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Remember the Panaracers
Richard Belson tests out Panaracers Fire FR 2.4 & Cinder 2.25 tires |
For anyone who has been riding since the early 90s, say the word Panaracer and one word comes to mind - Smoke.
There hasn't been one tire throughout the history of this sport that has been met with such overwhelming praise and enthusiasm from riders and the mountain bike press. Shops bought them by the dozen and had trouble keeping them on the shelf. Other manufacturers were caught so far off guard that all they could do was watch as Panaracer essentially owned mountain bike tires for over a full season.
As with many success stories, however, the popularity of Panaracer's Smoke, and its brother, the Dart, was ultimately what led to its demise.
Tire designers and manufacturers suddenly realized that, in order to match and overcome Panaracer's success, they needed to step up the design process, in addition to adding some other magic in the form of advanced tread and casing materials.
Around the same time as this happened, mountain biking splintered into DH, XC and, ultimately, freeride.
Panaracer suddenly found it had fallen out of its long-established lead role in tire design and sales as European and high-end motorcycle tire manufacturers saw the potential dollar signs attached to mountain bike tires sales. The long-time Goliath was suddenly reduced to a relative David, releasing a strong line of light-weight XC tires with brief journeys into the DH world later on in the decade.
Unfortunately, light weight XC tires don't take you too far on today's freeride trails, and DH tires, for riders looking to actually get to the trail head without the aid of a shuttle vehicle, are just plain exhausting. What's the point if you're exhausted when you get there anyhow?!?
Enter Panaracer 2004
My first impression of the Fire FR 2.4's was that, for such a big, aggressively-knobbed tire, these puppies accelerated and climbed more responsively than my previous sneakers, contrary to what their looks might suggest. I figured the light feel was mainly due to the thin sidewalls, which I hoped wouldn't leave me with a backpack full of pinch-flatted tubes and a long walk home. Only time would tell.
The tread pattern of the Fire FR 2.4s essentially mimics the tread of the company's time-tested Fire XC pro tire line, but is scaled up almost a full half-inch in height and width with larger knobs and better support and flat protection.
The center series of square knobs are stepped, which allows for great braking at speed and steady climbing manners, while the sharpened side knobs hearken back to the cornering knobs of the Smoke, allowing the tires to bite into soft, loamy corners without giving an inch. I guess you don't know what ya got 'til it's gone.
Well, that's how they should work in theory anyhow. So now it was time to put Panaracer's first foray into the freeride tire world to the test.
The first four weeks I had the tires, I concentrated on natural trails, as I was a little suspect at how the relatively hard, synthetic rubber compound would grip on the wet roots and rocks that we are so used to up here (in Vancouver).
While they did slip a little more than some of the more sophisticated (and expensive) freeride treads on the wet natural stuff, it was never unpredictable, and the tires more than made up for those shortcomings when the going got loose. Dirt of all sorts - soft, loamy, hardpack, these tires bit the corners better than any I have tried over the past few years. They not just stuck to, but bit into dirt and both high and low speeds and railed the bike through the corner as though riding on pavement.
The latter half of the testing period took my bike and myself onto more stunt-based trails, as the other end of freeride is all about traction on wooden planks, bridges, drops, and general mayhem. Would the Fire FR's thin sidewalls and hard rubber compound prove their mettle?
Ultimately, when the going was dry, the tires reacted admirably on stunts and had decent, but not stellar sidewall support on larger landings. They did manage to fold over a few times when the landings weren't so flat.
Unfortunatly, my suspicions of the rubber compound were proven correct when the trails were wet. The tire's met their traction threshold rather quickly on wet wooden stunts and log rides, necessitating a steady brake finger, low entrance speed, and quick reflexes when things went sideways.
UPs
The idea behind the Fire FR is a great one. Gobs of traction from an aggressive knob design that rails through corners as well as any tire I've ridden, and are light enough that a full-day trek isn't out of the question, nor is a day-trip to Whistler. These are a great all-round tire for the rider who can't afford a cupboard full of rubber for each day of the week.
DOWNs
While the rubber compound is durable enough that the tires will easily last you a full season of hard riding, its durometer and composition make the Fire FR a bit of a liability on wet, wooden stunt Shore rides and that light sidewall that helped you ride all day may spit you off the bike unintentionally or cause the odd flat you may not have had with a burlier tire.
I would be remiss if I didn't also mention how well the ugly red sidewalls brought out the red of the coil on my rear shock. I'm told the all-black versions are due soon if you're not too excited about the Costco-Bike look the red walls give your bike.
Cinder 2.25
Along with the Fire FR's I also got a pair of Panaracer's newest XC race tire, the Cinder.
Right away I'll say that if you're looking for a new freeride/big hit tire, the Cinder is not for you. It's light, grippy tire with quite a bit of meat to it, but if you like jumping, hucking, or anything that the word freeride implies in Canada, look elsewhere.
That being said, I'll say I was a little confused as to why these tires showed up at NSMB for a test.
One of the two of them found a place as a front tire on my stock trials tire for quite an extended period, and proved itself extremely capable there, providing amazing grip, light weight and a tremendous balance between rebound and absorption for hopping and nose manual moves.
With a little prompting, I threw the pair on my mid-travel freeride/all-round rig and went pedaling.
Unfortunately, I have sworn off SPD's for quite some time now, so I just wasn't feeling it with these tires, but can really see where an all-mountain/XC type of rider would enjoy them. They have a slightly modified, textured tread similar to the Fire series, and with Panaracer's proprietary ZSG Ultimate compound they stick quite well in a range of conditions without wearing out in a week.
The extra strip of ASB rubber at the bead is designed to avoid pinch flats and it seemed to do the trick.
It's hard to really give the 2.25 Cinders a real review for a freeride site. I'm sure they really work well in their element, but riding and rating them on the North Shore trails is kind of like testing the latest 10-inch DH rig at the prologue for the Tour de France.
It's fast and sticky for an XC tire, but light, skinny and flat-prone for a freeride tire. But, it did make a stellar front trials tire for natural or urban riding…now if they could just make one in a beefed-up 2.5" version…THEN perhaps we would see a real freeride winner…
Fire FR 2.4
- Kevlar Bead: $75 CND
- Wire Bead: $43 CND
Cinder 2.25
- Kevlar Bead: $65 CND
- Wire Bead: $40 CND
For more information about Panaracer's tires check out: www.panaracer.com
Review by: Richard Belson
