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BUYER'S GUIDE

Best gravel tyres 2024 — equip your gravel bike with some reliable rubber for off-road riding

Get the most out of your gravel adventures with the best gravel tyres

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With the recent gravel riding boom and the inaugural UCI gravel World Championships taking place in 2022, it’s no surprise that more and more of us are hopping on gravel bikes. But, once you are set up with a set of the best gravel wheels, what are the best gravel tyres that you can get to really get the most out of your off-road adventures? 


Whether you are looking to head off bikepacking, race or swap your road bike for gravel in order to mix up training, our selection of gravel tyres will help you to find more grip, speed and comfort no matter what the condition or terrain. 

In recent times gravel tyres have been getting wider, with 38mm and 40mm tyres replacing the previous standard size of 33mm and 35mm; there are even 50mm and 55mm gravel bike tyres, though not as many bikes will be able to take them and still offer clearance. 

If you really want to go fat, see if your bike can take 650B wheels. The smaller rim size makes room for the largest volume gravel bike tyres.

The sheer number of options now is welcome, of course, as it allows for variety to suit everyone's gravel riding needs. Without further ado, here are our top gravel tyre picks... 

The best gravel tyres: our top picks

Bontrager GR2 Team Issue TLR Gravel Tyre

Bontrager GR2 Team Issue TLR Gravel Tyre

9
Best gravel bike tyre overall
Buy now for £47.16 from Swinnerton Cycles
Fit and forget
Fast on and off road
Sidewall protection
One size only
Not great in the mud

The performance orientated Bontrager GR2 Team Issue TLR gravel tyre has you covered pretty much whatever the condition or terrain, hence we’ve selected it in our top position for the best gravel tyres of this year. Likewise, this impressive tyre has also attained our road.cc recommended title.

Impressively, with this gravel tyre you can pretty much venture wherever you fancy without having to worry about grip or traction. Suited to any situation, whether that be riding along hardpack gravel, through technical wooded singletrack, over rocky terrain and even over mud. These tyres have your back and offer a very impressive level of versatility and all at a very reasonable price. 

Overall, this is a fantastic tyre. It handles well both on road as well as off, it has impressive sidewall protection to prevent punctures occuring. However, the biggest, as well as only, set back regarding the Bontrager GR2 Team Issue TLR gravel tyres is that they only come in one size option: this being 700c x 40mm. Which is still a brilliant choice but more variation in sizes would be fantastic.

Read our review:
Vredestein Aventura gravel tyre

Vredestein Aventura gravel tyre

9
Best for versatility
Buy now for £42.99 from Tredz
Light
Impressive grip
Easy installation
Good size options
Thin-feeling sidewalls might limit puncture protection

The Aventura gravel tyre from Vredestein is another top contender in our best gravel tyres rundown. Another road.cc recommends pick, it’s a great lightweight tyre that offers impressive grip and allround performance. It’s also easy to fit which is also a great aspect of this tyre. Another solid option.

Offering excellent traction both uphill as well as downhill, the Aventura is a versatile pick. Also offering great grip while cornering or ascending technical climbs thanks to the tread pattern which features a semi-slick centre line and thicker and deeper tread towards the outer for added grip. But that being said, it’s important to note that this is still a low profile tyre.

Although this is a brilliant tyre that is both lightweight and offers impressive grip, there is one slightly downside. The thin-feeling sidewalls which make the tyre light, feel as though they may offer limited puncture protection, but the same could be said for pretty much any lighter gravel tyre. But this particuar tyre is usefully available in three sizes: two 700x widths, 38mm and 44mm, and a 50mm 650B, thus offering some range in personal choice. Overall, it’s a great tyre and without a doubt, one to consider. 

Read our review:
Schwalbe G-One R

Schwalbe G-One R tyre

9
Best high-end speedy gravel tyre
Buy now for £62.99 from Merlin Cycles
Supple carcass
Fast
Grip across all surfaces
Expensive

The Schwalbe G-One R just has to be featured in our best gravel tyres list as it offers an impressive mix of speed and grip which puts it at the top amongst other leading brands. Apart from the price, there aren’t many negative points regarding these tyres. 

