I've tried a lot of different gravel tires. Then I got a recommendation to try these in 45c silksheld in the front and EXO in the rear. I live in socal so it's a lot of loose over hard and this combo gave my bike the perfect balance of speed and handling. Shred lightly! ????
I have been using the 700x40 silk shield model for three years for training and some races. During that time I have had zero punctures in an estimated 5,000+ miles of riding. My riding is a mixture of pavement, smooth gravel, loose gravel, some dirt roads/paths, stream crossings and chunky gravel. Traction is very good except for very deep and loose conditions. These are not mud tires but they do handle sloppy surfaces fairly well. I have used these tires numerous times in races that were mostly gravel and felt that they were not holding me back. I have tried other tires for training but the silk shield Ramblers seem to be the best choice for my riding in MO and southern IL.
Easily the best "set and forget" gravel tire out there. If you dont care about changing tires out pending the conditions, just run these Ramblers and be happy with the choice. Tired in various sizes 38c up to the 50c with the 40c the perfect size for comfort, speed and grip. Durability ive had only 1 tire fail after 3000 miles of rough singletrack and off-road use but able to plug the hole to make it home. Used other WTB, Panaracer, Vittoria, Schwalbe tires but keep coming back to the Maxxis Rambler because they are balanced across all type of terrain.
Good tire - relatively easy to mount. Measured up at only 42mm on my 20mm internal width gravel rims unfortunately. Rolls pretty well on packed gravel/dirt and pavement. Good on chunkier gravel as well. Good, solid tire.
I have this tire in a 38 for my gravel bike and now a 47 for my wife's E-Bike. I have had five very challenging gravel races (40-60miles each) this year and ridden the same set of tires for all of them and had not mechanical issues, no failures, no leaks and no flats. The surfaces have varied from luxury gravel, to death defying riprap, to snow and mud. These tires have performed equally well on all surfaces. I can't speak highly enough about these and I recommend them to all of my teammates. You can't go wrong with a set of these Ramblers.
Trails in Utah vary from hard pack dirt to loose gravel to rock, rocks EVERYWHERE. I have come down gravel and loose switchbacks and am always impressed at the grip these give in the loose stuff. When bouncing off rocks, they have never failed; they can take a beating and keep rolling. The rubber is a bit soft (great for grip, not great for long-life), but I still get a good 1000 miles out of them I am using the (relatively) lightweight EXO version and when I compared them to other tires, the weight is surprising!
I used these tires on a very easy mountain bike trail and they gripped very well. I took two sets of wheels to compare:
1. Maxxis Rambler 700x45
2. Schwalbe Rocket Ron 29x2.25
To my surprise the Ramblers hooked-up better than the Rocket Rons.
I'm really happy with the Rambler, tread a little more aggressive than the reavis, and likely to last longer. Maybe not quite as low rolling resistance, butstill seems to roll very nicely.
I swap these tires in when I know I'll be riding on some rugged gravel roads. The only Issue I have is that while my frame can handle them my SRAM Red eTap front derailleur can't. The outermost drive side tire lugs are wearing a groove into my eTap battery. I ground down this row of lugs with a file, but they still rub so I leave the bike on the small chainring, remove the front battery, and ride my bike as a 1x11 when these are mounted. None of this is the tire's fault, but check the clearance on your bike before buying.
I use these tires on my gravel/cx bike. They are perfect all-around tires. I live in southern California so there is a lot of sand, loose dirt and rock. I also used them at the Trans-Rockies Gravel Royale race and they were excellent.
These tires are working well for the gravel roads that I ride; wide and relatively flat with areas of densely packed poorly sorted 2 to 3 cm well rounded gravel fields. The extra volume provides good compliance, the tread seems to grip well in the turns. The only down side is due to the larger volume they are a little harder to spin up, but that means you have to get stronger.
