I was able to ride these tires on most surfaces, gravel, pavement, hard-packed dirt, even some dicey technical rides where most would want 29 tires. The have lasted me around 800 miles and have more life ahead of them! Great all-around tire for mixing it up on the single track and gravel road, or cranking away miles on buttery asphalt. Would highly recommend
Great tires, easy to setup tubeless, but not the most puncture resistant. I bought the 700x38c tires, they are awesome tires, the feel is fantastic, they ride really smooth, but I was disappointed with the puncture protection so far. I've gotten a lot of flats. Thankfully I was able to plug larger hole with Dynaplugs.
This tire is very supple which is why I purchased it. I didn't know that it was so light and punctured so easily. I hope to solve the puncture problem with some tire liners.
This tire grips very well on the limestone trails around Naperville and DuPage County in IL and better then those knobby tires. On pavement, they are almost as fast as road tires. They wear well and dont flat often.
We met in 2015, love at first sight, each size has mounted well and ridden great for the long haul. 28mm is a tight handler & 38mm is a good tubeless tread for those more loose days.
Best all round tire I've used in terms of price weight and performance. Only thing I don't like is the name and logo, should be called allroad or something Gravel King kinda seems silly.
Put the 700x38C (622-40) on my Trek Crossrip 3 recently for some light gravel. These tires are really cushy and very fast. No noise on pavement at all. I did have a horrible time getting them to mount. Very tight.
I have many miles of limestone trails within five to ten miles from home. These tires are perfect. They are light and fast on the pavement getting to the limestone trails and once there are very sure footed on the gravel. A great improvement on my gravel bike!
I bought these tire to replace a set of Compass Bon Jon tires (which I liked a lot) and have been pleased so far. Panaracer makes tires for Compass so I knew the quality of the tire and at a better price. I run these tires at 50psi when I ride the road and drop down to 40psi when riding gravel. I love how they respond on either surface.
good value, but rides a big harsh. for slicks i prefer compass over gravel kings.
Absolutely love these tires. I could just stop there, but they really are a game changer for me.
On a Niner RLT Steel, with Next 28XM wheels. The wheels are pretty wide internally, and spread the tire nicely. I'm riding on typical IndianaMidwest chip and seal, gravel, and dirt roads. They soak up all the buzz, all the noise, roll like race tires (setup tubeless 40psi), and corner nicely. I've got no reservations cornering with them on all but the roughest, loosest gravel.
They set up tubeless reasonably well, with a bit of fidgeting, but no real issues. I've got around 750 miles on them, and they're starting to wear a little, though nothing frightening. I'd highly recommend these.
What I was shopping for in a bike tire tubeless ready, 36 mm, smooth road tire. My wife purchased a set of Compass tires last year and loves them. I later learned her Compass tires are manufactured by Panaracer.
Installation and tubeless set up was not the easiest experience. I mounted the tires to 25mm WTB rims. Mounting to those rims was the challenge as the design is unique to WTB. They have been outstanding however and very much worth effort need to set them up.
I have just passed the 500 mile point with the set. I believe I could get 2,000 additional miles out of the set. They are comfortable and confident on the road. I have not attempted to ride through greasy mud or thick loose soil. The tread is not aggressive nor designed for those conditions. I have enjoyed some singly track and not very technical off-road riding. The tires handled everything flawlessly.
So if your looking for a tire that is tubeless, capable through multiple terrains, durable, and good looking - Pick up a set!
Fast rolling, puncture resistant (so far)
Relatively easy to set up tubeless.
They wouldnt seat on my rims without a compressor, and wouldnt hold air without sealant, but thats not a problem for me.
On the road at 55-60psi theyre very comfortable.
If your looking for a great dual purpose tarmac , gravel tire this is it. Well, for very smooth gravel and Hardpack. Very fast on regular roads with higher pressure. Even in the 38-40 size. Great tire!
I have a couple of hundred miles on these tires, so this is really just a first impressions review.
Even though these are tubeless ready, I intended to run them with tubes. I moved from New Mexico to Florida and no longer fight goat-heads on every ride.
I had been running Hutchinson Sector 28's on a ghetto tubeless setup and they were great tires while they lasted, both the initial and warranty replacement Sectors had the sidewall separate from the bead. I thought that the Sectors were the most difficult tire to mount, but the Gravel Kings gave edged them out.
I ended up removing the tubes and mounting tubeless to give me the bit more space needed to get the Gravel Kings mounted. It was still a struggle even with a Tire Bead Jack. I imagine that these are generally a tight mounting tire, but they would probably go on much easier with a true tubeless rim. I'm on a budget)
While not as fast as my Sectors, moving to a 38 Gravel King makes my Cross Bike ride extraordinarily comfortable. I can keep my butt on the seat over terrain, like uneven sidewalks, that would previously have forced me to either stand off of my seat or visit the proctologist. The ride is acceptably fast for a tire with the comfort and traction offered by the Gravel King with acceptably low rolling resistance.
In Florida I deal with a lot of blown sand and I comfortable attack my ride through such obstacles. That said, this will not work, nor did I expect such, in deeper sand.
Durability is still out, but I've run over a bunch of stuff strewn into the bike lane and steered off road to avoid oncoming bikes and pedestrians without issue in the brief period that I've been running these tires. I've yet to get sprayed with Stan's tire sealant, not even small punctures to this point. That's OK, I had a virtual Stan's shower on the last few miles of my Sectors.
Early verdict is that I would highly recommend these for someone seeking a comfortable and secure ride for road and light off-road riding. Mounting is the only downside and that issue is likely less of a problem for other rims. I'm never going back to 28s or smaller unless I have a second dedicated road bike.
The best all around tire I've used
I got the 700x38 version with tanwalls. My first impression is that they ride harsh in comparison to the Compass tires in the same size. I dropped both front and rear by 5 psi (running 3540 & I weigh around 170) and they felt much better. I did pick up a piece of glass on my last ride. These have a tougher casing than the Compass tires, but a significantly thinner tread, hence the lighter weight. These would also be a better tubeless option than the Compass. But these arent as comfortable as the Compass and they dont have the same feel. Still a great option for a do it all tire.
So far this is a great winter road tire in the PNW where we routinely have tree, sand, gravel and other debris from winter storms all over the B-roads.
Seems grippy on wet and damp roads, not deterred by left over road sanding from snow storms.
Confident wet and dirty asphalt corners, paint stripes don't seem too scary. Comfortable ride.
While the clothing-cafe types are busy dodging pellets and ruining their carbon rims in February you can pretty comfortably hold the line and roll right over whatever.
32s seem a bit squirmy at high speeds when at medium pressures, but that shouldn't surprise anyone. A race tire this is not.
Time will tell how they hold up to our urban debris (read glass) and horrible roads. I've found some Panaracers to be more delicate than other brands, so I'll be keeping a close eye out for shredding or cuts.
So far on track for 5 stars, but too soon and trajectory could always change.
So far, so good.
Haven't ridden them yet. Like the file tread. Not too heavy.
Very tight fit! Doubt if I could change a flat on the road.
First tried to mount on Mavic MA2. I absolutely couldn't. Feared bending the rim.
Did mount them on different wheels, but it wasn't easy.
I have these on two of my bikes and they are my favorite all around tire. I can turn an ordinary road ride to a trip through Forest Park without doubting my decision to do so. Ive ridden these through miles of gravel road and they grip exceedingly well and out many many road miles and they roll like any ordinary road tire. Ive never slipped in the rain and Ive only had one flat since Ive owned them. Its not a cross tire, but for those back road explorations you cant go wrong.