Interestingly, even on surfaced roads, these gravel tyres are surprisingly quiet and offer a smooth ride. Which is great given the G-One R has reasonably deep tread and no continuous centre pattern. However, away from the road these tyres really come into their own: on rough and loose terrain the performance these tyres offer is pretty astonishing. They grip on rocks, stone or gravel tracks very well, managing to scale tracks that many would struggle to summit without dismounting.

Overall, the G-One R is nothing short of brilliant, these tyres can tackle every condition. But, unfortunately for general riding, the price is the biggest downside. These tyres also come in either 40mm or 45mm by 700c, which is nice and wide and can therefore accommodate for all your gravel needs.

Read our review:
Schwalbe G-One Allround Evolution

Schwalbe G-One Allround Evolution

9
Best gravel tyre for summer/dry conditions
Buy now for £35.99 from Wiggle
Low rolling resistance
Great dry weather grip
Limited to dry conditions

We couldn’t not add the Schwalbe G-One Allround Evolution to our best gravel tyres list, as the name suggests, it's a brilliant allround summer tubeless tyre. It rolls extremely well on the tarmac, is very reliable as well as predictable on gravel, but it also performs well on the trails too. However, its versatility ceases when wet conditions are thrown into the mix.

The low rolling resistance of the G-Ones is impressive: they're right up there with the very fastest gravel tyres on the market. Additionally, the sluggishness from the more aggressive Ultrabite from Schwalbe isn’t present with the Allrounds, which is of course great for faster riding. The round profile combined with the consistent tread pattern that wraps around shoulder allows for predictable cornering and grip. Also, grip on dry rocks, stone or gravel tracks that the Allround offers is nothing short of outstanding, allowing the steepest climbs to be tackled and braking distances shortened.

All in all, the G-One Allround is best suited to drier conditions, which it can do very well but of course is therefore a limiting factor. But overall the performance of these tyres is impressive, making them a great choice for all dry riding on a range of surfaces. Moreover, another great aspect of these tyres is they come in a range of sizes to fit 27.5”, 29” and 700c wheels and widths: 35mm, 40mm and 45mm.

Read our review:
WTB Resolute TCS Light SG2 tyre

WTB Resolute TCS Light SG2 tyre

9
Best gravel tyre for wet grip in dodgy conditions
Buy now for £42.99 from Wiggle
Excellent grip in the wet
Fit and forget all-round performance
Good puncture protection
Just one width
Not the fastest rolling

The WTB Resolute is one of the more open-treaded gravel tyres available on the market and within our best gravel tyres list, making it ideal for British weather conditions. With the SG2 useful puncture-resistant layer, it's one of the best all-weather, all-conditions tyres money can buy.

This robust tyre from WTB really comes into its own on slippery tracks in wetter conditions and while riding through mud. Therefore it’s a really great option if you aren’t adverse to riding in bad weather or fancy some gnarly gravel riding thanks to its deeper than average tread.

Although these tyres deliver great grip in bad conditions, as well as good puncture protection, the Resolute is slightly slower rolling on the road and unfortunately only available in just the one size. Which is 42mm width for both 700c and 650b wheel size options. Therefore the lack of widths is a little limiting, but other than that, it's a great option for wet weather.

Read our review:
Rene Herse Fleecer Ridge tyres

Rene Herse Fleecer Ridge tyres

9
Best fast and knobbly gravel tyre
Buy now for £82 from Sven Cycles
Stupendous grip
Great cushioning
Quiet
Tough
Huge price

The 700c René Herse Fleecer Ridge tyre with an endurance casing "redefines how to go fast and far off-road without compromising grip or feel" according to our reviewer.

Comparable to riding a slick on tarmac, the knob design works extremely well and offers a shoulderless cornering feel, and for serious off-road adventures on your gravel bikes such as bikepacking, it's a reliable and hard-wearing premium option. 

We say premium... at £89 a tyre at RPP a pair will cost you double that of competitors with similar features; but if you're into far and fast bikepacking and are happy to splash out for the very best, the René Herse Fleecer Ridge Endurance offers speed, grip, comfort and quietness in abundance. 

