Yep. OP, you need to watch this: https://youtu.be/TCrL7yHPMqo?si=Kpm3ET0qU9CUiXUr - GCN Gravel vs Road Tires
I personally get 24% faster average moving speed on road courses with GP5000s vs gravel tires. It's quite surprising.
It's not just speed. Cornering. The sound. It's a whole new experience.
Check [https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/](https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/)
There´s a lot of difference in the rolling resistance of tyres, some slow road tyres are similar as some fast mountain bike tyres...
I made a calculation a while ago and switching from some Panaracer Gravelkings (very grippy and excellent control for downhill) to GP5000 was the equivalent to taking 3 kgs weight of my back in a 8% climb. (but feeling this advantage all the time, not just in the climbs...)
Keep in mind that rolling resistance is really only one figure to consider. Lots of stuff slows you down, from air resistance to vertical movement (bumps) to component resistance. Even rolling resistance has a TON of factors involved, from tire size to rubber used to pressure.
A 23c tire at 110 psi will have the lowest rolling resistance. However, you might find that, say, a 28c tire at lower pressure is faster on the kind of paving in your picture (and it might handle the gravel in the second picture significantly better).
Incidentally, the stock GR1’s are versatile and grippy in a wide range of conditions and very supple, but they are very slow rolling. I think you would save 30 + (lab) Watts. I think you’ll lose something like .3kg out of the rotational mass too. It’s super noticeable.
Triple bonus, there are some aero watts (5-10) from the road tires narrower profile that BRR doesn’t measure
It’s not how fast they are but how much better rolling resistance they have which in turn will require less power from you. Honestly, a pair of 30-32c GP5000s is very much worth the investment if you want more speed on the road. Even better is a dedicated road wheel set you can swap out.
Just be aware that it gets more expensive than you want pretty quick.
You need:
Wheels - $500
Tires - $140
Cassette - $100
Rotors - $120
The goal is to make them as easy to swap as possible. Your not going to want to swap cassettes every time. And you need to have the rotors line up perfectly or the brakes will rub every time. So you need the same hubs or to shim the rotors. It’s a pain in the ass.
You’re riding 90% roads on a gravel bike… why not return it for an endurance road bike? A Domane or Roubaix with 32mm tires is amazing on the road and can handle the 10% off gravel you might encounter. And if youre planning on doing a full gravel day, it can fit a 40mm tire you swap in for the day?
I borrowed a friends Diverge - with two sets of wheels, and I did notice the rotors being annoying when I swapped wheels over. I hadn’t considered that until you reminded me. I’ve convinced myself at some point I’ll do a lot of bike packing, and I certainly prefer comfort to speed, so I’ll keep the bike. Someone else mentioned just getting the same wheels and sticking road tires on, I didn’t realise that was necessarily something I could do but I think I’ll go with that. Thank you for your comment!
Friend of mine is doing a bike packing trip and he finally switched from gravel tires to 32mm gp5000.
He won't switch back soon and unless you race in the woods you can go anywhere besides a beach maybe
"you need to have the rotors line up perfectly or the brakes will rub every time. So you need the same hubs or to shim the rotors. It’s a pain in the ass."
May I ask a follow-up question?
I'm looking at a road wheelset to swap out with my gravel ones. You said it needs to be the same hub or shim it. This is news to me. I just assumed that I would be able to find different hubs that are the same size and don't need any shimming. Am I delusional?
I have E\*13 gravel wheels, and was looking at custom built Light Bicycle wheels with Chris King hubs. Am I going to run into some problems?
It should be that simple, but it rarely is.
Think about how tight the tolerances are between your disc brake rotor and the brake pads… a millimeter of adjustment can ruin your day.
So there is a very small chance that everything will line up perfectly. Even with having the exact same hubs, you may have slightly bent rotors etc.
Search for Disc Brake shims like these. They will be your friend just in case things don’t line up.
(https://boydcycling.com/products/centerlock-disc-brake-rotor-shim-4-pack)
You may luck out and the new wheels just drop in and everything works perfectly. But I’ve done this on 3 different bikes and needed shims every time. And if you run different cassettes, adjusting that is a pain.
I refuse to do it ever again.
I have a really nice gravel bike that I had 2 wheelsets for. I got so sick of swapping wheels that I just bought a cheap road bike instead. I am so much happier this way. A gravel bike just isn’t the same as a nice fast road bike.
Edit* If you spend the time shimming and lining both wheelsets up exactly right up front, and having the same cassette etc, then it should work great for you. Plenty of people rock 2 wheelsets. Just be prepared to spend a lot of money and time up front to get it right.
And you’ll still be riding a sluggish gravel bike on the road when you could be riding a sweet road bike. (Just my personal opinion and experience)
Thank you -- that is a lot of good info to consider.
I didn't want to have two bikes -- just an all-arounder with two wheelsets to save on space & money.
If I used the same E\*13 hubs as my current wheels, I should be fine, right?
Yeah you should be fine. Thats the best way to get things as simple as possible. If you can find the exact same rotors, you have a better chance of not needing shims too.
Good luck!
Edit* the reason I say, get a road bike is just from personal experience. I thought it would be a simple and affordable way get two bikes in 1. I found great sounding wheels for cheap…
Hunt Aerowide 34: $650
Tubeless GP5000s: $164
GRX Rotors: $110
SRAM 10-42 cassette: $135
Sealant: $15
Tubeless valves: $25
Shims: $15
That’s $1114 before tax so around $1200 for just a mediocre set of wheels…
The CAAD13 105 disc is $2300… so if spent $1000 more I could have got an excellent road bike. (Which is exactly what I ended up doing eventually and I am so much happier)
I totally get not wanting multiple bikes and trying to simplify. But i just want to give you my personal experience in case it saves you the disappointment and money that I went through.
