Road-ish tire suggestions for my new Homer

[Aaron Wilson]

My 64cm Homer frameset is being delivered tomorrow and I wonder if you all can suggest some tires. 

I'm looking for 

• About 40mm width
  • Let's go with between 35 and 45 mm
• For 97% pavement 
  • Not always great pavement
  • Won't explode if I rode on some hardpacked dirt
• A nice balance of supple and puncture resistant 
  • I'm ok with the occasional flat, but I don't want it to be a constant chore
• Tubeless 
  
  • To help with punctures (we've got goat heads)
  • With sidewalls that won't bleed all the time
• Pricey if needed to achieve this (budget $200)

Candidates so far

• Rene Herse (with endurance casing?)
• Gravelking slicks (plus?)

Thanks, 

Aaron

[DavidP]

Congrats on the Homer!

RH tires are great, I've used standard and endurance casings. I'd recommend endurance casing for tubeless. I ran a 650x48 standard casing tubeless for awhile but went back to a tube in that one.

Gravelking slicks - I like the 38s I'm using now on a Homerish bike which sees occasional dirt. They measure 36mm on CR18s (17.5mm internal width). The low knobbed SKs are fine on pavement too and make a good allrounder, but for 97% pavement I'd lean toward the slick or SS; both used to be available in 43s, which to me seemed ideal for a Homer. Panaracer changed the lineup for 2024 and now GKs are available in 35/40/45mm sizes, but the 43s are getting tougher to find. I'd expect the 700x40 GK slicks that are currently available would be just fine.

Newest tire for me is Ultradynamico Cava/Rose combo in 700x42 and I really like these so far (~75 miles). I'm using the Race casing with tubes but again would recommend the JFF or Robusto casings rather than Race casing for tubeless. In your case I'd skip the knobbier Rose and go Cava front and rear.

-Dave (near Boston where we have relatively small thorns)

[Johnny Alien]

Both of the tires you suggested in the original post I have used and loved. I think its hard to go wrong with either. I have used Ultradynamicos and found them to feel sluggish for some reason. I think it must be the tiny tiny knobs or something. They just don't have a supple ride for me. I tried them twice.The first time with the standard JFF casing and the second time with the Race. I think the Gravelking and RH are better in most every way other than looks (the ultradynamicos do look very attractive). The RH tires are probably a slightly better riding tire than the GK IMO but for the price difference its hard not to swing toward the GK. Just a great tire and a good price. 

[Patrick Moore]

Another opinion: I use standard casing RHs set up tubeless on gravel, sand, and pavement with no problem. I'd be confident with ELs too, except the RH ELs seem to seep sealant thru the sidewalls. I've used even ultralighter Somas and Schwalbes (lighter than equivalent RH extralights by 100+ grams per tire) and these worked fine on gravel and dirt, tubeless, and without weeping sealant.

I'd use Endurance casings for sharp rocks, though.

Question for all: speak to me of RH extralight tires set up tubeless and sealant: do yours weep sealant thru the sidewalls?

[River Bailey]

I have RH I like but feel like my GK SKs are kinda bomb proof and more reasonably priced.

[Will Boericke]

• In that size, I would 100% choose GK slicks.  In my experience, more bombproof than RH.  Setup tubeless easier, from interwebs reports (I only run RH with tubes in my stable) and relatively cheap.  I have not used the GK plus tires and have been generally happy with the puncture resistance of the regular (if you don't do dumb things like bombing thru a rock garden in the dark like I just did this weekend, tearing a hole in my 650x38 GKs.

Will

[Chris Halasz]

Will

Thanks for that input. I'm aligned with Aaron's original post, only very rarely taking a cautious ride in the dirt, and am about to purchase either some RH Snoqualmie Pass (700x44s) or GK slicks (not planning on the plus), and will run the tires with tubes. 

Mine will go on a Clem, and I only go fast uphill. 

I've run GK SS 700x43s, and GK slick plus 700x38s, which were OK, but I had no need for the tread. Looking for something that feels more like my Conti 700x35s. 

I so appreciate any further inputs on RH vs GK slicks before I purchase ... tomorrow. 

Thanks

Chris

[Hoch in ut]

Maybe not what you’re looking for. But on my Appaloosa, I prefer something that leans more stout/puncture  resistant like Schwalbe Marathon Plus or Continental Ride Tours. I currently have 700x47 ride tours, which seem to measure bang on 41mm at 40psi. 

On a Riv with nice flexy fork, I really can’t tell much difference between the Schwalbe or Conti’s and RH, GK, or Ultradynamico I’ve tried. They all ride really nice. But the Schwalbe/Conti seem to last 2 to 4x longer. And I haven’t had a flat even with goat heads around here. Knock on wood. 

[Aaron Wilson]

Thanks everyone! Seems like I'll probably go Gravelking Slick non-plus. The price is nicer, too. 

I'll read up on Cavas, though. Thanks David and Johnny. 

Patrick, I haven't used ultra-light Rene Herse, but my standard-casing knobby 26x2.3 Rene Herse tires do weep through the sidewalls. Not terribly, but noticeably. 

Hoch, I run Marathon Allmotion on my city bike/commuter/grocery getter (a pretty nice & discreet Surly Cross Check). I like that kind of tire on a bike that you want to be super-reliable, but they ride pretty hard. I want to try to maximize the supple-ness of my new Homer as much as possible without getting a million flats. 

Aaron

[Richard Hardman]

I am currently liking the Panaracer Ribmo, rather than the Gravel King, because it's "slicker" less tread, but still works on dirt or hard-pack gravel, and I'm riding mostly on the road, paved or not.  I really wanted to like the Ultradynamico Rose Race (the grey ones) because they look so cool, but running them tubeless was a disaster; i could never get the tan sidewalls to stop leaking no matter how much I tried. 

[Will Boericke]

Interesting on the UDs, running the Cava now and it's been great (black, non tubeless).  In contrast, my use of the Ribmos was disappointing.  I commuted on them for a year and they are SLOW.   Not quite Gatorskin slow, but not fast.  Replaced with Paselas there.  What the Ribmo does have going for it is longevity - that tread is so thick I bet you could get 20K miles out of a pair.

So, many opinions on tires, but we knew that.

Will

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[Aaron Wilson]

Shopping for tires is exhausting. I said I'd decided, but I lied. 🙃

https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/ is pretty handy, but they don't tell you how durable tires are and the puncture tests, while handy, don't always seem to reflect real-world experience. 

In the end I want a tubeless tire that's as light and supple as possible without being a continuously annoying tire (too puncture-prone, too short-lived, or too weepy). These things are in conflict with each other. 

It's an impossible decision. I'd better just order something and get on with my life. Thanks again for all your input and, if anyone else wants to throw a wrench into the whole thing and tell me I'm barking up the wrong tree, feel free. 

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