Top 13 Best Gravel Tyres | The best gravel bike tyres ridden & reviewed

Gravel riding can mean a lot of different things. It could be anything from dropping the hammer on mixed surface smash fests, hooning around on fire roads, all the way through to singletrack and big backcountry adventures.

Gravel frames have a lot of flexibility, but a big determinant of how you’re going to experience your off-road adventure is tyres. Tyre weight is some of the most important mass on your bike – even small changes in rotating mass can make a big difference to acceleration. The best gravel tyres need to balance that weight with rugged construction that can withstand the rigours of bumpy trails and sharp surfaces, and rolling resistance needs to be balanced with grip.

Over the years, we have tested everything from super-fast semi-slicks right through to aggressive patterns for slippier conditions and even mountain bike tyres.

While the range of gravel tyres from each brand tends to be less comprehensive than road or MTB, there’s still a mind-boggling array of options to choose from, and it’s growing all the time. So, to simplify things, we’ve compiled the best gravel bike tyres we’ve tested. While this list covers most bases, it’s far from exhaustive, and we simply can’t include everything — especially if we haven’t used it.

If there are any omissions, it’s because we haven’t had the opportunity to ride it or at least logged enough miles to form a strong opinion — the Panaracer Gravel King and Vittoria Terreno series tyres are two such examples.

Read on to find out which is best for you and the kind of gravel riding you’re doing.

Best Gravel Tires
Winston believes the best gravel tyres err more on the side of speed than grip, and the only the bacon flavoured ones are worth while.

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Flow’s Favourites | The Best Gravel Bike Tyres

Schwalbe Gravel Tyres

Schwalbe’s G-One tyre range has been a stalwart of gravel since launching a decade ago. The original Allround was widely loved for its minimalist tread design that produced a noticeably fast-rolling tyre while delivering predictable, reliable handling on a range of surfaces.

The Allround is still…well…around, but since then, the G-One range has been expanded with more specialised tread patterns for riders looking to prioritise, grip, rolling speed or durability.

Schwalbe has a few different casings for its gravel tyres depending on how far off-road you’re going and how fast you’re going to ride.

Best Schwalbe Gravel Tyres
All of Schwalbe’s gravel tyres fall into the G-One range, which are an evolution of the Allround tyre that started it all

Super Race is the lightest casing of the bunch, throwing caution to the wind in the service of low weight and minimal rolling resistance. Schwable says the greater ‘souplesse’ (la de da Mr German!) will provide a silky smooth ride and improved traction. There is minimal puncture protection, though the carcass sees three polyamide layers in the sidewall, two under the tread and a narrow Raceguard strip just under the center tread.

Super Ground is slightly more durable with a third layer of polyamide fabric under the tread with a bead-to-bead layer of the brand’s Snake Skin fabric to provide puncture protection.

Looking to the rubber, while Schwable doesn’t add the trademark coloured stripe to its gravel tyres, but it does pull from the same pool of Addix rubber compounds.

Best Schwalbe Gravel Tires
While the gravel tyres don’t get the trademark coloured strip, Schwalbe pulls from it’s Addix rubber compound used across the road and mountain bike range

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Addix Race is borrowed from the brand’s high-end road tyres. With that, it should not come as a surprise that it puts a premium on low rolling resistance and wear rate. That also means it’s the least tacky of the bunch and will provide the lowest chemical grip.

Addix Speed is the fastest and firmest rubber compound the brand offers in its XC tyres (usually denoted by a red stripe), and is optimised for low rolling resistance and high mileage. It’s a bit softer than the Addix Race compound and is best suited to dry and hardpack conditions.

Addix Speedgrip is slightly softer again. This is traditionally denoted by a blue stripe and strikes a balance between speed and grip and the rebound characteristics of the rubber can provide for a lively feel, especially with big changes in speed.

Best Schwalbe Gravel Tyres: Schwalbe G-One R
The G-One R is the spiritual successor the the Allround tyre, but it’s noticeably faster and provides more braking traction too.

Schwalbe G-One R

Specs

Highs: Great traction and speed on smoother surfaces
Lows: Treads get clogged on muddy surfaces

The G-One R is an evolution of the tyre that started it all, the original Allround. Built around the Super Race construction, it trades the round dots for boomerangs, aiming to decrease rolling resistance without compromising grip.

