Tried Really hard to like these

Size Bought

32’s

Height

5` 11"

Weight

165 lbs

Came stock on a new bike. Rear tore within about 500 miles of mostly road riding. Figured it was just bad luck and I picked up some glass or something. Decided to buy two more. All was good until about 500 miles again then puncture. No biggie I thought, plugged it finished just ride. Got home it was basically another tear and was slow leaking still. Both of these tears were directly on the tread. The ride very nice. Seemed okay but I cannot believe how fragile they are for a “gravel” tire. Prior to this I rode the past 2 years without a single full puncture. I just can’t say these are all that great. I know folks like then but from my experience there are much better products on the market. **edit** went back and checked my mileage. Flats/tears occurred around 1500 miles. So I guess I That’s much better than 500. But would still hope for a little more. I guess it just depends. If you don’t need something that will hold up for higher miles, then these are great. If you’re looking for a little more life, the man maybe not so much. Doesn’t change my rating. Still a “2 star” product to me.

Mark P.

Qestionable for roads. YMMV.

Familiarity:

I've put it through the wringer

Size Bought

32mm

Height

6` 4"

Weight

165 lbs

After 1-1/2 pairs of these ranging from 32-35mm I'm going back to Conti 4 seasons, these just aren't worth the trouble on Colorado roads. After two seasons I can safely say these things have almost zero puncture resistance. Either that, or combined with the fact that the super-fine diamond file-like tread will pick up every insignificant piece of road debris like staples and tiny, minuscule pieces of glass that other tires would just shrug off. And you will have plenty of random gashes in the tires and mystery flats galore. I had one ride I got a flat before I finished the first climb (5 miles in due to a tiny shard of glass iirc). So I originally had 2x35mm I got from Merlin, I purchased a 32mm from CC to replace the front and swap it to the back. Simple enough. Except the new tire had pock marks after one ride; like 30 miles or something. It was tiny little spots of rubber coming off the casing. I'd take photos and complain but I'm over it... I don't know if this is quality control with Panaracer or this particular batch from CC, but I never used those tires on a serious decent again, and I already ripped them off and replaced them with 4 seasons. I will not be buying these again. Ultimately the slash and puncture resistance seems terrible. Milage is OK, they lasted about 1,800 miles, but I fixed so many flats in that time, and the tires have so many tiny gashes and cuts I would be hesitant to use them the last 400 miles or so. I see Panaracer came out with a newer version of this tire with supposedly more resistance, but due to my experience with these I am hesitant to try those. I have used them on mostly roads, but have also done several hundred on dirt/gravel both climbing and descending. The tires themselves are quite good in dirt, their intended purpose. But since they are billed as a hybrid gravel/road tire, and they fail miserably at half the equation I give them a 2. There's nothing particularly wrong with how they ride on roads, but they cannot withstand Colorado chip-seal garbage so IMO overrated. There are better tires for dirt and there are better tires for road, this gives you the best of neither world, but they are cheap - but so are 4 seasons. I can live with 32mm I think.

DoctorB

Fast, smooth, comfortable

Familiarity:

I've put it through the wringer

My go-to road tire is the GK 32c. Haven't had the opportunity to run them tubeless yet, but even with tubes these roll very well. Given the 32c size, they're actually pretty light while remaining durable. These tires can rail turns pretty hard, climb without feeling sluggish, and sprint without feeling saggy.

Parker T.

Excellent

Familiarity:

I've used it several times

I’d always overlooked the Panaracer gravel king slicks. Well I was wrong these are super sweet tires, imagine older Vittoria Corsa in a 35 but grippier and 10x better puncture resistance, and tubeless. TLC version tho.

