How Does Tire Width and Tread Affect Rolling Resistance in Gravel Bikes?

Question

Could you explain the impact tire width and tread pattern have on a gravel bike’s rolling resistance factors?

Answer 1

The height of the tire and the tread design directly affect the rolling resistance of the tire. Due to their higher volume and smaller sidewalls which reduce the chances of punctures, a pair of cross-country MTB tires can offer reduced rolling resistance over gravel tires. Casing is more important in determining the rolling resistance than the tread. A thick casing and a slick tire can be slower than a thin casing on a knobby tire.

Comments

Fantastic content as always. Love the statement regarding "people who look at tyre tread as the sole determiner for speed know nothing about rolling resistance". Been saying this for years - feeling particularly validated!

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It’s so refreshing to listen to an intelligent person discuss this subject. You totally get it. I would add that while tire casings do indeed play a huge role in roll resistance, it’s fairly difficult to determine how soft your casing is. TPI is the only factor I’m aware of and often you don’t have options there. Durometer of the rubber is key too and again is not often known but what is in your face obvious is the tread pattern and there are a lot of them that are clearly slow. When you can feel and hear the vibrations when on pavement you know you have a slow one. In any case almost all high end race mtb tires (ie low profile mtb tires) will be low resistance and perfect for gnarly gravel races.
PS: I would argue the Salsa Cutthroat is a drop bar mtb. It’s not designed for racing but you could if you swamp out for some lighter parts.
Thanks again, great content and keep up the good work.

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Been riding a 40mm Rudy fork for a year now. 45-47c mostly. Faster everywhere, not going back. Won my age group at Unbound 200, Rock Cobbler, BWR CA, etc. It works.

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Really great content! I've been riding and racing off and on since the early 90s...and didn't know anything about rolling resistance haha. Thanks for the great, informative content and please keep up with the humor.

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Concerning tires: Its a little tricky to do, but i tried having deflated (!) Tubes within my tubeless tires with two (!) Stems. Just mount the tube within the tubeless tire and suck out as much air as possible from it. Then inflate the tire via the other stem as usual and booooom, you do not have to insert a tube if you get a puncture and just need to inflate the tube