Wheel & Tyre advice

[ultimobici]

Question regarding wheel/tyre choice for multiple uses.

I'm planning on building a bike for use on Gravel/Fire Roads, Commuting in all weathers on tarmac as well as a bit of hacking around in the mud.

So, which would you suggest I go for in the wheel & tyre department?
650b wheels with Panaracer Pari-Moto 42mm tyres for Gravel & Commuting and 700C wheels with cross tyres for hacking around the woods?
650b wheels with Panaracer Pari-Moto 42mm tyres for Gravel & Commuting and modestly knobbly 650b tyres for mud/woods?
I live next to woods so will ride off road on muddy trails most of the winter, rather than braving icy roads and Essex drivers!

Frame is going to be made to measure carbon so can be built with these options in mind. Set up is likely to be DI2 hydraulic with a compact/mid compact.

TIA


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[RussellS]

Not really any advice, just some reasoning. Gravel (dry) and commuting use need thinner, and no tread tires. Road tires work perfectly for this use. Dry gravel roads are fine dust where you ride the bike and the cars drive. Its as solid as concrete, with a fine dust on top. The skinniest, slickest road tires work perfectly on dry gravel roads. You will squirm a bit if you get into the loose gravel on the edges or middle of the road. But you never ride there. You ride on that 12-18 inch wide strip of dust where the cars drive. Two of them on every gravel road. And commuting is on paved roads I assume so road tires are the choice. You may want to use anything between 28-38mm widths for gravel or road use. Your 42mm width seems a bit wide for optimal commuting use. But its probably OK. For off road riding, you want knobbies. Anything that works well on the road, will be slick if you get into wet grass, even dry grass, or mud, dirt. So you definitely need two sets of tires/wheels for your needs. Seems to me using the (bizarre, goofy, oddball) 650b size for both sets of wheels would make the most sense. Consistency. You don't want to be an inch higher or lower in the air depending on which wheels you are using. Just keep everything consistent and use the 650b size for all wheels for this bike.

[F45]

I would need to see what your fire roads look like. I've never had good luck with slicks on gravel roads because they skate on spots with actual gravel. I prefer a semi like Ritchey Speedmax ($20 in the tubed version) or other options from specialized and challenge. Mud is a whole other animal so I'd go with the widely spaced knobbies you wrote about.

[ultimobici]

The gravel element is just too rough for a road bike with 27 pave tyres. British bridleways are perfectly rideable with a regular road bike as long as it's not rained for a while. So 40mm tyres on 650 or 700 are fine. I'm erring on the side of 650b gravel/road/commute and 700x33 cross tyres.


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[fresherjohn]

On our peak bridleways I've been using continental cyclocross speed 35mms for most duties through the summer, as they dont drag too much on the road. In the winter i swap to something knoblier like schwalbe racing ralphs offroad and 28mm pave tyres for road.

[wheelsONfire]

The 27'5" / 650B version of Black Mamba
http://www.hutchinsontires.com/en/mtb/9 ... mamba.html