And to be frank, it worked. From the moment you push off the G-One R feels immediately faster than its predecessor. With closely packed tread over the whole tyre, the grip is consistent, and the long flat back edge provides plenty of braking traction.

That said with so many tightly packed knobs, it does pack up in the wet, and the rear struggles to find purchase when the ground gets greasy.

But for a fast rolling tyre that performs well across the board, the G-One R is a solid pick. If maximum speed on dry, predictable surfaces is your aim, there’s an even faster semi-slick RS model available.

Best Gravel Tyres: Schwalbe G-One bite
The G-One Bite takes the round knobs of the Allround and makes the a bit more prominent and spaced out.

Schwalbe G-One Bite

Specs:

Highs: Good cornering on loose surfaces
Lows: Can feel draggy and slower on hard-packed surfaces

The G-One bite is a more aggressive option, but harkens back to the earlier G-One models but with larger, taller, and more dispersed round knobs, signalling the tyre’s enhanced grip and muck-shedding prowess.

The G-One Bite also introduces a slightly more pronounced side knob for better cornering traction on looser surfaces.

It certainly bites better than the R when tipping it in on patchy gravel or grass. The trade-off is that the Bite can feel draggier and less dynamic on smoother or paved surfaces.

Built around the Super Ground casing, the carcass is a bit stiffer and more robust. It trades an ultra-supple ride for a more damped sensation and also comes with a 30g weight penalty in the same size.

The G-One Bite is also available at a lower cost. A RaceGuard casing and Addix compound provide similar levels of grip but lower performance and rolling resistance—a good option for commuting if you’re on a budget.

Best Kenda Gravel Tyres
Kenda may not be your first thought when it comes to gravel tyres, but we have been pleasantly surprised every time we come across them on test bikes. To the point, members of our team have even purchased a few sets.

Kenda Gravel Tyres

Taiwanese manufacturer Kenda has been making bike tyres since the 1960s. It’s gravel tyres are based around a single casing and a pair of compounds, in a few different configurations.

Kenda’s creatively named Gravel Casing Technology (GCT) is based around the Sidewall Casing Technology in its XC mountain bike tyres.

Using the same nylon fabric, it sees two-ply sidewalls and a third under the tread and a bead-to-bead layer of puncture protection.

As opposed to the multi-layer, tread compound constructions found through it’s MTB options, Kenda’s gravel tyres are based around a formula like RC3 compound, to maximise consistency, grip and performance as the knobs wear.

Best Kenda Gravel Tires
We’ve spent the most time aboard the RC3 compound, and it offers an impressive mix of grip and low rolling resistance.

The RC3 compound is the brand’s fast-rolling rubber that’s borrowed from its road tyres. While Kenda shares the shore measurements for just about every compound it makes, RC3 is a notable omission. Even still, it’s fast rolling and hard wearing while still offering enough purchase well beyond the tarmac.

Found in selection of the brand’s tyres — like the Flint Ridge Pro, named for the hills in Kansas where a certain mega gravel race runs — the Dual Tread Compound tyres see a 60sA rubber on the centre tread, while a softer 50sA durometer rubber is used for the shoulder tread to maximise grip.

Best Kenda Gravel Tyres Alluvium Pro
The Alluvium Pro is one of the most underrated gravel tyres we’ve come across to date.

Kenda Alluvium Pro

Specs:

Highs: Easy to set up tubeless
Lows: Slippery braking in wet conditions

With shallow, closely packed knobs, Kenda’s Alluvium Pro tyres are well-priced and shockingly fast rolling.

Based on the brand’s 120TPI GCT casing, the tread pattern was durable, predictable and fast-rolling across conditions. When leaning the Alluviums over, the chunky side knobs claw into the ground, even when the surface is loose. However, there is a noticeable transition onto that shoulder tread, so you have to commit.

Unsurprisingly, the tightly packed centre strip didn’t cope well with muddy conditions and struggled to find grip through the muck — especially when it was time to drop the anchors. Even still, outside of the wet they are a lively, dynamic and predictable tyre.

