{"id":295563,"date":"2025-11-19T20:38:17","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T20:38:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/295563\/"},"modified":"2025-11-19T20:38:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T20:38:17","slug":"are-wider-gravel-tires-faster-real-world-test-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/295563\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Wider Gravel Tires Faster? Real-World Test Results"},"content":{"rendered":"

At this point, we\u2019ve probably all heard about how bigger, mountain bike-sized tires are faster on gravel. It\u2019s been one of the biggest talking points all year in gravel racing that if you want to go faster, you need to max out your tire width. We often saw racers squeezing the largest possible tires onto their bikes and occasionally pushing past recommended frame tire clearance limits.<\/a> <\/p>\n

Many tests concluded that bigger was indeed faster, but how and why? I\u2019ve had my own theories, but I also feel that, even with those tests, you couldn\u2019t say for certain that the wider tire was faster. Sure, you could say that this wide tire was faster than that narrower tire, but rarely was anyone testing the same tire in different widths. So with this test, that\u2019s exactly what I aimed to sort out. My hunch was that it is more about the casing and tread pattern making some big tires so fast, rather than the width itself. Given that the width alone was the only variable changed, my theory was that a narrower tire might have the edge simply due to aerodynamics (at least when it comes to straight-line speed).<\/p>\n

The Bike Setup<\/p>\n

I used the Argon18 Dark Matter <\/a>for my testing. Equipped with Shimano GRX 1x Di2 <\/a>and a one-piece handlebar from FSA. The wheels are Shimano Carbon RX880 with a hooked 25mm internal width and 32mm depth. The tires used were black sidewalled Vittoria Terreno T30 in 45mm, 50mm, and 55mm sizes. Mounted on the RX880 wheels, all the tires came in under their claimed sizes: the 45 measured 43mm, the 50 measured 47mm, and the 55 measured 52mm. Power was measured with a set of Garmin Rally XC pedals, and all runs fell within the claimed 1% accuracy of the power meter. <\/p>\n

\"argon<\/p>\n

Dan Chabanov<\/p>\n

The Test Route<\/p>\n

For the first portion of testing, I chose a 5-mile section of the Delaware Canal Path that featured mostly packed gravel, with some loose, over-hard sections and a little dirt. I opted for this because it offered a good representation of what many consider to be gravel roads. I also chose it because it is straight and does not intersect with any other roads. Meaning I could maintain a consistent effort without worrying about traffic, turning, or hitting the brakes, allowing me to do a consistently repeatable effort.<\/p>\n

\"gravelDan Chabanov<\/p>\n

The crushed gravel surface varied along the test route but was mostly hard packed with loose bits on top.<\/p>\n

The Test<\/p>\n

For the test, I aimed to hold 240w watts, which meant that I was averaging roughly 20mph. This is a speed that is representative of spirited gravel riding or racing. Tire pressure was set using the Wolf Tooth pressure calculator for consistency. I would then ride seated, with elbows slightly bent. 5 miles Southbound on the path, then 5 miles Northbound back to the start. On both trips, I rode on the right side of the path, which has a narrow, well-defined line to follow in both directions.
<\/p>\n

The Result<\/p>\n

The fastest tires in my test? The 45mm tires, but that\u2019s not without caveats. On the southbound test at 241w, the 55mm tire took 15:59, at 243w the 50mm tire took 15:52, and at 241w the 45mm tire took 15:38. <\/p>\n

Heading back north, it wasn\u2019t so straightforward: the 55 and 45 both stopped the clock at 16:01 at 244w and 243w, while the 50 took 15:49 at 243w. I can\u2019t say for certain what caused the 45mm tire to lose time on the Northbound route; it could have been as simple as environmental factors, such as wind picking, but it also could be surface-based. In the last 1.5 miles of the return trip, the track got rougher, so it could have been the point at which the wider tire smoothed out the terrain enough to erase the narrower tire’s advantage on the rest of the route.<\/p>\n

\"vittoriaDan Chabanov<\/p>\n

Same tires…<\/p>\n

\"45mmDan Chabanov<\/p>\n

… different widths.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Follow-Up Test<\/p>\n