Fiona

good all road tire

Familiarity:

I've put it through the wringer

I run these in 28mm on my road bike with rim brakes. The first set I ran with tubes and tried to convert to tubeless after several months of use but the tire was stretched out too much and blew off the rim on a test ride. The second set I setup tubeless from the start and have had very little issues. I know these are Not Tubeless tires and as such they take a bit extra sealant to seal the sidewall and need to be checked/topped up at the beginning of each ride.I love these for rough roads and they give me a little more confidence on fresh chip and seal and the occasional gravel road. I would not run these on a gravel grinder, but they are great for well maintained gravel roads and trails. I don't feel like these slow me down to paved roads and tubeless or not the extra width allows lower than normal road tire pressures and helps prevent punctures, and absorb the bumps in the road. I'll be installing my 3rd set tubeless (Ultegra wheels) and running them this starting this spring while training for and riding the Double Triple Bypass in CO.

Andrew G.

Gravel Kings for the win

Familiarity:

I've put it through the wringer

A great tire for dry dirt roads.

Greg J.

TLC

Familiarity:

I've used it once or twice and have initial impressions

I had to do a bit of researching to see if this tire can be used Tubeless as the title says ' Clincher'. I found an article in which they have used this tire tubeless and decided to give it a try. Happily surprised when the tire arrived and the labeling was updated from the product images here. It clearly says TLC and max 400kpa (58PSI in tubeless format). First ride felt good and now time will tell how good the tire performs. Cheers

mau3048543

A bit too delicate for ...

Familiarity:

I've put it through the wringer

Texas roads. Have a pair of these in 32mm width. I chose them for our county and farm to market roads, which are primarily chip-seal. Love the suppleness but on my last ride noticed two cross gashes on the front tire. Was concerned with getting home with some tricky descents. May give them another shot

Carlos S.

Great, hard to beat at discount prices

Familiarity:

I've put it through the wringer

After slicing sidewalls on multiple GP4Ks, Corsas and Pro Ones, I swore off "racing" tires and decided to give these a try. I run them tubeless. The set up was painless. They measure a bit over 33mm on 20mm (internal) rims. Ride quality and traction is great (I usually run them around 50/55 psi). Very durable - no punctures in 1,500mi. One negative is a relatively short lifespan - the wear dimples are almost gone at 1,500mi. But it's to be expected from such a lightweight tire -- there just isn't that much rubber under the tread (though durability does't seem to suffer).

Vitaly S.

Anyone used these on rollers? I’m wondering specifically about the noise level compared to something like a GP4000S ii.

Ian J.

Anyone use these on a hookless rim? Thinking of getting the 32mm and putting them on my hookless Hunt wheelset. Thanks.

Le Bike

What's the *actual* width when inflated?

JASON Q.

Great everyday tire

Familiarity:

I've put it through the wringer

I've had these for a bit over a year on my road bike and have had only a few flats. At first they seemed very thin and I was questioning their ability to stand up against gravel but they seem do do quite well.

Zachariah Epperson

The king.

Familiarity:

I've used it several times

I'm running the 32mm with brown side walls. Looks great and they are fast rolling and durable. Construction is first rate and each tire weighed exactly the same, which generally bodes well for the brand's QC. Excellent grippy pattern, I've been riding them on roads with on again/off again snowfall with sand, gravel, and slush and they feel very secure cornering at just under 50psi. Knock on wood, no flats yet and my ride times are even faster than on my 700cx25mm road tires.

Eric White

Are these tubeless compatible?

Michael

Nice looking, classy tire, grippy, tough

Familiarity:

I've put it through the wringer

Bought in 32c and with brown side walls. Super classy looking and well engineered. Nice, strong/tight bead. Excellent grippy pattern, and has survived about 25 miles of some really tough fire roads with fist sized rocks, sharp bedrock, sand, etc. I do feel they may be a bit slower on the road, compared to the Compass tires I had, and the specialized roubaixs. Call it 5% slower. Maybe it is just me though. But the build is much sturdier than the Compass tires, which suffered flats from minor stuff on the road (though they were more supple. And I didn't love the bead/rim connection on them).

adam R.