Best Pirelli Gravel Tyres
Pirelli was a late comer to the bike tyres, but has successfully translated its know-how from motor sport into bike tyres.

Pirelli Gravel Bike Tyres

Best known for supplying tyres for Formula 1 race cars, Pirelli is a more recent entrant to the bike world. However, the Italian brand’s bike tyre range has exploded, with a deep catalogue for just about every riding pursuit.

Pirelli offers its gravel tyres in a range of casings, borrowing heavily from both its road and MTB range.

Starting with TechWALL Gravel (compound word – tick! random capitalisation – tick!) the 120TPI fabric sees two layers on the sidewalls, three under the tread and a bead-to-bead layer of cut resistant fabric. This is the lightest casing in Pirelli’s range of gravel tyres and will offer the most supple ride.

ProWALL Gravel is a pared-down version of its all-round MTB casing, which sees the same dual ply sidewalls with an extra layer of overlap under the tread as TechWALL. However, the nylon fabric sees a more robust 60TPI weave, and the added puncture protection is kept just to the sidewalls. This will make for a stiffer casing and more damped ride feel.

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TechWALL X is the heaviest, most adventure-ready carcass of the bunch, seeing a bead to bead multi ply 60TPI carcass AND full coverage cut resistant fabric.

Pirelli’s SpeedGRIP gravel compound is said to be derived from the company’s experience in the World Rally Championship, where four-wheeled rally cars need to perform on bitumen and loose surfaces. Pirelli says the compound has been tweaked compared to the MTB SmartGRIP compound to provide better rolling performance with a small compromise on grip. This is the rubber compound you’ll find used throughout most of the Italian outfits gravel tyres.

Pro Compound Gravel is the M1 Abrams tank of the bunch, putting durability and puncture protection as the top priority and with a bit less of a focus on rolling efficiency, as its more race-oriented compounds. ProComound Gravel is only available in a small selection of the brand’s tyres.

Best Pirelli gravel tires Cinturato Gravel
All of the Italian outfits gravel tyres are called the Cinturato Gravel, but the letter at the end denotes its intended purpose.

Pirelli Cinturato Gravel H

Specs:

Highs: A size for everyone
Lows: A bit heavy

Similar to Pirelli’s Scorpion MTB tyres, the brand’s gravel tyres are all called Cinturato Gravel, with the tread patterns denoted by a letter(s) that provide an insight into their intended purpose — RC is racing, S is soft and muddy, M is mixed, you get the idea.

The Cinturato Gravel H is designed for hard-packed conditions and sees a low-profile and closely spaced tread pattern, through the middle and transition zones. The shape and layout of the tread is reminiscent of the Schwalbe G-One R, but the boomerang knobs are shorter and broader. Soft clay and mud are quite an exciting experience on these tyres and make for a test of your nerve and bike handling skills.

The cornering knobs are a little taller, but expect more sliding than biting here on slippier surfaces. The TechWall casing and 120TPI construction, provides good puncture and sidewall protection, but is reflected in the 640g weight of our 650 x 50mm tyres. They are a little porky compared to some on this list.

Best Specialized gravel tyres
While we were first introduced to Specialized’s gravel tyres spec’d on the brand’s own bikes, like the mountain bike tyres they are solid performers at an affordable price.

Specialized Gravel Tyres

Specialized continues its foray world bike domination with a range of half a dozen gravel tyres available in three casings and a pair of compounds.

In that range, Specialized offers three casings, Blackbelt, Endurant, Grid Race.

Endurant is taken from the brand’s range of Turbo Road tyres, and is available in 60 or 120TPI options. Here you get multi-ply construction with an aramid breaker under the tread to stave off sharp objects.

Blackbelt sees two layers of 120TIP fabric doubled over at the bead to create three layers of protection through the tyre to beef up the sidewalls for more support and damping. There’s also a breaker belt under the tread for further sharp object protection.

The Grid Race carcass sees 120TPI construction with polymaid breakers under the tread and on the sidewalls. This is the lightest and most supple version Specialized makes, and is what you’ll find in the top end S-Works tyres.

