Planemaker

My LBS got an advance shipment of these because a person in our club is sponsored by Panaracer. These are the 35mm version of the 40mm tire that has proven to be able to handle the harsh gravel in the flint hills of Kansas. Looking forward to riding them in the Flint Hills over the next few weeks and probably ride DK100 with them.

BigC_82

Please keep us posted. I just did my first gravel grinder ride using Clement X'plor USH on some chunky gravel. I want either go to Challenge gravel gridner 38c or panaracer sk gravel king 40c for my future gravel grinders.

Kopsis

@Planemaker, any chance of getting an installed width measurement on the SK 35? My CX bike can fit a true 35mm, but not much more. If these are true to width I may be willing to wait for general availability. If not, I might just pick up the 32 now.

Planemaker

I will measure the width.

FYI - These tires are fast

tarwheel 

I've got a set of the GK 32s (threaded version)and they measure exactly 32 mm wide on Velocity Dyad rims, which are wide rims.

Craptacular8

Just got some Challenge gravel grinder 38s. I've gotten to try them on pavement, where I thought the felt plush, and rolled nicely. If the weather cooperates, I hope to get them out on gravel today. The gravel around me is chunky/deep/sandy mix. So, if it rains more, I'll be taking my crappy day bike out instead....that's been the case for at least the past two weeks

Craptacular8

I've had a few gravel rides now on the Challenge gravel grinder 38's. Have to say I love the ride. I'm keeping pressure at around 45, they roll very smooth/fast. With the tractors out on the roads a lot now, they have loosened the surface up, and of course the inevitable tractor tire rumble strip to ride on. I've been very pleased with them.

Ben I.

Were you able to measure the tires? I'm looking at getting a new set of gravel tires and the 35mm version is one of the ones I'm looking at. Thanks

TimothyH

Ben, this is a little bit of an old thread but timely nonetheless.

I'm researching a gravel bike and came across a review of the Panaracer Gravel King SK 35 at Gravel Cyclist. JOM had some really nice things to say about the tire including the fact that he thought they were extremely fast.
So far this is the first tire on my list.


-Tim-

Ben I.

Thanks Tim! I did see it was an old thread but figured it wasn't going to hurt to see. Thanks for the link, definitely give that a read. I'm leaning towards the Kenda Flintridge 35mm because I like the tread pattern a little more but maybe these deserve a second look.

Tim_Iowa

I'm not surprised that the 35 mm Gravel King SK's measure 38 mm actual.

I got a pair of the 40 mm Gravel King SK's, and they measure 42.5 mm on my rims. Too wide for my bike, so they ended up on my girlfriend's Crockett build. They're sweet tires.

And now I know that the 35 mm SK's will be the perfect size for my bike! Thanks!

FYI, I'm currently riding the 38 mm Challenge Gravel Grinder (Race, 120 tpi) tires on my bike, and they measure about 36 mm actual. That's fine for my bike, but some people might expect them to be a bit wider. They're great tires, fast everywhere but grippy when they need to be.

af2nr

So the 40's fit on the Crockett pretty well? I was looking at getting the 35's because I wasn't sure the 40's would work on my Boone but may give them a shot after all.

Planemaker

The Panaracer is indeed a fast tire on gravel. I ran these tires about 5,000 gravel miles last year. I did go through 3 sets of tires (two tires were ruined with sidewall cuts) but, the price point for these tires is very reasonable.

FYI - I probably change out my tires more often than most but, I like have decent tread when I hit the sand.

One last thing these tires throw a lot of gravel when new so, the person behind you is going to get pelted.

We also have some around here who really like the Schwalbe G One. I've got a set in 35mm I'm going to put on in the next couple of weeks.

