Pirelli

The Gravel H tires are the first 45c tires I've had experience with so a big caveat in terms of a comparison to other 45c tires. I chose this one for a durable and long lasting do-it-all and so far it fits the role.

Grip is good and handling is more than adequate. A little slippery on slick wet mud as expected. On dry bumpy terrain it excels in smoothing out the edges of the rocks.

It is a heavy tire, no getting around this. I noticed this as coming from 35 and 38c tires, these take more effort to spin up.

I ride 4 to 6 thousand miles a year and value durability and puncture resistance. I have about a thousand miles on these now and they're solid. They definitely don't feel slow, and I have not experienced a flat. Some reviewers have mentioned that they are easy to mount, but I didn't find them especially so. I'd say they were no better or worse to mount than other recent tires I've used. I will likely purchase these again when they wear out.

I didn't buy a 40mm endurance tire expecting them to be fast but these things are brutally slower than the Conti All Seasons I traded them for. Only inflated up to about 38mm so for only an extra 3mm and all that extra rolling resistance and weight, I think going back to 35 All Seasons may be in my future. That said, these things might go great on my fully commuter rig if I want a slick for the city since they feel bomb proof and can't be much slower than the Cinturato M knobbies I have on it now.

I've tried these, maxxis, specialized, challenge, and panaracer. The pirelli rubber is hands down the best rubber you can get. It hooks up in the wet, it is happy in the dry, it doesn't care about the cold and will hook up (the best of everything I've tried) in the snow. The semi slick middle does roll really quickly, it's not as fast as a challenge or schwalbe but it's within 5% in the real world. The shoulder knobs are amazing and do help paddle through mud. The only "bad" thing of these tires is that they have a thick sidewall. You'll never puncture but they don't feel like riding on silk. Also the lifetime of these tires is ridiculous, I ran one set until the rear tire went bald, it took two years and about 1500 miles riding year round in New England. I love these things.

Pirelli, please make a racey version with thin sidewalls and change NOTHING else.