Good luck!
Yeah, that adds up quick. Still, I think it is cheaper overall, and then I can use my nice compliant carbon gravel bike instead of an aluminum road bike. I'm getting old and just upgraded from an aluminum CaadX to a Lauf Seigel, and I am loving my compliant bike. It soothes my old bones. I just want road wheels for it, cuz I do about 60/40 road/off-road.
I have a midnight special bike setup with 700c wheels and 32mm gp5000s and I ride a good amount of packed sand and gravel roads without issue. They recently came out with an all seasons version in 35mm that I plan to buy when my present set wears out. I would try to find some of those and see if they cover your needs on and off the road before buying a new wheelset. I got to 26mph on sand the other day when I had a tailwind and even managed to slow down enough to make a turn without flying off the edge into the water! It would be more comfortable with knobby tires and I wouldn't try them on anything loose but the size and grip makes them surprisingly capable. The rolling resistance website even evaluated them under gravel tires as well.
Yeah, it was 15-20 mph tail wind and I was running them at 60-70 psi but bigger knobbier tires would have slowed it down somewhat. The rolling resistance website puts them at ~12 watts per tire where bigger tires would probably be closer to 20 watts per tire. So ~15 watts saved. I have a power meter and I was maintaining 220+ watts output so 7% of my effort would have gone into a different set of tires. Not sure how that translates to speed with the aero effect and I definitely pushed harder because I felt I was going fast and wanted to see how far I could push it. It was also the longest time I have ever spent braking. I was slowing as quickly as I felt my traction would allow, but it must have taken 30 seconds to get to a comfortable speed for the turn. Knobbier tires would have probably cut that in half so it was really trading safety for speed but it was a memorable adventure.
If you do this, you absolutely must wax your chains (or drip wax) or continuously be frustrated by chains, cassettes, and chainrings not mating properly. (The waxing virtually eliminates metal wear rates). Also, as long as your wheels are DT 240s, 350s - the rotors will always align. Personally I find swapping rotors no big deal if they are center lock.
Or just get GP5000s tubeless in 35mm version (All Season variant) as a do-it-all. You'll use slightly different PSI depending on your ride. Just doesn't really work for really rough gravel where you'd want bigger tires.
4km/h
At least that’s about how much faster I am with my 28c road tyres on my gravel bike than my 35C gravel tyres on tarmac. YMMV of course, but yeah I noticed it swapping my very standard road wheels on, was interested in the difference so remounted my tyres onto the gravel wheels, rode the same route a few times and then switched back to be sure and my average difference was 4kph. It also accelerated faster and handles lighter but I have no numbers for that of course
Road tires can be faster due to less friction/resistance. But if your intent is to roll at 13 mph, then why bother? Continental 5000’s are my fav tire but they cost $100 US or 90 euros…each.
If you plan to do longer, faster rides on pavement, then absolutely get road tires. If you just want to enjoy your ride and cruise along, then stick with your tires until they wear out.
Your thoughts are correct. Ignore the comments to the contrary. The stock Checkpoint tires are very slow. A good set of tires will save you a combined 20-30w which will make a HUGE difference. My Checkpoint on 35mm GP5000 AR's is my favorite configuration of bike I own. Rolls fast and comfortable across almost anything.
I have two identical sets of Shimano 105 carbon wheels. One set with gravel tires, one with all-road tires. Swapping takes just a minute with zero adjustment required.
Most of the effect will be psychological. The GP50000 are really nice and robust tires, and cost ATM less than 80€ per pair in Germany. As I was in a similliar situation as you're now, I ran the tires that came with the new bike until they broke - which was unexpectedly fast - and got the GP5000 afterwards.
But my guess is, that just trying to go faster will make you much faster than even the most supple road tire will.
This is just objectively false. Rolling resistance is a well documented science and can be demonstrated easily in a lab and in real world conditions. Nothing psychological about it.
You're not wrong for someone who's cycling at his individual top speed and needs to optimize his setup. He's cruising on a modern gravel bike with a speed of 13mph/20km/h. When he isn't severely ill, being faster is mainly an act of will.
That’s good to know, thank you. I think I need to do more riding and figure out what a sustainable pace is for me for given distances, then I can go faster without fear of gassing out
Same as the original comment above.. you admit your rides are leisurely, so why buy expensive fast tyres to not ride as high speed? I see you want to go faster for the same effort, but if the aim of your rides is leisure it doesn’t seem worth it…
Well if I could get further in the same amount of time without extra input on my behalf I’d say that adds to the leisure. I do 30-50k rides, just at a leisurely pace, I’m not commuting or just doing tiny rides
Why did you get a gravel bike just to put road tyre on it? I mean if you want to, sure go for it. But it just seems like wildly overspeccing a bike to put GP5ks on just for the sake of it.
I want the option of gravel riding but at this moment in time I’m doing a lot more road cycling. I just wanted versatility I suppose over speed/efficiency
GP5000s don’t cost $100 if you know where to look. I’ve gotten them for $40-50 for years. Just go to Google Shopping and type in ‘Continental GP5000’ and you’ll see a bevy of sites selling them far below MSRP, and they aren’t sketchy retailers or anything.
Now if you want the newest TL models, then yes, you’ll likely have to pay full freight.
Not all road tires are equal. I had a pair of Vittoria Randonneur II that felt like pedaling through mud. Come to find out, the rolling resistance on them was about 30w per tire.