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The majority of Specialized’s tyres use its Gripton compound, which is a blend of synthetic rubber and an activated Silica compound. Specialized downplays Gripton’s performance, but it’s a big part in why folks rave about some of these tyres. Given the small stature of the tread used across most of the brand’s gravel tyres, they don’t look like they should grip as well as they do, and yet they are hardwearing and roll pretty darn well too.

However, when there is an S-Works version of a tyre available, it will see a dual compound tread T5/T7 tread. Borrowed from the mountain bike tyres, Specialized makes its compound naming structure pretty easy to understand, T refers to tread, and the higher the number, the softer the compound. So the firmer T5 will typically be used up the middle and the softer gripper T7 on the shoulders.

Best Specialized gravel tyres
The Pathfinder Pro is arguable the most common gravel tyre you will come across from Specialized, and despite it’s low profile appearance it is quite the allrounder.

Specialized Pathfinder Pro 2Bliss

Specs:

Highs: Durability, all round performance
Lows: Weight, widest option is a 42mm

With a solid strip up the middle, the Specialized Pathfinder Pro are seriously fast rolling across a range of surfaces. However, it should also not come as a surprise that this strip of slick rubber can spin on steep climbs and when things get greasy. It also doesn’t generate heaps of braking traction as both the center strip and transition tread lack that straight-backed paddle to drop the anchors.

With a file pattern across the transition zone and angled shoulder tread, everything comes together for a surprising amount of cornering bite for the stature of the knobbies. Grip is consistent as the bike goes on edge, however these are definitely dry condition tyres, and something like the Tracer or Terra will be better suited to mucky surfaces.

Best Specialized gravel tires
That solid strip down the centre rolls pretty darn fast, but it also wavers when things get greasy.

The Endurant casing with Blackbelt provides excellent durability and puncture resistance. Handy for a race, or if your boss at work won’t listen to your excuses for being late.

That said, there’s a weight penalty for this durability at 480g, the Pathfinder Pro are heavier than many wider profile tyres in this comparison, especially considering they aren’t a particularly chunky option for serious gravel riding. We’d also like to see them come in options wider than 42mm.

Best WTB gravel tyres
Wilderness Trail Bikes or WTB were an early player in gravel tyres, and are quite popular among the bikepacking and adventure crowd, though they do also have some high performance tyres in the range.

WTB Gravel Tyres

Californian MTB component manufacturer Wilderness Trail Bikes, better known as WTB, keeps things simple for its gravel range. One casing and one compound, with a few different tread patterns on offer.

Tyres are one of the most jargon-heavy product areas of bikes, and WTB’s naming structure is refreshingly simple and streamlined. There are two casings, Light or Tough, and its compounds are divided up into High Grip or Fast Rolling. For those who aren’t interested in the faff, there is hardly a more straightforward brand to navigate. However, for those who are after a bit more information, WTB provides just that, the deeper you dive into the specs.

WTB offers its casings in 30, 60 or 120 TPI with the Light Casing being single ply, and the Tough Casing being dual ply — the gravel tyres only come in 60-120TPI Light Casing options.

Then WTB adds in either its SG2 or SG3 puncture protection to some of its gravel tyres. SG2 just reinforces the sidewalls, while SG3 is bead-to-bead cover.

When it comes to rubber, Wilderness Trail Bikes classes, it’s tyres into either High Grip or Fast Rolling — with the gravel tyres only available in the latter.

This denotes how the brand has organised different durometers of rubber throughout the construction of the tyre. As the name suggests, the Fast Rolling tyres prioritize speed and efficiency over all else, using a harder rubber in the middle, with a slightly softer compound on the shoulders. The High Grip tyres have a substantially softer centre line and gooey shoulder tread for maximum purchase.

Within those WTB offers its DNA compound in single, dual and ‘TriTec’ options. Essentially these are single, double and triple compound forumlations that allow the brand to control the characterists of the knobs across the tyre using layers of different shore rubber.

The gravel tyres are available in the Dual DNA compound which sees a harder rubber up the middle and softer side knobs.

Best WTB gravel tyres
The Ridder plays well in just about any condition except mud. Even in the 60TPI Light Casing version without the added puncture protection, it was surprisingly robust.

