Tires, Tubes
I'm running the 28mm tubeless on HED Vanquish RC4 Pro Carbon Discs. This tire/wheel combo has not disappointed, i ride these hard on long mountain descents, and over multiple days of sitting the tires hardly lose air. To add, I have had no flats after 1000 miles on bad roads where i ride in Bogota, Colombia (road debris, glass, unavoidable pot holes...etc). the rear tire is showing some wear. I will purchase these again. Also running the 45mm Pirelli's (hardpack) on my gravel, only about 100 miles thus far and really nice...
I'm running the gravel M 45c on the front for a little more bite (with a specialized pathfinder pro 42 on the rear). This has been a great tire (and combo) for me for the early season. It does well in the spring time/variable conditions that can always range from dusty and dry to muddy and wet this time of year. It's more a jack of all trades, but the center tread does well on hardpack and tarmac, and the spaced shoulder knobs hold decently in corners in most conditions that I've come across yet while shedding mud without any problem. I rode this setup for the Gorge Gravel Grinder long course last week, and it was great. A lot of folks ran narrower tires, but the course was fairly chunky in spots, and I appreciated the extra meat on the bone so to speak. Didn't feel I gave up much speed in rolling resistance, nor aero by running this wider tire and felt confident in the spirited, quick descent corners.
Just bought my third pair of Rubino Pro tires since the mid-2010's. Each new edition of these just get better and better. I've used these tires for training, circuit racing (Portland International Raceway), and more recently time trials. These newest Rubino Pro's respond well in terms of rolling resistance and cornering, even in wet conditions. I've been impressed with their ease of mounting and their long wear life. I will buy them again in the future.
Finally got my Pirelli's out for a proper gravel ride. I was impressed. This is a fast tire. On pavement it almost feels like a road tire. On smooth gravel or hardpack it is fast. Today's race had one rolling hill after another and I was in a group of about 15 riders for much of it. On every descent I passed most or all riders simply coasting. I think the tires were the reason. I was simply rolling faster than other riders. The tire is great on pavement, hard pack and smooth gravel. It does OK on chunky stuff - today's ride ended with about 3 miles of rough jeep road and single track and these tires did fine. It has more grip than I expected in loose corners or loose over hardpack roads - even when climbing on loose stuff there was no slippage. I was able to carry speed through loose corners without the tires sliding out. Overall this seems to be a good all around tire for mixed surface rides or smooth gravel.
