracks they're really fast, with the extra volume giving them the ability to just roll over rocks and rough sections – it's most noticeable downhill, where the difference compared with narrower tyres really is huge.

While the volume might be the biggest benefit, the tread on the Rambler is key to its performance and control. The design has several different areas and overall the design is quite busy, but it seems to work. The central tread with near-continuous central section is part of the reason why it's so smooth and why road performance is decent.

Read our review of the 50mm Maxxis Rambler

Michelin Power Gravel tyre 33mm — £35.99 | 40mm — £32.00

The Power Gravel is Michelin's answer to the ever-expanding gravel/adventure market, and it has a lot going for it. Durability is good, as is the grip, it offers plenty of puncture protection, and the price is very competitive too.

The Power Gravel follows a similar theme to many other gravel tyres on the market, as in it is covered in small nobbles for grip on loose surfaces without sacrificing overall speed. It's a format that works, especially when the tracks are dry and dusty.

Thankfully for me, the majority of my local gravel routes are properly laid tracks for moving military traffic around. They don't change much even in the winter, apart from the odd puddle here and there, so I could get away with using the Michelins all year round.

If you ride on bridleways or tracks in your local woods in winter, you'll find that the tread isn't deep enough for grip on wet mud. For these kind of excursions you'll need something with much deeper knobbly bits.

Read our review of the Michelin Power Gravel
Find a Michelin dealer

Continental Terra Speed — £46

The Terra Speed is Continental's new gravel tyre designed for dry and loose conditions and it certainly works, making the transition between tarmac and gravel barely noticeable. It's grippy, robust and surprisingly supple for such a tough tyre.

The Terra Speed bears close resemblance to the Schwalbe G-One and the performance is on a par too; the Terra Speed might just take the overall honours by a whisker.

The Terra Speed has similar sized knobbly bits as the G-One Bite (if you want deeper there is the Terra Trail option), and it behaves in exactly the same way.

Read our review of the Continental Terra Speed

Teravail Rutland — £50 - £55

When dust turns to mud you need a grippy tyre, and the Teravail Rutland delivers exceptional traction in slippery or loose conditions – without hindering pace on hard tracks and roads. Tubeless installation is easy, it comes in a wide range of sizes (including 650b), and you even get a choice of two casings. It'll cost you, though.

These tyres proved a godsend once once the dusty gravel tracks and bridleways in my corner of the Cotswolds turned to mush. They give impressive grip in a wide range of situations, with good braking stability and hooligan lean angles possible before the laws of physics kick in.

It’s a tyre you can really push hard on slippery trails, with the confidence it’s going to grip. You can give it the beans through the corners as well, as those angular shoulder blocks do an excellent job of hooking up some lairy lean angles.

I have to link my local tracks and trails with lots of road – mostly quiet country lanes – and thankfully the Rutlands exhibit a good rolling speed with little significant drag. There’s not much buzzing noise either.

Read our review of the Teravail Rutland

Rene Herse Juniper Ridge — £80/£95

The Rene Herse 650x48 Juniper Ridge tyres have a knobbly tread that has been designed to roll well on the road too. We were sceptical, but to be honest they are pretty good, giving a boost to your average speed on those tarmac sections between the tracks and trails.

The Juniper Ridge is one of the new all-road tyres from Rene Herse, the tyre company formerly known as Compass. It might look like a knobbly mountain bike tyre but it's been designed to work just as well on the road as it does off the beaten track. It has the same tread as the 700x38 Steilacoom, but in a 650x48mm size.

The tread has been designed to place as much rubber on the road as possible and the result is a surprisingly grippy and fast-rolling tyre. There is a little bit of road noise once you get up to speed, but thanks to the soft compound and supple casing, they really do feel like road tyres.

Read our review of the Rene Herse Juniper Ridge

Kenda Alluvium Pro — £36.89

The Kenda Alluvium Pro hits the mark as being both a fast and grippy tyre for gravel adventures and highly capable on the road. Though they struggle a little in the mud, they hold their own on dusty dry tracks and rough, rocky trails. With easy tubeless setup and a price to match the competition, these would be a great choice if you plan some adventure miles this summer.

Read our review of the Kenda Alluvium Pro

Goodyear County Ultimate Tubeless — €51.99

The Goodyear County Ultimate gravel tyre, which uses a specially developed Silica4 compound, offers a decent performance across road and light off-road, with good puncture resistance but perhaps a bit less suppleness than the best tyres of this type.

The County is one of two treads developed for use across a range of terrain, together with the more aggressively treaded Connector. The County is best suited for rides that combine tarmac and some light off-road terrain, while the Connector is a little more off-road focused. Both are available in a couple of versions – the Ultimate and the Premium, for a tenner less.

Read our review of the Goodyear County Ultimate Tubeless

WTB ByWay 650B x 47mm — £38

For exploring the road less travelled WTB’s Byway is a decent choice providing fast rolling speed on road and hardpack gravel. Only wet grass and mud reveal its limits.

The 650B wheel size — a bit smaller than the standard road bike 700C — has become very popular on adventure bikes and it’s easy to see why. The smaller wheel enables a bigger volume tyre without messing around much with the frame design, providing hugely improved cushioning on badly surfaced roads, gravel tracks and dirt paths.

WTB hit the market early with its original Horizon providing stacks of comfort and off-road capability. There’s only so far you can push a slick tyre on dirt and gravel, so WTB took the Horizon and added a meaty shoulder tread pattern to provide a bit more cornering traction when you’re drifting through the bends.

Read our review of the WTB ByWay 650B x 47mm tyre
Find a WTB dealer

Panaracer GravelKing TLC — £40

The Panaracer GravelKing tyres are excellent all-winter rubber for your road bike; Big Dave Atkinson declared them his new favourite all-purpose winter tyre. They're pretty light, they're easy to set up tubeless and they roll really well. Also, they come in a range of natty colours. Well, two. Plus black.

The 32mm version isn't really a gravel tyre for the UK, but you can get them in 35mm and 38mm widths too, as well as 650B versions up to 48mm wide, so for dirt riding in non-soggy conditions, they're a light, quick option.

Read our review of the Panaracer GravelKing
Find a Panaracer dealer

Schwalbe X-One Allround — £24.95 - £41.99

Designed to offer off-road grip in mixed conditions and speed on the road, the Schwalbe X-One Allround is pretty much the perfect tubeless tyre for the privateer cyclo-cross rider. These provide decent grip in slick mud, but roll really well when the course is dry.

Read our review of the Schwalbe X-One Allround
Find a Schwalbe dealer

Specialized Pathfinder Pro 2Bliss Ready — £45

The Pathfinder Pro is a fast-rolling tyre that is good for tackling rough roads and dry hardpack gravel trails. With its smooth centre section surrounded by tightly packed diamond-shaped blocks, it's obviously a good choice for lots of road riding. When riding in a straight upright position, that smooth centre line is all that contacts the road, and as a result provides low rolling resistance, allowing you to zip along the road at a decent pace. It really feels little slower than a slick tyre of similar width.

Feel adventurous and want to get off the road and onto some gravel and dirt, and the remainder of the tyre provides good grip. The diamond-shaped tread combined with bigger and spaced out shoulder blocks gives you the capability to let fire into loose gravel or dirty corners, knowing the compound and blocks will find grip. You won't be tackling any muddy bogs, it's not quite that capable, but for gravelly surfaced tracks, canal towpaths and dry bridleways, it offers more grip than a slick tyre.

Read our review of the Specialized Pathfinder Pro 2Bliss Ready
Find a Specialized dealer

Ritchey WCS Alpine JB Stronghold Tubeless Ready 35mm — £38.99

Ritchey has gone inverse with the tread on its Alpine JB WCS Stronghold tyres to create a tyre that grips on light gravel and rough sections of broken country lane while also offering a smooth ride if you want to get a shift on on the tarmac. A very impressive all-round tyre choice indeed.

You'll need room in your frame for 35mm tyres to fit the tubeless version of the Alpine JB WCS Stronghold, as the 30mm version is only available with a conventional casing.

Read our review of the Ritchey WCS Alpine JB Stronghold tyre
Find a Ritchey dealer

Rene Herse Steilacoom TC — £80/£95

The Rene Herse Steilacoom TC tyre is a fabulously grippy, fast-rolling tyre off-road that displays frankly ridiculous speed on the hard stuff too, from the tyre maker previously known as Compass. The performance comes at a price you'll forget the moment you hit the first transition from tarmac to gravel.

Read our review of the Rene Herse Steilacoom TC

Schwalbe G-One Bite MicroSkin TL-Easy 40mm — £39.99 | Other sizes £44.44 - £47.44

The G-One Bite is a more off-road orientated version of the acclaimed G-One All-round, with bigger knobbles and a more pronounced shoulder making them more suited to gravel and hardpacked trails. They still roll smoothly on Tarmac but when you get to the gravel or hardpacked trails the fun really begins. We've ridden them on 40mph descents and tough climbs and the G-One Bites never put a foot wrong, no matter what type or size of gravel we were riding over.

Read our review of the Schwalbe G-One Bite MicroSkin TL-Easy
Find a Schwalbe dealer

Kenda Cholla Pro — £27.49

Kenda's Cholla Pro is a supple tubeless-ready mud-conquering tyre for skinnier-framed bikes at a fairly sensible price. If you like it mucky and flat-free, it's a great option – particularly if you have limited clearance.

The Cholla Pro has a striking squared-off tread profile, with no chance of getting tyre orientation wrong; arrows point forwards folks. Based on "the hooks and barbs of the cholla cactus", says Kenda, this is somewhat ironically not a tyre for the desert – at just under 33mm fitted to a 19mm rim, you're more likely to dig into soft sand than float over it.

