Yes yes…. I know. Another gravel tire discussion. Would love to hear your feedback and honest reviews on the following tires. I've got it nailed down to the three listed below. I know there are others but I'm honestly just interested in the 3 mentioned. I ride 75% road and 25% gravel in Central Texas. Country back roads consist of chipseal at best and they are in pretty rough condition. Those same roads turn into some pretty crappy rocky and dirt roads. Looking for overall best fast rolling with decent puncture protection. Love to hear your feedback if you have ridden the following tires. I'm riding a Marin Headlands. Tire clearance is 700×45 max. Currently running TPU tubes and will be tubeless soon.
Panaracer Gravelking as 700×40
Specialized Pathfinder Pro S Works 700×42
Schwalbe G one RS 700×40
by dlreviews
20 Comments
I like the Sworks pathfinder pros, I just got some Zipp G40’s that have been working quite well.
I think these are all good tires for the use case you describe.
I have close to 3k miles on a set of pathfinders (47, non-S-works) doing everything: commuting, road, lots of gravel, bikepacking). I feel like they are a good all-around mix of fast rolling, decent grip, puncture protection.
I have the G-one RS on a different, newer bike. I really like them so far. I think the consensus is they are faster rolling than the pathfinders.
Have not ridden the panaracers.
Based on the picture – do you own all three of these tires already? Can you just ride them all and see what you like?
I’ve been riding G-One RS tubeless setup with Silica’s sealant. So far 2000km with no punctures that I know of.
If it’s crappy rocks as you describe it, Pathfinders. I love my RS but in limited windows of terrain…it can get a bit sketchy otherwise
I, too run the Sworks Pathfinders. They inflate larger than 42mm on most wheelsets (mine measure about 46mm). They’re great all-rounders. I’ve run them on smooth trails of Southern California and the rough tracks of Southern Utah and Northern Arizona. They are truly a tire that does it all. I run them with Orange Seal and never flatted.
I’m running those schwalbe’s in tubeless mode. I absolutely love them.
You should hade Tufo Thundero on your list. Check bicycle rolling resistance dot com.
Rode 4000km on Pathfinder Pro’s 42mm. Not a single flat. Great rolling and puncture proof. Liked them a lot.
Last year rode for about 4000km with G One RS 45mm. Only one small puncture but sealant took care of it. Liked them even more than the Pathfinders, they are more supple, give more comfort, feel faster and give more confidence in the corners. They do wear out faster, probably due to softer compound. Schwalbe released a Pro version wich should have better puncture protection.
This spring Im testing Continental Terra Speed 45mm, if I dont like them I will go back to the Schwalbes.
I just started riding the Schwalbe G-One RS 700×40 ( about 100 miles in ) and really like them so far. They actually feel faster than my previous tires ( Renee Herse Barlow Pass 700×38 endurance casing ) which were slicks though that could just be perception as I haven’t had a chance to compare metrics yet.
I’m riding pretty well maintained dirt – some potholes and loose rocks but mainly hard pack. Too early for much feedback on puncture resistance. I never had problems on the same route with the Renee Herse and Stan’s sealant. Hopefully the Schwalbes with orange seal will be just as reliable.
Maybe you can try [this ones](https://csttires.eu/tirent/). They will definitely be the next ones I buy. For what I do I also have a great need for protection from punctures. At the moment I use the marathon plus and it does not get punctured at all (even when cycling on uncultivated land with thorns) but forget about performance.
I used to have the Gravel Kings on my Surly. They were great.
But now I have Pathfinder Pros on both my bikes. I ride on gravel, roads, everything using those tires.
Pathfinders are a no brainer if you need to just have a set and forget tire that can handle nearly everything. it’s only drawback is sizes as it is technically behind the trend of 50+ mm tires now. There is a reason this tire is so popular though, it just works. I’m also a HUGE fan of pure gravel slicks in mega volume sizes and just running like 23psi to obtain my grip, keep my speed high and the cloud effect on point. You’ll lose some cornering grip which is to be expected.
All will be good. I didn’t like GravelKing SS’s; got WAY too many punctured with them for the price tag. Set up tubeless (with Stan’s) they seemed to almost never seal themselves and would have to be plugged.
I’ve not used the S-works pathfinders, but the standard ones are my favorite all-around tire when set up tubeless. Well over 2k miles on them and have only had to use a single plug. Their tread life is really great as well. I fully expect to get 4-5k miles out of them.
Gravel king SS+’s set up tubeless are bulletproof as far as puncture protection goes in my experience. I run 43c at 40 psi and the ride comfort is good. As far as tire weight goes I’m always willing to sacrifice that for puncture protection. Most riders would benefit more from losing 5 lbs of body weight than cutting a few grams of tire weight. Just my humble opinion though.
Have tried all of the aforementioned, even the same size
Prefer the G one rs because of their speed on tarmac. Faster the s-works pathfinders.
No fast as any chance… but i love my rambler 45, even for tarmac
None of the above. For your mix, and with the gravel being street roads, that I would recommend slicks in the 36-40mm range.
Challenge strada bianca pro, for example
The Pathfinders. No regrets.
Ran the Pathfinders for the past years (47mm). Just jumped on 45mm G-One RS, and holy moly are they fast!
The German Tire is the best Tire!