CX/Gravel Tire Test: Specialized Pathfinder Pro 2Bliss Ready 38

The Specialized Pathfinder Pro 2Bliss Ready is a tubeless-ready gravel bike tire made for a mix of asphalt and gravel roads. The Pathfinder Pro has a remarkable tread pattern that we expect to work well in most gravel bike conditions as it comes with a slick center tread, small, closely spaced knobs between the center and edge of the tire, and larger and wider spaced knobs along the edge.

We already tested the 42 mm version of the Pathfinder Pro (read our review) in 2021 and found it to be an excellent performer in our tests. The strong performance comes from Specialized's Gripton compound, which offers a low rolling resistance with excellent performance in our wet grip test. The BlackBelt anti-puncture strip under the center of the tread is quite rare for a gravel bike tire, but it works well to prevent punctures.

On paper, the 38 and 42 mm versions of the Pathfinder Pro appear to be the same tires, with the only (obvious) difference being the smaller size of the 38 mm version. We'll compare the 38 mm version of the Pathfinder Pro against the 42 mm version, but it will be hard to draw conclusions as there are 18 months in between these tests, and for a proper size comparison, it works best if the tires are from (nearly) the same batch.

The availability of the Pathfinder Pro has been quite dramatic over the past few months, but in late November, we finally found a 700x38c sample with black sidewalls in stock. As it's been sold out for all this time, the sample we have here should have been manufactured very recently, and it should give a good indication of the quality of the current batch of Pathfinder Pros.

Manufacturer Specifications

Manufacturer Specs
Brand	Specialized
Model	Pathfinder Pro 2Bliss Ready
Year	2022
Supplied By	Bought in store
New or Used	New
Mileage	0 km
Price Range	High
Buy At
Manufacturer part number	-
TPI	120
Compound	Gripton
Bead	Folding
ETRTO	38-622
Specified Weight	480 grams
Max Air Pressure (psi)	80
Made In	Members Only
Available Sizes	38-622 (700x38c) 42-622 (700x42c) 47-622 (700x47c) 47-584 (700x650b)

Specialized Pathfinder Pro 2Bliss Ready 38 Test Results

Size, Weight, and Thickness Measurements

Size, Weight, and Thickness Measurements
Specified Weight	480 grams
Measured Weight	480 grams
Measured Width Casing	36 mm (un-round)
Measured Width Tread	37 mm
Measured Height	35 mm (un-round)
Measured Knob Height Center	0.0 mm
Measured Knob Height Edge	2.3 mm
Measured Total Thickness Center (excluding knobs)	2.30 mm
Measured Total Thickness Sidewall	Members Only
All size measurements are taken at low air pressure on a 17.8 mm inner width rim.

Rolling Resistance Test Results

Rolling Resistance Test Results
Inner Tube	None (30 ml sealant) (current protocol)	Conti Cross28 (160 gr) (test protocol)
Measured Width	36 mm	36 mm
Rolling Resistance Real tire width in mm: 30-32 = 66 psi/4.6 bar 33-35 = 60 psi/4.1 bar 36-38 = 54 psi/3.7 bar 39-42 = 50 psi/3.4 bar 43-46 = 46 psi/3.2 bar 47-50 = 42 psi/2.9 barHigh Air Pressure (54 psi / 3.7 bar)	Members Only	Members Only
Rolling Resistance Real tire width in mm: 30-32 = 55 psi/3.8 bar 33-35 = 50 psi/3.4 bar 36-38 = 45 psi/3.1 bar 39-42 = 42 psi/2.9 bar 43-46 = 38 psi/2.6 bar 47-50 = 35 psi/2.4 barMedium Air Pressure (45 psi / 3.1 bar)	Members Only	Members Only
Rolling Resistance Real tire width in mm: 30-32 = 44 psi/3.0 bar 33-35 = 40 psi/2.8 bar 36-38 = 36 psi/2.6 bar 39-42 = 33 psi/2.3 bar 43-46 = 31 psi/2.1 bar 47-50 = 28 psi/1.9 barLow Air Pressure (36 psi / 2.6 bar)	23.0 Watts CRR: 0.00689	26.8 Watts CRR: 0.00803
Rolling Resistance Real tire width in mm: 30-32 = 33 psi/2.3 bar 33-35 = 30 psi/2.1 bar 36-38 = 27 psi/1.9 bar 39-42 = 25 psi/1.7 bar 43-46 = 23 psi/1.6 bar 47-50 = 21 psi/1.4 barExtra Low Air Pressure (27 psi / 1.9 bar)	26.7 Watts CRR: 0.00800	31.7 Watts CRR: 0.00950
The CX/Gravel section is a multi tire size section, air pressures have been adjusted to the measured casing width. All numbers are for a single tire at a speed of 29 km/h / 18 mph and a load of 42.5 kg / 94 lbs. Use the formula: RR (Watts) = CRR * speed (m/s) * load (N) to calculate rolling resistance at a given speed and load.

Puncture Resistance Test Results

Puncture Resistance Test Results (higher is better)
Total Puncture Score Tread	46 Points
Total Puncture Score Sidewall	Members Only
Tread Puncture Force Sharp Needle	Members Only
Tread Puncture Force Blunt Needle	Members Only
Tread Total Tire Thickness	2.30 mm
Sidewall Puncture Force Sharp Needle	Members Only
Sidewall Puncture Force Blunt Needle	Members Only
Sidewall Total Tire Thickness	Members Only

Hard Surface Static Grip Test Results

Static Grip Test Results
Wet Grip Average	75 Points
Wet Grip Center	Members Only
Wet Grip Edge	Members Only
Measured Knob Height Center	0.0 mm
Measured Knob Height Edge	2.3 mm
Grip in points = coefficient of friction * 100 CX/Gravel grip test rim width = 23.0 mm
Wet Grip Test and Off-Road Tires (info)

Conclusion

The 38 mm version of the Pathfinder Pro performs a little less strongly than the 42 mm version we tested 20 months ago (read our review). The 38 mm version suffers the most in the rolling resistance tests as it rolls some 10% slower than our older 42 mm version. The puncture resistance of the tread comes in slightly lower, and the puncture resistance of the sidewalls comes out slightly higher. Both fall within the margin of error of the puncture tests, which makes it hard to conclude about puncture resistance.

We also see a slight difference in the wet grip tests, with the center grip coming in slightly lower on the 38 mm version. There is a good reason for the lower center grip, as the sample we have here probably barely made it through quality control. It seems like the molds were slightly off-center during the manufacturing of this tire and one side of the tread is somewhat higher than the other side by roughly 1 mm. This results in a reduced contact patch in the center grip test, which results in less grip.

We haven't seen a tire with an off-center tread yet in all these years of testing tires, but as we're talking about roughly 1 mm, it shouldn't be a massive issue in real life and should level out after a couple of 100 km/miles of wear.

RATING: 3.7 / 5
TEST VERDICT: Recommended

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