WTB Riddler

Specs:

Highs: Versatile for road and dirt
Lows: Tubeless not so easy to set up

We first rode the WTB Riddler tyres on a Focus Atlas gravel bike, which served as a long-term tester, rolling on the 700x45mm version for over six months. They’re quite similar in profile to the ever-popular Panaracer GravelKing tyre.

At 560g, they aren’t the lightest on the scale, but the Riddlers are wide and supple. They also have plenty of bite on the edge or when it comes time to drop the anchors on hard-packed gravel and dirt. In the 45mm version, they are cushy and comfortable but take a bit of effort to spin up. Our 60TPI Light Casing sans the SG2 puncture protection were robust and surprisingly limber across nasty, rooty, rutted surfaces.

The tightly packed centre tread doesn’t make for an overly draggy ride when you hit the road more often travelled, but they do gum up in the mud. Then again, they were never billed to excel in these conditions.

There are more hardcore tyres in WTB’s range (Raddler and Resolute), but the Riddler is exceptionally versatile. Only available in 37mm and 45mm sizes, we’d love to WTB offer a few more widths as it does with other tyres across its range.

Best Maxxis Gravel tires
Maxxis gravel tyres will feel all too familiar to mountain bikers as it borrows quite a few pieces of technology and terminology for this range.

Maxxis Gravel Tyres

The Maxxis gravel tyre range covers all terrain types and weather conditions you may encounter on your gravel adventures. We’ve tested out four of the most popular, all of which have names starting with ‘R’. Handy!

Maxxis offers two casings for its gravel tyre range: Silkshield and EXO.

Silkshield is a dual-ply casing that sees a layer of cut resistant fabric run from bead-to-bead — this differs to Silkworm which sees the breaker just under the tread.

EXO is borrowed from the brand’s MTB tyres and most commonly found in its XC and light trail tyres. These are a dual ply casing, available in either 60 or 12oTPI versions. Maxxis adds its EXO rubberised fabric exclusively to the sidewalls, to make for a flexible and lightweight construction.

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Best Maxxis Gravel tyres
Maxxis makes it’s gravel tyres in SilkShield or EXO casing options.

Comparing like for like, the 60TPI EXO is lighter than Silkshield, however the 120TPI spec adds some weight.

Maxxis’ gravel range comes in the brand’s Dual Compound rubber that sees a harder durometer up the middle, with something a bit softer on the edges to add some chemical cornering grip.

Best Maxxis Gravel tyres rambler
The Rambler is well and truly the best known tyre in the Maxxis gravel range and that’s because there are very few instances where it’s truly out of its depth.

Maxxis Rambler

Specs:

Highs: Jack of all trades
Lows: Master of none

First up, the Rambler. Arguably the most versatile of the range. It’s definitely not the fastest tyre out there, nor the grippiest, but it will hang tough pretty much anywhere you take it.

With lots of tread all over the place, the Rambler provides consistent grip as you tip the bike into corners and billy goat up steep inclines. Its rectangular knobbies do well to punch through and claw into variable surfaces.

The low-profile, closely packed centre knobs help it spin along at pace without sacrificing an inordinatne number of watts.

In contrast, its slightly more extensive and more spaced-out side knobs provide predictable cornering in varied terrain.

What really sets the Rambler apart in our mind is its versatility. It doesn’t excel at on-road performance like the slick Receptor, nor does it match the Ravager’s traction in loose gravel — more on these later. Instead, it’s an option that does everything well enough — a bit of a handy Andy if you will, and a great option if you just want to chuck one set of tyres on and forget about it.

Best Maxxis Gravel tyres Receptor
The Receptor is all about hot, nasty, badass speed, with hardly a lick of tread until you get to the outside edge.

Maxxis Receptor

Specs:

Highs: Fast for commuting and occasional trails
Lows: Won’t go as far off-road

Up next is the slickest of the lot, the Maxxis Receptor. With a file tread up the middle, the Receptor is designed for hard-packed dirt roads and riding at pace on light gravel and blacktop liaisons.

Like the tread on the rest of the tyre, the side knobs are pretty low profile. They will give you some bite when things are a bit skatey, but will be quickly overcome.

