In this article I’m going to give you my list for the best best allround 650b gravel tires.
There are many, many tires out there. Even when you distill them to 650b only, you still might not see the forest for the trees.
However a lot of those tires have specific applications associated with them. I cover them all in other articles, but this article concerns itself with the more allround versions of the bunch. Tires which will perform more than adequate in most conditions, or better said the highest value for money for the average gravel rider.
That means, good rolling-resistance, good puncture protection, fairly lightweight, but grippy nonetheless. I refrained from adding tires that perform well in wet and muddy conditions, because I dedicated an entire article to those types of tires, and I assumed that the average rider prefers sunny rides versus the wet and drizzle.
So without further ado, here’s my list of the very best allround 650b gravel tires.
Continental Terra Trail
If summer gravel riding is one of your favorite pastimes the Continental Terra Trail will prove to be a more than adequate companion.
It’s a typical allround gravel tire that scores well with respect to puncture protection, grip, and weight. But stay away from muddy trails, for the tread will clog up quickly and with it any grip you might be looking for.
That’s fine so long as muddy rides are not your forte, and even if it was, you’d rather stay dry. The tire excels on dry hardpack, gravel, and fire roads.
- Solid gravel allrounder
- None
Kenda Alluvium Pro
The Kenda Alluvium Pro is a great summer gravel bike tire for dry conditions with just enough bite to tackle rougher conditions, should you encounter them.
A traditional-looking gravel tire has a rather smooth center tread and raised side knobbies. Such a design ensures a low rolling-resistance when going straight, but increased cornering confidence when you find yourself on rougher and twistier roads. The Alluvium pro has such a design and as such is a great allround option, that performs well enough when you start to demand more from your bike.
With its single ply casing it shouldn’t be the most puncture resistant when compared to its heavier brother the Kenda Flintridge Pro, but really rough and or wet and muddy conditions is not where you should take this tire anyway.
- Affordable gravel allrounder
- None
Panaracer GravelKing SK (TLC)
The Panaracer Gravel King SK has become my favorite gravel tire on the market. In my mind there are two brands that stand out from the crowd, and those are american-made WTB and their Japanese counterpart Panaracer.
I’ve been a longtime fan of Panaracer. When the gravel-craze took hold of the bicycle industry, they created the tire that would serve as the de facto standard for gravel tires with the GravelKing SK. It has just the right weight, just the right tread pattern, just the right puncture protection, and all wrapped up in a beautiful package, both in black and tan-wall options.
Deservedly so, the Panaracer Gravel King SK is in my mind the true fit-and-forget, all-weather, all-season option for gravel aficionados. But will serve those bikepackers and hard-riding daily commuters just as well.
- Superb allround gravel tire, very lightweight, with excellent puncture protection, ride characteristics, and with japanese build quality.
- None
Schwalbe G-One Allround
The allround in the Schwalbe G-One Allround refers just as much to its application as to its tread pattern.
It’s a fantastic grippy tire meant for riding in dry conditions. It has a pattern rather than easily discernible knobbies, making this the fastest allround gravel tire of this list. That’s why it performs exceptionally well on tarmac as on gravel.
The Super Ground carcass is found on tires that need to perform well in various conditions, and offers great rolling-resistance, durability and weight characteristics. The ADDIX SpeedGrip compound obviously favors speed above traction.
The tread pattern, the compound and tire carcass, all of those components make this one helluva speedy gravel tire for dry conditions.
- The best allround gravel tire from Schwalbe
- None
WTB Resolute
The WTB Resolute is an allround all-weather all-season gravel bike tire, or so WTB claims.
And this claim does make sense, with WTB basically applying a baseline of solid gravel tire characteristics into this product offering.
It’s both a lightweight tire which enhances acceleration. And it sits in between slick tires and the aggressive tread pattern of the WTB Sendero, ensuring good grip and traction in all kinds of conditions, while going in a straight line or in corners, going uphill or downhill.
So does that make the WTB Resolute one of the best all-rounders in the gravel department. The answer is a resolute yes, pun intended.
- Fantastic allround 4 season option, one of the best gravel tires on the market
- None
650B Tires Weight Rating
Tires are one of the easiest and cost-effective places on your bike to save weight. Rubber is simply much less expensive than, say, carbon or titanium.
The weight ratings in the following table are not absolute numbers. You can find those numbers in the specifications table at the end of the article. The number you see here is a weighted ratio of weight related to tire width.
The number provides an indicator to quickly compare different tires against each other and have to be taken with a grain of salt. Mountain bike tires, which are also featured here, come in a huge number of different sizes, widths, and compounds. To obtain the best ratings I compare the lightest version of tires against each other.
650B Tires Puncture Protection Rating
How well a tire is protected against punctures is not the same as the amount of rubber compound is slapped onto the tire casing.
The puncture protection rating you see in the following table is the additional level of protection a tire has in the form of sidewall protection, and puncture resistant breakers or belts sitting underneath the center tread.
It means a heavy mountain bike tire can have a lower puncture protection rating than a gravel tire with an added puncture resistant layer.
Specifications allround 650b gravel tires
Name | Size | ETRTO | Weight (gr) | Tread color | Sidewall color | Compound | Puncture protection | Tire bead | TPI | Buy at Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
WTB Resolute | 27.5×1.65 | 42-584 | 440 | Black | Tan | Dual DNA | tlr | 60 | ||
Continental Terra Trail | 27.5×1.60 | 40-584 | 430 | Black | Cream | BlackChili | ProTection casing | tlr | 3/180 | |
Continental Terra Trail | 27.5×1.90 | 47-584 | 460 | Black | Black | BlackChili | ProTection casing | tlr | 3/180 | |
Schwalbe G-One Allround | 27.5×1.50 | 40-584 | 450 | Black | Black | ADDIX SpeedGrip | Super Ground | tubeless | ||
Kenda Alluvium Pro | 27.5×1.80 | 45-584 | 514 | Black | Black | Single | tlr | 120 |
Johan van Seijen
FoundeR Restoration.bike
Johan van Seijen is the founder of restoration.bike. His passion for cycling in general, and restoring older bikes turned into a website to share his knowledge with a broader audience. Starting out on his father’s road bike and riding classics as the Amstel Gold Race and Liege Bastogne Liege he has shifted his attention to trail, XC, and gravel riding since. No matter how much he loves writing about everything related to cycling, nothing beats actually using his ever-expanding bicycle collection.
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