Review: Bontrager Girona RSL GR Tires

Bontrager’s gravel tire lineup had been the same for a long time. But, when you have a great tires like the GR1 and GR2, you can sit on them awhile. No product team in the bike industry is ever willing to leave good enough alone and Trek has upped their gravel tire game with the Bontrager Girona RSL GR and Betasso RSL GX tires. For over two months, I have been exclusively riding the Girona RSL GR 700×42 tires here in the Wasatch and in the Southern Utah desert and they are fast, smooth and grippy on everything but loose climbs.

Bontrager Girona RSL GR TLR Tires Features:

• Fast-rolling tread for speed and grip in mixed conditions
• Bead-to-bead puncture protection
• Gravel Dual-Compound with fast rolling center and more compliant shoulder treads
• 220 tpi. RSL casing
• Tubeless-ready
• Available in 35, 38 and 42mm widths
• Weight: 505 grams (42c, actual)
• MSRP: $69.99

Zippy on the road and fast on gravel

Personally, I’m loving the latest crop of fast-rolling gravel tires. The beauty is they aren’t just file treads or simply oversized road tires — they are purpose-built tires to roll fast on road and fast gravel yet still provide enough chutzpah to tackle rough terrain. The new Bontrager Girona RSL represents the best of this genre and is also representative of Trek’s latest tire innovations. I loaded them up on the Bontrager Aeolus Pro 37V wheelset and proceeded to rip up everything “gravel” that Utah has to offer from Southern Utah’s red dirt to rocky singletrack of the Wasatch Mountains.

As luck would have it, the Girona RSL 42c tires arrived just before a trip to St George. A quick and painless install resulted in a plump, full tire on the Aeolus Pro 37V wheels with their 25mm internal girth. I installed them without tools and inflated them using a standard floor pump. Once inflated, they initially measured out to 43mm wide and settled in at 44mm, which could cause clearance problems with some gravel frames, but works like a charm on the Open WI.DE.

That added width slows things down on road approaches, right? Wrong. On the exact same road approaches, I’m rolling faster than the Zipp 353’s with WTB Vulpine 40’s — and that’s saying a lot. The fast-rolling center tread pattern on the Girona RSL GR does a fantastic job of mimicking a road tire on both pavement and buffed out gravel tracks. On fast and relatively-smooth, desert gravel, I was immediately impressed. Sandy sections were floaty and the only negative I found was on loose climbs. The combination of the high-volume tires and compliant wheels smoothed out washboards as well.

Returning to the Wasatch, the gravel terrain is a mixed-bag of road, gravel and singletrack. From the house, I have a smorgasbord of options, so it was time to push these treads to their limits. Some of the trails weren’t quite rideable, so I happily spent a little more time on the road than usual until everything dried out. Once that happened, I’ve been able to link together some of my favorite routes — getting into terrain best-suited for a mountain bike. On more technical climbs, the Girona RSL’s do snake their way through step-ups and rocky terrain up until the point where a standing climb is needed. In those times, if the trail is loose, the shortcomings of the center pattern do come to light.

Losing traction on steep and loose climbs isn’t unexpected with the Girona RSL’s tread pattern. But, I’ll take that compromise all day long because they roll so fast and confidently elsewhere. Further, when descending the same aforementioned climb yielded my fastest time yet. The added width and capable, softer side knobs grip the terrain with panache when snaking through curvy gravel roads or snaky singletrack.

I’ve been tinkering with tire pressures and have settled in around 36/38 psi. I know I could go lower, but even at those pressures, I have bottomed-out the rear tire on a few square-edged bumps. That’s enough to give me pause reducing pressure any further. But, if I could promise to never hit a sharp-edge of granite slab, I would drop a couple more psi just for added grip.

The 220 tpi casing is compliant and also protective. Dings and dabs on the tires and wheels have yielded no adverse consequences. With bead-to-bead puncture and pinch-flat protection, I feel confident tackling chunky trails and coming out on the other side unscathed. So far, so good. I’ve had no issues whatsoever. Additionally, tire pressures are maintained well between rides with only a small amount of lost pressure. Looking over the treads, they are wearing well and I would assume these to last several seasons of use.

Setup: I’m 5’11” and 175 lbs and have been riding the Girona RSL 42’s aboard the Bontrager Aeolus Pro 37V’s, which feature a 25mm internal width. Tire pressures have been 36/38 psi, set up with 3 oz of Bontrager tubeless sealant.

Buy Now: Available from TrekBikes.com