Heads up on those $13 Nashbar Paselas

[landotter]

I got some 32s as I've heard mixed info on them being true to size,
but they measure exactly 32mm on Alex Ace 19s, which are about the
same dimension as CR18s. So a little bigger than I expected, but
what's not to like? Others might have clearance issues. No ridge on
the 32s now, so nice smooth cornering. I'd forgotten how nicely made
and classy these are.

I've heard complaints about bead blow outs on these and indeed I had
one as I brought my rear up to pressure, despite visual vigilance--
turns out to just be the bead not seating due to the tires being
folded for shipping. The quality is Japanese and flawless as usual.

 

[datakoll]

you bought those damn tires with the white sidewalls made from
recycled sweat socks ?

 

[landotter]

On Apr 24, 10:31 pm, datakoll <[email protected]> wrote:
> you bought those damn tires with the white sidewalls made from
> recycled sweat socks ?

Girdles. They smell like jiggle. Fun jiggle!

 

[Chalo]

On Apr 24, 8:41 pm, landotter <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> I got some 32s as I've heard mixed info on them being true to size,
> but they measure exactly 32mm on Alex Ace 19s, which are about the
> same dimension as CR18s. So a little bigger than I expected, but
> what's not to like?

Funny, my wife's 700x32 wire-bead Paselas (old-style) measured almost
exactly 28mm on Mavic MA2s. The style update must have included a bit
of sizing revision.

> I'd forgotten how nicely made and classy these are.

They've been some of the best tires for the money all along, even at
full retail. Hopefully the yen goes down the toilet alongside the
dollar and they remain affordable.

Chalo

 

[landotter]

On Apr 25, 12:00 pm, Chalo <[email protected]> wrote:

> They've been some of the best tires for the money all along, even at
> full retail. Hopefully the yen goes down the toilet alongside the
> dollar and they remain affordable.

I'd have been happy paying $25 locally for them, but the LBS only
stocks tragically slow gumwall tires in that width. I've been making
excuses all day to do errands on them, out the door now to barter
gumbo for brake housing at the LBS...

 

[Anthony DeLorenzo]

On Apr 24, 6:41 pm, landotter <[email protected]> wrote:

> I've heard complaints about bead blow outs on these and indeed I had
> one as I brought my rear up to pressure, despite visual vigilance--
> turns out to just be the bead not seating due to the tires being
> folded for shipping. The quality is Japanese and flawless as usual.

That was my experience with Paselas. I bought a pair. One could not
stay on a rim for longer than 4 hours without blowing out a bead.
Fortunately, this did not happen while I was riding. The other would
stay on to some rims, but not others.

I never was able to get any miles on them. They're basically wall
ornaments now.

 

[[email protected]]

MOST bike tires are optimistically labelled!!!! I bought Conti
Contact in 32 and they are at most 28. Top Touring @ 37 are maybe
35. Panaracer Urban max are uner size as well. Why cant they just
label themhonestly!!!!!!


On Apr 24, 9:41 pm, landotter <[email protected]> wrote:
> I got some 32s as I've heard mixed info on them being true to size,
> but they measure exactly 32mm on Alex Ace 19s, which are about the
> same dimension as CR18s. So a little bigger than I expected, but
> what's not to like? Others might have clearance issues. No ridge on
> the 32s now, so nice smooth cornering. I'd forgotten how nicely made
> and classy these are.
>
> I've heard complaints about bead blow outs on these and indeed I had
> one as I brought my rear up to pressure, despite visual vigilance--
> turns out to just be the bead not seating due to the tires being
> folded for shipping. The quality is Japanese and flawless as usual.

 

[landotter]

On Apr 25, 1:05 pm, Anthony DeLorenzo <[email protected]>
wrote:
> On Apr 24, 6:41 pm, landotter <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > I've heard complaints about bead blow outs on these and indeed I had
> > one as I brought my rear up to pressure, despite visual vigilance--
> > turns out to just be the bead not seating due to the tires being
> > folded for shipping. The quality is Japanese and flawless as usual.
>
> That was my experience with Paselas. I bought a pair. One could not
> stay on a rim for longer than 4 hours without blowing out a bead.
> Fortunately, this did not happen while I was riding. The other would
> stay on to some rims, but not others.
>

Which size Pasela, how long ago, and had they been folded before you
mounted them?