Read our review of the Kenda Cholla Pro
Find a Kenda dealer

Schwalbe G-One All-Round 40mm — £39.99 | 35mm — £34.99

German tyre company Schwalbe hit a home run when it introduced the G-One. The close-packed circular knobbly tread, round profile and sticky tread compound give them prodigious levels of grip on all sorts of surfaces, and we've never had any problems mounting the tubeless version.

Read our Schwalbe G-One Review

Donnelly X’Plor MSO — €32.50 - €49.50

Donnelly (the new name for the tyres formerly known as Clement) has designed the X’Plor MSO for mixed conditions with a smooth rolling centre section and bigger shoulder knobs, but it looks more aggressive overall than the Challenge Gravel Grinder. It comes in 32, 36, 40 and 50mm widths and regular clincher and tubeless varieties.

Read our review of the Donnelly/Clement X’Plor MSO

Panaracer GravelKing SK — £32.99

Panaracer has been quick to offer a wide range of suitable gravel tyres, and it keeps on adding new options. It offers tyres with a smooth file tread pattern up to more aggressive tread pattern such as the 'Small Knob' tread here pictured above, and a wide range of widths from 23 to 43 and 700c and 650b options.

Read our Panaracer Gravelking 32mm review

Surly Knard — £58.00

Surly’s Knard has a closely spaced tread pattern for providing speed over varied terrain, and there’s enough grip for loose and slippery trail conditions. The tread pattern comprises aggressive square blocks with only the edge knobs being rectangular to allow for lean and grip in the corners. Surly offers the Knard in a variety of wheel sizes, including 650b, 26 and 29in, and a 700x41mm. The cheaper price gets you a 33 threads-per-inch casing; the spendier version is 127tpi.

Read our Surly Knard review

Vee Tire Rail — £39.99

Vee Tire is a relatively young tyre company but its Rail gravel tyre has been gaining quite a few fans in the UK. It’s a 40mm wide tyre that the company has said is designed for speed, and it features a low profile tread design with forward pointing arrows and larger shoulder knobs. A dual compound tread construction and tubeless compatibility complete the details.

Read our review of the Vee Tire Rail

Everything you need to know to choose the right gravel bike tyres

“What tyres should I get for $location?” is such a common question in off-road cycling that some forums have effectively banned it lest they be completely taken over by constant talk of tread patterns, compounds, threads-per-inch, casings and the numerous different interpretations of what constitutes a tubeless tyre.

Let’s try and unpick the issues for the kind of uses covered by gravel bikes and adventure bikes.

Tyre designers try and balance tyre often-conflicting attributes. For example, making a tyre resistant to punctures usually means making the tread thicker and adding a layer under it that can’t be easily penetrated. Those changes increase a tyre’s rolling resistance, so very puncture-resistant tyres tend to be slow, and very fast tyres tend to be susceptible to punctures.

Similarly, increasing grip on loose and muddy surfaces means a tyre with a deeper, knobbier tread pattern, but because the blocks of a knobby tread squirm as they move across a hard surface, that increases rolling resistance on roads.

Tread compound — the composition of the actual rubber round the outside of the tyre — also affects all the tyre’s properties. Some tread compounds are grippier than others, some are more durable and some are more flexible and therefore make a tyre faster. Cooking up tread compounds is proper modern-day alchemy. Different tyre makers have different favoured ingredients that allegedly have certain effects, but determining what’s marketing wibble and what’s real is tricky.

It’s not as simple as ‘a more durable compound will be less grippy’ or ‘a softer compound will be grippier’ either. The carbon black used in some tyre treads improves both wet adhesion and durability, while many years ago Specialized made tyres with a very soft grey rubber called Ummagumma, which turned out to be scarily slippery in the wet.

The tyre casing also makes a difference to how fast a tyre is and its durability. Tyres with very light casings, usually expressed as a thread fabric with a high number of threads per inch are more flexible and roll faster, but with simply less material they’re often more fragile. The higher stiffness of a lower thread-count carcass can also improve traction by better supporting the tread knobs to dig in to soft or loose surfaces.

Finally, there’s tyre size and width. The fatter a tyre, the lower the pressure you can run, which improves traction and comfort. A wider tyre also rolls better, but running it at lower pressure often uses up that benefit. How wider you can go is limited by your frame, but gravel bike frames will increasingly accommodate 700C tyres 45mm wide and bigger. Many frames are also designed to take 650B wheels shod with very fat tyres, at which point many people would say you’ve built a rigid mountain bike with drop handlebars, but who cares what it’s called as long as you have a blast riding it?

For gravel bike tyres, then, what matters most in choosing tyres is the conditions and surfaces you’ll be riding, and your priorities when it comes to aspects such as durability and speed. Let’s home in on a few use cases by way of demonstration.

Read more: The best gravel & adventure bikes

Mostly Tarmac: If your gravel bike rarely sees actual gravel, but you like the ability of wide tyres to point and laugh at the decayed surfaces of the tiniest country lanes, then you want moderate width (32-40mm) and a light tread pattern. You can also probably get away with a light casing because your tyres won’t have to contend as much with dirt-road flints and other sharps. If you nevertheless venture down dirt roads and trails now and then, go for something with a slightly knobbier tread.

Mostly dirt: You want knobs, you do, and lots of ’em. That also means the fattest tyre your frame will handle, unless your trails are very muddy in which case a narrower tyre will leave room for crud to pass through.

50/50: Of course nobody ever manages to ride an exactly balanced mix, but if you want a true go-everywhere tyre then it needs some centre-knobs, but not so many that it’ll be too slow on Tarmac. If you’re in a hurry, go for a relatively shallow tread and light, flexible casing; if not, go beefier in those areas.

Racing: The fastest gravel bike tyres have very light centre-treads and light casings for the lowest possible rolling resistance.

Epic rides: If you like to leave at dawn and return at sunset, with maybe a few days of overnight camping in between, then you probably prize reliability above all else. Look for tyres with relatively-thick casings and tread that will resist cuts so you get to spend your time riding and not fettling.

Read more: Is 650b the future for road bikes? road.cc investigates

Cafe wisdom: road.cc readers weigh in on gravel bike tyres

Our readers are always a valuable source of experience and opinion. Here's the pick of their comments from the previous version of this article.

Rapha Nadal disagrees with us on one of our choices, saying: "The Rene Steilacoom review does not really match reality. They clog quickly in the mud, have very little grip when it gets a bit damp, and after only 6 months the sidewalls have started to go."

IanEdward has this recommendation: "After another very mixed conditions weekend ride I'm a committed Vittoria Terreno Dry fan, specifically the 40mm version.

"Fast, floaty (latex tubes, 40psi, 85kg rider) no punctures yet, and even in the mud where they will obviously get overwhelmed, it's fun rather than terrifying.

"Thanks to Strava's handy 'surface-o-meter' on the new route-planner, I can safely say the Terreno is ideal for rides which are 50% tarmac, 29% gravel and 21% unspecified

Yorky-M likes his WTBs: "ALL HAIL WTB Byways. Came stock on my Kona. Run them tubeless and never an issue. Did a 2000km spin on them in early summer and just perfect. Will replace with the same."

andyspaceman:"I ran the Maxxis Ramblers for a while. Quick and supple with reasonable grip off road, but I found them a little fragile. I've switched to the Maxxis Ravagers now which felt slower to start with, but have quicked up a little after a few rides to knock the corners off some of the tread blocks, and feel a lot more robust. Added grip in the corners too.

"One pointer with the Maxxis tyres is that the slightly cheaper 60tpi casings are rated as having a better balance of suppleness and strength by some folks I've spoken with, and from my experience on both gravel and MTB tyres I don't disagree."

GrumpyBear had a suggestion for low-cost tyres: "Try Schwalbe Land Cruisers 40mm. Only £12 each."

Argos74 also had an eye on the bank balance: "Continental Double Fighters. Had the 26-inch version on my mountain bike for years, leapt at the 700Cs with no regrets. Tyre width says 1 3/8 x 1 5/8, I make it to be about 37mm in real money. Not tubeless, but tough, quick and grippy (unless serious mud is involved). And less than £40 for a pair."

Zermattjohn was unimpresssed with the durability of Schwalbe G-Ones: "The G-Ones are fantastic tubeless tyres - supple, grippy, perfect for crappy UK lanes/towpaths. But there's a price to pay, they're pretty fragile and I've picked up a few big slices in them. The sealant does it's job, but some slices are big enough that beyond about 50psi the sealant just blows out.

"They're also pretty poor on durability. My rear lasted about 8 months of commuting/towpath riding - the photo shows how the central tread has gone and the tyre is very thin there now, and seeing as during the summer I was mostly on a different bike that probably equates to about 4 months of riding. Pretty poor for a fairly pricy product. I've put a Hutchinson Overide on the rear now and it seems better suited to my riding. If you're 100% off-road the G-One is the winner, but with some tarmac you'll be swapping it pretty soon."

Explore the complete archive of reviews of tyres on road.cc

Our choice of the best road bike tyres we've reviewed in the last few years - everything from sturdy commuting tyres to super-fast race rubber.

The perfect road bike tyre would weigh nothing, have zero rolling resistance, last forever and make your bike feel like you were floating suspended above the ground. Unfortunately, it doesn't exist, but the best road bike tyres do manage to excel in one or more categories. Here's a selection of the best.

This selection of the best-rated road bike tyres we've reviewed in the last few years, plus a couple of popular classics, covers the range from sturdy commuting tyres to super-fast race rubber. What features should you look for in choosing a road bike tyre?

• Your choice of road bike tyres depends on the compromise of speed, longevity and puncture-resistance that works best for you.

• Light, fast tyres — especially in larger sizes like 25mm and 28mm widths — can be a huge improvement to the ride feel of your bike.

• Standard tyres with separate inner tubes — known as clinchers — are the most common type, but tubeless tyres are gaining popularity.

• One-piece tubular tyres are now used almost entirely for racing.

• Anti-puncture belts under the tread reduce flats and in some cases eliminate them almost entirely; they're the way to go for practical bikes.