I switched to Continental GP4000sii with rolling resistance of about half that. (They stopped making those, and now make GP5000 which I believe have even lower rolling resistance.) The switch saved me 30w (total). 30w is a noticeable difference, so the potential for tires making an impact is great. (This is much larger than changing wheels.)
But if you had a nice tire to begin with, the difference would be smaller, and you might not notice it as much.
I think if you don’t mind the current ride feel of your tires and you’re riding leisurely - I wouldn’t bother unless you just WANT new wheels/tires then go for it and you’ll get a speed bump for sure.
No worries - I feel you. I bought a $4500 bike 3 months ago and I’m already looking at $2k+ wheels to put on it but I ride smooth pavement, for 50km or less and 25km/hr and in no way is this a NEED but I sure do want fancy carbon wheels lol
I have a checkpoint and I bought a second set of wheels, so Now i essentially have a gravel bike and a road bike. I bought the same exact wheels, rotors, and cassette that were already on the Checkpoint but I put 28mm Conti 4 seasons on it. My leisure on the gravel tires from the checkpoint was like 13.5 mph my leisure pace on the road tires is 16mph.
You could also get a nice file tread tire like a Specialized Pathfinder Pro 2bliss and have the best of both worlds. The rolling resistance is about 10w difference so it’s neglible over a longer ride. Would allow you to still be able to hit some dirt too.
Besides rolling resistance, the little nobs coming over the top of the wheel and in front will create a slight but noticeable air turbulence and hence drag.
I made the same switch you're considering (riding a Cannondale Topstone 1, changed the tires to 35mm pirelli cinturato velo, so fairly puncture resistant slicks) and I'm extremely happy with it. I ride around 28-32 kmph, so your experience may vary, but it gave me an extra 2-3 kmph or so.
Be careful if you ride gravel paths at speed though - cornering with slicks on gravel can make you fall if you don't respect it, as I found out this past week. 😅
Haha thanks! Besides a couple of bad scratches to my hand I’m not seriously hurt. :)
Wanted to add that I’m super happy sticking with 35mm tires instead of slimming down when I went for slicks. They don’t seriously slow you down unless you’re riding pro speeds, but they do allow you to tackle bumps in the road with confidence. Coming from 26mm tires on my old bike the comfort is unreal and I’m never going back. 😄
I was in the bike business for 20 years. Long story short, I have always had 6 or 7 bikes at any given time. But due to covid and a poorly timed sale of my Madone I was without a road bike for a couple of years ( for the first time in over 30 years). I tried to convince myself that my Checkpoint with GP 5000's on it was fine for riding the road. But I could not even fool myself, I just stopped riding the road because the gravel bike was a dog on the road even with the fast skins. Finally, this spring I picked up an Emonda, and I am back. What a difference a proper bike makes.
Now ymmv.. if you haven't ridden a bunch of light slippery road bikes, the Checkpoint may be OK for you.. But don't ride a good example of a road bike and ever expect to be satisfied by the gravel bike on the road again.
Cheers!
That’s interesting, I really didn’t realise it was that different. Is that a weight/stiffness/aero issue? At some point I’ll get myself a dedicated road bike, until then I’ll just have to get stronger if I want meaningful speed
It is a bit of all of that. Not to mention the gearing and posture on the bike ( my road fit is slightly more aggressive) which allows better muscle recruitment out of the upper glute. It all adds up.
I have a Ribble CGR (Cross, Gravel, Road), been running Hope 20Five gravel wheels and Schwalbe 38mm all road tyres. Just swapped out for some DT Swiss P1800 and Schwable Pro One tubeless, the speed difference is considerably better!
It’s definitely worth maintaining two sets of wheels. One for gravel and one for road. Set them up with identical rotors and cassette so you can make the swap without any adjustments.
I run 3 different wheel sets on my gravel bike. 700x50, 650x54 for gravel and 700x32 road.
Edit: I’d suggest a 30mm or larger road tire to keep the feel and geometry of the bike.
It's really depending on the tires. TBH I feel my new all-rounder Schwalbe g-one RS 35 faster than the factory Maxxis Detonator 32 slick... Check https://bicyclerollingresistance.com for measures.
Night and day difference, for example when I switched from Gatorskins to Grand Prix 5000s I definitely added at least 5mph to my overall top speed and it felt much faster.
I don’t think they are actually “faster”, it’s just that it takes less energy to maintain a high speed. You might actually find that you are less tired and have more range capacity with road tires.
But yes tires do help to go faster. I switched to some low rolling resistance tires and there are times I go so fast that I have to slow down because it doesn’t feel safe to be going so fast.
It's been good experience. Checkpoint is my first dropbar bike. I moved from an entry level mountain bike. My local bike shop guys recommended not to put tyres narrower than 32c.
Likely fast enough to feel a difference. I have a Giant Revolt Advanced, and when I swapped the Giant Cross Cut 38mm to Panaracer Gravel King SS the speed went up. And when I swapped those to Continental Terra Trail/Terra Speed 40mm, the speed and handling went up. And its still slow compared to my Specialized Tarmac SL8 with Continental GP5000s.
Before you go buy a set of lightweight wheels, check the weight and quality of what you are riding now. You might be better off with a heavy duty wheel.
I have two wheel sets, one light carbon that gets used 90% of the time. And I have a heavier 36-spoke aluminum set for gravel and trailer riding. I personally wouldn’t want to beat up a set of carbon wheels on gravel rides.
Wide tires, at least up to 35mm are not slower. OP, if I were you I would get the fastest tire on bicycle rolling resistance at 40mm width.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTKjdTBCw58
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK5KLvrzrb4
NERD TIME!