The Receptor comes into its own on champagne gravel, or dirt roads that feel just about paved. It will also make a great commuter tyre with the 12oTPI EXO casing providing a relatively robust and damped ride quality.

Best Maxxis Gravel tyres Reaver
The Reaver features thin tread across the top, with low-profile side knobs.

Maxxis Reaver

Specs:

Highs: Easy tubeless setup, quite fast rolling
Lows: A little unpredictable in corners

Leaning back towards the off-road side of things is the Reaver. It features a semi-slick centre tread pattern, less chunky than the Rambler but with more bite than the Receptor, with its side knobbies falling somewhere in between the two as well. Visually it seems to borrow quite a few things from the Aspen ST.

A sleek centreline tread pattern makes the Reaver a smooth, fast-rolling tyre that excels on rough roads and compact gravel. The rectangular side knobs do provide sufficient purchase around a gravelly bend, but when things get loose it’s challenging to predict when they’ll going to let go.

With a speed focused tread pattern, the Reaver is most at home on broken bitumin roads and hard packed gravel where the surfaces are predictable and fast rolling.

Best Maxxis Gravel tyres Ravager
The Raveger is a meaty, mini-MTB tyre.

Maxxis Ravager

Specs:

Highs: Good choice of sizes for aggressive riding
Lows: It’s loud and chunky!

Based around a raised square-edged centre tread and oversized cornering knobs, the Ravager provides impressive traction when climbing steep chutes, trying to keep it together in loose, steep terrain and blasting through corners. Most impressive is how the Ravegers keep their manners when you drop the anchors on some horrible bit of fire road that you otherwise would have walked down.

Sometimes gravel bikes are limited because of the tyres they’re rolling on, but chuck on a set of Ravegers and that will no longer be the case. They thrive in loose, steep terrain and varied singletrack. It’s a great option for exploring the backcountry and finding new camping spots.

The trade-off for this satisfying grippy tread pattern, they are not particularly lively or fast and hum like the dickens on hard packed surfaces.

But the Ravager is excellent for the mountain biker turned gravel enthusiast who wants to continue riding similar terrain with the added versatility of a gravel bike.

Best Maxxis Gravel tyres aspen
At the pointy end of gravel we’re seeing some riders experiment with semi-slick XC tyres like the Maxxis Aspen. While there is some evidence they roll faster across rough ground than narrower gravel tyres, they are also heavier.

Maxxis Aspen

Specs:

Highs: Fast and light for an MTB tyre
Lows: It’s still an MTB tyre

An evolving trend we’re seeing at the pointy end of gravel racing, is that some are opting for mountain bike tyres instead of gravel tyres. There is some evidence that a 2.25in mountain bike tyre does roll faster over rough ground than a 40-50mm gravel tyre, enough to negate the disadvantage that comes from the added weight (665g in the Team Spec, 29×2.25in, EXO Casing, 170TPI Dual Compound). Of course, there is also the added confidence and capability a wider tyre adds and more grip too.

The Maxxis Aspen is becoming a pretty popular option here, with many opting for a 2.1in version on the back and slightly wider 2.25in on the front, sometimes in the 170TPI ST spec.

While your ability to run this combination is likely going to be determined by the tyre clearance on your frame, we have dabbled with an Aspen on both ends of a gravel rig and in the right terrain it can make a gravel bike come alive. That horrible steep descent feels a whole lot more approachable. With that said, the added weight is apparent, especially on smooth climbs.

Everything is a trade off, and if you’re the type to change your tyres based on the course you’re riding to extract that extra 1%, subbing in something like a Maxxis Aspen could be the ticket.

This is an area we plan to continue to experiment with, looking at the Continental Race King and Schwalbe Thunder Burt as well.

Best Continental Gravel Tyres
Continental’s Gravel tyre range is pretty small with only three options. We’ve tested two of those and come away impressed.

Continental Gravel Tyres

German mega tyre behemoth Continental offers its gravity mountain bike tyres in dozens of options and has more flavours of slick road tyres than a Baskin Robbins. But for gravel riders, there’s only a Neapolitan: the Terra Hardpack, Terra Speed and Terra Trail.

There are two Continental gravel casings available: ProTection and ShieldWall.

