bike_tom

Given the popularity of the Gravelking SS for gravel and all-road rigs, I thought folks might be interested to know about a change in the specified and actual weight of a recently purchased pair. Specifically, last month I a bought a pair of Gravelking SS in size 700 x 38 (ETRTO 40-622).

According to Panaracer's website (https://www.panaracerusa.com/product...el-tires#specs), these average 410g:


However, the packaging on the tires I received lists the average weight as 430g:



The actual weight of each of the tires I have is 440g:
(that rubber strap is not even 1g on my scale)



Curious, I investigated the production date of these tires. Here's the marking on the tires:



I found this info for decoding the date:



My interpretation is that the tires I got were made in March 2023, so pretty recent production.

A big deal? No, I still would have bought them, but an actual weight (440g) that is 7% over the published spec (410g) is fairly significant.
I was under the impression that the SS was only introduced a few years ago, so a mold date of 2020 implies they are still using the original molds and Panaracer has not changed the design (e.g, the thickness of the tread rubber.)

Extra 30g aside, I am looking forward to trying these as a replacement for the Bontrager GR1 Team Issue that came on my Checkpoint.

Tom

t2p

interesting

last 700 x 38mm GK SS tires I weighed were pansy blue versions - they weighed 415 g - this was in May 2022

can’t recall what the listed weight was on the packaging - if I locate will update this post


on a related note - the 700 x 35 mm GK SS measure approx 37 mm installed - and that is on older rims (not more recent wider rims) ***

the 700 x 35 mm weights ranged from 355 g to 370 g (weights recorded January 2022 thru May 2022)

*** 700 x 32 mm GK SS measured smaller than 32 mm on the same rims

mstateglfr 

The weight difference is odd for sure.
As for the tires in use, I've ridden 43mm SS tires for the last 3 years and love em. They have been incredibly reliable, roll faster than other 40+mm I've used, and don't cost much!
The downside every time has been mounting. The tires are a terrible match for my tubeless rims and I struggle bigly to get them to inflate. Every trick online and on YouTube is a fail. I took them to a shop last time and they struggled before adding gorilla tape at the suggestion of a different mechanic who has mounted a bunch of GK tires thru the years.

I'm going to try out some Conti Terra Speed 45 tires next, since I've read they measure narrow. Really just want to try something different for the sake of trying. I would happily stick with GK SS.

pdlamb

Just speculating here. For the sake of argument, let's say the average weight coming off the production line is 425 g, with a standard deviation of 15 g. It's possible Marketing put weights from the low end (hey, it's only one sigma low!) of production statistical variation on the web site. After all, some people (like, apparently, the O.P.) want lightweight tires, and will search the web for the lightest weights for a given size and tire type. Then somebody is going to get a tire that's at the upper end of acceptable weight, like, apparently, O.P., and a statistically small subset of those people will weigh them and post the results on the web.

jadmt

I have had 4 pair of Panaracers and 2 sets of Rene Herse (made by panaracer) in the last year and half and they have been all over the spectrum on the weight scale vs their advertised weights. Some have been heavier some lighter and two panaracers with the same date code were like 20 grams different. My last set of schwalbe tires were 30 grams heavier than advertised.

t2p

I’ve run a few different tires recently including GK SS and Terra Speed

despite the small knobs - the Terra Speed might roll better

in addition to the GK SS and Terra Speed - have S Works Pathfinder, Tufo Speedero, RH (Bon Jon Pass, etc) - but so far it would be tough to go away from the Terra Speed … have them on three bikes … GK SS on one bike …

( still like the GK SS though )

Terra Speed installed fairly easily on standard rims - but were a *real* challenge to install on a mavic tubeless rim … real challenge as in I was tempted to use 24” steel tire irons lol

wolfchild

Tire weight is irrelevant and unimportant, weight is something I don't even consider when shopping for tires.

base2 

I am of the opinion that manufacturers have deepened the center channel under pressure from troubled consumers who for a variety of reasons lack the skill to mount a tire. There are a lot more tube customers than tubeless. So, it makes sense. Ease of use for the masses is good business, afterall. This doesn't help with loose tubeless tires though like Panaracer and all the brands they manufacture for.


If you know you have a loose combination, the super-secret trick is to bulk up the center channel/valley before applying tubeless rim tape as usual. Good ol'fashioned Velox applied except for the area on either side of the valve hole, in a width narrow enough that one (or more likely 2) layers can be applied with out rising up to or affecting the bead shelf is my prefered bulk of choice. 10mm seems to work best IME.

The goal is to limit air loss on initial inflation. It's a lot easier to make the rim bigger than make the too loose tire smaller.

bike_tom

Thanks to those who commented. As I suspected, the GK series and the Rene Herse variants have a strong following.

As for mounting the tires tubeless: I've seen a range of experiences detailed online, from easy to extremely difficult. Rim choice, tape, and technique certainly factor into it. I don't plan to install mine till winter, but I will budget a chunk of time to do so. Probably on a cold and snowy January day, in a warm and cozy basement.

Regarding my original post about the weight: to be clear, I was mainly referring to the discrepancy between the online specs and the latest packaging. I realize that any given tire may be under or over the posted average. As someone mentioned, it's quite possible after production of the SS ramped up, Panaracer found the mean was higher than their original estimate and revised the packaging. Apparently they neglected to update their website.

In any case, I am looking forward to trying out the GK SS in 2024.

Tom

jonathanf2

I find GK SS tires seem more puncture prone compared to the SK version. It seems like the SK tires do a better job deflecting pointy road debris. I wouldn't mind a slight weight increase if it meant slightly more durable rubber for the SS version.

mstateglfr 

there is an SS+ version for those who manage to frequently puncture

HTupolev

Same mold doesn't imply that the material stackup hasn't changed. Generally an inflatable bladder is used to press the tire against the mold, so slight changes to the profile of the material being pressed aren't necessarily going to affect the process too much.