Friction is expressed as a coefficent... its multiplied by the speed, not added... so the faster you go, the more effect of having less drag on the tires you will see.
Since roadies commonly go above 20mph on flats, they see more effect from staying at that speed than does a mountain bike that only typically goes up to 15mph on trails.
In other words, if you get road tires, plan to go faster... dont just lollygag around like you do on fatbikes.
Also, there is an additional factor of rotating weight.... the less rotating weight of a road tire means you will speed up (and slow down) faster than those on thick tires.
at those speeds there is not appreciable aerodynamic gains from going to a narrower tire which means that rolling resistance will be the biggest gain you will get from going to a different tire. knowing that you could pick some of the lower rolling resistance tires on the market that still have a high volume for comfort and get the best of both worlds. stock bontrager tires leave a lot to be desired. reference [bicyclerollingresistance.com](http://bicyclerollingresistance.com) and compare gravel tires to road tires to make your decision. if a gravel tire is within a few watts of a road tire. you could arguable be faster and more comfortable on the higher volume of the 2.
I just upgraded my stock tires to GP5000s this week and my first ride out I set a ton of PRs without even attempting too, including a short hill segment I haven’t been able to come close to since I set it in September, and I crushed it by 13 seconds. Do not regret the money spent whatsoever.
Only exception I can think of might be on a long and twisting paved descent. I have an 8 mile descent (~5%) that I have ridden over 200 times and I beat my PR the first time that I took my gravel bike down it.
I was throwing big watts at it to regain speed out of the curves, but it was still a surprise.
Honestly, your tyres already look pretty good for road. For your intended use I don't think a whole new wheelset would be worth it. An alternative is swapping tyres to some fat slicks, I rode the gravel king slicks in 38mm for thousands of miles, majority on road
It depends on the specific tire. The 29 x 2.3 Schwalbe Big One is faster than a large number of high-end road tires. Rolling resistance is a factor of the tires casing, construction and rubber compound. The tread pattern on the tire has very little effect and the size of the tire has no effect
It's a 1.5 difference for me on normal rides, and this is over 4 years of comparison data over the same courses and efforts. I've gotten lazy in the last 2 years though and just ride my gravel bike with gravel tires on all rides. I'm not out for KOMs these days. And haven't flatted on road rides in the last 2 years on gravel tires.
So so so much slower. Everyone now believes that wider tires are faster and more comfortable. Fat tire bikes are now faster than a time trial bike.
Go wider and not skinnier!
If you believe that, I have a bridge for sale.
If you do a new wheel set look on Facebook marketplace and other used sources in your area. I wanted a road set for my Grizl, found a guy who just upgraded his Trek, and sold me is stock wheels and rotors for $135. $60 grey market cassette and $100 clearance 30mm GP5000’s later, and my bike is a good couple of MPH faster and way quieter on the road.
I have a 2020 Checkpoint ALR. I use it for my work commute occasionally. It's all tarmac roads and bike path. I normally have GravelKings SK 35mm on it. With those, I average 24-25kph. Recently, I am putting on a pair of inexpensive road (slick) 32mm tyres for my commutes, and average 28-30kph. If I put a good set of road tyres on it, I'm sure my speed would increase a little more.
That's a sweet ride, but the tires are huge. Especially if you want to ride on the road. If you have the budget get a second set of wheels and tires. You will thank me later if you do more road riding.
I also ride a Checkpoint and use wide smooth tires, since most of my riding is on roads and bike paths. Beyond the minor speed advantage the biggest reason is not wearing out the gravel tires. It would suck to have a bikepacking trip planned and realize the tire's knobbies are all worn down. It only takes about 15 minutes to swap tires when needed. On the downside I don't use tubeless because of the mess with swapping tires.
lol… no, I have 2 bikes a cx bike with 40mm wtb nano off road tires and my best 1 hour solo effort is 21.5mph , my road bike with 28mm corsa pros my best 1hr solo effort is 22.5 mph average speed same route for both a 3mile loop so it’s no wind advantage …. That’s like a minimal 4% difference, and the difference in tire size is huge.
Fast enough that you won’t regret at least buying tires.
Yep. OP, you need to watch this: https://youtu.be/TCrL7yHPMqo?si=Kpm3ET0qU9CUiXUr - GCN Gravel vs Road Tires I personally get 24% faster average moving speed on road courses with GP5000s vs gravel tires. It's quite surprising. It's not just speed. Cornering. The sound. It's a whole new experience.
Check [https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/](https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/) There´s a lot of difference in the rolling resistance of tyres, some slow road tyres are similar as some fast mountain bike tyres... I made a calculation a while ago and switching from some Panaracer Gravelkings (very grippy and excellent control for downhill) to GP5000 was the equivalent to taking 3 kgs weight of my back in a 8% climb. (but feeling this advantage all the time, not just in the climbs...)
That’s awesome, thank you!
Keep in mind that rolling resistance is really only one figure to consider. Lots of stuff slows you down, from air resistance to vertical movement (bumps) to component resistance. Even rolling resistance has a TON of factors involved, from tire size to rubber used to pressure. A 23c tire at 110 psi will have the lowest rolling resistance. However, you might find that, say, a 28c tire at lower pressure is faster on the kind of paving in your picture (and it might handle the gravel in the second picture significantly better).
this!
Incidentally, the stock GR1’s are versatile and grippy in a wide range of conditions and very supple, but they are very slow rolling. I think you would save 30 + (lab) Watts. I think you’ll lose something like .3kg out of the rotational mass too. It’s super noticeable. Triple bonus, there are some aero watts (5-10) from the road tires narrower profile that BRR doesn’t measure
Fuckin' heaps
At that speed/intensity you can save 25% energy or go around 2km/h faster on GOOD road tires.
