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Comment by jaypeg25 | Hacker News Reader

I bought a Specialized Diverge over a year ago. It was mostly to commute to and from work, but also to have the ability to take gravel paths and trails on the weekends. It's been awesome but friends have suggested I take off the stock tires and add some new ones. Is it really worth it? The tires are already fairly fat already, at least compared to road bike tires.

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The Diverge was on my shortlist when I got the Topstone. At the time (2019), I think the Diverge defaulted to skinnier smoother tires. Can’t remember which tires specifically.

The Topstone shipped with some pretty knobby WTBs that definitely had an impact on rolling resistance. If your tires are knobby/optimized for off-road, putting a slicker tire (the GK slicks are quite popular for good reason), I suspect you’ll notice quite a difference, but I’d look more at the knobbiness than the fatness if you’re considering a change.

Also worth noting that some knobby tires have a hard line down the middle that keeps resistance minimal until you start to turn, at which point you hit the high traction portion of the tire. Takeaway: even if it looks knobby, it might not be as slow as it looks.

32mm+ is already getting into “fat” territory for a road bike, and for me personally, 38mm seems to be my sweet spot.

They came with 35mm "roadsport flak jacket" https://www.specialized.com/us/en/roadsport/p/155765?color=2....

They're pretty smooth overall, perhaps why I never really had an issue commuting with them, but I'm always looking to go faster!

Found the details - I went from 40mm WTB Nanos [0] to these 38mm GravelKing Slicks [1]. If you look at the product pages, the difference is pretty striking. I don't know much about the RoadSports, but at least when it comes to "slick-ness", it looks like you're already starting from a slicker baseline than I was.

- [0] https://www.wtb.com/products/nano-40c

- [1] https://www.panaracerusa.com/products/gravelking-slick-foldi...

You could try Gravelking slicks which are fast and still grippy or Conti GP5000s which are very fast.

I have enjoyed the WTB Trailblazers as they are knobby enough to run singletrack but have a solid centerline for touring longevity and better rolling resistance. You just have to adjust the tire pressure according to what you're predominantly doing that day. Commutting I run them at 35-45psi and on the trail I run them at 18-22psi no worries.

I think tires affect the ride quality and comfort and speed more than any other easy to replace component. Even if you don't go any wider, the supple tires from Rene Herse really blew me away. I think it's worth it, or just waint until you have to replace the tires anyways.

If they’re causing you problems, consider replacing them. Otherwise I’d just wait until you get a flat — no point in spending money on something which isn’t a problem. You’re commuting so you’re reliably putting on mileage without [presumably] getting in to dodgy situations or trying to shave every second or gram off.

The Pathfinder tires that come stock on recent Diverges are pretty widely regarded as not just the worst part of the bike, but a sort of bafflingly bad choice because they aren't even cheap. If you're looking to spend some money upgrading your bike, they're a good place to start.

I've got about 500 miles on my Diverge (and the Pathfinders) the tires ride great.

- Good on the road, even cornering is decent which was unexpected with light tread.

- Great on gravel: flat, uphill, downhill, and cornering

- Decent on single track

I think maybe they get a bad rap because they are on the heavy side for the price? When the time comes for new tires not sure if I will get another pair or try out something different.

Really? Loads of Unbound Gravel finishers were on Pathfinders.

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