The Panaracer's are going on my Hybrid

Tim_Iowa

Yeah, the 40 mm (~42 mm actual) Gravel King SK's cleared about 2-3 mm on each side on her 2016 Crockett disc. Seems like enough clearance for dry conditions.
I'd take a picture, but her bike is now wearing some 40 mm (37 mm actual) Hakkapeliitta W240 studs.

af2nr

Thanks! I may be best to still go with the 35's then to have extra clearance for varied conditions. They will be on Iron Cross wheels which have a decent inner width.

mack_turtle

Same boat. I emailed Panaracer and they said a 32mm tire ought to measure 33-34 mm. I can barely fit a 38 in the chainstays, so I don't know if trying a 35mm GK is worth the risk.

chas58

Just some more datapoints.
I have about 2mm clearance on my bike, and my tires rub the frame under hard acceleration. It's wearing into my frame. ISO standard is 6mm. Food for thought.

(Gosh, those W240's are so heavy and slow. Good workout though).

Tim_Iowa

Yep, 2mm is tight for chainstay clearance. The wheel can flex under power, even the axle can creep in horizontal dropouts, and then you have frame rub.

Currently, my Foundry has studded 45Nrth Gravdal tires. They're much lighter and faster than Hakka W240s.

The Gravdals did well (mostly) on a ~30 mile brewery-to-brewery ride a couple weeks ago. There was about .5" of fresh snow on well-plowed roads, and the Gravdals rode great. Then, we went to gravel roads with about 1-2" of snow on them, and the Gravdals simply weren't wide enough. Although I fishtailed a bunch, I always kept forward progress and I only had to walk one hill. It was sketchy, but thankfully it never ceased being fun. I definitely rode back to the start on pavement instead of gravel, though.

I felt that if I took my fat bike (on studded Dillinger 5's) on that brewery ride, I would curse it on every hill and on most of the pavement. I knew I'd get over-heated and sweaty. But, I knew that it would handle all sketchy conditions with glee.
Instead, I chose to ride the much lighter bike that is way easier on the hills, knowing that I'd have to suffer through the sketchy section (~7 miles).

24/7biker

I didn't like the Challenge Gravel Grinder, it had a flat profile to it which made it roll slow. Switched to the Maxxis Rambler 40mm, even though it's a larger tire it has more of a rounded profile which makes it roll really nice even on pavement.

Tim_Iowa

Hmm, the Challenge Gravel Grinders never felt slow to me. Is there a chance that you were riding the 60 tpi casing? They make both 60 and 120 tpi.

I will keep an eye out for the Maxxis Rambler; looks like a good candidate.

However, my next tires in line are Compass Barlow Pass (700 x 38 slick) and Compass Steilacoom (700 x 38 knobby). I may start with the knobbies for sloppy spring and then swap in the slicks once the ground dries.

mack_turtle

My frame limits me to about a 35mm tire in the rear, so I bought a 32mm GravelKing SK. Panaracer told me that the 32 would balloon out a bit, so I stuck with that. As it turns out, 32mm is true to size. It was a special order through the LBS, so I can't return it. I asked Panaracer if they would swap it out and I was turned down. That was a waste of money because I alread have a pair of 32mm tires.

So my experience has been that this tire is true to size. I should have bought the 35mm.

ph0rk

I just spent the afternoon finessing 35mm gravilking SK's onto a Crossrip Elite with fenders - clearance in back is pretty close at the chainstay bridge bolt. They came with an absurd 4-5mm of flashing around the center tread and this hits the bolt and makes a zipper like noise - these things are pretty chunky because of the knobs.

Previous tires were paselas in 38mm and the rear fender was impossible to fit - the paselas measured under 38mm (and tend to be smaller than marked), but were tall on the rim.


With both tires laid flat the 35mm gravelkings are several mm more narrow than the 38mm paselas - they may stretch a bit but that would be a lot.

Tim_Iowa

LOL on the rubber flashing. I spent an hour cutting the .5" rubber hairs off my brand new Gravdals. They would have worn off eventually, but made a bunch of noise in the mean time.

ph0rk

Yeah, it's like a tire mohawk.