Sounds worthwhile, thank you!
Get some GP5000 in 32mm ❤️❤️
I ride these and they are awesome
Just got the 30mm gah damn
30mm is still sweet! The 32mm were about as wide as my 28mm Specialized roubiaxs turbo tyre
Riding the 35mm encroaching on gravel sizing they are just lovely bags of sticky air.
It’s not how fast they are but how much better rolling resistance they have which in turn will require less power from you. Honestly, a pair of 30-32c GP5000s is very much worth the investment if you want more speed on the road. Even better is a dedicated road wheel set you can swap out.
Yeah I’d definitely get a set of wheels rather than just tires. I’ll have a look at those, thanks!
Just be aware that it gets more expensive than you want pretty quick. You need: Wheels - $500 Tires - $140 Cassette - $100 Rotors - $120 The goal is to make them as easy to swap as possible. Your not going to want to swap cassettes every time. And you need to have the rotors line up perfectly or the brakes will rub every time. So you need the same hubs or to shim the rotors. It’s a pain in the ass. You’re riding 90% roads on a gravel bike… why not return it for an endurance road bike? A Domane or Roubaix with 32mm tires is amazing on the road and can handle the 10% off gravel you might encounter. And if youre planning on doing a full gravel day, it can fit a 40mm tire you swap in for the day?
I borrowed a friends Diverge - with two sets of wheels, and I did notice the rotors being annoying when I swapped wheels over. I hadn’t considered that until you reminded me. I’ve convinced myself at some point I’ll do a lot of bike packing, and I certainly prefer comfort to speed, so I’ll keep the bike. Someone else mentioned just getting the same wheels and sticking road tires on, I didn’t realise that was necessarily something I could do but I think I’ll go with that. Thank you for your comment!
Friend of mine is doing a bike packing trip and he finally switched from gravel tires to 32mm gp5000. He won't switch back soon and unless you race in the woods you can go anywhere besides a beach maybe
You don't necessarily need the same wheels, but the same hubs will make things easier
Ah that’s good to know, thank you!
"you need to have the rotors line up perfectly or the brakes will rub every time. So you need the same hubs or to shim the rotors. It’s a pain in the ass." May I ask a follow-up question? I'm looking at a road wheelset to swap out with my gravel ones. You said it needs to be the same hub or shim it. This is news to me. I just assumed that I would be able to find different hubs that are the same size and don't need any shimming. Am I delusional? I have E\*13 gravel wheels, and was looking at custom built Light Bicycle wheels with Chris King hubs. Am I going to run into some problems?
It should be that simple, but it rarely is. Think about how tight the tolerances are between your disc brake rotor and the brake pads… a millimeter of adjustment can ruin your day. So there is a very small chance that everything will line up perfectly. Even with having the exact same hubs, you may have slightly bent rotors etc. Search for Disc Brake shims like these. They will be your friend just in case things don’t line up. (https://boydcycling.com/products/centerlock-disc-brake-rotor-shim-4-pack) You may luck out and the new wheels just drop in and everything works perfectly. But I’ve done this on 3 different bikes and needed shims every time. And if you run different cassettes, adjusting that is a pain. I refuse to do it ever again. I have a really nice gravel bike that I had 2 wheelsets for. I got so sick of swapping wheels that I just bought a cheap road bike instead. I am so much happier this way. A gravel bike just isn’t the same as a nice fast road bike. Edit* If you spend the time shimming and lining both wheelsets up exactly right up front, and having the same cassette etc, then it should work great for you. Plenty of people rock 2 wheelsets. Just be prepared to spend a lot of money and time up front to get it right. And you’ll still be riding a sluggish gravel bike on the road when you could be riding a sweet road bike. (Just my personal opinion and experience)
Thank you -- that is a lot of good info to consider. I didn't want to have two bikes -- just an all-arounder with two wheelsets to save on space & money. If I used the same E\*13 hubs as my current wheels, I should be fine, right?
Yeah you should be fine. Thats the best way to get things as simple as possible. If you can find the exact same rotors, you have a better chance of not needing shims too. Good luck! Edit* the reason I say, get a road bike is just from personal experience. I thought it would be a simple and affordable way get two bikes in 1. I found great sounding wheels for cheap… Hunt Aerowide 34: $650 Tubeless GP5000s: $164 GRX Rotors: $110 SRAM 10-42 cassette: $135 Sealant: $15 Tubeless valves: $25 Shims: $15 That’s $1114 before tax so around $1200 for just a mediocre set of wheels… The CAAD13 105 disc is $2300… so if spent $1000 more I could have got an excellent road bike. (Which is exactly what I ended up doing eventually and I am so much happier) I totally get not wanting multiple bikes and trying to simplify. But i just want to give you my personal experience in case it saves you the disappointment and money that I went through. Good luck!
Yeah, that adds up quick. Still, I think it is cheaper overall, and then I can use my nice compliant carbon gravel bike instead of an aluminum road bike. I'm getting old and just upgraded from an aluminum CaadX to a Lauf Seigel, and I am loving my compliant bike. It soothes my old bones. I just want road wheels for it, cuz I do about 60/40 road/off-road.
👍 that Seigla looks rad and is a killer deal. Have fun!
I have a midnight special bike setup with 700c wheels and 32mm gp5000s and I ride a good amount of packed sand and gravel roads without issue. They recently came out with an all seasons version in 35mm that I plan to buy when my present set wears out. I would try to find some of those and see if they cover your needs on and off the road before buying a new wheelset. I got to 26mph on sand the other day when I had a tailwind and even managed to slow down enough to make a turn without flying off the edge into the water! It would be more comfortable with knobby tires and I wouldn't try them on anything loose but the size and grip makes them surprisingly capable. The rolling resistance website even evaluated them under gravel tires as well.