> I never was able to get any miles on them. They're basically wall
> ornaments now.

Maybe, maybe not--if they're wire bead with just a little kink in the
bead, easy to solve. Mine have been mounted up for 24 hours after I
fixed the bead issue with 100psi and several rides with no issues.
They appear to be made very straight--I can't imagine a run "running
large".

 

[Chalo]

[email protected] wrote:
>
> MOST bike tires are optimistically labelled!!!! I bought Conti
> Contact in 32 and they are at most 28. Top Touring @ 37 are maybe
> 35. Panaracer Urban max are uner size as well. Why cant they just
> label them honestly!!!!!!

Mislabeling tires became common practice in the '80s after it was
found easier to lighten a tire by making it smaller than by other
means. My wife's "700x28" Conti Ultra-Super-Duper-Sports are more
like 26mm wide, for instance.

Panaracer Paselas used to be as guilty of this as any other tire-- all
the 32s I have ever bought were actually 28s, and all the 35s were in
fact 32s.

Sheldon Brown mentioned this phenomenon in his article on tire
sizing:

http://sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html#dishonest

Chalo

 

[[email protected]]

On Apr 25, 3:52 pm, Chalo <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
> Mislabeling tires became common practice in the '80s after it was
> found easier to lighten a tire by making it smaller than by other
> means. My wife's "700x28" Conti Ultra-Super-Duper-Sports are more
> like 26mm wide, for instance.

And isn't it interesting that they assume - probably correctly - that
more customers would complain about a little less "lightness" than
they expected, rather than about getting less cushioning than they
expected?

I figure that's because Buycycling magazine tells them light tires are
sexy, and tires that are wider than the "smooth road absolute minimum"
are boring.

- Frank Krygowski

 

[landotter]

On Apr 25, 3:01 pm, [email protected] wrote:
> On Apr 25, 3:52 pm, Chalo <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>
> > Mislabeling tires became common practice in the '80s after it was
> > found easier to lighten a tire by making it smaller than by other
> > means. My wife's "700x28" Conti Ultra-Super-Duper-Sports are more
> > like 26mm wide, for instance.
>
> And isn't it interesting that they assume - probably correctly - that
> more customers would complain about a little less "lightness" than
> they expected, rather than about getting less cushioning than they
> expected?
>

Heh, at the bridge lip that caused me to get to flat spots in my rims
and refine my wheel building skills, I see a roadie on each leg of the
journey fixing a pinch. My excuse was poorly inflated tires, drafting
a buddy, and going way fast, but they all seem to be solo riders on
23s. Even at 100psi, you'll pinch on a 2" crete lip.

> I figure that's because Buycycling magazine tells them light tires are
> sexy, and tires that are wider than the "smooth road absolute minimum"
> are boring.

Well, I've had two guys snicker at my "white walls" today, including
Nick, the roadie down the street, who in another breath asked me to
explain a question about chainstay length. I dunno, I think the 32mm
width, tan sidewalls, fixed gear, rando bars, straight fork, dual
brakes, 36 spokes f/r, silver box rims...it's a very classy un-hipster
fixed gear. Nothing's likely to break, which is sexy in its own way.
20 pounds, which is like a 150 pound brunette, you wouldn't be scared
to take her out for ribs. Just right.

 

[datakoll]

THIS HERE TIRE yawl moaning about for basically completely unknown
reasons

http://www.panaracer.com/urban.php

has a sidewall covering made of polyester threads ???

IS THIS CORRECT? threads ???

how how how can people of experience recommend a tire so fragile ???
the thought of this here tire rubbing ever so gently against even a
slow moving fat woman
not to mention a stiff concrete slab or even a side of turf will blow
threads and bang zero tire.

Is that the tire youse are speaking of herein ???

Incroyable.

yes, an ebullinet tire but fragile.

