Panaracer

I have long been a fan of the original Gravelking SK in 700x38c. They provide good traction on everything but mud and are pretty much indestructible. The only downsides were that they make a lot of noise and feel like slugs on pavement. I recently built up a frame that has room for 50mm tires, so I entered the massive cloudy world of gravel tire choices. For a few weeks, I had so many tires rotate in and out of my cart, I read and watched reviews, asked friends, etc. I went the low weight route, I went the heavy duty route, I went the low rolling resistance route, then finally returned to my senses and asked myself what was important in a tire. I wanted a robust tire that performed well on and off road, looked nice, and wasn't going to leave me on the side of the road fitting a tube into a tire full of snot.

Enter the Gravelking X1 in 700x45c. These things are excellent! Mounting happened with my thumbs, bead seating happened with a floor pump, and they hold air forever. They roll very very well on pavement - a very noticeable improvement over their SK predecessor, they grip chunky gravel beautifully, they're wide (48mm on 26mm internal rims) so they do well in sugar sand so long as you maintain power, and they are quiet! Weight is fine. They aren't light, but they aren't dogs either. I've driven these things over all types of surfaces while not being too picky in line selection, and they look damn near brand new. I can't comment on mud yet, but judging by the tread, I can't imagine they're much better than the SK.

If you run these tires, you have to get the pressure right. After a bunch of trial and error, a good starting point would be to take the pressure you run now and let out a heap of air. I weigh 195 lbs and run the 700x38 SKs at 30-35. The 700x45 X1s are happy at 16-20. Any more than that and they aren't comfortable at all - like full of concrete feeling.

Buy these if you want a tire that performs pretty much perfectly which you don't have to worry about.

What can I say about GravelKing SK's that hasn't already been said about any trusted price of equipment that come through time and time again? Tons of grip off-road from gravel roads to dirt trails. Fast rolling on tarmac. Easy to set up, and don't require an ocean of sealant operate across a reasonable range of tire pressures. What they lack in cache and sexiness they make up in almost every other way one could imagine.

All in all, a great gravel tire and tremendous value for the money.

Been using this tire for years and its combination of features ticks all the boxes for me. Most of my riding is on pavement and the longevity and traction of this tire are excellent. I have found this tire pretty easy to mount and it seems to retain pressure well. Probably not as aggressive to be ideal for hard core off road riding as the tread isn't super chunky, but for a mix of pavement and gravel it's hard to beat and the price point is not insane.

Easily mounted these on carbon rims for my Creo e-bike. They are quiet on pavement, pick up few stones on gravel and ride and roll very nicely. They provide good feedback and grip on gravel.

I grew up riding bikes on gravel roads on pretty sketchy tires back in the 60s and since then have ridden on a variety of tires including Conti top contact on a ride from the Black Hills to Denver via gravel mostly. These tires are the best that I have experienced.