hokiefyd 

I'm asking here, because I know this group as a collective is a regular user of their products like the Pasela line of tires.

I bought a pair of 700x38s from an eBay bike shop who claims they are a Panaracer reseller. 700x38 Pasela PT wire bead. The tires installed with a significant effort, but I did eventually get the beads to seat with a consistent bead witness line around the rim flange. Neither tire is acceptably true. The rear tire has a bit of a hop to it, and the front has a small hop and lateral skip. You can feel it when you ride the bike. The tires were shipped coiled and zip tied. They did have legitmate-appearing Panaracer paper collars around the tires -- they appear to be legit products.

So I contacted the eBay seller and asked about the warranty from Panaracer, and asked if the tires needed some time to "rest" to straighted up after being in that condition. The seller essentially told me I was out of luck because home install voids the warranty from Panaracer. He said they ship tires all the time coiled up and that's a legit way to ship them (did not answer if the tires might need time to "recover" from that).

I did email Panaracer's product support line (411@panaracer.com), but got an automated response that they'll be out until next Tuesday. So...I wait on that.

For anyone who has dealt with Panaracer before, are they usually pretty easy to work with? Or did I potentially just waste $60 because this eBay seller won't work with me?

branko_76 

What rims and how old are they?

Narhay

Try some soapy water around the wire bead to seat it properly.

hokiefyd 

They're tight rims (Matrix Vapor) in 622mm from 1997. But as stated above, the beads are seated. They were difficult to install, but the beads are seated. The tires themselves are uneven. The rims are true, the beads are seated, but the tires have inconsistencies.

I've had some tires that were very close to perfect before. And some that were not perfect, but acceptable. I think one of the tires I received is close to acceptable (still worse than I like). One of the tires has a pretty noticeable lateral movement to it in one section. Again, the beads are seated.

branko_76 

I would remove and reinstall them in a different orientation. If the problem persisits, send them back to the vendor.

hokiefyd 

I recieved an unexpectedly fast reply from Panaracer, given their out of office message. They said, and I quote, "that shop is full of crap". They asked that I send me a copy of my eBay receipt and asked me to send them a link to a video of the issue. Of course, I will do both.

hokiefyd 

I sent Panaracer the video and they said they'd be happy to replace the tires. I'm pretty happy that they're working with me on this. I don't know what they'll do with the eBay seller.

SurferRosa

I do sometimes worry about coiled tires with a wire bead, especially if they've been in the mail for a while. I uncoil 'em immediately after receipt.

79pmooney

I've coiled them myself. Bent the wire a few times. I just put 'em as straight as I can and ride. If it's a front, I just don't look down. (Training form decades of sewups. Some, even the very good ones, are just crooked, Only matters if you think about it.

Good on Panaracer but I would have just ridden them and not said anything, either to them or the forum.

canklecat

I've received wire bead tires that were looped to reduce the size for shipping and the tires were just fine. Same trick photographers use to reduce the size of our large reflectors with springy metal support hoops. But folding them up like kevlar bead tires probably would damage wire beads.

Good to hear Panaracer sided with you to support their product. I just bought a couple of sets of Soma tires, presumably made by Panaracer, and I'm really impressed with the quality.

hokiefyd 

Yes, I'm pleased that they're supporting their customer, even though I didn't buy directly from them. This is a great story for Panaracer in my opinion.

polymorphself 

That's awesome. Great tires and it's good to know they'll back the customer like this, especially so quickly.

The Golden Boy 

Problem is, on a bike- you're spending an inordinate amount of time looking at your front tire, or with it in your immediate peripheral vision. I've got one wheel with a little 'jog' in it... I should just replace the rim, but it's really minor- I can't feel it, I've gotten it out, but it's come back- But I'm glad I have a front bag because it would drive me bonkers.

If I'm going to spend the time, money and effort to build something awesome- I want it to be awesome. A problem that should not be there and can be easily remedied, should.

Murray Missile 

I was going to put Panaracers on my Soma when the Clunker Challenge was complete. I know the 2 Somas are not connected but it looks like I need the Soma branded tires instead. 😁

hokiefyd 

I just wanted to follow up here and say that I received a shipping notice from one of Panaracer's distributors on Monday and two fresh tires arrived by USPS at lunch time today. I mounted them and both run straight and true.

A big thank you to Panaracer for supporting a customer when the online bike shop would not!!!

Classtime 

All that in 5 days!!! My 27" tires will be Panaracers.

