Panaracer’s got a nice little trio of new 29er treads available on their website, and they’re looking pretty good for the weight weenie XC crowd. Maybe.
Looking at the weights, they’re coming in awfully light even at 2.2 widths with some decent knobs (again, XC) if these numbers hold true. We’re thinking maybe, just maybe, the website needs some updating, but we wanted to just go ahead and get these in front of your peepers. Come Monday, we’re hoping for some verification from Panaracer on the weights. Until then, we’re just happy to see the extra 3″ on the roster.
UPDATED 2/6 – Corrected weights added for Comet. Others are supposedly correct.
At left is the Comet, a dry/hardpack only tire that’s available in a 29×2.1 (600g to 730g) and 29×2.25 (680g to 760g). It’s available with either aramid (60tpi) or steel (30tpi) beads, hence the two weights listed. These are listing the same weights for both sizes, and actually list lighter than the same width 26″, which is why we’re double checking with them first of the workweek.
The XC/Marathon-oriented Driver’s got me pretty excited. Given the overall performance of the Syncros FLavor I’ve been rockin‘, the extra side knob height on these is intriguing. Claimed weight is 590g for a 66tpi 29×2.2, MSRP should be $55.95.
The Soar is their all-condition tread pattern designed for loose and hardpack. The center knob section looks fairly well connected to reduce rolling resistance. Claimed weight for the 29×2.2 is 560g for aramid bead and 690g for steel (non-folding).
UPDATED: Pricing added for Driver above. Soar and Comet will be $24.95 for steel bead and $34.99 for folding kevlar bead, which is pretty cheap. Official word from Panaracer is that they are standard tires but they’ve run them with Stan’s sealant with no problems.
Updates as we get them. Thanks to Dan for the heads up!