Contents: the best road bike tyres for 2021

• The famous five: the very best road bike tyres
  • Best overall tube-type: Continental Grand Prix 5000 — £36.50
  • Best overall tubeless: Continental Grand Prix 5000 TL — £48.00
  • Best value: Goodyear Eagle Sport — £20.00
  • Best for speedsters: Vittoria Corsa Speed tubeless — £45.84
  • Best for commuting: Schwalbe Marathon Plus — £30.00
  • Best for bad roads: Rene Herse Bon Jon Pass Tubeless Compatible  — £92.00
• 40 more of the best road bike tyres
  • Michelin Protek Urban — £25.19
  • Vredestein Fortezza Senso All Weather tyre — £26.70
  • Bontrager AW3 Hard-Case Lite tyre — £27.99
  • Michelin Power Endurance tyre — £29.96
  • Vredestein Fortezza Senso Xtreme tyre — £30.96
  • Panaracer GravelKing Slick Tread 38 — £31.00
  • Specialized S-Works Turbo — £32.99
  • Vee Tire Co Road Runner — £34.99 - £39.99
  • Hutchinson Fusion 5 11Storm Tubeless Performance — £33.50
  • Continental Grand Prix 4 Season — £34.40
  • Panaracer Race D Evo 4 tyre — £34.99
  • Michelin Power Road — £34.99
  • Schwalbe One V-Guard — £35.00
  • Bontrager R3 Hard-Case Lite 700C 32mm — £35.00
  • Hutchinson Sector 28 tubeless tyre — £35.95
  • Michelin Power All Season — £35.99
  • Schwalbe Pro One tubeless — £37.50
  • Veloflex Corsa Evo open tubular — £38.00
  • Continental Gator Hardshell tyre — £38.99 - £43.99
  • Panaracer Race L Evo 3 tyre — £39.58
  • Hutchinson Fusion 5 Galactik — £39.95 - £49.95
  • WTB Horizon TCS 650B tubeless — £44.99
  • Pirelli P Zero Velo — £39.99 - £46.19
  • Panaracer GravelKing 32 — £40.00
  • Panaracer GravelKing Plus TLC 700 x 35 tubeless — £42.00
  • Michelin Power Road Tubeless 32mm — £44.99
  • Challenge Strada Pro Open Tubular — £45.05
  • Challenge Strada Bianca 700C 30mm — £47.99
  • Michelin Power Road Tubeless — £49.99
  • Vittoria Corsa Control — £51.00
  • Specialized Turbo Cotton — £51.99 - £59.99
  • Mavic Yksion Pro Road UST tubeless — £54.00
  • IRC Formula RBCC tubeless — £57.00
  • Zipp Tangente Speed — £57.80
  • Goodyear Vector 4Seasons tubeless — £58.99
  • Maxxis High Road SL — £59.99
  • Cadex Classics 28 Tubeless tyre — £64.99
  • Challenge Strada Pro HTLR 25mm tubeless — £75.00
  • Rene Herse Barlow Pass TC tubeless tyre — £76.00
  • Rene Herse Switchback Hill Extralight TC 650B x 48mm tubeless tyre — £95.00
• Everything you need to know about road bike tyres
• Cafe wisdom: road.cc readers weigh in on road bike tyres

The famous five: the very best road bike tyres

Best overall tube-type: Continental Grand Prix 5000 — £36.50

The Continental Grand Prix 5000 is a hugely popular road tyre and rightly so. It uses the BlackChilli compound, a Vectran Breaker puncture protection layer, and three layers of 110tpi casing for a tyre that pretty much does everything well.

Take these out in the dry and traction is great, but more impressive is the wet weather grip. Tester Steve found them much more confidence inspiring in the wet than the Schwalbe Pro-One for instance, which, although excellent in the dry, has a tendency to slip on moist climbs.

As far as rolling speed is concerned, they feel proper fast and this is backed up by strong results in independent testing. Bicycle Rolling Resistance's results show the GP5000 non-tubeless is not only significantly faster than the old GP4000S II, but nearly as quick as the Grand Prix TT, which should be reserved for just racing.

Read our review of the Continental Grand Prix 5000
Find a Continental dealer

Best overall tubeless: Continental Grand Prix 5000 TL — £48.00

Continental's Grand Prix 5000 tubeless tyres take everything that is improved with these latest generation tyres and add tubeless compatibility for improved puncture resistance. They're relatively painless to set up and provide excellent performance in all conditions with low rolling resistance, good grip and durability.

German tyre giant Continental revamped its long-running and hugely popular GP4000 tyre last year with the GP5000, and in the process developed its first road tubeless offering. It shares all the same features as the non-tubeless version with updated Black Chilli rubber compound, Vectran breaker, Active Comfort Technology and Lazer Grip.

It's a case of lots of small changes adding up to make an improved tyre, and the good news is that on the road the new tyre has all the hallmarks of the old GP4000, but is better in every way. It's fast, grippy and puncture resistant, simply a very high-quality tyre that has no compromises.

Read our review of the Continental Grand Prix 5000 TL

Best value: Goodyear Eagle Sport — £20.00

The Goodyear Eagle Sport is an entry-level road tyre from one of the world's big brands, and it delivers well above its price point.

A low-cost tyre that offers 'durability' is often code for a plasticky compound that lasts forever but sends the rider into the ditch on the first wet corner, so it was with some trepidation that tester Neil took the bike out, freshly shod with the Eagle Sports. He writes: "Happily, it was a dry day and the tyres behaved impeccably. The second outing was on sodden roads with localised flooding. Surely, this would be the litmus test... No, after a few cautious turns I began to trust the Eagle Sports to stick to the line and for the whole of the rest of the test period I never had an anxious moment.

"'Aha,' I hear you say, 'but that tenacious grip means the tyres most be slow and draggy.' Again, no. They feel lively from the off and the stats don't lie: up one local Strava climb, the fearsome 'Past the Chinese', I notched up a PB out of 32 passes, without being aware of trying particularly hard. A fortnight later, just to show it wasn't a fluke, I did it again."

Read our review of the Goodyear Goodyear Eagle Sport

Best for speedsters: Vittoria Corsa Speed tubeless — £45.84

Vittoria's Corsa Speed Tubeless tyre is a great choice for summer and race use. The casing and tread are much softer than some previous tubeless tyres, giving these a much better feeling on the road.

Tyres can completely change the ride quality of a bike, influencing the way that you can ride in different conditions. These Vittorias – the fastest road bike tyre tested by bicyclerollingresistance.com – offer easy tubeless setup and a much superior ride.

Read our review of the Vittoria Corsa Speed
Find a Vittoria dealer

Best for commuting: Schwalbe Marathon Plus — £30.00

Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres are essentially heavy duty, ultra reliable commu-touring tyres that inspire unprecedented confidence without feeling sluggish or barge-like, as the 970g weight for a pair would imply. If swerving punctures is your main criterion in a commuting tyre — and let's face it, who wants to fix a flat on the roadside on a wet January morning? — the Marathon Plus is the tyre to go for.

Much of this is attributable to the Smart Guard system. This is essentially a clever subsection of supple rubber designed to force sharps out, rather than drawing them in as deep-treaded tyres can.

Read our review of the Schwalbe Marathon Plus
Find a Schwalbe dealer

Best for bad roads: Rene Herse Bon Jon Pass Tubeless Compatible  — £92.00

The Rene Herse (formerly Compass) Bon Jon Pass TC Extralight is the lightest and narrowest of its tyres that can be set up tubeless. It's good. Very good. Rene Herse calls it its 'Goldilocks' tyre, and for going fast or far on rubbish British roads or gravel, in all weathers, it is indeed Just Right.

Rene Herse has its handmade tyres manufactured in Japan by Panaracer, but the process and materials are unique to Rene Herse. These tyres indeed cost a pretty penny, but if you want the pinnacle of real-world performance over varied surfaces, they're worth the cash.

Read our review of the Rene Herse Bon Jon Pass TC Extralight

40 more of the best road bike tyres

Michelin Protek Urban — £25.19

Michelin's Protek Urban Aramid tyre offers a fantastic mix of grip, efficiency, comfort and enhanced puncture resistance. For keen commuters and city riders, it's a choice that fulfils all the most important practical criteria while still providing a rewarding ride experience, and all at a very reasonable price.

Read our review of the Michelin Protek Urban
Find a Michelin dealer

Vredestein Fortezza Senso All Weather tyre — £26.70

Tester Cavan writes: ”As the name suggests, the Vredestein Fortezza Senso All Weather tyres are intended for use in all weathers and are one of five models in the Dutch rubber-maker's competition line-up. Over weeks of testing in conditions varying from dry to wet to icy, I have been impressed by their sure-footedness. They've also withstood the grit and the best - or worst - of the pot holes around the south-east.

“Cornering is assured which is another benefit given conditions in the wet can be trickier than normal. The all weather compound has been designed to provide low rolling resistance with super grip in all conditions. They did just that, providing smooth rolling on the flat but when you lean the bike you get just as much assurance. The clinchers were easy to fit but not loose, which also inspires confidence.

“You can't put a price on the confidence that comes from tyres this sure-footed. The lack of nicks or cuts in the rubber are testimony to their longevity too. Yes it could be good fortune but I'd say it was swayed but the decent rubber compound.”

Read our review of the Vredestein Fortezza Senso All Weather tyre
Find a Vredestein dealer

Bontrager AW3 Hard-Case Lite tyre — £27.99

Tester Shaun writes: “The Bontrager AW3 Hard-Case Lite is much faster than I've come to expect from such a tyre – an all-weather, reflective urban thing – and extremely puncture resistant. Even at higher pressures they give a compliant, rewarding ride.

“The ride quality certainly lives up to the hype. They accelerate very quickly and are relatively effortless to keep on the boil. Even at higher pressures, I've never found the Bontrager skittish, or willing to step offline.

