Gravel tire rolling resistance tested

[rjich]

I like the idea of the RH tires simply for lightweight and reported comfort, as I don't and will never race anyone. It's just whether they are worth near 3* the current cost of gravelking (presumably not). Similar to a Rapha branded anything I'd guess.
A couple of psi can probably help mimic most of the feel due to the volume of these tires. I will check out the terra speeds. My pathfinder pro are a bit porky at 480g or so a 38c tire although they zoom.

[Marin]

https://www.velonews.com/gear/tech-wear ... -patching/

"Just staying up near the top of the results and not coming near the slowest tires in the test, the Challenge Strada Bianca Pro TLR 36 tire in our test would require 6 watts less to roll at 35kph than a Challenge Gravel Grinder Pro TLR 36 or a Schwalbe G-One R Evo Super Race TLE 40, 7 watts less than a Panaracer Gravel King SS 38 TLC, and 8 watts less than a Specialized Tracer Pro TLR 42, a Schwalbe G-One Speed Evo Super Ground TLE 38, a Specialized Pathfinder Pro TLR 42, or a WTB Byway TCS 34. "

So Lennard kinda leaked the results from behind the Velonews paywall

[cbro]

They didn't test the Conti Terra Speed, which seems like an oversight.

[Miller]

Terra Speed has been tested throughout as the fastest or second fastest tire, with very low weight but also very high wear and little puncture protection. Modest tread, and with little asphalt should last a decently long time.

On one set of wheels I've been running Terra Trail front and Terra Speed rear. It's a nice combination and subjectively feels fast for 40mm tyres with knobbles, albeit polite knobbles. I haven't ever flatted the Speed even over some rough surfaces although it did catch a slit on a flint a few weeks back. Sealant would hold 20psi so I got home fine and was able to fix it later with a sticky worm. One notable thing about the Speed is that it weeps sealant through the carcass at multiple points round the tyre and, I think as a consequence, loses pressure at a faster rate than the Trail.

[TobinHatesYou]

I didn’t have puncture issues with Terra Speeds either and I also found the wear rate on mixed surfaces acceptable. No sealant weeping here. In fact, mine do a fairly nice job of staying inflated during periods of neglect.

[pdlpsher1]

My 700c Speeds weep sealants all over the place but my 650b Speeds don’t. Very weird.


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[rjich]

I purchased some terra speed 40c. They feel at least as good as the pathfinder pro perhaps more supple in my placebo laden head.
They look great and apparently are hardy.
They weren't much lighter though at around 465 and 470 per tyre. It seems all the terra speeds have the ProTection belt inside now which seems to add about 60g on the first published weights without.

[jromano89]

The VeloNews gravel tire test is very interesting because they use the same protocol as their roubaix tire test. The gap between a fast gravel tire and a GP5000 TL is smaller than I expected.

Does anyone have experience with both the 38mm and 42mm sizes in the Pathfinder Pros? I'm currently running the 42mm which are great overall, but feel a hair slower than my old Terra Speeds. However, according to these results, the 38mm version is considerably faster.

[yinzerniner]

The VeloNews gravel tire test is very interesting because they use the same protocol as their roubaix tire test. The gap between a fast gravel tire and a GP5000 TL is smaller than I expected.

Does anyone have experience with both the 38mm and 42mm sizes in the Pathfinder Pros? I'm currently running the 42mm which are great overall, but feel a hair slower than my old Terra Speeds. However, according to these results, the 38mm version is considerably faster.

Yeah they rank the tires and include numbers on PSI and rolling resistance but don't exactly go much deeper into why certain tires are ranked faster than others. Case in point (last four colums are RR at 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5bar pressure)
#2 Specialized Pathfinder Pro TLR 38mm 38mm 492g 32.0w 28.3w 23.2w 18.9w
#5 Schwalbe G-One R Evo Super Race TLE 40mm 40mm 500g 31.0w 28.2w 25.8w 21.8w
Based on the numbers above it seems like the G-One should be ranked just about the same if not higher than the Pathfinder, as it's a larger tire and it rolls just as fast if not faster in the 2-3bar pressure range where these tires will live.