The ProTection casing sees three plies of 180TPI fabric under the tread and an additional layer of Cordura between the plies covering the sidewall and tread.

Reading the description of the ShieldWall casing you could be forgiven for not being able to discern the difference between the two, as the German brand describes them as three plies of 180TPI fabric with a bead-to-bead puncture protection layer consisting of a finely woven fabric. On paper, the main difference between the two is weight — about 10g per wheel in an apples-to-apples comparison — however, the ShieledWall version of a tyre will be a bit stiffer and more damped.

Best Continental Gravel Tires
The Black Chilli Compound is the secret sauce across most of the brand’s tyre range and Conti doesn’t reveal a lot about it other than that it’s only produced at the German HQ. If you take the brand’s word at face value, it says there is essentially a different Black Chilli compound for every riding niche.

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Continental offers two compounds in its gravel bike tyre range: PureGrip and Black Chilli. Again, Continental’s messaging on the characteristics of each of these compounds and how they differ isn’t all that easy to digest — not helped by the fact that 3/4 of the brand’s range comes in a Black Chilli compound, which is said to be tailored for each category.

They do make the hierarchy clear, and according to Continental Black Chilli is faster, grippier and longer lasting than Pure Grip, thanks to a magical mixture of nanometric carbon soot particle additive.

Pure Grip is an activated Silica Compound and in our experience it tends to wear a bit better than Black Chilli, but gives a bit when it comes to outright chemical grip and rolling resistance.

Best gravel tyres Continental Terra Trail
The Terra Trail is the toothiest of the three and povides a surpsingly amount of grip for how well they roll.

Continental Terra Trail

Specs:

Highs: Light for size, surprising grip and rolling performance
Lows: Limited size options with ProTection casing

We tested the 700 x 40mm version of the Terra Trail with ProTection casing and Black Chilli compound, weighing in at 448g, making it a relatively lightweight tyre for its size — they’re less than the Maxxis Rambler (466g) and the Schwalbe G1 Allround (480g) in the same width.

The hexagonal tread blocks are tightly packed throughout the casing, though as you move further out to the edge, the distance between them grows and the shoulder and transition knobs are siped long ways to help the blocks deform around rocks and roots while the bike is on edge.

On the bike, we like the way the Terra Trails claw into corners — especially that nasty loose over hardpack. They’re not as draggy as you’d expect, thanks to the tightly packed centre strip but the distinct hum you hear rolling along the tarmac en route to your gravel-promised land definitely sends a message about their intended purpose.

Best Gravel Tyres Continental Terra Speed
The Terra Speed sees a similar tread layout to the Terra Trail but hits everything with the shrink ray to improve rolling speed.

Continental Terra Speed

Specs:

Highs: Fast and impressive in corners
Lows: Reduced traction on loose over hardpack surfaces

Based around the same ProTection casing as the Terra Trail, the Continental Terra Speed uses the same 180 TPI fabric and is finished in the brand’s Black Chilli rubber.

Side by side with the Terra Trail, the Terra Speed’s lug placement is almost identical, but each knob is less pronounced. The Terra Speed has significantly more siping through the middle and transition knobs and the direction of the splits is opposite. Whereas on the Terra Trail they are parallel with the rolling direction to assist with leaning, on the Terra Speed they are perpendicular to create climbing and braking grip.

On the bike, the Terra Speed’s smaller, tightly packed lugs and lighter weight were evident, spinning faster than its burlier sibling.

Best Gravel Tires Continental Terra Speed
While the most notable difference between the Terra Trail and Speed is of course the knob size, the orientation of the siping is also of note. With the slashes perpendicular to the rolling direction on the Terra Speed (right) it helps to generate braking and climbing traction.

For a tyre with such small knobbies, the Terra Speeds offered impressive cornering traction on surfaces ranging from sand to hard-packed dirt. We found them to be fast, predictable and durable.

Where they struggled, unsurprisingly, was on loose over hardpack surfaces where the knobs are simply not pronounced enough to punch through.

On steep gradients, the back wheel begins to break loose if you don’t keep your butt firmly planted on the saddle. Even still, they were predictable when they would break loose.

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