SCHWALBE G-ONE BITE

£59

Specification

This grippier version of the gravel-friendly G-One Allround tubeless tyre comes in 38mm and 54mm widths, and in SnakeSkin or MicroSkin variants, with the former reportedly having slightly greater rolling resistance. Our 38mm MicroSkin examples weighed 461g each, and measured 39mm wide on some Specialized Axis Elite rims, although they needed some effort to seat fully.

Hard going

On the road, the G-One Bites roll very quickly, their shortest 1.5mm tall, round tread blocks in the central section are closely spaced across 14mm of the total width, and don’t buzz on tarmac. The tyre’s rounded profile and limited squirm from its relatively shallow tread make for easy cornering too.

Soft going

Recommended pressure is 45-70psi, but they remain firm and supportive enough a little below that. The tyres have rotational direction arrows to get the most from the angled tops of the tread blocks, and are fast on loose gravel. They’re less grippy in the turns, as the tallest 3mm tread blocks aren’t that numerous or aggressive, and are quite far down the shoulders.

In conclusion

These are fast tyres almost everywhere, and offer more grip than their Allround cousins, but they’re by no means a ‘mud’ variant in the way the cyclocross X-One Bites are. They are durable, but the limited shoulder bite can compromise gravel corner grip when things get loose, especially when keeping to the fairly firm minimum tyre pressure.