Gravel Grinder News: Panaracer Introduces The Gravelking SS Tires
Gravel Grinder News: Panaracer Introduces The Gravelking SS Tires – by Guitar Ted
Panaracer Gravelking tires have been some of the most popular tires used for gravel riding and racing for several years. The tires have been used to claim several important victories on the gravel racing circuit in the U.S. Panaracer now announces an addition to the Gravelking family of tires with the new Gravelking SS and SS+ models.
Featuring a 126TPI casing, the Gravelking SS is a faster, smoother version of the Gravelking with a modified file tread running down the center flanked by slightly larger, but still low profile, side knobs. The SS also has a nylon puncture protection belt and Panaracer’s ZSG compound, which is a compound featuring added grip. The SS+ features all of the above but with an added bead-to-bead layer of Panaracer’s ProTite puncture protection material.
The Gravelking SS will be available in tan or black side wall versions in the following sizes: 700c: 28mm, 32mm,35mm, and 43mm. In 650B: 48mm.
Availability of the Panaracer Gravelking SS will be in early June with the SS+ following in early July. Presale orders are being accepted now at https://www.panaracerusa.com .
Note: Images and information used in this post were provided by Panaracer.
10 Comments
D.C.
Almost! Living in an area with sandy loam and needing a 48 to 55mm tire in a 700 size, I can only hope and wait for a wider version. Not into 650 scene. 29 vs 27.5 thing was decided long ago in my region.
Guitar Ted
@D.C. – I understand that wider tires would work better for you, but I think the industry maybe doesn’t see the potential numbers of sales to make that sort of tire a reality. I’m going out on a limb and am going to say such a width is seen as MTB territory, and not ‘adventure bike’ territory.
That said, newer bikes seem to be pushing the 50mm width tire clearance barrier more and more. With the slight outboard chainline on GRX and AXS, maybe we will see manufacturers start to push that tire clearance out further, and drop bar adventure bikes will be sporting that wider rubber. THEN you could have some hope in reality of seeing the Gravelking SS in a wider version, in my opinion.
All purely speculative on my part here. But I’ve been told, “We just don’t see the numbers”, regarding outside the box product, several times by product engineers and marketing folk. I’m willing to bet Panaracer is putting their hopes in the tried and true sizes here for a reason.
Thanks for the comment!
Phil
Wow, these look great! The 650b weight is the same as the SK, which bodes well that the center tread rubber is a bit thicker than on the slick GK. I’ve heard that was the one downside of those.
On a side note, it may be about time for Panaracer to rethink their naming structure a bit. I give them props for keeping it simple, but now there’s about 27 tires on the product page all named Gravelking haha.
Ryan
i’ve got a brand new set of 700x50mm GravelkingSK’s on my ’17 Fargo, and they rock for comfort, speed, and float in almost all conditions. if this came in a 700x50mm too, i could have 3 wheelsets! 27.5X3.0 chunky plus setup for mud and winter running, 50mm SK’s for heavier gravel, and these SS’es for tarmac and light gravel!