One thing of note from the VN tests is that their results rank the tires but the numbers are tough to correlate. Also they don't state how they normalize for tire drop/casing tension/comfort level on the different sized tires - eg a ~36mm tire at ~50psi should have the same casing tension as a ~40mm tire at ~42psi, or thereabouts.

And for those who haven't seen the full results yet, remember that "reader mode" is your friend

[jromano89]

Yeah they rank the tires and include numbers on PSI and rolling resistance but don't exactly go much deeper into why certain tires are ranked faster than others. Case in point (last four colums are RR at 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5bar pressure)
#2 Specialized Pathfinder Pro TLR 38mm 38mm 492g 32.0w 28.3w 23.2w 18.9w
#5 Schwalbe G-One R Evo Super Race TLE 40mm 40mm 500g 31.0w 28.2w 25.8w 21.8w
Based on the numbers above it seems like the G-One should be ranked just about the same if not higher than the Pathfinder, as it's a larger tire and it rolls just as fast if not faster in the 2-3bar pressure range where these tires will live.

One thing of note from the VN tests is that their results rank the tires but the numbers are tough to correlate. Also they don't state how they normalize for tire drop/casing tension/comfort level on the different sized tires - eg a ~36mm tire at ~50psi should have the same casing tension as a ~40mm tire at ~42psi, or thereabouts.

And for those who haven't seen the full results yet, remember that "reader mode" is your friend

Good point about normalizing the tire pressure. That explains why the GK 43 tested faster than the GK 40, because at the same tire pressure the casing tension will be higher on the more volumous tire. However, it makes the Pathfinder Pro discrepency even more absurd! 5+ watts at the same tire pressure is quite a difference that I haven't seen mentioned anywhere else.

[Marin]

And for those who haven't seen the full results yet, remember that "reader mode" is your friend

awesome

[JWTS]

And for those who haven't seen the full results yet, remember that "reader mode" is your friend

leave it to a yinzer...pure genius there (was unawares of reader mode...)

The data are interesting, but honestly I don't think there's much new ground here compared to Jarno's bicycle rolling resistance site. The relative rankings are roughly the same, but he includes more data (such as actual widths, albeit on an ancient rim) and some data on puncture resistance. He actually measures tread and sidewall thickness instead of saying things like this: "The Specialized Pathfinder Pro 38mm tire was the second-fastest in our test. We did not test for durability, but this tire is arguably more puncture-resistant than the fastest Challenge due to its thicker rubber."

Actual measurements of the tread show the Challenge has thicker tread, and the test puncture resistance is roughly the same.

BRR also notes that the Terra Speed 35 and 40 seem to be a bit differnt in contruction, the latter being a much more robust tire (though still very fast). Honestly, if the tread on the 40mm Terra Speed is suitable for conditions and you don't need more side knob, this tire is hard to beat. Crazy fast and excellent puncture resistance. If you need side knobs, the Michelin Power Gravel seems like the best option. And all of those tires are conspicuously absent. They basically tested a bunch of tires from Challenge, Specialized and WTB, with one or two randos tossed in.

[mathias720]

I am currently looking at a new set of tire for my crux.
currently running gravelking SS 38. Looking at changing to Terra speed 40mm or RH steilacoom(extra lite)
both should give more grip, but cant figure about the rolling resistance, of the steilacoom in extralite casing vs. GK SS? anyone tried both.
currently leaning to RH because of the weight.
all the test i find of Reneherse is of the endurance casing.
riding will be gravel with maybe 10-20% asphalt.

also for the reneherse steilacoom.
is the extralite Tan lighter than Extralite black.
i know for some companies(most) the tan version is lighter than black even though they always state same weight for both colors on their sites

Terra Speed has been tested throughout as the fastest or second fastest tire, with very low weight but also very high wear and little puncture protection. Modest tread, and with little asphalt should last a decently long time.
Gravel King SS has very little tread, and will roll slower but most likely have better flat protection. Also last longer and cost less.
RH is VERY high priced with great looks and ride feel but won't roll as fast as Terra Speed, poor flat protection and high cost. The variations in manufacturing will account for more weight difference than black vs tan sidewalls.

