Supple gravel tires are crucial for a comfortable ride on bumpy gravel roads. And the more supple the tires, the more comfortable you can pedal along.
Up until now, the Soma Cazadero tires were my benchmark in terms of tire comfort. But this could now change as I got my hands on some Rene Herse Barlow Pass tires that are known to ride very smoothly…
Let the fight begin!
Three Supple Gravel Tires Tested
The Soma Cazadero has been one of my long-time favourite tires, and I use it almost every day. Even to the touch, the sidewalls feel soft and supple, which translates into a noticeably comfortable ride, especially at around 25 psi.
This tire handles dry, wet, muddy, and rough terrain exceptionally well, making it the benchmark for mixed-gravel riding.
I also appreciate how easy it is to mount tubeless on any rim, and the tires maintain air pressure reliably.
The main downside is on asphalt: the tire can be quite noisy, and the rolling resistance feels higher, giving the impression it might be slowing you down.
The Rene Herse Barlow Pass (Endurance casing) might just be the new comfort king. This 40mm-wide (measured*) semi-slick isn’t just comfortable, it’s impressively fast and runs remarkably quietly under you.
Rene Herse tires are known for their comfort, though subjectively, I still feel the Soma Cazadero has a slight edge.
In terms of grip, especially on slippery, muddy, or wet terrain, the Barlow Pass can’t match the Cazadero. You need to pick your line carefully, or risk ending up in the bushes!
Another key difference is tubeless setup. The Cazadero installs effortlessly, while the Barlow Pass is notoriously tricky. For the first time ever, I needed not just an air compressor, but also soapy water and an inner tube to get it properly seated.
*Although the Rene Herse Barlow Pass is labelled 38mm, when mounted on my 24mm internal-width rims, it measured 40mm.
I’m also testing the Schwalbe G-One Bite tires (40mm), which have received a lot of positive buzz.
In terms of comfort, they feel closer to lower-performing tires like the Panaracer GravelKing SK. However, when it comes to speed and grip, they sit somewhere between the Cazadero and Barlow Pass – fast and quiet, yet reasonably grippy in wet and muddy conditions.
Calculating The Appropriate Tire Pressures
When I compared the Soma Cazadero 42mm to the Panaracer GravelKing SK 42mm, I found that a more supple tire can reduce vibrations by around 13%, noticeably improving overall comfort.
These original tests were done at 30 psi, but I’ve since found that, for me, the ideal pressure for 42mm gravel tires is closer to 25 psi, balancing comfort, weight, and terrain performance.
I’ve also started applying Laplace’s law to ensure consistent casing tension across tires of different widths — you can read more about my calculations HERE.
For this test, I’ll run the Barlow Pass 40mm tires (measured) at 26.5 psi, and the Soma Cazadero 42mm tires at 25 psi, giving a fair comparison between the two.
The Test Bike Setup
I’m currently testing the Canyon Grail SLX 8.0 ETAP gravel bike and chose it for this tire comparison because its relatively stiff front end should make any differences in comfort between tires more noticeable.
To maximize comfort, I paired the Grail with my favourite Ergon Allroad Pro carbon seatpost and my Brooks C17 saddle.
The bike came with DT Swiss GRC1400 Spline DB wheels. They are light and stiff, which is ideal for highlighting how the tires themselves affect ride comfort.
Finally, the main comparison tests were conducted with all tires set up tubeless. I also tested the Schwalbe G-One with an inner tube to see whether running tubeless versus with a tube made any noticeable difference in comfort.
Vibration Test Results
You can see my vibration measurement procedure & outdoor test courses HERE.
On the bumpy forest trail, the front Barlow Pass tire matched the Cazadero in comfort, but on the fast gravel road, it outperformed the Cazadero, reducing vibrations by 9.5%.
The G-One Bite tire was noticeably less comfortable on the bumpy forest trail, about 9% worse than the Barlow Pass, and 11% less comfortable on the fast gravel road. Surprisingly, on the fast gravel, it came within just 2.5% of the Cazadero’s performance.
Running the Schwalbe G-One with an inner tube worked reasonably well on the forest trail, but transmitted about 3% more vibrations than the tubeless setup on the fast gravel road. While not a huge difference, I still recommend tubeless for the added protection against pinch flats.
At the rear, comfort differences between the tires were less pronounced. On the bumpy forest trail, both the Cazadero and Barlow Pass transmitted about 4% fewer vibrations than the G-One Bite, and on the fast gravel road, they were around 2% lower.
As noted earlier, these small differences are likely influenced by the extra-comfortable Ergon Allroad Pro carbon seatpost and Brooks C17 saddle fitted to the test bike.
Summary
If you’re looking for the best all-around performance or the best balance of speed, grip, and comfort, the Soma Cazadero still sets the benchmark. Sure, there are faster tires, but you’ll have to compromise either comfort (G-One Bite) or grip (Barlow Pass).
If your priority is pure comfort, the Rene Herse Barlow Pass is hard to beat. It’s an incredibly impressive tire.
My search isn’t over, though. There are plenty of other interesting tires to test, and it may only be a matter of time before I find something that outperforms both the Barlow Pass and the Cazadero.
You can support the CyclingAbout Comfort Lab by purchasing Soma Cazadero tires on Amazon. Simply click HERE for 700C x 42mm, HERE for 650B x 42mm, and HERE for 650B x 50mm, and a small commission will come our way.
