Are Narrow Gravel Tyres Outdated?

With a trend for wide tyres on gravel bikes I was keen to see what the new Vielo V+1 Race Edition with 50mm tyres was like to ride on my local trails. The results were illuminating…

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[heikkihuotari]

I've ridden a low-spec rental V+1 once and absolutely loved it. So much fun I couldn't stop grinning. The V+1 now sits at the top of my list whenever I'll replace my Aspero.

[vielobikes]

Love seeing you having fun on the V+1 David. Thanks for cleaning it before giving it back! 😂❤

[tombeynon]

It's the handling of the V+1 that does it for me. Very stable on the rough stuff yet also easy to manoeuvre, corner and switch tracks. So impressed I've now ordered the R+1 for the road!

[gearsofmedicine]

David, of course we love this bike - it looks like the Crux!😊 It’s bigger brother

[Digi]

had 50mm 5 years ago, are now on 2.35" and i am happy that the newest mtb xc tires are now going to 2.4" inches with quite a nice selection of fast tires to choose from. while you can feel the weight it still isnt slow and you can dial in the bike feel and use case via the tire pressure. comfy flying over rooty forest paths like in the video? go gown to as low as 1bar/15psi - quick high speed run on tarmac and dont care to get the road bike out? air up to ~1.9bar/27psi and off you go.

[pashonic]

Didn't realize I would watch this and learn a new way to prop a bike up. First thing I'm going to try next ride.

[swazi]

Looks awesome, that paint is something. Really like the handlebar/ stem on this too.

[anthonyharris]

I'm running 650b Vittoria Mezcal 2.35 and it's great

[aaronedgeart]

My Crux is set up with 50c/2" tires and I love the size for all roads in my path.

[PatJuhNL]

What a great looking bike! I'm just getting used to riding on a gravelbike coming from a beginner MTB bike. In my area most MTB trails are like yours with big patches of tarmac/gravel in between. I bough a gravelbike just so I could enjoy both even more. Looks like you had a lot of fun on this bike!

[gearsofmedicine]

OMG David just admitted that he has the new Crux - 13 speed - that is awesome; this Channel is awesome; and I think some Crux fans here!

[Damarsh]

I’m obsessed with my V+1. I just wish I’d gone for the race edition 😂

[edpartington]

I've had my V+1 race edition for a month and its ace! Amazingly fast on the tarmac too considering the 50mm tires

[larryt.atcycleitalia]

So its a drop-bar MTB for the most part. "Gravel" seems to be splitting into two camps - bikes optimized for riding on gravel ROADS vs bikes optimized for the stuff folks used to ride XC MTB's on. I get it...I had drop bars on my MTB back-in-the-day and still have a 26" wheeled, V-braked, front-suspended one with 50 mm tires that gets ridden now and then along with my "real" gravel bike that has 38 mm slick tires and gets used mainly on paved roads. I love fat tires!!!

[thsaintful]

I hope you soon get the chance to review Propain's first gravel bike: the Terrel. also 50mm clearance and comparable geo

[ZenEndurance]

Hard to tell for sure, but if you feel your video is jittery, go to your camera's Settings > Calibrate Gyroscope. I found out that's what causes it and you should do it before every shoot. Cleaned up mine to silky smooth. Also, that bike is COOL! I run a 47 on the front of my Vaast and it's stunning how much more stuff you can ride through compared to the 42 that is the max on the rear. My next gravel bike with clear 50s absolutely, never anything less again.

[Paulklampeeps]

If it's a sram only bike why they didn't include the "SRAM UDH"? such a big mis

[Daniel-yfiy]

I’d love to see you do a review on the new Kona Oroboros

[mustardlightning]

I got myself a 3T Exploro Racemax specifically in order to be able to ride drop bars with as big of a tire as I can get. Riding 55mm G One AllRound at the moment. Will ride nicely over almost anything. Whether it is better or worse, I just don´t like skinny tires even on pavement. 1x and silly big tires, no other way to go for me 🥰

[niklaskristensson]

They make really nice frames. I like "1× opitmized"🎉