MRC01
Major Contributor
When I ride my MTB on gravel rides, I use size 27.5x2.25 / (57-584) tires, Schwalbe G-One Allround Snakeskin tubeless. They roll a bit faster than the 27.5x2.4 knobby tires I normally use for MTB trails; compared to knobby tires, their traction is a bit worse on rough trails, a bit better on the street, and about the same on gravel. I've considered going narrower, 27.5x1.5 / (40-584) but not sure those would fit & perform properly on this MTB's wide rims.
Anyway, the point is that wider tires do have high rolling resistance, but aren't necessarily as much slower as people think, and they can have advantages on rough surfaces. If you read trip reports from people on big gravel rides, they're finding better performance on wider tires. Like saying, run 40mm wide instead of 32 if you have rough surfaces.
Anyway, the point is that wider tires do have high rolling resistance, but aren't necessarily as much slower as people think, and they can have advantages on rough surfaces. If you read trip reports from people on big gravel rides, they're finding better performance on wider tires. Like saying, run 40mm wide instead of 32 if you have rough surfaces.