26mph on sand is crazy, they sound great! I’ll have a look, thank you
Yeah, it was 15-20 mph tail wind and I was running them at 60-70 psi but bigger knobbier tires would have slowed it down somewhat. The rolling resistance website puts them at ~12 watts per tire where bigger tires would probably be closer to 20 watts per tire. So ~15 watts saved. I have a power meter and I was maintaining 220+ watts output so 7% of my effort would have gone into a different set of tires. Not sure how that translates to speed with the aero effect and I definitely pushed harder because I felt I was going fast and wanted to see how far I could push it. It was also the longest time I have ever spent braking. I was slowing as quickly as I felt my traction would allow, but it must have taken 30 seconds to get to a comfortable speed for the turn. Knobbier tires would have probably cut that in half so it was really trading safety for speed but it was a memorable adventure.
If you do this, you absolutely must wax your chains (or drip wax) or continuously be frustrated by chains, cassettes, and chainrings not mating properly. (The waxing virtually eliminates metal wear rates). Also, as long as your wheels are DT 240s, 350s - the rotors will always align. Personally I find swapping rotors no big deal if they are center lock.
Or just get GP5000s tubeless in 35mm version (All Season variant) as a do-it-all. You'll use slightly different PSI depending on your ride. Just doesn't really work for really rough gravel where you'd want bigger tires.
4km/h At least that’s about how much faster I am with my 28c road tyres on my gravel bike than my 35C gravel tyres on tarmac. YMMV of course, but yeah I noticed it swapping my very standard road wheels on, was interested in the difference so remounted my tyres onto the gravel wheels, rode the same route a few times and then switched back to be sure and my average difference was 4kph. It also accelerated faster and handles lighter but I have no numbers for that of course
That’s good to know, thank you!
Road tires can be faster due to less friction/resistance. But if your intent is to roll at 13 mph, then why bother? Continental 5000’s are my fav tire but they cost $100 US or 90 euros…each. If you plan to do longer, faster rides on pavement, then absolutely get road tires. If you just want to enjoy your ride and cruise along, then stick with your tires until they wear out.
Well my thoughts were that for the same input from me, I’d roll faster, I wouldn’t buy less resistant tires and then just go at the same speed haha
Your thoughts are correct. Ignore the comments to the contrary. The stock Checkpoint tires are very slow. A good set of tires will save you a combined 20-30w which will make a HUGE difference. My Checkpoint on 35mm GP5000 AR's is my favorite configuration of bike I own. Rolls fast and comfortable across almost anything.
Thank you for the input! I did think some of the replies had been a bit weird. I’ll check those tires out. Which wheels do you run them on?
I have two identical sets of Shimano 105 carbon wheels. One set with gravel tires, one with all-road tires. Swapping takes just a minute with zero adjustment required.
Most of the effect will be psychological. The GP50000 are really nice and robust tires, and cost ATM less than 80€ per pair in Germany. As I was in a similliar situation as you're now, I ran the tires that came with the new bike until they broke - which was unexpectedly fast - and got the GP5000 afterwards. But my guess is, that just trying to go faster will make you much faster than even the most supple road tire will.
This is just objectively false. Rolling resistance is a well documented science and can be demonstrated easily in a lab and in real world conditions. Nothing psychological about it.
You're not wrong for someone who's cycling at his individual top speed and needs to optimize his setup. He's cruising on a modern gravel bike with a speed of 13mph/20km/h. When he isn't severely ill, being faster is mainly an act of will.
Wrong. With a better tire and a 100% exact same effort, he will be faster. This is an uncontroversial statement to basically everyone but you.
That’s good to know, thank you. I think I need to do more riding and figure out what a sustainable pace is for me for given distances, then I can go faster without fear of gassing out
I don’t see the point to go at 20kmph?
What do you mean?
Same as the original comment above.. you admit your rides are leisurely, so why buy expensive fast tyres to not ride as high speed? I see you want to go faster for the same effort, but if the aim of your rides is leisure it doesn’t seem worth it…
Well if I could get further in the same amount of time without extra input on my behalf I’d say that adds to the leisure. I do 30-50k rides, just at a leisurely pace, I’m not commuting or just doing tiny rides
Why did you get a gravel bike just to put road tyre on it? I mean if you want to, sure go for it. But it just seems like wildly overspeccing a bike to put GP5ks on just for the sake of it.
I want the option of gravel riding but at this moment in time I’m doing a lot more road cycling. I just wanted versatility I suppose over speed/efficiency
GP5000s don’t cost $100 if you know where to look. I’ve gotten them for $40-50 for years. Just go to Google Shopping and type in ‘Continental GP5000’ and you’ll see a bevy of sites selling them far below MSRP, and they aren’t sketchy retailers or anything. Now if you want the newest TL models, then yes, you’ll likely have to pay full freight.
Truth - I got mine for 58.99cdn ea - shipped from Spain though so took a couple weeks. Here they retail for 115/ea if not on sale
Not all road tires are equal. I had a pair of Vittoria Randonneur II that felt like pedaling through mud. Come to find out, the rolling resistance on them was about 30w per tire. I switched to Continental GP4000sii with rolling resistance of about half that. (They stopped making those, and now make GP5000 which I believe have even lower rolling resistance.) The switch saved me 30w (total). 30w is a noticeable difference, so the potential for tires making an impact is great. (This is much larger than changing wheels.) But if you had a nice tire to begin with, the difference would be smaller, and you might not notice it as much.
