Gravel duel: 10 tyres for gravel bikes on the fine line between speed & grip
Robert Kühnen
· 02.10.2025
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Ultimate smooth running or more grip? With off-road tyres, it is clear that the best rolling resistance and the best grip cannot be combined. This is because rough lugs, which bite best off-road, unfortunately also slow you down. However, unlike mountain biking, gravel riding is primarily about fast riding on predominantly moderate terrain and less about control. Accordingly, the tyre treads are softer than on a mountain bike, right down to semi-slick tyres.
But which tread is actually suitable for which purpose? Where are the grip limits? How much do even fine studs compromise the desired smoothness? How do the tyres perform on the road? And: Which tyre rolls most easily on gravel? Continental, Maxxis, Pirelli, Schwalbe and Vittoria take part in our rubber competition with tyres in the 45-millimetre class, each with one very fast and one more strongly profiled tyre.
Less pressure as a tip
The tyres on the test wheels with an inner rim width of 25 millimetres all reach the nominal dimensions. They weigh between 502 and 598 grams. We tested the tyres in the lab and in the wild in a tubeless set-up. Fitting and sealing are no problem; the tyres can all be fitted by hand. Maxxis cut the tyre foot the widest, so it should be difficult to drive the tyre into the rim seat without a blast of air from the compressor. The Schwalbe tyres are difficult to get airtight. Other tyres are immediately airtight and hold the pressure very well. We fit all tyres with a good dollop of latex sealant.
We initially select two bar as the pressure, but adjust further downwards in off-road terrain. In the test set-up, 1.7 bar proved to be optimal off-road for a system weight of 80 kilograms. No joke: even tenths of a bar increments are noticeable when roots or smooth stones have to be mastered. Try it out! Riding style, weight and the inner width of the rims play a role in finding the right tyre pressure. With an inner width of 25 millimetres, the tyre is still sufficiently supported at 1.7 bar to implement steering commands. On the road, however, the tyres are noticeably sluggish at low pressure. If you mostly ride on tarmac and don't have to master any key off-road sections, you should choose a higher pressure. However, pumping the tyre hard is not advisable under any circumstances. Gravel tyres are suitably inflated between 1.6 and 2.5 bar - with more air they become uncomfortable even on the road.
Limits of the mind
Our test track offers: Gravel from fine to coarse, earth, hanging root passages and mud holes, spread over ascents and descents, forest paths and trails. There are also tarmac sections. The course can be mastered with all test tyres. Sometimes the rear wheel spins when a very fine tread is fitted, but we never had to dismount. With a tread pattern that covers the entire tread, the ride is safer compared to semi-slick tyres, especially on soft ground, but braking performance on gravel is also higher with studs than without. However, the choice of the optimum pressure has at least as great an influence on getting through the terrain. It feels like all tyres roll quite quickly, although the impression is that the semi-slicks are faster.
However, the measured values show that there are significant differences. The best light runner in the test is the Schwalbe G-One RS Pro, which reaches the level of very good road bike tyres on the road, but is also a force to be reckoned with on gravel. Fascinating! Continental's Terra Speed offers more grip with minimally lower rolling resistance, digging its way surprisingly well everywhere with its fine lugs and running like a road bike tyre.
The Maxxis Reaver, which also has a very spartan tread pattern, doesn't quite reach this level of smoothness, which is probably due to the rubber compound. The more heavily profiled tyres show more bite. The Pirelli Cinturato Gravel S, which borrows its tread pattern from mountain bike tyres, is particularly confident. However, it also has 50 percent more rolling resistance than the fastest Schwalbe tyre. The rest of the field is positioned in between. All tyres are easy to ride on the road. Acoustically, the Schwalbe RX Pro's tread is the most noticeable, but it still runs quite fast.
Conclusion on the gravel tyre test
The best gravel tyres for mixed terrain have a low profile and fast rubber compounds. This enables fantastic performance on hard surfaces, close to that of a road bike. But even rough off-road sections, for which you might want to switch to a mountain bike, can still be mastered at an appropriate speed. The speed models from Conti and Schwalbe are at the forefront in terms of smoothness and set-up. The overall test victory goes to Continental with the Terra Speed model.
This is how we tested
All tests were carried out independently of manufacturers using their own methods. The rolling resistance test on level ground should be emphasised. We can also measure on gravel and see that a thicker tread adds power. As a "road" for the rolling resistance test, we choose a rough surface that interacts with studs and shows which rubber compound works efficiently.
Tester Robert Kühnen has long been associated with TOUR and BIKE magazines as a tester and author. He played a key role in the development of the test stands and also developed the rolling resistance test. The engineer also offers measurements for industry and top-class sport.
The 5 pairs of gravel tyres in the individual test
- Continental Terra Speed ProTection >> available here
- Continental Terra Adventure >> available here
- Schwalbe G-One RS Pro >> available here
- Schwalbe G-One RX Pro >> available here
- Pirelli Cinturato Gravel S >> available here
- Pirelli Cinturato Gravel RC >> available here
- Maxxis Reaver EXO TR >> available here
- Maxxis Rambler EXO TR >> available here
- Vittoria Mezcal Gravel Endurance >> available here
- Vittoria Terreno T50 Mixed Gravel