“Wet, early-season roads are perfect for testing tyres. The AW3s never missed a beat, allowing me to blast along confident and happy. Bovine dung and similarly slippery stuff hasn't presented any unwelcome surprises either. And one pinched tube aside, I've suffered no flats even on some terrible test roads.”

Read our review of the Bontrager AW3 Hard-Case Lite tyre
Find a Bontrager dealer

Michelin Power Endurance tyre — £29.96

With the tarmac in Britain comparable to a cheese grater, a hardwearing tyre makes sense. The Michelin Power Endurance tyres are grippy, hardwearing and surprisingly fast. However, seriously strong thumbs are required or you might just pinch all the tubes in your shed.

Tester Liam writes: “At the heart of the Endurance tyre is the X-Miles Compound. This hardwearing rubber has been designed to give '20% more resistance' over the Pro4 Endurance. Michelin has also included more rubber along the centre line of the tyre; maybe an obvious feature, but more material takes longer to wear away. The bold claim from Michelin, however, is '200,000 puncture-free kilometres for 200 tested riders'. A very attractive claim for those who value hassle-free miles above all else. I can say that during my test rides, I've encountered no punctures while riding on some pretty shocking roads. In fact, while washing my bike, I checked the tyres for cuts. Not one! I really struggled to even find a blemish.”

“'More grip for greater speed around the bends'– that's what Michelin says about its new Grip Design. It's a simple concept that Michelin appears to have got spot on: as much as I pushed in corners to make these step out of line, they remained ever-planted and tracked smoothly. Even under heavy braking they refused to slide.”

Read our review of the Michelin Power Endurance tyre
Find a Michelin dealer

Vredestein Fortezza Senso Xtreme tyre — £30.96

The Vredestein Fortezza Senso Xtreme tyres bill themselves, as suggested in the name, as Xtreme (sorry) weather tyres - so perfect then, for three seasons of UK riding.

Tester Martin wrote: “They have managed several thousand kilometres without any punctures nor slide-outs in the wet, despite me donning my old college volleyball knee-pads and seeing if I could lose the front wheel on fast roundabouts. In that respect they have totally won my confidence. Come rain or shine, they have provided comfortable riding, with smooth rolling and decent acceleration and while they are not the lightest tyre on the market, they don't seem to suffer because of the extra weight.

“Tyre wear has been minimal, and while they have a goodly amount of cuts in them, nothing has got through, to cause late-night walks home. Vredestein have implanted their tightly woven polyamide layer not just in the centre strip, but across the whole tyre, ensuring that puncture resistance is increased across the whole tyre - including the sidewalls.”

Read our review of the Vredestein Fortezza Senso Xtreme tyre
Find a Vredestein dealer

Panaracer GravelKing Slick Tread 38 — £31.00

The Panaracer GravelKing will take some beating on rough roads in this whopping 38mm size. We've already reviewed both the 26mm and the 32mm versions of these tyres and this pothole-conquering, gravel-busting 38mm version in Nile Blue is just as impressive. It's light for a 38mm at 337g, is very easy to set up tubeless and comes in restrained black as well as blue, green and ivory. What more could you want?

These tyres need a lot of space. They are listed as 38mm but when fitted to some new wider rimed Halo Evaura wheels, they came up to closer to 40 (39.52mm) so make sure your frame can take them before taking the plunge.

Read our review of the Panaracer GravelKing Slick Tread 38
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Specialized S-Works Turbo — £32.99

Very fast and very light, the S-Works Turbos are tyres you'll want to save for race day or an attempt on a sportive personal best. The Blackbelt puncture protection does a reasonable job of stopping small objects from getting through the tread, but the featherweight sidewalls are easily cut. Jo Burt found that a problem when he reviewed them and I've recently had to bin a pair after forgetfully using them on less-than-perfect roads.

On a sunny day, on good Tarmac, though, they're lovely. The 28mm version could be the perfect UK summer tyre, and they're a bargain at this sale price.

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Read our review of the Specialized S-Works Turbo

Vee Tire Co Road Runner — £34.99 - £39.99

Fast-rolling, supple tyres that offer confidence-inspiring cornering grip, and sensibly priced. Rubbing your thumb over the Road Runner from Vee Tire Co when it's in its box, you just know it's going to be grippy – the compound feels practically tacky against your skin. And it doesn't disappoint once you put tyre to tarmac.

In the dry they really grip well and give you loads of confidence to keep banking the bike over. Mini roundabouts and the like can be taken flat out and we've yet to find their limits of adhesion.

Read our review of the Vee Tire Co Road Runner

Hutchinson Fusion 5 11Storm Tubeless Performance — £33.50

The latest tyre from tubeless pioneer Hutchinson might just have knocked the Schwalbe Pro One out of the role of benchmark performance tubeless tyre. The traction of the Fusion 5s out of the box in a range of conditions, especially in the wet, surpasses the Pro One's. Factors like speed and rolling resistance are trickier to compare, but they certainly don't feel any slower at all, and puncture resistance is superb.In a nutshell, they're fast, grippy, supple, durable and easy to fit, and a rival for any other tubeless tyre currently available.

That's down to The new ElevenStorm rubber compound that provides the tread for the very latest version of this tyre. Warning to the wise: there are versions of the Hutchinson Fusion 5 available with Hutchinson's old HDF>5.2 tread compound. They're good tyres, but if you want the latest and greatest, look for the 11Storm.

Going tubeless for the first time? Hutchinson offers a pair of these tyres with sealant, valves and rim tape for £89.00.

Read our review of the Hutchinson Fusion 5 ElevenStorm Tubeless Performance tyre
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Continental Grand Prix 4 Season — £34.40

These popular puncture-resistant tyres from Conti have a Duraskin® cut-resistant layer from bead to bead, and two extra Vectran breakers help increase puncture protection.

They're billed as suitable for wet weather. Call us pessimistic, but to us, European wet weather tyres means year-round UK use, and the GP 4 Seasons are excellent do-everything tyres.

Read our review of the Continental Grand Prix 4 Season
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Panaracer Race D Evo 4 tyre — £34.99

The Panaracer Race D Evo 4 is described by its maker as an ultra-durable road race tyre. They’re a bit snug to fit on some wheels, and they aren't tubeless compatible, but if you are after a fast-rolling, grippy road tyre with decent protection then the Race D is an excellent choice.

Tester Stu writes: “I found the Evo 3 tyres quick and grippy, and these Evo 4s are no different. The tacky feel to the ZSG compound really grabs on as you fly through a fast corner or tight roundabout.

“The bike I swapped these onto was originally wearing Continental's GP5000s, one of the best out there when it comes to grip and performance, and I can barely feel any difference at all. They both offer confidence-inspiring grip and impressive speed. The ride quality of the Panaracers is good too – very supple, even at high pressures.”

Read our review of the Panaracer Race D Evo 4 tyre
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Michelin Power Road — £34.99

The Power Road is a new top-end race performance tyre from Michelin, available in tubeless and tubed versions. We've tested the tubed type in 28mm width and it's fast-rolling and lightweight with good durability. It's everything you want in a race tyre.

The Power Road is designed to be a very good all-round tyre, described by Michelin as ideal for 80 per cent of typical riding conditions, for training rides to a road race. That sounds like a fit-and-forget tyre for many people, and with 23, 25 and 28mm widths available, there's going to be one suitable for most riders and race bikes.

Read our review of the Michelin Power Road tyre
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Schwalbe One V-Guard — £35.00

Schwalbe makes the bold claim that its One tyres are the fastest the company has ever manufactured. Our roll-down testing confirms that they're fast and they feel extremely rapid with good traction in a range of conditions, with impressive puncture protection and durability.

They're now available in a wide range of sizes, up to 28mm and in clincher, tubular and tubeless (the link above is for the tube-type version). In normal use, riding the tyres daily in training, the 167km Liege-Bastogne-Liege sportive and a road race, the tyres really impress. It's the sensation of speed and lack of resistance that is most noticeable. In a range of conditions too, they show incredible performance, from sun-baked to rain-sodden roads.

Read our review of the Schwalbe One V-Guard
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Bontrager R3 Hard-Case Lite 700C 32mm — £35.00

Wider road bike tyres are gaining an almost unstoppable momentum as people discover they can be both fast and comfortable, and with the emergence of the endurance road bike genre, Rubenesque road rubber is only going to become more common as bikes are designed to fit fat slicks. The Bontrager R3 Hard-Case Lite 700x32c pushes the plump limit to the point where once upon a time it might have been considered a humourously slick cyclo-cross tyre.

The R3 Hard-Case Lite comes in 23, 25, 28 and 32mm widths, and the full fat version here is something to behold, turning your road bike (if the rubber will fit) into something like a SuperMoto bike, although sideways drifts are not required on every corner, however tempting.

Read our review of the Bontrager R3 Hard-Case Lite 700C 32mm
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Hutchinson Sector 28 tubeless tyre — £35.95

Hutchinson designed the Sector 28 for the pro teams they sponsor, for racing over the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix. As such it's a big tyre that's tough as well as being light, but it's the comfort that really shines through here. Well, that and the fact that you don't get any punctures. They're not even that much of a pain to fit.

Tester Big Dave writes: “They're really comfy tyres, that's maybe their best feature. Hutchinson recommend a rather high minimum pressure of 87psi; most of the time I ran them about 80 and went as low as 70 with no problems at all. The difference in comfort between these and a 25mm road tyre is immediately noticeable, and welcome. At 295g plus sealant these aren't the lightest tyres out there but you'll save yourself the ~70g of an inner tube, making them competitive, especially for a big tyre. They don't ever feel heavy or slow. Whether a particular tubeless tyre rolls empirically better than a tubed tyre is an argument for the lab, but those gains or losses are normally pretty marginal, whereas the comfort gain is immediately noticeable.

