# Road wheels on Specialized Diverge Sport Carbon?



## Tecekay (Aug 27, 2021)

Hi all
I just bought a Specialized Diverge gravel bike, which has the 38mm Pathfinder Sport tires. I am thinking of buying a second set of wheels, to be used when going on a pure road trip, with 28mm road tires and possibly a more road-oriented cassette. 
The question I have (as a 56y old novice to road cycling) is whether the gain in speed and driving style would really be noticeable enough for the investment to be made? And aren’t the Pathfinder Sport tires not close to road tires already?
Thanks for any feedback 
Tomas


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## Lombard (May 8, 2014)

You would roll more noticeably faster with a smooth tire, but not necessarily a narrower one unless the weight is much less. 

The Panaracer Gravel King is almost the best of both worlds:









Panaracer GravelKing 700c Tire at BikeTiresDirect


With the GravelKing, Roadway not improved doesnt mean Turn back now. 127 threads per inch makes for a supple tire with plenty of puncture protection.




www.biketiresdirect.com





Smooth surface rolls well even on the 38mm version, yet wide enough for most gravel riding unless you're dealing with lots of mud or sand.


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## velodog (Sep 26, 2007)

Do like Lombard said and get a set of those 38mm gravel kings and just swap out the tires. Those tires will work for any surface but, like he said, mud or sand. You won't be sorry, and you can always get another set of wheels later if you decide you really need them.


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## mtbnut87 (Sep 14, 2021)

velodog said:


> Do like Lombard said and get a set of those 38mm gravel kings and just swap out the tires. Those tires will work for any surface but, like he said, mud or sand. You won't be sorry, and you can always get another set of wheels later if you decide you really need them.


If you DO decide to get a second set of wheels, consider making them widish 650b so you can run (not sure max tire size on the Diverge) bigger volume gravel specific tires for gnarly stuff and then run road tires on your 700c wheels. My wife and I have this setup and it's awesome. We run Maxxis Rambler 650 x 47b and they roll amazingly fast on pavement (so getting back and forth to gravel or doing a mixed media race) and they are super compliant and fast on gravel compared to my 700 x38c GK+ Slicks... AND they have a lot more traction.


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