700 x 45mm - Black Hutchinson Caracal Race Gravel Tires on a set of Reserve 40|44 wheels (Inner Width - Front 25.5mm, Rear 25mm). The front tire measures just over 48mm on my wheels at 35 PSI, so they do run big.
I almost immediately set out on a 340 mile fast bikepacking trip. I had no punctures over the three days and these rolled fast on the gravel and crushed stone of the C&O Canal Towpath and the Great Allegheny Passage trail.
These more than met my expectations for a fast gravel / mixed tarmac surface tire to use in dry weather.
I believe I would want more tread in muddy or slippery conditions!
I bought a set of these in the 45mm tan wall spec. These tires are definitely hard to mount, and if you're wondering why, it's because they are flat like a lasagna noodle due to the manufacturing process. The tire wants to lay flat, rather than arch up and press the bead into the wheel itself. Soapy water will help, and you may want to consider letting the tires sit in the sun for a bit to soften up.
Now that the tires are on, they have held sealant and air exceptionally well.
I've run them for about 200 miles on a mixture of gravel surfaces, pavement, and even a little of what we call Class IV/VI roads in the NH/VT area. The bike is a Cannondale SuperSix Evo CX/SE. With a total system weight of about 180lbs/82kg, I've been playing with pressures between low 20psi and low 30psi. The lower pressure offers quite a lot of comfort and grip without feeling sluggish or unresponsive. The higher pressure honestly doesn't feel like it's worth the trade on comfort and grip, but it is probably technically faster. Somewhere in the middle is likely best for me and my weight. I haven't run these in the wet yet at all, so I can't speak to that performance. I probably won't, since this is my fair weather speedy bike.
Would buy these again without hesitation, unless I just wanted to try something else.
I have tubeless on my road, MTB and gravel bikes. Use Stans sealant on all 3. Easy to use this for new tire set up and to add an ounce or 2 with injector thru the valve which I do about every 3 months. I have had bad luck this season with a number of pin hole punctures on my road and gravel bikes once I put over 500 miles on each set of tires. The Stans sealant squirts out all over the bike and me and hasn't sealed once.
I was able to plug the holes with bacon strips although the holes were really pin pricks. The sealant then holds on the strip. I have always used Stans, but may try some of the others to see if they seal holes better. My road and gravel bikes were new this past year and both came with Vittoria tires. May switch back to Michelin or Continental as they seem to have better wear life and more robust puncture resistance although I have enjoyed how the Vittoria's run with the Stans from a performance standpoint.
These work great and are a great replacement for the presta they replaced. Be wary of psi difference needed to inflate to open the valve when measuring your pressures at the valve, if you have an internal pressure measuring device then it won't matter. More brands are starting to support Clik as a standard. The only downside is that the valve/dust covers are not compatible with normal screw on, but are snap on. So if you have fancy or color matching valve caps/tools you can't use them unless someone 'makes' an adapter.