“I haven't punctured them either, and that's with plenty of deliberate excursions into hedge clippings and other detritus, and lots of miles on unmade surfaces too. I have pulled a single solitary thorn out of the carcass, and the sealant (I used Effetto Mariposa's Caffelatex) plugged the hole just fine, a bit of fizzing and bubbling and then no more. That's at worst a top-up from the pump, rather than removing the wheel and tyre and replacing or mending the tube. If you manage to put a hole in the tyre big enough that the sealant won't fix it, Hutchinson do a repair kit but the roadside fix is the same as a normal tyre: stick a tyre boot over the inside of the hole and then bung a tube in; you'll still need to carry one, just in case.”

Read our review of the Hutchinson Sector 28 tubeless tyre
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Michelin Power All Season — £35.99

Since 'four seasons in one day' is a description often applied to the British weather, these Michelin Power All Season Road tyres should be right at home among UK riders. After a typical English June, we're pleased to confirm that the performance is every bit as reliable as Michelin claims.

The All Season is one of three tyres in the Michelin Power range, each promising better performance with less drag than its predecessors, the Pro4 series. In the case of the All Season, it's grip that's the focus of performance claims, and Michelin promises 15% more grip 'on slippery surfaces' but 5% less resistance than the Pro4 Grip. Of course, this is neither here nor there if the Pro4 Grip was a pile of dingoes' kidneys, but back in 2014 our own David Arthur gave them a solid four star rating (read that review here).

At nearly 260g for the 25mm version (slightly less than officially claimed), these are hardly lightweight, but a lot of this is in the thick tread with its Aramid 'Protek +' protection layer. Over the test period I had no punctures and the tyres shrugged off some bad treatment, such as miles of freshly dressed country lanes that had gravel rattling off the down tube.

The only time you should be noticing your tyres when you are out riding is when they are failing you in some way – a puncture, a loss of grip, a noisy tread or a leaden, draggy feel. So perhaps the best thing we can say about these is that I never really noticed them.

Read our review of the Michelin Power All Season
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Schwalbe Pro One tubeless — £37.50

The Schwalbe Pro One Tubeless Easy (TLE) folding tyre is up there with the best race tyres on the market. Grippy, fast rolling and simple to fit, with or without a tube, they're a great choice for your race bike. If durability is your main goal, though, you might want to look elsewhere in the range.

As part of its top end Evo Line, the Pro Ones use Schwalbe's Triple compound which is soft and much grippier than the Onestar compound found on the standard non-tubeless One.

Chucking the bike into tight corners or roundabouts at speed shows the level of grip on offer in both the wet and dry, plus the tyres give a really direct feel of the road thanks to the suppleness of the rubber.

Read our review of the Schwalbe Pro One
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Veloflex Corsa Evo open tubular — £38.00

The Veloflex Corsa Evo is a supple, grippy and fast-rolling open tubular tyre aimed at training and racing. Its 320tpi casing smooths out rough roads and keeps grip levels constant, while the tread compound is tenacious and confidence-inspiring in all weathers. It's not tubeless ready, but the price and performance are great.

The suppleness of the Corsa Evo is instantly noticeable. It's a tyre that seems like it's literally taking the edge off bumps: what felt like a square-edged ridge before suddenly seems a smoothly ramped lump.

That's obviously a good thing for comfort – especially on local roads with their rain-eroded canyons, gravel dunes and aggressively flattened badgers – but more importantly, it's a good thing for grip.

Read our review of the Veloflex Corsa Evo open tubular

Continental Gator Hardshell tyre — £38.99 - £43.99

The Gator Hardshell is a very durable, puncture resistant and comfortable tyre, at relatively high pressure it is yielding and comfortable for long rides. In terms of a winter training tyre, club runs and for committed commuters this is an excellent tyre.

Tester Andy wrote: “If you are tired of throwing money at tyres for training these are quick and reliable.

“They're not quick enough for racing but if I was planning on a serious fast touring holiday it would be hard to find something else this good to rely on. They should reward you with exceptionally long life, puncture resistance, a very comfortable ride at speed and not least, given my findings and the manufacturers claims, very good value for money over the life of the tyre.”

Read our review of the Continental Gator Hardshell tyre
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Panaracer Race L Evo 3 tyre — £39.58

Panaracer says the L-for-Light version of the Race Evo 3 is a race day tyre ideal for time trials and hill climbs. They're certainly fast rolling, but with decent puncture protection as well they don't feel as if they need to be reserved for those special events or dry days only. They're good value too.

Tester Stu writes: “Unlike the D and A models which get bead to bead protection, the L has just a central strip of Panaracer's Protite under the main tread, like that found on most tyres of this type. It seems to work pretty well as I haven't picked up any full punctures over the test period, just a few nicks here and there. Considering how wet and gritty the roads have been, I'd say that's quite impressive.

“Really pushing hard into the bends finds the Evo 3s just gripping and gripping without slippage at all, even when the road surface changes or you have to tweak your line. In the dry they are confidence-inspiring and wet weather grip is pretty good too. They'll eventually break away, but you can feel that point coming as they slowly start to lose traction rather than an all-to-nothing.”

Read our review of the Panaracer Race L Evo 3 tyre
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Hutchinson Fusion 5 Galactik — £39.95 - £49.95

The Fusion 5 Galactik road tyre is Hutchinson's all-out performance model, and tester Stu is impressed: "after riding them for the last four months I'm going to put them up there with some of the best race rubber I've ever used. They are grippy, roll really well and I haven't had an issue with punctures either. The best thing, though, is that they feel much more supple than the majority of tubeless tyres."

Stu puts the Fusion 5 Galactik's performance down to the grip levels of the ElevenSTORM (or 11STORM as it says on the sidewall) compound. "Tyre companies tend to keep their specific compounds close to their chests, so I can't give you a list of materials from a spec sheet, but what I can tell you is that the rubber feels very soft and almost tacky.

"These tyres really grip in the dry – you can absolutely bung the bike into a roundabout or bend at high speed and just know that it's got your back."

Read our review of the Hutchinson Fusion 5 Galactik
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WTB Horizon TCS 650B tubeless — £44.99

WTB's Horizon TCS is a fast-rolling, super-grippy and super-comfortable tyre that excels on the road and is capable of tackling dry off-road trails to inject some adventure into your routes.

Tyres have been getting wider over the years, and this trend for chunkier tyres and a growing interest in gravel and dirt riding on road bikes has given rise to the return of 650B, an old standard once favoured by French touring cyclists because it allowed bigger volume tyres for more cushioning on rough and badly surfaced roads. (By shrinking the rim size you can use the bigger volume tyre.)

Read our review of the WTB Horizon TCS
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Pirelli P Zero Velo — £39.99 - £46.19

The Pirelli P Zero Velo tyre marks a very impressive return to cycling for Pirelli after a half-century hiatus. This tyre is fast, comfortable and long lasting, making for a great all-round ride experience on the road.

Out on the road, they are thoroughly impressive at all times, feeling fast and slippery (through the air, not on the road surface!), yet able to take on the often poorly maintained roads that I'm accustomed to in the south west. Cornering in the wet never feels sketchy, and they zip along very nicely on flat roads without giving any unwanted feedback.

I know that they have bad weather in Italy, but I'm still very impressed with how much Pirelli has obviously thought about adverse conditions when developing these tyres. I saw Pirelli testing the wet grip of the tyres on the test track outside of Milan at the launch, and it certainly appears to have paid off.

Read our review of the Pirelli P Zero Velo
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Panaracer GravelKing 32 — £40.00

The 32mm Panaracer GravelKing tyres are excellent all-winter rubber for your road bike and tester Dave Atkinson's new favourite all-purpose winter tyre. They're pretty light for a 32mm tyre, they're easy to set up tubeless and they roll really well. Also, they come in a range of natty colours. Well, two. Plus black. Are they gravel tyres? Not really for the UK, in this size. But for winter road riding they're ace.

You might think these tyres look a bit like a plus-sized version of Vittoria's Open Pave with their file tread and green bits. And that's a fair comparison a lot of the time. Okay, they don't have the Open Pave's supple 320TPI casing, but the AX-Alpha Cord construction is still supple and you can run them tubeless which makes them even more so. The extra air in the carcass over a standard road width means there's comfort on tap for filthy back lanes and unsurfaced sections.

Read our review of the Panaracer GravelKing 32
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Panaracer GravelKing Plus TLC 700 x 35 tubeless — £42.00

The Panaracer GravelKing Plus TLC is ideal if you want a wide, slick tyre for road use but one that is also capable of taking you off the beaten track thanks to its strong build and decent puncture protection. It's a decent price too.

Compared to the standard GravelKing the Plus model has some added puncture protection to increase durability, which has added about 40g per tyre in this 35mm size, but they've retained their very fast and grippy ride.

Read our review of the Panaracer GravelKing Plus TLC 700 x 35
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Michelin Power Road Tubeless 32mm — £44.99

At 32mm across, this is the widest of Michelin's Power Road Tubeless tyres, and it matches the skinnier versions for performance and grip while being easier to fit.

Regardless of the pressure, the Power Roads are comfortable tyres. Their four layers of 120TPI (threads per inch) casing keeps the construction feeling supple – not something always found with tubeless tyres. They roll fast too, and thanks to the X-Race compound, grip levels are high both in the wet and the dry.

Confidence-inspiring is how we'd describe them. For such wide tyres they still offer the race feel of their narrower siblings, just with a little more weight, 353g as opposed to 297g for the 28mm option, and 266g for the 25s.

Read our review of the Michelin Power Road Tubeless 32mm
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Challenge Strada Pro Open Tubular — £45.05

Challenge's Strada Pro Open Tubular is a super-supple tyre designed for racing on rough roads. It's not the quickest tyre we've ridden, but for the battered B roads of Britain these are ideal for racing, fast riding and even as a summer training tyre.