Read our review:
Goodyear Connector Ultimate gravel tyre

Goodyear Connector Ultimate gravel tyre

9
Best for an easy tubeless set-up
Buy now for £38 from Sigma Sports
Easy tubeless setup
Good compliance at lower pressure
Brilliant all-round grip
Decent road speed
Can feel stiff at higher pressures
Slightly narrower than billed

Another road.cc recommended pick in our best gravel tyres rundown is the Goodyear Connector Ultimate gravel tyre. This tyre offers brilliant all round grip regardless of the terrain you’re adventuring across. Therefore making it a great option for those who enjoy riding in varied weather as well as on varied terrain.

Interestingly, although this tyre offers fantastic all round grip it also performs surprisingly well with regards to road speed. The brilliant grip offered by the Connector Ultimate is due to the tread which consists of a virtually continuous central band of tightly-packed shallow blocks, which vary in widths. Moreover, the shoulder of the tread has larger, more widely spaced and high tread blocks with the largest Y-shaped blocks providing added grip.

Overall, these tyres can feel a little on the stiff side when run at higher pressures and they are also slightly narrower than claimed. But, they are great value and very robust. They also come in sizes: 650b x 50mm, 700c x 35mm, 700c x 40mm and 700c x 50mm, therefore there’s a decent range in size options to suit your demands.

Read our review:
Vittoria Terreno Dry gravel tyre

Vittoria Terreno Dry gravel tyre

9
Best gravel tyre for smooth rolling at a reasonable price
Buy now for £44.99 from Tweeks Cycles
Smooth rolling
Good puncture resistance
Reliable grip
No wider option yet

If your needs in a tyre include a mix of both tarmac and off road riding, then the Vittoria Terreno Dry is a great option to consider. But not only that, it’s also surprisingly adequate in more year round conditions as well, but with it mainly excelling in the dry, hence the name.

Where the Vittoria Terreno Zero, has an almost slick centre section, the Dry uses a 'fishscale' tread. Those closely-packed hexagonal scales actually sit at varying heights, which gives the tyre a little bite as well as grip. The tread might not be deep, but the traction this offers is very impressive. Additionally, the tyre deals with firm and loose surfaces well, and can handle wetter conditions without too much trouble.

Overall, the smooth and grippy Terreno Dry offers a great level of traction while riding on off-road terrain in spite of its almost slick centre. Moreover, it’s also good for puncture protection. It also now comes in a range of widths for the 700c tyre, so there's a tyre width to suit every rider's preference. 

Read our review:
IRC Boken Plus gravel tyre 650B

IRC Boken Plus gravel tyre 650B

9
Best heavy duty gravel tyre for multiple surfaces
Buy now for £37 from Tweeks Cycles
Big chamber
Lots of grip over lots of surfaces
Easy to set up tubeless
Reasonably heavy

IRC's Boken Plus is a semi-slick multi-surface tyre which is a lot more versatile than you might expect at first glance. It looks like it'd roll well on tarmac, and it does, however, it's also surprisingly capable on much rougher terrain too. 

With regards to the tyre itself, this semi-slick option has a solid central tread pattern which gradually becomes more open the further from the centre line. This design feature is to allow for reduced resistance while riding along smooth surfaces and the more open treat is great for cornering. Therefore offering great all round performance on varied terrain as well as impressive grip in wetter conditions. 

Although these tyres deliver great versatility as well as puncture protection, the Broken Plus are slightly on the heavier side for tyres. Therefore if you are particularly concerned with weight, then these might be one to miss. But they are a great all round tyre that can handle both wet and dry conditions.

Read our review:
Maxxis Ravager Folding Tyre

Maxxis Ravager Folding Tyre

8
Best gravel tyre for proper off-roading
Buy now for £34.99 from Merlin Cycles
Sturdy rufty tufty proper off-road gravel tyre
Fast rolling
Bit draggy on road
Bit heavy

Essentially a 700c mountain bike tyre according to our reviewer, this tyre is the one if you really want to tackle tough terrain on your gravel bike. It looks very very much like a scaled-down version of the Maxxis Minion SS MTB tyre and you can treat it very much as such, allowing you to take your gravel bike to places other slender treaded bikes might shy away from.

