2 Test rim: Stan’s NOTUBES Grail 622 x 20.3 C (Rim height 24.5 mm) Made in Thailand | Tested size 42-622 | Tire width in mm¹ 41.7 | Tire height in mm¹ 40.9 | Tire height + test rim in mm² 64.9 | Weight 568 g | Price € 41.90ġ messured dimension with 2.5 bar. However, it has problems when braking and unfortunately, this gravel tire is only available in a limited range of sizes. The Specialized Pathfinder Pro is fast and with its unique road bike character is particularly fun in the corners. The Pathfinder doesn’t like damp rocks or roots and tends to spin out. Uphill, it only works when things are completely dry. However, on gravel, the tire locks up quickly and loses grip. Thanks to the continuous tread in the middle there’s lots of grip available for heavy braking on asphalt. Pure riding fun! Thanks to the numerous shoulder knobs, grip is distributed evenly and even if you set up for the corner incorrectly, you can correct your line without sliding out. Corner coming up? Then with the Pathfinder, you can forget about normal steering! Just shift your weight and lean into the corner like you would on your road bike. However, once the Pathfinder is up to speed, it rolls extremely fast and efficiently, regardless of whether you’re on the road or gravel. From a standstill, this tire isn’t the best at accelerating due to its weight. I'm pretty sure the large volume is a big reason for this.īoth the 29" big apple and the 26" fat frank are in 2.35, which I guess is like a 60 for width.Despite being the heaviest gravel tire in our group test, the Pathfinder really cleans up in the lab: third-lowest rolling resistance, good snakebite resistance and top marks for puncture protection. This is literally the first set of tires I've ever used that I could drop the psi down to 30, and actually gain those greater footing and traction benefits, without feeling like I'm riding in mud. PSI versatility: A+ I'm a big guy, usually a tire losing even 10 psi turns it into a mush fest for me. Speed: A+ without a doubt, and confirmed by my commute mates, the fastest tires I've had on this bike. Potholes: A+, the 29" wheel plus some of the largest tires that arent a 29+ allow me to roll right over a lot of potholes I'd hate to hit on small tires. On my 26" wheels I've been similarly pleased with the fat franks.įlat protection: A (haven't had one yet, but at least in theory a bigger tire will have greater chance to encounter a puncturing object, so I guess the risk might be more). The balloon road tire isn't the best on the loose stuff, but is the best at everything else for me. I switched to schwalbe big apples this last spring, and have no plans of going back except for winter riding. I commute over what I would generously term "a variety of road conditions and states of repair" that ranges from chip seal, loose gravel, to potholes everywhere. This is stuff that would have flatted my older tires weekly, assuming I hadn't already fallen several times. I've even felt confident riding the unpaved sorta grassy-gravelly roadsides that pass for "sidewalks" in some parts of Texas, in preference to narrow busy streets with no shoulders or safety buffer. Now that I've been riding again only 3 weeks after a long hiatus I'm not dreading the unavoidable patches of sand and loose gravel, ruts, etc. I didn't dare ride on the very rough gravel roads around my grandparents' rural Texas home - I tried a couple of times and barely made 200 yards before I was constantly dabbing my toes down to keep balance. This stuff used to feel very sketchy on my Motobecane Mirage.Įven when I was experienced and riding daily I dumped the Motobecane a few times rounding corners and hitting patches of loose gravel or narrow ruts. Coming from old road bike 27 x 1-1/4" tires, the 700x38 Specialized Hemisphere tires that came with my Globe Carmel feel much more stable on patches of sand and loose gravel, narrow ruts that suddenly deflect the wheel and other traps. 700c x 38 feels like a good compromise between low rolling resistance and cushiony stability.
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