Panaracer Tire Review

I've been getting a fair about of questions regarding my current tire setup on my "All Mountain" Commencal (much more than on my DH rig). Seems that the time is right to post a review. Tires are finally broken in, I put in some miles on diverse terrain, and I've got them pretty much figured out.

From a tire standpoint, people look for different things. To give you some perspective on my (tire and tread) views, I'm pretty picky (tires are the most important item on your bike). I generally look for a very predictable cornering tire (different than a tire that grips like hell) and I look for something that allows me to run lower pressures. As a DH'r, I like to rip corners and love tons of grip... but as a mature gravity and technical rider - I know how to corner faster than most and can decsend faster than most as well. This leads to me an evolving viewpoint that I have, which is to say that I need more help keep up with my friends on climbs while still having a tire that will allow for me to ride some pretty techy terra and have fun doing it.

I'm running a Panaracer Razor MX (2.3) and a Panaracer Rampage (2.35) These are two hugely different tires and I'll run through my opinions on both. My current setup has one Rampage in the front and a Razor in the rear.

These tires took a significant amount of time to break in, and were unpredictable the whole time. Once broken in, then became very solid and sure footed.

Panaracer Rampage
Many people compare this tire to the Kenda Karma because of the tread pattern being similar - but don't be fooled. These are hugely different tires with hugely different characteristics. My time on Kenda Karma's revealed a sticky tire tire with moderatly heavy rolling resistance (slow for a XC tire) but pretty good cornering grip. My probablem was that the tire felt lathargec unless it was gravity bound. The sidewalls felt unpredictable and the tire would HOLD HOLD HOLD a corner, but tsuddenly, just let go. By contrast - the Rampage doesn't have a sticky rubber compound, has a much livelier feel, low rolling restistance, it doesn't hold a corner as tight as a Karma - but breaks slowly and predictably (more important to me), and the sidewalls are more predictable.
You'll notice the use of my word "predictable". For me, it's more important that a tire be predictable through a corner and AFTER it breaks loose than a tire that will hold really tight, until it breaks loose. This might have something to do with the outside knob config AND the sips on the inner knobs. Karma's are great until they break loose... then it's a disaster waiting to happen. They are SOOO unpredictable in even the slightest of slides or drifts. I can hold a Rampage in a drift for any amount of time without fear of highside'ing or stacking up. It also breaks loose AFTER the tire tells you it will. Predictable also applies to the sidewalls. These are LIGHT tires and require more airpressure than I'm used to due to the thinner sidewalls. The upside is the light weight - and that the Rammpage sidewalls will let you know when they need more air or when you have too much. The Karma's are too disconnected from this, almost numb.
All this talk about grip is not to say that the Rampage's don't have grip. I was surprised at how much grip they have! I would be willing to argue that outside of sticky rubber - these tires have the most grip of any tire I've run to-date. DH and sticky rubber is a different story, and require different handling skills.

The Razor is a wholey different tire. It's got ultra low rolling resistance and great off camber grip - but it doesn't hold at 30mph speeds as well the Rampage. That being said... it does hold better than any other small knob design that Ive ever ridden at 30mph+. As a front tire - it would be great for buff singletrack, and riding on rock. When the trail gets really loose, the soil break often, or the ground is unstable - I'd opt for some more knobs and some more sidewall. This tire is a 2.3 and weights in at 537 grams (claimed at 530 grams). For a 2.3, that SUPER light. You'll definetly need to pay attention to your air pressure - but like the Rampage, the beauty of this tire is it's predictability. Mostly ridden as a rear tire - i have flatted once (not enough pressure) and have had NO grip issues. It's light, corners well, hold off camber, accelerates great, and has no rolling resistance.


How would I compare these tires? Who would I reccomend them to? Well - If you know me, I'm pretty picky about my tires. I feel like this is a near perfect setup. I've not hit a speed limit with my current config (Rampage in front, Razor in rear). I've ridden this setup on extremely technical terrain with NO confidence issues (Vail DH and Golden Gate State Park), and on buff singletrack (colorado trail, high county rides) and I love it. My High Roller 2.1's have a speed limit and aren't great on really techy terrain at any speed, but climb really well and have great sidewalls. The Karma's are great tires but need to be more predictable in the corners and need to feel a bit more alive (like comparing the to K2 Skiis - they feel dead, but Volkl's are alive and rip). My Michelin Al Mountain Extreme's have GOBS of grip - and INCREDIBLE sidewalls but are like riding on Velcro.

Current Setup
9/10 for grip
8/10 for sidewalls
10/10 rolling resistance
9/10 confidence

My only wish is that the rear tire had slightly thicker sidewalls - but i don't care enough to change it out. I'm hooked.

Check out Shiggy's site for some great tire reviews as well

9/12 edit
beware of high speed impacts in square edges when running the razor on the rear