For venturing beyond gravel and onto pretty much everything and anything else, the Ravager is a really capable and, more importantly, fun tyre, if you can live with the slightly sluggish performance on Tarmac and slim profile.

Read our review:
Panaracer GravelKing Slick TLC

Panaracer GravelKing Slick TLC

9
Best slick gravel tyre
Buy now for £29.99 from Merlin Cycles
Lots of grip
Great on poor roads or light gravel
Light
Fast rolling
Can be tough to mount

While this isn't technically a gravel tyre, we had to mention it because it simply excels in any kind of on-road/bad road scenario. It's also very light and has a seriously low rolling resistance, which makes it a very fast tyre no matter the terrain. Puncture protection is also pretty solid, despite lacking the ProTite protection of the slightly more expensive 'Plus' version.

If you're after a racing gravel tyre or something more robust than a road tyre for the commute on rubbish roads, this is a great option at a reasonable price. 

Read our review: 

How to choose from the best gravel tyres

faq-icon
What tyres are good for gravel?

If you are wondering what tyres may suit your gravel needs, there is no sure-fire answer because there are multiple things to consider. Within the broad genre of gravel riding, there might be multiple different surfaces you want to tackle.

What matters most is the conditions and surfaces you’ll mostly be riding, and your priorities when it comes to aspects such as durability and speed. Let’s go over a few use cases by way of demonstration... 

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'll be wanting knobs, 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.

Half and half: 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.

faq-icon
Is 32mm enough for gravel?

In general, a 32mm width tyre will offer you good versatility, however it could be seen to be a little on the narrow side for the rougher stuff as wider tyres are gaining popularity. This tyre width is considered a great option if you are riding a lot of hardpack terrain, mostly ride on Tarmac, or are looking to do gravel racing on vast fireroads; something that won't apply much to our UK readers, because we don't really have any of those! Overall, it will be good option unless you are riding a lot of really gnarly single track, in which case a wider tyre would be more suitable, as we've mentioned above. 

faq-icon
Are 700c tyres good for gravel?

If your gravel bike has a 700c size wheel, which is the normal standard on a road bike, then a 700c tyre will be the correct tyre size for your wheels. Although there are smaller size wheels on some gravel bikes, a 700c wheels and tyre can be beneficial while gravel riding as the bigger circumference arguably offers a reduced rolling resistance. However, it's all down to personal preference; for example, a shorter rider who rides a smaller frame size may prefer 650b wheels and tyres for gravel riding as it can feel more nimble.

650b vs 700c wheels: find out which you should choose

faq-icon
Can you use gravel tyres on the road?

If you were wondering if you could use your gravel tyres to ride on the road as well as on off-road terrain, the short answer is: yes. However, gravel tyres won't be the best option if you are just riding solely on the road as they will create more drag due to the tread in comparison to a road tyre that is fully slick. It depends on how much that matters to you. 

If your times on Strava do matter to you at all and you mostly do road riding on your gravel bike, then switching to a pair of road tyres, even just for the spring and summer months, could be a better option. But if you were just wanting to know if your gravel tyres would be ok riding on sections of road inbetween off-road sections, then of course they will be perfectly adequate. 

> Gravel bikes — do we actually need them?

Having learnt to ride a bike in order to race as a child, Charlotte is no stranger to life on two wheels. Racing across multiple disciplines over the years, she now focuses her time on road racing. Racing with her Belgium based team. Not only that, but Charlotte has many years experience working within the cycling industry alongside her racing endeavours. Therefore, it’s fair to say that anything with two wheels is right up her street.

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3 comments

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OnYerBike | 1 year ago
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FYI the text under the Rene Herse Fleecer Ridge heading talks about the Juniper Ridge. Arguably it makes essentially no difference (the Fleecer Ridge and Juniper Ridge are AFAIK identical in every way except size) but it's a bit jarring and, given road.cc has in fact reviewed both tyres separately, presumably unintentional. 

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Jack Sexty replied to OnYerBike | 1 year ago
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Apologies just spotted this and amended, it was indeed the Fleecer we were meant to be talking about...

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levestane replied to OnYerBike | 1 year ago
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Not forgetting 559 users as well.