Read our review of the Challenge Strada Pro Open Tubular
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Challenge Strada Bianca 700C 30mm — £47.99

The Strade Bianche race uses the white gravel roads of Tuscany and this 30mm racing tyre is just what you need for that kind of thing. It's a brilliant all-rounder that's fast enough for nearly any road use, but with hugely improved comfort.

Out on the road they're fantastic. You can run them at hitherto-untried low pressures with little or no danger of flatting them on potholes. They roll extremely well and at 358g they're not heavyweights. It's not like sticking a set of Marathons on. These feel like race tyres, they really do, except loads more comfortable. If you want comfort on long rides but still want to go fairly fast, there aren't many better tyres we can name.

Read our review of the Challenge Strada Bianca 700C 30mm
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Michelin Power Road Tubeless — £49.99

The Michelin Power Road Tubeless Tyre is the company's first foray into tubeless for its road line-up and the results are very impressive. Grip and rolling resistance feel to be right up there with the best of the competition, and while they are a tight fit, once set up they'll see you through whatever conditions you are likely to experience.

Much of what we said about the non-tubeless version of the Power Road, is echoed here on the tubeless version: it really is a very good all-rounder.

Read our review of the Michelin Power Road Tubeless
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Vittoria Corsa Control — £51.00

The Corsa Control is the beefed-up version of Vittoria's well-respected Corsa. They're a great alternative to many winter-specific tyres, offering levels of rolling resistance and grip seen on your summer lightweights without compromising durability.

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Read our review of the Vittoria Corsa Control G+ Isotech

Specialized Turbo Cotton — £51.99 - £59.99

Specialized's Turbo Cotton clinchers are some of the best road bike tyres that we've ever had the pleasure of riding. The supple casing and Gripton rubber compound combine to give a fast and smooth ride that is perfect for racing.

Read our review of the Specialized Turbo Cotton
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Mavic Yksion Pro Road UST tubeless — £54.00

The UST version of Mavic's Yksion Pro tyre is a massive improvement on the previous, frankly indifferent, tyres that Mavic used to ship with their wheels. It's made in France for Mavic by Hutchinson, who know a thing or two about tubeless tyres, and scores well in Jarno Bierman's rolling resistance and puncture prevention tests. You get a pair of Yksion Pros with all of the Tarmac-orientated wheels in Mavic's new Road UST range, from the £269 Aksium Elite UST and up.

The tread is made from the same rubber — Hutchinson calls it ElevenStorm — as the super-grippy Fusion 5 tyres, so looks an awful lot like Mavic is throwing in a pair of Fusion 5s with its Road UST wheels.

The old Yksions seriously lacked grip, especially in the wet, and puncture proofing was pretty poor. These UST versions are way, way better, offering loads of grip even in the wet and and if they do break traction, a little shift in power or body position easily brings them back under control.

Read our review of the Mavic Yksion Pro tyres on Ksyrium Elite UST wheels

Read about Mavic's Road UST wheels and tyres

IRC Formula RBCC tubeless — £57.00

IRC’s Formula RBCC Tubeless tyres provide outstanding grip in dry and wet conditions.

Fitting and inflation are straightforward, and once the sealant is in and distributed around the inside of the tyre, all is secure and airtight.

The round-profile tyres sit pleasantly plumply on the rim; and measured with the callipers across their widest point came up at 25.5mm. The large-volume casing certainly holds a lot of air, which is very noticeable in the ride quality. We thought for a while the council had been round fixing the roads, but that was just a dream.

The other great quality in these tyres is the grip. We took them to northwest Scotland for a few days' testing on the steepest, twistiest, wettest, gravelliest, farm-manuriest roads we could find and, honestly, it was all we could do to get them to step out of line. Only when we deliberately braked late and hard into a sharp left-hander at the bottom of a steep hill did we finally coax the back tyre into some sort of skid, and even then it was more of a correction of direction than any cause for alarm. It feels like your brakes have had an overhaul. Most impressive.

Read our review of the IRC Formula RBCC

Zipp Tangente Speed — £57.80

Zipp Tangentes are pitched as race-day tyres with an impressively low 196g weight in a 25mm size. They are very responsive and fast-rolling tyres, ideal for racing and Sunday best bikes.

They have a 220 tpi rubber/nylon casing, and weight is saved with the absence of the puncture belt that features on Zipp's two other tyres, the Course and SLSpeed tubular. We had no flats during testing. That doesn't tell you much - luck has a huge part to play in punctures as much as anything - but the clean tread with a noticeable lack of cuts and marks suggest good durability from the rubber compound.

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Read our review of the Zipp Tangente Speed

Goodyear Vector 4Seasons tubeless — £58.99

The Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Tubeless Complete tyre – as opposed to the Tube Type – is surprisingly quick and supple for something that is also robust enough to deal with all the grit and flint being washed out of the verges this time of year. Its new design makes it a step above the rest too when it comes to tubeless capability.

The Dynamic:Silica4 compound has a tacky feel to it and grip levels are very impressive, giving loads of confidence in fast bends or when tackling roundabouts while keeping up with the flow of traffic.

It works just as well in the dry too. The Vectors have a very similar feel to some of the better summer race tyres in the corners and they aren't far off in the rolling resistance stakes either, they're just a bit weightier that's all. Not that you notice that extra 150ish grams in the real world.

Read our review of the Goodyear Vector 4Seasons tubeless

Maxxis High Road SL — £59.99

The Maxxis High Road SL is currently the fastest road tyre Maxxis offers, and is designed purely for speed and grip. It feels really sprightly thanks to a ridiculously low weight, while both wet and dry weather grip is excellent. Limited tread depth means they just don't last as long as other road tyres, though.

The SL takes over as the flagship racing tyre from the old High Road. Some serious weight has been shaved (37g), some TPI gained (up 50 threads per inch to 170) and rolling resistance reduced – Maxxis claims 12%. The High Road SL is available in 23, 25 and 28mm widths and I'm running the latter. They're all for tubed use only, although rumour has it a tubeless version is in the works.

Read our review of the Maxxis High Road SL
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Cadex Classics 28 Tubeless tyre — £64.99

Cadex is a high-end, in-house brand of Taiwanese behemoth Giant. This Classics 28 Tubeless clincher comes from the same range as the Race 25 Tubeless but, as the name suggests, it's more robust. Available in 25, 28 and 32mm widths, it offers really impressive grip and speed – it's not cheap, though.

tester Jez writes: “What makes for a good tyre for the Spring classics? According to Cadex, it's a combination of puncture protection, grip and suppleness. Two of the three are pretty readily apparent. These are grippy tyres, thanks to the combination of the RR-S AR rubber compound and a fine file-tooth texture. It's noticeable when climbing 20%+ gradients in the wet, but I found the Classics outstanding when descending fast on loose, poor quality tarmac.

“Back-to-back against another favourite road tyre – the Vittoria Corsa Control G2 – I was measurably faster on the Classics, thanks to the predictable, rock-solid way they cling to the road.”

Read our review of the Cadex Classics 28 Tubeless tyre
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Challenge Strada Pro HTLR 25mm tubeless — £75.00

The Challenge Strada HTLR Tubeless road tyre is up there with the most supple road tubeless tyres on the market. The excellent construction translates into very good performance on the road.

What you expect from these tyres is a very supple ride feel, and that's exactly what you get. Once installed on rims with an 18mm internal width, these sat out at 27mm wide and worked well at just under 70psi (62kg rider weight) for the majority of testing. This gave a nice floaty feeling over broken tarmac, plenty of grip on dry roads, and enough speed for group rides, although they don't feel as fast as some.

Read our review of the Challenge Strada Pro HTLR 25mm
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Rene Herse Barlow Pass TC tubeless tyre — £76.00

The Rene Herse Barlow Pass tyre is a tubeless-compatible (TC), ultra-supple tyre that delivers an astonishingly smooth and grippy ride. If your bike can't fit them, maybe you need a new bike. They're that good.

tester Mike writes: “Taking the Barlow Pass tyres out on a 40-mile loop mixing gravel with tarmac in equal proportions, it is obvious the benefits that large, supple tyres at low pressures bring. At the end of the loop, after months of trying, I smashed a 1km Strava sprint segment, knocking five seconds off my previous best and setting a KOM benchmark for summer that the previous holder is going to be hurting to regain. This is my personal validation of the German Tour magazine results discussed below, that fat tyres are every bit as fast as skinny. The fact that you remain supremely comfortable and have prodigious amounts of grip on hand for cornering and braking adds to the rationale for going wide.

“Going properly off-road into rooted and rocky singletrack, the Barlow Pass was only defeated by 15%-or-more slopes mixed with slick clay or rocks. Otherwise, the super-supple casing deformed around and gripped to trail irregularities with amazing ease.”

Read our review of the Rene Herse Barlow Pass TC tyre

Rene Herse Switchback Hill Extralight TC 650B x 48mm tubeless tyre — £95.00

Tester Big Dave writes: "How wide is too wide? The 48mm Switchback Hill is the widest 650B tyre that Compass makes, and too wide it ain't. It's super-comfortable, fast-rolling, tubeless-compatible, off-road-capable and light. There's really not a lot wrong here. At a time when people are doing roll-down tests to see if it's worth switching to 28mm tyres from 25s, my advice would be to skip a few sizes and fit a pair of these, if you can. They're great.

“With 40psi in the Switchback Hills it was time to take them out on the open road. And what lovely tyres they are. I've completed plenty of riding on the Switchback Hills, including a 300km weekend to and from North Devon on a Sven Pathfinder (with lightweight tubes), and lots of shorter rides on my Tripster ATR around Bath (running tubeless).

"They're massive, and they only weigh 412g a piece; the extralight casing is super supple and they thrum along on tarmac with no obvious penalty over something much, much narrower. I've checked my Strava times; that's not conclusive, but there's no trend to suggest I'm slower, and they don't ever feel slower. They really are quick, these tyres. Compared to the same bike, on the same routes, with 'wide' 30mm Schwalbe G-One Speed tyres, I can't discern any meaningful difference. I'm a bit quicker on my race bike (on 28s), but that's my race bike. It's 3kg lighter.

