Help selecting first replacement tire for a gravel bike mainly used on road

[Porknz]

So I brought my bike in for a spring tune-up last weekend. Got a call this weekend that the tire I need to replace it is out of stock. I started researching online as I'm new to biking. Bike is a Salsa Journeyman Sora with 650b tires.

1. I ride almost completely on road, but unused country roads mostly. I don't want a full on gravel tire with big knobs, but I don't want a slick either. Any suggestions for almost all road riding while maintaining the ability to hop on a gravel road now and then?

2. As I am looking, I am also thinking, I have all of the tools to repair a flat in an emergency, but being new to cycling, I've never repaired a flat before, and am always worried about when I have to twenty miles from home by myself. Does this feel like a no brainer opportunity to do my first repair at home, with all the time that I need and to learn???

This is what is on there now. https://teravail.com/products/sparwood-tire#/

 

[JayKosta]

Have you ever removed or installed a bike tire? If not, I suggest you watch someone do it, or have them instruct you - the directions are simple, but the 'doing' can be difficult - especially with a 'tight fit'. Also, are your tires tubeless? If you carry a spare inner tube for on-the-road repair, you'll have to know how to handle the valve stem.
I've had good results with Continental wire rim bead road tires.

 

[King Boonen]

If you're sticking with Teravail, I think you'd be better off with the Ramparts based on your riding. I've ridden 23mm slicks on gravel in the past and regularly ride 25mm slicks. It's obviously not the best set up for gravel, but it works when the bike is set up for road riding and I fancy a detour.

Knobs on tires are only useful when they can dig into the surface. They are actually detrimental on tarmac, despite what a lot of people think. You can get tyre squirm, which is caused by traction being lost from one set of knobs and the tyre slipping until another set of knobs grip the road. If this happens at low speeds then generally the rear end of the bike just moves a bit. At high speeds it can cause you to fall.

When riding off-road, slick tyres will still grip a bit, as they can still bite into a softer surface, they just don't do it as well as knobbly tyres. If you are riding almost exclusively on tarmac, the logical choice is a tyre that will work best there and can function on gravel, rather than a tyre that will work well on gravel and be worse on tarmac.

Bigger volume tyres let you run lower pressures, which means slicker tyres will grip better off-road and you don't get the cons of running knobbly tyres on the road. The 47mm Ramparts fit this bill well.

 

[Black Betsy]

Had an urban nightcrawler bike, turned it to gravel slasher!

 

[Black Betsy]

Please point me towards an alu QR rear wheel 622X19 disc brake for my hybrid bike. Very very affordable! Thanks in advance!

 

[King Boonen]

Please point me towards an alu QR rear wheel 622X19 disc brake for my hybrid bike. Very very affordable! Thanks in advance!

Ask you LBS? They can probably get something very cheap and durable, usually cheaper than you can find in the big box stores.

 

[Black Betsy]

Ask you LBS? They can probably get something very cheap and durable, usually cheaper than you can find in the big box stores.

Already did without success (in a typical manner they blamed it on the "current situation" and they only had some carbon wheelset priced over 1000 euro, lol). Actually I bought a wheelset cheap (madspeed7) and while I'm very pleased with the front wheel, I can't say the same for the rear.

 

[ronwis0122]

Can a common man like me who earns a not-so-good amount of money buy a bike from Euro Bikes?