Another Nerdy Bike Tire Blog | GP 5000 vs GravelKing

There's a blog coming in a month to explain the reason for this tire test, but I'm not sharing details today (but IFYKYK, please keep it on the downlow for now).

I LOVE my Grand Prix 5000 tires on my Bianchi Infinito that I got last year from Tonka Cycle & Ski! I'll be sure to keep buying them as I need new road tires. But some times, I like to ride my Bianchi on roads that do not have pavement, and for that, I'm a big fan of GravelKing SK tires. So I swapped from the GP5000 to the GravelKing tires this week and did the same silly tire test I did with my Pugsley earlier this summer

The test was 28 mm Continental Grand Prix 5000 vs 32 mm Panaracer GravelKing SK - seriously an apples-to-oranges comparison... but that wasn't really the point, my point is what is the "price" to be paid to ride gravel tires on pavement. And I was surprised by the results. 

First, I'm changing tire size, tubes, and tire pressure on this test, while keeping the bike, body position, and routes/segments for this test, while targeting 200W. 

Weights to start, 'cause weight-weenies: 

28 mm Grand Prix 5000 with butyl tubes - 1310 g

32 mm Gravel King SK with latex tubes - 1420 g

Like my last test, I used a paved and straight rail-trail with some rolls, a good test for rolling residence. 

Here are links to these two segments on Strava: 

• Blake to Beltline https://www.strava.com/segments/7168647 
• Beltline to Blake street https://www.strava.com/segments/7168656

I used the SRAM Tire Pressure Guide to get both tires sets pumped up to ideal pressures. The GravelKing tires were 62 psi on the front and 66 psi on the rear tire; the Grand Prix tires were 72 psi on the front and 77 psi for the rear tire. 

The results from Strava: 

Blake to Beltline

Beltline to Blake street

I'm blown away that one of these tests were so close to the same time with the same power! The other segment is more complex with the 8W difference in power, and 21 seconds difference, that a 4.7% difference in time over the the segment.... and that's a shockingly small margin for gravel tires versus road tires ... and 8W less power (or 3.8% less power). 

To be clear, I will ride Grand Prix 5000 for 99% of Bianchi rides, but I'm shocked to see the GavelKing tires are so close. but also worth noting that the tubes on the GravelKings are reported to be much faster, and the Grand Prix 5000 tires are not recommended to use with latex tubes. 

In summation, I'm happy to see that there's no major "price" to paid for riding the GravelKing tires on pavement. The GravelKing is heavier and rolls slower, but it not a major penalty when you're gonna mix pavement with non-paved roads. 

[August 5 edit: I updated the result percentages, my original calculations were wrong, but the conclusion is the same]