"They really come into their own on any surface that's less than smooth; that can be gravelly back lanes or a main road with a surface in need of repair. Basically, round here, it translates as: nearly any road."

Read our review of the Rene Herse Switchback Hill Extralight TC 650B x 48mm tyre

Everything you need to know about road bike tyres

Tyre types

There are three types of performance road bike tyres: clinchers, tubulars and tubeless. Clinchers are the regular tyre type you're almost certainly familiar with. They have a wire bead that holds their shape and fits in a hook on the rim to hold them in place.

Tubular tyres have the tyre carcass sewn around the inner tube; the whole lot is then glued to a special rim with a concave surface for the tyre. This is still the lightest way to make a tyre and rim combination, but to repair a puncture you have to unstitch and re-sew the tyre, which puts most people off.

Tubeless tyres, as the name suggests, don't have inner tubes. Air is kept in place by a sealing strip in the rim, and either a liquid sealant inside the tyre or a rubber coating.

Rolling resistance

Two main forces work against a cyclist trying to make progress along the road. Air resistance is the most famous, but the other is the rolling resistance of your tyres, and it's much less obvious.

Rolling resistance arises from the tyre flexing where it touches the road. The rubber and casing flex and unflex, and some of the energy needed to flex them is absorbed in the process and turned into heat in the process known as hysteresis. It's much more obvious where bigger forces and energies are involved; it's why your car tyres get warm as you drive.

A number of factors affect rolling resistance, including the tyre's width (see below), tread thickness and material, casing thickness and material, and tread pattern. Tyre makers spend a lot of time and money experimenting with these factors to reduce rolling resistance. Schwalbe claims to have made 50 prototypes before settling on the design of its One tyre, which is noticeably faster than many of its rivals.

Tyre colours (CC BY 2.0 FaceMePLS:Flickr)

The current best performers for rolling resistance are very light tyres with thin treads and casings. According to testing commissioned by VeloNews by the tyre experts at Wheel Energy in Finland, the best performers at the time were various versions of the Specialized Turbo and Continental GP4000S II. If numbers are your thing, Jarno Bierman's site Bicycle Rolling Resistance is a very useful resource. His testing suggests that the Vittoria Corsa Speed TLR is the reigning monarch of low rolling resistance.

Grip

Grip depends on the rubber compound used in the tread. The rule of thumb used to be that you wanted a compound that contained carbon black — and would therefore be black — for the best grip, especially in the wet. Modern compounds that contain silica are now virtually as good, so if you must have red tyres, look for that in the compound.

Weight

On paper, the lighter a tyre is, the faster it will accelerate. But road bike tyres are such a tiny part of the total weight of bike and rider that it's very unlikely anyone can actually feel the difference between, say, a 250g tyre and a 200g tyre. However, in their quest for light weight, tyre manufacturers use light casing and thin tread rubber layers, which reduce rolling resistance and that can make a tyre feel faster.

That can mean very light tyres are not very durable, or are so thin they puncture easily. You might be prepared to put up with that for the extra turn of speed when racing, or for that special ride in the sunshine on perfect roads, but most of the time you'll want something beefier.

Folding vs rigid

Lightweight road bike tyres almost all have beads made from Kevlar, which allows them to be folded for easy storage and transport. Kevlar is lighter than the traditional steel wire bead, but its resistance to stretch can make folding tyres harder to fit. Tubeless tyres almost always have carbon fibre beads whose lack of stretchiness keeps them on the rim.

Puncture resistance

To stop foreign objects getting through the tyre to the inner tube or the air chamber of a tubeless tyre, tyre manufacturers use various barriers in addition to the tread and tyre carcass. Layers of Kevlar or a related fabric called Vectran are used in lightweight tyres, and when weight is less of a consideration, manufacturers put an extra layer of resistant rubber under the tread. This works well; if you're not in a hurry, tyres like the Schwalbe Marathon are great for round-town peace of mind.

Tread pattern

Unlike this motorcycle tyre, bicycle tyres don't need water-dispersing patterns. (CC BY-SA 2.0 dvanzuijlekom/Flickr)

On tarmac, it really doesn't make any difference to grip what shapes the designer has carved into the tread. Road bike tyres are too narrow to aquaplane at speeds below about 200mph. But the lumps of tread in between sipes and shapes can squirm, and that increases rolling resistance. The best tread pattern is therefore a smooth, slick surface, but with rare exceptions tyre company marketing departments can't seem to get their heads around this. It's possible patterns in the tread can make a difference to airflow over the tyre, which is the claimed reason for the siping on the wides of the tread of some Continental tyres.

Width

Fatter tyres can be run at lower pressures and therefore give a smoother ride, and better grip on bad surfaces. Road bike tyres were almost all 23mm wide for a couple of decades, but that standard has given way to 25mm and even wider in recent years. Those extra millimetres make a noticeable difference in ride feel, and aside from a small weight penalty there's no serious downside.

Many people think fat tyres must be slower, but all other things being equal, the wider a tyre is, the lower its rolling resistance. This may be counter-intuitive, but it's been demonstrated time and again in rolling resistance tests.

For any given tyre pressure, the size of the tyre's contact patch will be the same. But the wide contact patch of a fat tyre has a lower circumference than the long, thin contact patch of a skinny tyre. Because less of a fat tyre flexes, rolling resistance is reduced.

That said, a wider tyre will have more aerodynamic drag, all other things being equal. But the move to wider tyres has led wheel makers to design rims that are shaped to accommodate fat tyres

Tube choice

Tubes can make a significant difference to tyre performance. The thinner, lighter and more flexible the tube, the less effect it will have on rolling resistance. That's why high-end tubular tyres have latex tubes instead of the familiar black butyl rubber. Latex tubes also provide a bit of puncture resistance as they are flexible enough to stretch round a sharp object rather than being punctured by it. However, latex is porous and needs pumping up before every ride.

Other inner tube materials occasionally crop up. Polyurethane is the most common and is currently available in tubes from Tubolito, Panaracer and Schwalbe. It has the advantage of being very light and retaining air well, but it's not as stretchy as butyl or latex so needs more precise matching to tyre size. Schwalbe's polyurethane tubes use a BASF plastic called Elastollan which appears from BASF's claims to be stretchier that traditional polyurethane. Schwalbe calls it Aerothan and offers 43g road bike tubes.

Shopping

Road bike tyres are typically a bit cheaper in winter. When the good weather arrives prices go up a bit.

Cafe wisdom: road.cc readers weigh in on road bike tyres

Road.cc's readers are always a great source of knowledge and experience of bike kit. Here's the pick of the comments from previous versions of this article.

srchar: Commuters: the Conti Grand Prix GT is your friend.

Chris Hayes: Three punctures in three rides convinced me it was time to swap my wheel sets over to tubeless. GBP 250 later and I've done 3 sets. Key take outs are: don't try fitting Contis to Mavic Open Pro UST rims: they don't seal well. I eventually gave up and bought some Hutchinsons, which fit well and are great. Also seemed to have problems with Stan's which doesn't seem to work well with road tyres at high pressure (low viscosity maybe?). Switched to Milkit which has a slightly higher viscosity and has sealed well. If you have asymmetric rims then you need a valve adapter. Oh, and it's a big lay out.

eburtthebike: I'm finding it strange that they haven't included the Schwalbe Durano, a very capable tyre, with puncture protection. I've ridden them for years and they are pretty hard to beat for value and longevity.

John Stevenson replied to eburtthebike:

We've reviewed them. They didn't quite score high enough for inclusion in a buyer's guide.

Socrates: Wolfpack. Have used my first pair of these. 1500 miles and not a cut or scratch. Maybe just lucky but so well pleased with them that they will be replaced with the same come that time.

JL77: 38 wheels, 45 tyres... aren't these lists growing too large? Soon you'll have all available products listed. A guide is all about daring to make choices, no?

John Stevenson replied to JL77:

That's a fair point which is why in the latest round of revisions of our buyer's guides we've introduced recommendations of the very best kit for various use-cases. That said, with rare exceptions everything in a buyer's guide has been reviewed and either scored at least 4.5/5 overall or at least 4.5/5 for performance. There's simply a lot of good stuff out there.

half_wheel79: I haven't felt the need to diverge from Conti GP 4 seasons 25mm in the winter for years, just do the job well, few punctures (in fact none this winter which included doing the festive 500 in some atrocious conditions) and still available at a decent price.

Summer bike I switched from Vittoria Corsa G+ 25mm to Vredestein Fortezza Senso Superiores in 25mm and have found them to be absolutely fantastic, the 320tpi carcass just rolls lovely. They also look fantastic in tan wall.

hawkinspeter: I'm surprised at the Schwalbe Pro-Ones being described as having great grip in the wet - I've found them to be awful (fine in the dry).

Stevemoore replied to hawkinspeter:

hawkinspeter replied to Stevemoore:

Jeroen: I will speak out of my own experience; I do over 25,000km/year, so I tested a lot of tires. Currently I have a road bike JGuillem with 28mm tires and a Cannondale Topstone with tires between 35 and 37mm.

For road bikes:

• My favorite tire is Vredestein Fortezza Xtreme weather. Usually I do 14,000km with a rear tire, having on average 2 punctures during its lifetime. Impressive!
• Second choice is Schwalbe Durano DD. Same wearing and puncture resistance, but a bit more rolling resistance.
• Also good but not as good as the above: Schwalbe Lugano, Hutchinson Fusion 5

For gravel bikes (I ride mainly the poor Flanders roads and cobbles with it):

GOLDEN RULE: AVOID TANWALL TIRES! Although they look so nice and cool, they ALL have very poor puncture resistance. I had Challenge Strada Bianca, WTB Riddler, Panaracer Gravel King SS, Schwalbe One — all terrible. With Panaracer I had on average 3 punctures/week!

