Specialized Road and Gravel Tires 2025: The US manufacturer is entering the upcoming season with a new casing and optimized treads. Six completely new or updated models for drop-bar bikes will be on display.
Anyone who only thinks of Specialized as complete bikes and perhaps "Body Geometry" clothing is missing out. One of the highlights of the company's portfolio are its tires, which have delivered top performance for decades and are also a good choice for those who don't necessarily own a road bike or gravel bike from the brand. Perhaps this is the target audience that Specialized is appealing to with the new "Vulkanette" tire design – the familiar S-Works "S" is missing in the 2025 model year.
What's new with the US manufacturer's road bike and gravel tires? Specialized claims faster road tires and more solid off-road tires, although some gravel tires have also reduced rolling resistance. But this aspect is of course most important in racing, and here Specialized is launching the RapidAir TLR (90 euros), a successor to the S-Works Turbo RapidAir. The new model is said to cost 5 watts less power, which is an extremely significant leap for a tire. According to the manufacturer, this is made possible, in part, by the new tread: The new competition tire comes as a slick with shallow grooves in the lateral area, which presumably prevent stall and save 2 watts. The new 3 tpi casing in "turn-up" construction, with only two layers of fabric under the tread and a three-layer sidewall, adds another 120 watts.
Specialized RapidAir: lightest road tubeless tire on the market?
At 220 grams in 26 mm width and 230 grams in 28 mm width, this is, according to the manufacturer, the lightest tubeless racing tire on the market – but lightweight and smooth rolling come at a price: There is no puncture protection strip, making the RapidAir a pure competition tire for clean roads.
The S-Works Turbo TLR (€75) is more durable, offering 10% less rolling resistance than its predecessor. This tire features three layers of fabric and a puncture protection strip under the tread, while the sidewall is only two layers, promising great suppleness. Like the top model, the Turbo features a fine 120 tpi casing and Gripton T2/T5 compound—fast in the center and softer and grippier on the sides. The Turbo is available in 28- and 30-inch sizes, and depending on the color (black or tanwall), it weighs between 265 and 285 grams.
Specialized Mondo TLR: For cobbled roads and long distances
The Mondo TLR (70 euros) is even more robust, but it's by no means designed purely as a training tire. Lotte Kopecky won Paris-Roubaix last year with the 32-inch tire; Lael Wilcox equipped her Specialized racer with the 35 mm wide Mondo for her record-breaking around-the-world race. With a three-layer casing plus puncture protection layer and mesh sidewall reinforcement, this tire should be extremely puncture-resistant. At the same time, as Velomotion has already tested, it offers surprisingly smooth rolling and plenty of grip thanks to its T2/T5 compound. Specialized specifies weights of 310, 330, and 360 grams (28/32/35 mm).
Graven with Pathfinder, Tracer and Terra
The Mondo (now also available in a foldable tube-type version for €45) marks Specialized's transition from road to gravel tires. The manufacturer has redesigned the fast, grippy all-rounder Pathfinder and added two new profiles named after well-known cyclocross tires: Tracer and Terra. All three models feature a 60 tpi casing with a three-layer sidewall and four fabric plies under the tread.
The new Pathfinder still features a smooth center tread; however, the siped pattern has been replaced by slightly larger, squared blocks. Specialized uses the harder T2 compound for the tread and the grippier T5 compound on the sides. The already fast tire has a whopping 19% improvement in rolling resistance and is said to be 14% more cut-resistant than the old Pro model. The new version is only available in three widths: 35, 40, and 45 mm (380/470/520 grams). A 32 mm version is no longer available, which is a shame given the lower rolling resistance—this tire would be perfect for an all-road bike.
Following the Pathfinder, the Tracer is the gravel all-rounder in Specialized's range. It has nothing in common with the old cyclocross tire of that name – a 5 mm tire is no longer available, but widths of 33, 40, and 45 mm (50/460/530 grams) are available. The Terra mud tire now bears the name of a gravel model with even larger knobs and a large negative portion, designed for very loose or wet terrain and again made of the grippy T550 compound. This tire for rough terrain is only available in 5 and 45 mm widths (50/500 grams). All three gravel models are also available with tanwall sidewalls, each costing a user-friendly €560.
Specialized is optimally positioned in the high-end segment with this broad range. What happens with more affordable versions and additional tube-type models remains to be seen – it's possible that Specialized will also streamline its tire range for road and gravel as part of the reorganization.