After this first test, I wasn\u2019t totally satisfied, so I did another slightly different test. This time, I chose a shorter section of gravel road that was a touch more variable and potholed. The test consisted of three efforts per tire along a .7-mile section of road, followed by a half-mile roll-down test each time. I aimed for 295w, hit the same potholes, rode the same line, and consistently held my position on the bike. <\/p>\n

The Follow-Up Result<\/p>\n

The margins here were understandably smaller but mostly aligned with my initial findings. The narrower 45mm tire once again won out, averaging 2:41 at 296.67w, just under a half mile per hour faster than the 50mm and 55mm tires, which each averaged 2:45 at 294.34w and 296.67w, respectively. <\/p>\n

Then on the half-mile roll-down test, the 45mm tires once again clocked the fastest time, averaging 21.23mp\/h, 1mph faster than the 55mm tires at 20.17mp\/h. Interestingly, the 50mm lagged behind here, averaging just below a half mile per hour slower than the 55mm tire. Perhaps a sign that the smoothing you get from a big tire can start to outweigh the aero losses at speed.<\/p>\n

\"trevor<\/p>\n

Dan Chabanov<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/p>\n

I know this testing isn\u2019t perfect, but it\u2019s real-world and representative of the gravel roads that I ride. My main takeaway here is probably something you\u2019re all already screaming: gravel varies so much that it\u2019s impossible to say what will always be fastest. Variables like handling, weather, climbs, and descents all make tire choice about far more than just straight-line speed.<\/p>\n

However, through my testing, my suspicions were confirmed. Much like on the road, the narrower tire does test faster<\/a> in some cases. Based on what we know about aerodynamics, this makes a lot of sense. But once the gravel gets much rougher, the results could start to flip. If you\u2019re focused on speed while racing or riding on packed, fast gravel, you don\u2019t necessarily have to max out your tire width. In these cases, consider opting for the narrower option.<\/p>\n

This is a good sign for bikes like the Pinarello Dogma GR<\/a>, Cerv\u00e9lo \u00c1spero, and Cannondale SuperX<\/a>, which don\u2019t have massive tire clearance but do feature much more aero shaping than many gravel bikes that favor big tire clearance.<\/p>\n

The ride feel of larger tires is hard to beat, and fatigue is indeed a very real thing during gravel races, and bigger tires might be worth the comfort as a trade-off for outright straight-line speed. There were moments during my testing when the data hinted that wider tires gained an advantage as things got even rougher, so I\u2019m currently on the hunt for an even rougher section of gravel where repeatable testing is possible. <\/p>\n

Member Exclusive: Check Out Our Top Cycling Stories\"Chevron\"Chevron\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Trevor Raab is the senior photographer for Runner\u2019s World and Bicycling, a dedicated cyclocross racer, and, occasionally, a product reviewer for the Test Team. He fits the typical \u201chow I got into bikes\u201d story: his dad introduced him to mountain bikes when he was a kid, then found skateboarding in the middle, worked as a bike shop mechanic, and now he\u2019s riding or racing every sort of bike he can find.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At this point, we\u2019ve probably all heard about how bigger, mountain bike-sized tires are faster on gravel. It\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295564,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[169544,169543,169537,169538,169539,169541,123462,64,63,169552,169551,784,169549,169540,139222,169550,169542,169545,169546,85,169536,169547,169548],"class_list":{"0":"post-295563","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-20-mph","9":"tag-240-watts","10":"tag-45mm","11":"tag-50mm","12":"tag-55mm","13":"tag-aerodynamics","14":"tag-argon-18-dark-matter","15":"tag-au","16":"tag-australia","17":"tag-cannondale-superx","18":"tag-cervelo-aspero","19":"tag-cycling","20":"tag-delaware-canal-path","21":"tag-gravel-racing","22":"tag-gravel-tires","23":"tag-pinarello-dogma-g","24":"tag-roll-down-test","25":"tag-shimano-grx","26":"tag-shimano-rx880","27":"tag-sports","28":"tag-tire-width","29":"tag-vittoria-terreno-t30","30":"tag-wolf-tooth"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=295563"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295563\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/295564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=295563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=295563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=295563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}