Zipp G40 XPLR Gravel Tire

i am new to gravel biking. i bought the lauf anywhere last fall. it came with maxxis tires better suited to the road than fire roads. i upgraded to the rambler and loved them, but something was off. after some research, i opted for the zipps. i have not gone tubeless yet, yes, baby steps and yes, mounting them was a bit more difficult than usual for an old hand like myself. once on, my friend convinced me to lower the psi even lower than was recommended. voila, i had the grip and control that was missing. glad i did it. and i have the option of taking the tubes out and going tubeless for greater performance. the tires are rock solid performers

Replaced Byways with this tire to gain improved durability and grip/stability on medium gravel. Tubeless installation was hassle-free. In terms of ride, it's worked very well... quite stable in the thick stuff. After several rides, sidewalls and tread show little evidence of cuts or wear. I run them at lower psi (around 30). Only downsides are that they are relatively heavy (just under 500g) and don't roll very fast on hard pack/tarmac - a lot slower than they Byways, but that's expected, given the tread pattern.

I had been running supple tires with my stock Roval wheels that came with my Diverge. When I stepped up to the Zipp 303s, I thought I'd try the Zipp tires with them. I have to run them at very low pressures to get the same feel as the other tires I like. That said, I never worry about where I point these tires. The bowl through anything. While that may be a good thing, it does not make up for their lack of suppleness. I've switched back to the supple brand of tire and found that they had a 44 mm tire that fit my Diverge and I'm a happy camper. Still going to keep these in case I need a bomb proof option. The Zipp wheels are sweet too!

I've now ridden and raced these Zipp G40 XPLR gravel tires and have been very happy with them. Both the grip and rolling resistance are superb, in addition to the must-have tan sidewalls for all of the gravel-nerd kudos that you'll receive. Would definitely buy them again.

This is a great tire if you are looking for something to ride on tackier packed gravel roads rather than dusty and loose. These tires feel great on hardpack, but less stable on loose gravel where a more widely spaced tread pattern will excel. As it is, those side knobs don't really engage when you need them too, and I have mostly felt unconfident pushing these tires on looser gravel like is the majority where I live.

I've gone through a few sets of tires trying to find something that rolls quickly on the smooth stuff and allows for confident cornering in the loose. So far, these have exceeded expectations in both of those areas and more.

Installation - Super easy and seated instantly on my Zipp 303 Firecrests with 25mm internal width.

Ride - Coming off of 40c 120tpi Maxxis Ramblers, these feel a little more plush at the same pressures. I believe this is due to the tread pattern.

Durability - 100 miles in and they have been solid, no punctures or leaks. I've gone through some chunky sharp rock sections and even glanced off a sharp rock during a technical climb (I thought for sure I'd get a side wall snake bite) and they've held up.

Control - They feel effortless on hard pack and pavement while having some great edge grip. There is plenty of grip when climbing steep on loose gravel so you aren't easily spinning out. Hard braking feels very controllable and they seem to resist skidding pretty well for being so smooth.