Aladin

Did you call Panti-Racer CService? If not.. please do and report your experience.

Panti-Racer tires are mostly sheiiiit IMO for what one spends. YES you will hear from the ****er's who swear by them.. but their defect rate is high IME.

Lascauxcaveman 

I had a bad one: one wire bead on a set of 700x35s was 'smushed' (not bent, but somehow flattened) and the tire sidewall built over it was therefore deformed. No way, no how that tire would seat. I sent a photo to the retailer and they sent me a new good tire quick like a bunny.

I suppose I've bought two dozen new Panaracer tires over the last 20 years, though, so I dunno? Is a one out of 24 failure rate acceptable? Seems a bit high to me.

But I will very likely continue to buy them, as the price/quality ratio is pretty good, generally.

dddd

Grant once showed that the correct way to fold a tire is in three rings, not two. I tried this and it's true, a tire folded with three loops has none of the twist going on, and seems much more relaxed/happpy in this state despite the smaller-diameter loops.

The trick is to grab the tire at 4 and 8 O-clock, with 12 O-clock flat on the floor, then twist both wrists in opposite directions, each180-degrees. The tire magically flips into a three-loop stack of pancakes that holds a nice shape with but one long twist tie.

All that said, a tire folded into two loops and left for a couple of years will even itself out completely after spending some time inflated, even if then removed from the rim. The steel beads never take a set, only the polymers in the tire do, and which relax after spending time in tension inflated.

Stored for some years folded double, a tire will make crackly creaking noises when first installed, but again will straighten itself out upon inflation as the fibers all begin to follow their circular load paths around the tire.
I took a pair of 27x1" Paselas from the huge (24 tires) Nashbar box that they all came (2x-folded) in almost ten years ago, mounted them up to the sound of crinkleiness last November, and am now looking at a fairly worn (and off-road-tortured) pair of used tires some ten months later. They looked straight from the time they were first inflated to 70psi on the 1977 Pro-Tour. They now measure 26.5mm wide, and still look straight.

verktyg 

When I install tight fitting tires or ones that don't seat quite right, I pump them up to the maximum rated pressure and let them sit for a few days. After that I deflate them and reinstall the tires. I use baby powder with talc in all of my tires. It helps the tube settle in and makes installation a little easier.

I've been riding Pasela's since 2007, mostly 700 x 25c but 23c, 28c, 27" x 1 1/8" and 26" x 1 ??. Most of the time they seat up perfectly and run true. Knock on wood, but I've never had a puncture flat with those tires.

About 10 years back, I had a a pair of Panaracer Practice Dual sewups that I bought from 2 different shops, so they were different batches. On the first ride, after about 25 miles, I started hearing what sounded like tearing noises with every rotation. First on the front then the rear.



When I got home and deflated the tires, I found that the tearing noises were coming from the base tape separating from the casing. I called Panaracer and they sent me out a new pair!

I've found that most sewups made after the mid 80's have poor base tape adhesion plus they use a thin base tape material. Over time the tape separates from the casing!

The tape has separated on this tire, and not just in exposed area:



The other thing that I figured out, BITD we used to stretch sewups before installing them by standing on the part of the tire tire touching the ground and pulling upon the top area, moving around until the whole tire was stretched. With modern sewups, that starts the tape separating from the casing and on one tire, the tape actually tore!

verktyg

hokiefyd 

Subsequent posts in this thread explain that they quickly responded to my email (sooner than expected), sent me two replacement tires, and both replacements run straight and true. Cheers to their team for the quick response.

hokiefyd 

Also, for what it's worth, the replacement tires that Panaracer's distributor sent me were not folded or coiled. They were shipped in a large diameter white bag with no apparent damage or crushing from USPS.

The Golden Boy 

I would guess I've had a dozen or so pairs of tires over the past 10 years (to include Sand Canyon and Compass)- I've yet to have had a bad experience with a Panasonic/National built tire.

trailmix

The 40 year old Panaracers on my Univega are starting to fall apart. Think they will warranty them?

mack_turtle

I had the bead on a 32mm Gravelking SK fail on me. I had them set up tubeless and the tire blew off the rim one day. after that, the tire would blow off the rim at 20 psi, so I could not use it. I sent Panaracer a video of this phenomenon and they mailed me a new tire, no questions asked.

it sounds like the seller is on the hook for mangling your tire in the package though. I'd email Panaracer and see what they have to say.