New Sworks Pathfinder Tire

[spartacus]

My set is here but my gravel H have only a couple rides on them and are finally fully sealed so I don't know if it's worth swapping...

[henau212]

Just received mine.
The thread is definitely less aggressive than Pathfinder Pro.

Just received mine. One is 444 and one 430... profile is way thinner than the GOneR I am running atm. More like TS or Gravel H. Which works for me. Will try them in April, tue GOneR got some time left.

[FlatlandClimber]

The hire side knobs are what lifts this above the TS for me. The low knobs on the TR make it corner poorely on mud of loose stuff.

[cycleboyco]

@FlatandClimber, what's your opinion on the G-One Rs, especially how they compare to the TS and Pathfinder Pros?

I have a set of the G-One Rs I will probably put on one set of wheels. Mounted a S-Works Pathfinder yesterday-pretty easy on a Roval CLX as one would hope and seated with just a floor pump. Crossing my fingers that the S-Works Pathfinder is robust enough for Unbound 100-I have a set of the Pathfnder Pro 42s that I ordered right before the S-Works came out. Was going to return them, but may hang onto them in case the S-Works proves too fragile before Unbound.

[henau212]

@FlatandClimber, what's your opinion on the G-One Rs, especially how they compare to the TS and Pathfinder Pros?

I have a set of the G-One Rs I will probably put on one set of wheels. Mounted a S-Works Pathfinder yesterday-pretty easy on a Roval CLX as one would hope and seated with just a floor pump. Crossing my fingers that the S-Works Pathfinder is robust enough for Unbound 100-I have a set of the Pathfnder Pro 42s that I ordered right before the S-Works came out. Was going to return them, but may hang onto them in case the S-Works proves too fragile before Unbound.

Atm, the GOneR ist my favorite tire. Way more predictable grip and more durable than the TS (I am at 3k now, the TS was done under 2k) and yes, the tire is fast. I never used Pathfinders though. So I am really curious to try out my S Works.. From the looks the profile on the GOneR is deeper. I am kind of worried about ascents on lose grounds though as there is no profile in the middle section. But we will see...

[cycleboyco]

@FlatandClimber, what's your opinion on the G-One Rs, especially how they compare to the TS and Pathfinder Pros?

I have a set of the G-One Rs I will probably put on one set of wheels. Mounted a S-Works Pathfinder yesterday-pretty easy on a Roval CLX as one would hope and seated with just a floor pump. Crossing my fingers that the S-Works Pathfinder is robust enough for Unbound 100-I have a set of the Pathfnder Pro 42s that I ordered right before the S-Works came out. Was going to return them, but may hang onto them in case the S-Works proves too fragile before Unbound.

Atm, the GOneR ist my favorite tire. Way more predictable grip and more durable than the TS (I am at 3k now, the TS was done under 2k) and yes, the tire is fast. I never used Pathfinders though. So I am really curious to try out my S Works.. From the looks the profile on the GOneR is deeper. I am kind of worried about ascents on lose grounds though as there is no profile in the middle section. But we will see...

Thanks for the feedback, will set-up the GOneRs as well so I can compare to the SW Pathfinder.

[thumper88]

@FlatandClimber, what's your opinion on the G-One Rs, especially how they compare to the TS and Pathfinder Pros?
I have a set of the G-One Rs I will probably put on one set of wheels. Mounted a S-Works Pathfinder yesterday-pretty easy on a Roval CLX as one would hope and seated with just a floor pump. Crossing my fingers that the S-Works Pathfinder is robust enough for Unbound 100-I have a set of the Pathfnder Pro 42s that I ordered right before the S-Works came out. Was going to return them, but may hang onto them in case the S-Works proves too fragile before Unbound.

OK, sorry in advance for the length....

Ive got mine and mounted them. They went onto AR 3.4s pretty easily without much persuading and blasted onto the bead with the least volume I've ever had to use.  One sealed instantly, the other after an overnight and a couple spins. So far so good. 46.25mm at 60psi while I let them stretch, 45mm-plus afterwards at 30 psi, exactly what I hoped.
The weight is impressive also.
Not much tread, getting pretty close to file tread level here but that's OK for many races.
My hope from start wasn't that these would be a viable replacement for my Pros -- which I will continue to use on gnarly courses like Unbound -- but that they would essentially be that high-volume Terra Speed that Continental stubbornly so far has refused to build.

