French tire brand Hutchinson has introduced its new Touareg gravel bike product line.

The Touareg is targeted at riders traveling off-pavement and is available in three sizes. Hutchinson engineers had two clear desires when trying to make the Touareg the best gravel tire available.

Recognizing that gravel bikers are becoming more daring in their choice of off-road routes, Hutchinson wanted to create a tire that would provide traction on gravel trails, with sufficient deceleration and reliable handling.

The Touareg's tread design features a tight center block for the best trade-off between rolling efficiency and brake bite. At the edges of this gravel tire, the tread blocks are noticeably larger, which improves cornering stability.

The diversity of rubber compounds also helps to provide the best gravel tire for Hutchinson: most of the Touareg tread blocks are 60 ShA durometer grade rubber for durability, while the edge blocks are 50 ShA for softer This improves grip when cornering at moderate to medium lean angles.

Hutchinson's material experts determined the overall casing specification for the Touareg to be 127 tpi. To improve the tire's puncture resistance in off-road conditions, tubeless compatibility and branded hard-skin reinforcements were added.

The Touareg lineup comes in three sizes. Hutchinson's 700c diameter version of the Touareg is available in both 40mm and 45mm widths, and these weight specifications are 490g and 550g respectively.

Gravel riders who desire a more voluminous Touareg tire for better ride comfort and traction can opt for the 650b size with a 47mm tread width. This is the largest casing Hutchinson offers for its Touareg gravel tires, weighing 585 g.

Style-conscious gravel bikers can opt for a tanwall finish on Hutchinson's Touareg tires, but this is purely a cosmetic upgrade. This is purely a visual upgrade. Touareg gravel tires with a tanwall finish are no lighter than Hutchinson's black finish option.

The new Hutchinson Touareg is priced at €37, and each tire is handmade in France.