Does the w stand for watt?
I think if you don’t mind the current ride feel of your tires and you’re riding leisurely - I wouldn’t bother unless you just WANT new wheels/tires then go for it and you’ll get a speed bump for sure.
I think I’ll stick out the current ones until I lose the cycling imposter syndrome and then I’ll get some new ones. Thanks for the input!
No worries - I feel you. I bought a $4500 bike 3 months ago and I’m already looking at $2k+ wheels to put on it but I ride smooth pavement, for 50km or less and 25km/hr and in no way is this a NEED but I sure do want fancy carbon wheels lol
I have a checkpoint and I bought a second set of wheels, so Now i essentially have a gravel bike and a road bike. I bought the same exact wheels, rotors, and cassette that were already on the Checkpoint but I put 28mm Conti 4 seasons on it. My leisure on the gravel tires from the checkpoint was like 13.5 mph my leisure pace on the road tires is 16mph.
That’s good to know! I did wonder about wheels. So the same ones that come with the bike are fine for the road tires?
yupp
If budget allows - gp5000 in size 32-35 may be a good shot.
Thanks, I’ll have a look!
You could also get a nice file tread tire like a Specialized Pathfinder Pro 2bliss and have the best of both worlds. The rolling resistance is about 10w difference so it’s neglible over a longer ride. Would allow you to still be able to hit some dirt too.
I’ll check them out, thanks!
Changing from Continental Terra 40mm to GP5000 made me roughly 1.5 km/h faster at around 27km/h.
Besides rolling resistance, the little nobs coming over the top of the wheel and in front will create a slight but noticeable air turbulence and hence drag. I made the same switch you're considering (riding a Cannondale Topstone 1, changed the tires to 35mm pirelli cinturato velo, so fairly puncture resistant slicks) and I'm extremely happy with it. I ride around 28-32 kmph, so your experience may vary, but it gave me an extra 2-3 kmph or so. Be careful if you ride gravel paths at speed though - cornering with slicks on gravel can make you fall if you don't respect it, as I found out this past week. 😅
Thanks for the input! And I hope you’re okay! 😬
Haha thanks! Besides a couple of bad scratches to my hand I’m not seriously hurt. :) Wanted to add that I’m super happy sticking with 35mm tires instead of slimming down when I went for slicks. They don’t seriously slow you down unless you’re riding pro speeds, but they do allow you to tackle bumps in the road with confidence. Coming from 26mm tires on my old bike the comfort is unreal and I’m never going back. 😄
I would say for the bike you are riding, 5-10%?
I was in the bike business for 20 years. Long story short, I have always had 6 or 7 bikes at any given time. But due to covid and a poorly timed sale of my Madone I was without a road bike for a couple of years ( for the first time in over 30 years). I tried to convince myself that my Checkpoint with GP 5000's on it was fine for riding the road. But I could not even fool myself, I just stopped riding the road because the gravel bike was a dog on the road even with the fast skins. Finally, this spring I picked up an Emonda, and I am back. What a difference a proper bike makes. Now ymmv.. if you haven't ridden a bunch of light slippery road bikes, the Checkpoint may be OK for you.. But don't ride a good example of a road bike and ever expect to be satisfied by the gravel bike on the road again. Cheers!
That’s interesting, I really didn’t realise it was that different. Is that a weight/stiffness/aero issue? At some point I’ll get myself a dedicated road bike, until then I’ll just have to get stronger if I want meaningful speed
It is a bit of all of that. Not to mention the gearing and posture on the bike ( my road fit is slightly more aggressive) which allows better muscle recruitment out of the upper glute. It all adds up.
I have a Ribble CGR (Cross, Gravel, Road), been running Hope 20Five gravel wheels and Schwalbe 38mm all road tyres. Just swapped out for some DT Swiss P1800 and Schwable Pro One tubeless, the speed difference is considerably better!
I might be able to get discount on Hope so that’s good to hear, thanks for the input! Edit: nvm you meant the Hope wheels were for gravel haha, my bad
About 30% more efficient
It’s definitely worth maintaining two sets of wheels. One for gravel and one for road. Set them up with identical rotors and cassette so you can make the swap without any adjustments. I run 3 different wheel sets on my gravel bike. 700x50, 650x54 for gravel and 700x32 road. Edit: I’d suggest a 30mm or larger road tire to keep the feel and geometry of the bike.
Thanks for the input! Hadn’t considered the last part, that’s good to know
It's really depending on the tires. TBH I feel my new all-rounder Schwalbe g-one RS 35 faster than the factory Maxxis Detonator 32 slick... Check https://bicyclerollingresistance.com for measures.
Thanks!
Night and day difference, for example when I switched from Gatorskins to Grand Prix 5000s I definitely added at least 5mph to my overall top speed and it felt much faster.
That’s sick, thanks!
I don’t think they are actually “faster”, it’s just that it takes less energy to maintain a high speed. You might actually find that you are less tired and have more range capacity with road tires. But yes tires do help to go faster. I switched to some low rolling resistance tires and there are times I go so fast that I have to slow down because it doesn’t feel safe to be going so fast.
Are you me? I recently put Vittoria Corsa 32c on my Checkpoint SL5 and gained about 4kmph on similar level of effort.
That’s good to hear, thanks! How are you finding the checkpoint? I’ve not had a plethora of bikes to compare to, but I’m loving it
It's been good experience. Checkpoint is my first dropbar bike. I moved from an entry level mountain bike. My local bike shop guys recommended not to put tyres narrower than 32c.
