Dylan Johnson breaks down the science behind choosing the right gravel tyres for your event, and spoiler alert: wider might be faster than you think. He shares his honest testing methods, explains why tyre choice matters more than most riders realise, and reveals his go-to setups without any sponsor bias getting in the way.
Key Takeaways
- Wider gravel tyres are faster — test it yourself at a consistent power output on the same gravel section to see the difference, just like road and mountain biking have proven
- Don't just copy what competitors are running; do your own simple testing instead of guessing or defaulting to what others choose
- The Specialized Pathfinder Pro 47mm is Dylan's go-to for ~85% of gravel races; the Challenge Strata Bianche 40mm works for road-heavy events but punctures more easily
- Having no tyre sponsor is a massive advantage — it lets you run the fastest tyre without compromise, whereas some sponsored riders are forced into suboptimal choices
- Key considerations when selecting tyres: road vs gravel percentage, gravel chunkiness, climbing/descending terrain, singletrack sections, and puncture resistance needs
- You don't need expensive wind tunnel testing; DIY methods like rolling down hills in different setups can give you reliable rough data on tyre performance
Expert Quotes
"I think that the industry in general has gravel tyre size wrong right now... gravel tyres are gonna get wider and wider and wider and it's because it's faster"
"I have a favorite gravel tyre right now that I use for the vast majority of gravel races... the Specialized Pathfinder Pro and they just started making it in a 47 millimetre"
"The big advantage is that you can run the best tyre. I actually kind of feel bad for certain riders that have certain tyre sponsors because... there are some companies that are really nailing it on their mountain bike tyre and really dropping the ball on their gravel tyre"