So to break down the three choices:
-Brain says Terra Speed
-Wallet says Gravelking
-Heart says RH

Problem with test of RH is it all the regular og endurance casing. i cant find any test on the extralite casing?

[CampagYOLO]

And for those who haven't seen the full results yet, remember that "reader mode" is your friend

leave it to a yinzer...pure genius there (was unawares of reader mode...)

The data are interesting, but honestly I don't think there's much new ground here compared to Jarno's bicycle rolling resistance site. The relative rankings are roughly the same, but he includes more data (such as actual widths, albeit on an ancient rim) and some data on puncture resistance. He actually measures tread and sidewall thickness instead of saying things like this: "The Specialized Pathfinder Pro 38mm tire was the second-fastest in our test. We did not test for durability, but this tire is arguably more puncture-resistant than the fastest Challenge due to its thicker rubber."

Actual measurements of the tread show the Challenge has thicker tread, and the test puncture resistance is roughly the same.

BRR also notes that the Terra Speed 35 and 40 seem to be a bit differnt in contruction, the latter being a much more robust tire (though still very fast). Honestly, if the tread on the 40mm Terra Speed is suitable for conditions and you don't need more side knob, this tire is hard to beat. Crazy fast and excellent puncture resistance. If you need side knobs, the Michelin Power Gravel seems like the best option. And all of those tires are conspicuously absent. They basically tested a bunch of tires from Challenge, Specialized and WTB, with one or two randos tossed in.

I've been using the 40mm Power Gravel's for a while. Pretty impressed with them, fast on the tarmac and good grip off road, even in light mud.

[tritiltheend]

The VeloNews gravel tire test is very interesting because they use the same protocol as their roubaix tire test. The gap between a fast gravel tire and a GP5000 TL is smaller than I expected.

Does anyone have experience with both the 38mm and 42mm sizes in the Pathfinder Pros? I'm currently running the 42mm which are great overall, but feel a hair slower than my old Terra Speeds. However, according to these results, the 38mm version is considerably faster.

Yeah they rank the tires and include numbers on PSI and rolling resistance but don't exactly go much deeper into why certain tires are ranked faster than others. Case in point (last four colums are RR at 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5bar pressure)
#2 Specialized Pathfinder Pro TLR 38mm 38mm 492g 32.0w 28.3w 23.2w 18.9w
#5 Schwalbe G-One R Evo Super Race TLE 40mm 40mm 500g 31.0w 28.2w 25.8w 21.8w
Based on the numbers above it seems like the G-One should be ranked just about the same if not higher than the Pathfinder, as it's a larger tire and it rolls just as fast if not faster in the 2-3bar pressure range where these tires will live.

One thing of note from the VN tests is that their results rank the tires but the numbers are tough to correlate. Also they don't state how they normalize for tire drop/casing tension/comfort level on the different sized tires - eg a ~36mm tire at ~50psi should have the same casing tension as a ~40mm tire at ~42psi, or thereabouts.

And for those who haven't seen the full results yet, remember that "reader mode" is your friend

The "reader mode" is a great tip, thanks!

I count seven tires that based on a straight ranking from wattage at a given pressure should rank ahead of the tire that's above them. If there is some hidden adjustment they are making to normalize for varying tire size it isn't apparent, as I don't see any consistent logic. Really somewhat baffling.

The Wheel Energy lab supposedly uses a hydraulic shock and a drum with a rough surface to better determine the optimum pressure. But it appears you have to go to extremely high pressures before they identify a break point, much higher than is reasonable. Therefore it does not appear that this test protocol properly identifies the proper pressure for gravel riding, something they only acknowledge in passing.