These tires were spec'd for my new ti gravel bike and they handle all the road conditions I ride without issue. I purchased a new set of tires expecting to change them both at the same time but the rear sidewall seat at the rim gave out on a ride after 2,000 miles so I put in a tube and continued home and replaced the rear tire. the front tire is still on the bike with plenty of tread left and I have no concern with riding it. I am a 255 lb rider and demand a lot from a bike and tire. I have been satisfied with the performance so far.
These worked well on the Ruby Roubaix. 38s don't float enough on soft, deep gravel, but everywhere else I was rolling well with little resistance at 35 PSI. I got a pinhole leak on the rear late in the ride but never noticed it! Then I saw some sealant on the bottom of the seat bag. You could reduce pressure but the ride was 50% hardpack dirt or good pavement.
I love Maxxis tires!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I've been running Ramblers for a few years now and highly recommend them. I used a set of 40c EXO tires f/r for a couple years and am now on a 45c EXO front and 40c Silk Shield in the rear to get a little more "suspension" in the front and flat resistance in back. The lighter EXO model is a little more fragile, but they're light at around 375 grams, so a good tire for race days or lighter riders. The 45c is a good amount larger in volume than the 40c, and can be run several PSI lower. Ramblers roll decently on pavement, and don't feel like they give up a ton of watts over a smaller/smoother tire. And more importantly they have a consistent amount of grip when leaned over - the side knobs don't feel too squirmy on pavement, like WTB Nanos can, for comparison. On gravel these are in their element, and they can handle some trail use too, within reason.
They set up easily as tubeless. They're fast and have good traction is all the conditions I encountered (rain, snow, dry pavement, dirt, gravel). But they're insanely fragile. With less than 200 miles on them I'm throwing away the front tire; too many cuts to trust the tire anymore. On the second ride I had to call my wife to come pick me up because I had so many rear punctures my sealant was exhausted and my hands were too cold from messing with the pump to fit the tube I carry. (To be fair, they use cinders on the road around here for traction in winter, but this was <10 miles into the ride.) I love Maxxis tires and use them almost exclusively on my MTB. But these were a terrible disappointment. Won't recommend them. Won't buy them again.
I like Maxxis tires anyway and expected these to work well, which they do. After years of using Kendas as my winter tires I switched to these and have been very happy. They are lightweight but seem durable. They have great handling, especially in turns. Their rounded profiles are much preferred to the Kendas and their square-edged shoulders that resulted in sudden tip-in on turns. They mounted tubeless on my Stan's ZTR rims with minimal fuss. Traction is good wet or dry, upright or leaned into a turn. I particularly like that these Ramblers run so well on so many surfaces as most of my gravel rides are mixed-surface rides. One ride I do often transitions from asphalt to gravel and back again multiple times over the 35 or so miles and these tires handle those transitions without a blip. However, on really burly gravel these can get overwhelmed. I'm thinking here of gravel better negotiated with 2.4 or larger MTB tires. For everything else, though, the Ramblers excel and I'm willing to accept sketchy performance in extreme conditions for exceptional performance in all the other conditions I encounter.
Love these tires, they were a huge improvement over my old ones. They are 40mm, but seem to cling to the ground like they're a lot wider. I live in a dry area, so my experience has been on dry dirt paths, pea sized gravel, and forest floors with leaves and twigs. I don't have a reason to think the tires will perform poorly in mud, but I can't speak on that topic. One final thought: I haven't noticed much slowdown on paved roads. I do about 50/50% of dirt and pavement.
The Rambler are a nice addition to my old Trek of 20 years. i overhauled the entire bike stripping it down to the bare metal and rebuilding. the choice of the Rambler was a combination of fit, drive style, and changing conditions for winter commute. they work well with road commuting as well as trials along the Erie Canal. the tires look great on the bike and it is a wonderful addition. I have not set them up as TL but will plan to do that in the future.
This review is for the EXO/TR 700x45. Nice supple sidewall. Seems to have lower rolling resistance that WTB Riddler. Measures 44mm wide mounted to my rims, a couple mm less wide than the Riddlers. Good traction on hard pack dirt and easy single track.