Now I am using Schwalbe Marathon Supreme. They don't look cool, but very puncture resistant, decent rolling resistance and relatively low weight. Love them. But not suited if you do a lot off road of course.

I hope this helps you.

Rapha Nadal: Not too impressed with the newer Vittoria tyres I have to admit. Got some in July and the tread is already starting to come away from the carcass! Should've stuck with Conti's.

kil0ran: For those of you put off by the, er, challenge of fitting Challenge tyres the Veloflex Masters are very similar ride/feel, available in up to 28mm, and go on very easily, even the first time. No issues with removal/refit at the side of the road. And, naturally, they have an on-trend gumwall option (also coloured treads)

I've found mine to be surprisingly resilient, coping with the lanes around here and even some chalky hardpack.

timtak: I have used expensive tyres, e.g. Bridgestone Extenza but while light and tubular-like feel they got flat quick. I now use chainreaction lifeline road at 15usd a tyre and find them to be adequate and very long lasting.

Jetmans Dad: Been running 25mm Gatorskins for the last two and a half years. 3,800 miles (so getting near changing time), not a single puncture, run well, quick and comfortable. Never felt the need to consider changing for something more fancy and intend to stick on a new pair come the Spring.

kil0ran: Gravel King SKs and Gatorskins for me. The SKs are a bit fragile in the sidewall area for my liking but completely awesome on hardpack gravel. Even have good grip in mud with a noticeable tug as they bite. Quiet on the road and don't feel slow.

stub: I use 25mm Ones on one set of my wheels, and they've been superb all year. I use the extralight inner tubes and they roll very nicely indeed. I used to have the Vredestein Fortezza Senso all weathers on all year round and they were fantastic tyres, but when they eventually wore out I opted for the Ones.

I also have the G-One Speed on the CX bike that I use for commuting and some singletrack/country park usage. Tubeless, went on like a dream, quick on the commute. Seeing the sealant spots on my frame after a ride without even knowing anything had happened was eye opening. Absolutely love them, they converted me to tubeless and motivated the purchase of some Pro Ones for my Racing 3 2 way fit. These were incredibly, incredibly tight to fit. The beads didn't ping in like the G-Ones and I don't even want to think about getting the tyres off the rim at any point! I haven't ridden them long enough to really comment but first I was really impressed with the quality and speed of the ride so far.

HLaB: Continental used to be my go to brand but I've not had much luck with the Continental side walls, at worst failing on me within 100miles, and I wasn't impressed with the Continental response to that failure so I switched to Michelin Krylion Carbons at first but now Pro 4 SC and Endurance and Power.

BarryBianchi: If you feel your swearing needs a little refresher work, fit some Marathon Plus' on a Brompton.

StraelGuy: Don't get me wrong, I got a few punctures on the 4 Seasons but their grip in wet conditions was very good indeed.

KnightBiker: I used the Challenge Strade Bianchi 3x on Paris-Roubaix with pretty low pressure and the held up very well, impressed with them and no flats, even though my rims took a beating. If there's a combo of road and gravel/cobbles these tires are the way to go.

The Vittoria Open Pave are good, a bit stiff, but they last long.

I'm very curious for the Schwalbe G-one, the knobby stuff should be very good for the none muddy cyclocross courses.

WolfieSmith: I use Conti GP 23s. Have done for 5 years now. Have a puncture once a year if that. Used to use Michelin Pro Race for 10 years before that but found they wore down very quickly. The Contis last me about between 4-6,000 miles.

I use Gatorskins on the winter bike and again - maybe a puncture a winter with those.

multimodal: I'm rolling good old Conti Gatorskins. Maybe I should try something fancier but I've never found them uncomfortable or slow. Cheap too.

a1white replied to multimodal:

Agreed. I have the hardshell variety. For commuting on a road bike, they are a must. On a hybrid Marathon Pluses will last 1000's of miles.

BehindTheBikesheds: The Continental 4 Seasons should be discounted from this list. It's expensive, rarely come up to its quoted size on a normal rim, for an all year round folding tyre at £30+ a pop they they are lifeless, roll horribly and offer no more puncture protection than other tyres at a cheaper price. I purchased a pair of 28mm and they barely came up to 26mm on my 13mm Mavic Ksyriums.

I swapped them for a pair of folding Giant PSL2s, a full 28mm when inflated on the same rim, have much better rolling resistance, no flats so far and the join is done off centre and has a wear indicator in the compound itself. they're 280g at seem to have more meat in the centre part of the tread, made a noticeable difference on my audax cum tourer.

Interesting that Vee Tire (Vee Rubber as was) entered the market with quality cycle tyres a couple of years ago when they were synonymous with very cheap tires, certainly in the UK. The tyres BITD were actually fine and more than a match for the Michelin World.

Their 'Apache Chief' road tyres come in a 30mm which could be useful for some.

Wonder why they haven't really done anything in the UK, I can't say I've seen any bike shops stocking them that's for sure.

macrophotofly replied to BehindTheBikesheds

I like the Four Season tyres I have on one bike - I have Schwalbe Zeros and GP4000s on other bikes, but when I am riding the bike with the 4 Seasons I can feel the rubber has more grip, especially in the wet. I would agree no more protection than 4000s and that they come away from its size on certain rims (although I can get that to happen on many tyres), but the grip and suppleness of the tyre are outstanding. You are paying for a softer rubber.

drosco: Agree on the 4 seasons. I had no luck with flats and they barely lasted a year before disintegrating. Considering the premium price, I don't think they offer enough. Much preferred Michelin Pro4 endurance for a fast, puncture proof road tyre.

ChetManley replied to drosco:

StraelGuy: I also agree. The 4 Seasons gripped well but I still got loads of punctures. I replaced them with the new Michelin Power Endurance which are way faster and have suffered far fewer punctures.

Canyon48: Really strange to see so many negative comments about the 4 Seasons! Had mine since the beginning of the year, ridden them on roads, cycle paths and gravel, haven't had a single issue.

I found them incredibly grippy and smooth rolling, the 28mm came up at 30 mm on my 24mm (outer width) disc wheels.

They are damn expensive though, so I'm expecting them to live for many 1000s of miles! I've got a very good first impression, let's hope that doesn't change over the year

NOC40:"it's very unlikely anyone can actually feel the difference between, say, a 250g tyre and a 200g tyre" Really? I reckon I could notice 20g difference on the front tyre on a light wheelset. 50g is huge. But then again a really light tyre might not go faster but it does feel a whole load nicer, especially on the front.

On tread patterns, there is evidence that there could well be aero benefits to e.g. GP4000S style tread around the sides.

FWIW I've ridden Schwalbe Ultremo ZX/Ones for a few years now and love them for both their immense grip and p**cture resistance, even if they have crept up from 180g to nearly 220g these days (measured).

Also latex. You need latex inners. Faster, smoother, lighter, make a great noise, and stones ping out from under your wheels like little bullets

HowardR: And a +1 from me on the latex tubes.

Ad Hynkel: For tight b4$t4rd tyre installation, check out "How to fit a Marathon Plus Tyre", youtube video by SpaCycles. All you need... and strong thumbs.

peted76: Pro-Ones over here, fitted on Giant SLR0 wheels no problem fitting with hands or seating with a normal track pump (the secret to seating/pumping them up is a bit of soapy water).

StraelGuy: I run Conti Grandprix GT as my go to summer tyre. Even took them to Lanzarote to put on a hire bike.

rkemb:

Quote: some people even claim they have managed to get these to go up with a track pump

I got two Pro Ones set up tubeless on my Pro-Lite rims with just a track pump with no problems at all. G-ones on non-tubeless rims gave me a bit more trouble but that was due to leaking around the valve, not an issue with the bead seating, and was fixed by tightening up the valve bolt at which point the tyres seated with a track pump.

oldmixte: I have fitted many tyres but fitting new Marathon plus defeated me and I had to get a dealer to put them on, it was interesting to see him struggle as well. They are less difficult after they have been on the bike for a while. No punctures over 2000 miles whereas the tyres that came with the bikes, well known, suffered punctures after 300 miles.

I had the same ordeal with my 20" x 1.5" Marathon Racers on my folding bike. The problem is while you try to lever in a section of the wire bead into the rim's bead hook (either by hand, tire levers, or a tire bead jack), it simply walks out of it elsewhere around the circumference of the rim. The above method of kneading bead into central valley of rim works, but by Jove it took more a lot effort with these and that method compared with initial fitting of other tires.

The Marathon Racers also come in 700C x 35 mm and 700C x 40 mm. They're billed as the lightest of the Marathon lineup, although considering their focus as durable hard-wearing tires I don't think that's much to brag about vs. other brands or variants.

Duncann replied to TypeVertigo:

peakingintwomonths replied to Duncann:

All you need is two thumbs, two straps and 5 mins 32 secs. A mightily impressive beard might help, but probably not essential

tugglesthegreat replied to oldmixte:

After numerous punctures through last winter and spring, I finally went for Marathons. I really didn't want to for the additional weight, so it was a hard choice. I have a commute through some dark places and the last thing you need on a cold, wet and dark night is a puncture.

I went for the standard Marathons i.e. 3mm of puncture protection ones, they are also cheaper, another consideration. They were tight but managed to get them on with not too much problem althought it was the first time I had used a tyre leaver in a long time. I can usually get tyres on and off with no leavers.

Do I notice the weight, yes. Can I still keep up on club rides, yes. Am I changing back to lighter tyres for commuting, no.

Really impressed with these tyres.

oldmixte: Thanks for the comments folks, I should explain that I had no problems fitting 4 Marathon Plus to my road bikes, they had 700x32 tyres but the problems came when I tried fitting the 700x25. I used straps, getting the tyre deep into the rim but to no avail. Recently I had to remove one of the 700x25 and had no problem replacing it. I guess it has stretched a little. There are some video showing the strap method on YouTube.

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