BUT the jury is out until someone lab tests the S-Works Pathfinder rolling resistance. And here's why I'm not leaping to automatic judgement that they are faster than Pros:
1) Bicycle tire rolling resistance did a recent test of a new S-works MTB tire with the same two rubber compounds and it was ...slow. Like, 30w versus 20w for the fast tires in its category. He was a bit surprised and disappointed.
2) They seem to have a thoroughly different construction. They are NOT built like the Pros. Thinner all around, sure. But material feels completely different. Tire is slightly more plasticky and slightly less rubbery if that makes sense. That begs the question of whether they might be more like that racey MTB tire that didn't test out, and less like the Pathfinder Pro.
3) Specialized's marketing people can be .... let's just say "enthusiastic." And unusually effective at persuading me to buy their products.

My gut is ...it won't get down to Terra Speed rolling resistance levels, but if it drops a couple of watts off the Pathfinder Pro I'd be happy to have it for tame surfaces such as SBT and to get a bit of additional boost off the volume and less weight.
But compounds can make a shocking amount of different in rolling resistance... suppleness is hardly the ballgame. And so I wouldn't be shocked if they're NOT faster than the pros. Disappointed but not completely surprised.
As to robustsness ...
I've finished Unbound 200 three times and this just isn't a tire I would use there. I don't doubt Specialized's claims that the puncture resistance is good (especially for its weight) but this is usually lab tested with pointy objects, or at best things that simply aren't like flint rocks. My sense is the tires that do best at Unbound not only have puncture and cut resistance, but frankly have slightly thicker than race-day-only sidewalls that take some doing for a blade-like rock to cut through. Think about it like this -- enough thickness and you don't need a puncture belt at all with something relatively sharp that also has a lot of area the tire can deform around. Not that I want a tire like that, but you get the point. An icepick in a lab meanwhile might go right through a thick wall of rubber... 
Two different ways of trying to puncture a tire that aren't equivalent. In short, lab puncture tests probably are increasingly less reliable as a yardstick as the gnarliness of the surface increases. Better maybe when thinking about nails, weird metal on the road etc.

[cycleboyco]

@thumper88, thanks for your detailed thoughts. Makes sense-may actually set-up both the Pathfinder Pros and the S-Works Pathfinder and use the heavier Pros at Unbound and S-Works at SBT. Maybe the S-Works for Crusher as it would be nice to have a lighter tire-will have to go test that smooth center strip on some steeper, looser ascents and descents.

[rjich]

I had the pathfinder Pro38, using predominantly on tarmac and some gravel path track. Nice tire. Felt quick but I ended up moving to the terra speeds for more width and less weight (so I thought but they were v similar to 38c pathfinder)
Terra speed felt faster in straight line than the pathfinder. Cornering on road when especially damp is not great with terra speed and I've nearly lost the front a few times.
Will be retiring my terra speed to dustier requirements.
Just purchased these s works Pathfinder and some Soma Vitesse 48c so will see how they go!

[CampagYOLO]

It'd be interesting to compare these tyres with the Specialized Sawtooth as I feel that they operate in the same sphere.
Sure the Pathfinders are lighter but I wonder how the rolling resistance compares.

[thumper88]

It'd be interesting to compare these tyres with the Specialized Sawtooth as I feel that they operate in the same sphere.
Sure the Pathfinders are lighter but I wonder how the rolling resistance compares.

The Pathfinder Pro is a better comparison for Sawtooth. Prob same carcass.

[borist]

I managed to grab a pair of these. I have Roval Terra CLs, but have not mounted yet - will report back when they're on.

As Thumper88 pointed out... I'll likely use them for Gravel Locos (mainly just hard pack) and SBT... but for Unbound I'm going with something more solid. I feel like adding a few hundred grams isnt too bad if you can avoid a major sidewall cut.

[jacobeh]

Got a pair of these and the initial impression is that they mount tubeless as easy/hard as the PROs - I always put a tube in first and let it sit a couple of hours before I set it up tubeless, but in this way I can always just use a floorpump for popping the tire on afterwards

After the first ride (~50km) I will say the thing I noticed the most is the ride quality which is much better than the PROs, which felt very harsh and stiff to ride even at low pressure (I ran both the PROs and now the S-Works at 1.8bar@74kg). The S-Works also feels like they don't bounce as much on rough terrain, which results in better control of the bike. This could also just be because my PROs were quite worn (~8000km), but I do recall that even as new the PROs rode quite harsh. Of the tires I've ridden I would think it resembles the Conti Terra Speed the most in regard to ride quality

My concern with the S-Works is how well they wear and their puncture protection - my PROs had ~8000km on them with just 1 puncture and that happened recently on the center-thread where the wear-indicator was almost gone

[ryanw]

Just bought some of these too. Interested to see how they compare to my plethora of RH tyres.

[ccie6872]

Weird, for me I have been struggling getting them to hold air (tubeless) on ENVE G23. I had terraspeed 40's on the G23's w/o any issue prior. Will remove, clean up and probably add second layer of tape to see if it helps. Been awhile since I had any issues with a tubeless setup (12+ pair of various tires/wheels)..