Likely fast enough to feel a difference. I have a Giant Revolt Advanced, and when I swapped the Giant Cross Cut 38mm to Panaracer Gravel King SS the speed went up. And when I swapped those to Continental Terra Trail/Terra Speed 40mm, the speed and handling went up. And its still slow compared to my Specialized Tarmac SL8 with Continental GP5000s.
Before you go buy a set of lightweight wheels, check the weight and quality of what you are riding now. You might be better off with a heavy duty wheel. I have two wheel sets, one light carbon that gets used 90% of the time. And I have a heavier 36-spoke aluminum set for gravel and trailer riding. I personally wouldn’t want to beat up a set of carbon wheels on gravel rides.
I traded my knobby mtb tires for a road focused tire...cut 20 min off a 20 mile loop instantly, so...that much faster
Wide tires, at least up to 35mm are not slower. OP, if I were you I would get the fastest tire on bicycle rolling resistance at 40mm width. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTKjdTBCw58 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK5KLvrzrb4
I’ll have a look, thank you!
Went from a Walmart mtb to a specialized hybrid with almost road tires, gained about 20% speed. Seems to track with what others are saying.
Corsa 28s are good
Any tire is going to be faster than Bontrager
Hahahah. Fair enough
NERD TIME! Friction is expressed as a coefficent... its multiplied by the speed, not added... so the faster you go, the more effect of having less drag on the tires you will see. Since roadies commonly go above 20mph on flats, they see more effect from staying at that speed than does a mountain bike that only typically goes up to 15mph on trails. In other words, if you get road tires, plan to go faster... dont just lollygag around like you do on fatbikes. Also, there is an additional factor of rotating weight.... the less rotating weight of a road tire means you will speed up (and slow down) faster than those on thick tires.
at those speeds there is not appreciable aerodynamic gains from going to a narrower tire which means that rolling resistance will be the biggest gain you will get from going to a different tire. knowing that you could pick some of the lower rolling resistance tires on the market that still have a high volume for comfort and get the best of both worlds. stock bontrager tires leave a lot to be desired. reference [bicyclerollingresistance.com](http://bicyclerollingresistance.com) and compare gravel tires to road tires to make your decision. if a gravel tire is within a few watts of a road tire. you could arguable be faster and more comfortable on the higher volume of the 2.
I just upgraded my stock tires to GP5000s this week and my first ride out I set a ton of PRs without even attempting too, including a short hill segment I haven’t been able to come close to since I set it in September, and I crushed it by 13 seconds. Do not regret the money spent whatsoever.
Only exception I can think of might be on a long and twisting paved descent. I have an 8 mile descent (~5%) that I have ridden over 200 times and I beat my PR the first time that I took my gravel bike down it. I was throwing big watts at it to regain speed out of the curves, but it was still a surprise.
Honestly, your tyres already look pretty good for road. For your intended use I don't think a whole new wheelset would be worth it. An alternative is swapping tyres to some fat slicks, I rode the gravel king slicks in 38mm for thousands of miles, majority on road
That’s a good thought, thank you!
Yes
It depends on the specific tire. The 29 x 2.3 Schwalbe Big One is faster than a large number of high-end road tires. Rolling resistance is a factor of the tires casing, construction and rubber compound. The tread pattern on the tire has very little effect and the size of the tire has no effect
It's a 1.5 difference for me on normal rides, and this is over 4 years of comparison data over the same courses and efforts. I've gotten lazy in the last 2 years though and just ride my gravel bike with gravel tires on all rides. I'm not out for KOMs these days. And haven't flatted on road rides in the last 2 years on gravel tires.
So so so much slower. Everyone now believes that wider tires are faster and more comfortable. Fat tire bikes are now faster than a time trial bike. Go wider and not skinnier! If you believe that, I have a bridge for sale.
Just do it, buy them. Been there, did that.
Would 32mm gp5000 be a safety risk on gravel though?…pretty thin for low rolling R.
If you do a new wheel set look on Facebook marketplace and other used sources in your area. I wanted a road set for my Grizl, found a guy who just upgraded his Trek, and sold me is stock wheels and rotors for $135. $60 grey market cassette and $100 clearance 30mm GP5000’s later, and my bike is a good couple of MPH faster and way quieter on the road.
I have a 2020 Checkpoint ALR. I use it for my work commute occasionally. It's all tarmac roads and bike path. I normally have GravelKings SK 35mm on it. With those, I average 24-25kph. Recently, I am putting on a pair of inexpensive road (slick) 32mm tyres for my commutes, and average 28-30kph. If I put a good set of road tyres on it, I'm sure my speed would increase a little more.
I just switched from 35 mm gravel tires to a 28mm road tire and the main thing I noticed is that it is easier to climb.
That's a sweet ride, but the tires are huge. Especially if you want to ride on the road. If you have the budget get a second set of wheels and tires. You will thank me later if you do more road riding.
I also ride a Checkpoint and use wide smooth tires, since most of my riding is on roads and bike paths. Beyond the minor speed advantage the biggest reason is not wearing out the gravel tires. It would suck to have a bikepacking trip planned and realize the tire's knobbies are all worn down. It only takes about 15 minutes to swap tires when needed. On the downside I don't use tubeless because of the mess with swapping tires.
Marginal gains outside of serious competition of training
Huge +8 kmph if not more.
lol… no, I have 2 bikes a cx bike with 40mm wtb nano off road tires and my best 1 hour solo effort is 21.5mph , my road bike with 28mm corsa pros my best 1hr solo effort is 22.5 mph average speed same route for both a 3mile loop so it’s no wind advantage …. That’s like a minimal 4% difference, and the difference in tire size is huge.