 

[Chalo]

On Apr 26, 9:06 pm, datakoll <[email protected]> wrote:
> THIS HERE TIRE yawl moaning about for basically completely unknown
> reasons
>
> http://www.panaracer.com/urban.php
>
> has a sidewall covering made of polyester threads ???
>
> IS THIS CORRECT? threads ???
>
> how how how can people of experience recommend a tire so fragile ???
> the thought of this here tire rubbing ever so gently against even a
> slow moving fat woman
> not to mention a stiff concrete slab or even a side of turf will blow
> threads and bang zero tire.
>
> Is that the tire youse are speaking of herein ???
>
> Incroyable.
>
> yes, an ebullinet tire but fragile.

There's nothing particularly fragile about the Pasela tire. All bike
tires are made of fabric-- polyamide (e.g. Nylon) and polyester are
most common, but there's also cotton, or even silk for fetishists.
Car tires are built from the same materials, though most of them have
steel tread belts as well.

The only thing unusual about Paselas, which didn't used to be unusual
at all, is that the latex coating on the sidewalls is a natural pale
color. Most tires these days use black rubber on the sidewalls, which
improves their ability to resist UV damage (and probably helps hide
sloppy construction).

Chalo

 

[datakoll]

hmmm, the Pasela or Panaracer I bought from Nashbar has a polyester
cord sidewall on the OUTSIDE, no rubber covering. Superior response
for a touring tire but you gotta keep it on a crack free surface.
Circular suspension bridge ?

 

[landotter]

On Apr 27, 9:14 am, datakoll <[email protected]> wrote:
> hmmm, the Pasela or Panaracer I bought from Nashbar has a polyester
> cord sidewall on the OUTSIDE, no rubber covering. Superior response
> for a touring tire but you gotta keep it on a crack free surface.
> Circular suspension bridge ?

Rubber's there, it's just natural colored. You can make black wall
tires that are just as "papery". Don't believe me? Set them out in the
sun for a few months and the latex will flake off. I wouldn't mind if
Paselas were black wall--as they do get grubby after a ride in the
rain or a few months of normal use, but the traditional skinwall does
make them stand out from the herd these days. I guess it really has
been a good twenty years since tan sidewalls were the norm. As far as
the "look" goes, they'd look hideous on my fruity colored city bike,
but on the black fixie with very traditional wheels, they look quite
nice, if a little retro or contrarian.

 

[datakoll]

OK ! maybe I have the wrong Panaracer or Panaracer changed the
sidewall - as Conti recently - or yawl didn't look closely. Hold the
sidewall up to a strong light, strum the sidewall, or gently pick into
the sidewall moving pick across the grain.
I had two ?, one 27" one 700c. Both were poly cord sidewalls, no
rubber coating.

 

[Chalo]

datakoll wrote:
>
> OK ! maybe I have the wrong Panaracer or Panaracer changed the
> sidewall - as Conti recently - or yawl didn't look closely. Hold the
> sidewall up to a strong light, strum the sidewall, or gently pick into
> the sidewall moving pick across the grain.
> I had two ?, one 27" one 700c. Both were poly cord sidewalls, no
> rubber coating.

I have only seen that on old tires whose sidewalls have deteriorated
from exposure. On a new tire that would be either a defect or a very
strange feature.

Chalo

 

[Anthony DeLorenzo]

On Apr 25, 12:20 pm, landotter <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Apr 25, 1:05 pm, Anthony DeLorenzo <[email protected]>

> > That was my experience with Paselas. I bought a pair. One could not
> > stay on a rim for longer than 4 hours without blowing out a bead.
> > Fortunately, this did not happen while I was riding. The other would
> > stay on to some rims, but not others.
>
> Which size Pasela, how long ago, and had they been folded before you
> mounted them?

They were 700x35 with Kevlar beads, so they came folded. I bought them
last spring, tried to put them on several different bikes with
multiple rims. Gave up, then tried again this spring on my road bike.
I managed to have one hold on to the back, but the front one blew out
again.

I replaced them with Vittoria Rando tires, 700x37. So far about 500 km
and very happy.

> > I never was able to get any miles on them. They're basically wall
> > ornaments now.
>
> Maybe, maybe not--if they're wire bead with just a little kink in the
> bead, easy to solve. Mine have been mounted up for 24 hours after I
> fixed the bead issue with 100psi and several rides with no issues.
> They appear to be made very straight--I can't imagine a run "running
> large".

My Kevlar beaded ones are basically all kinks. I suppose that the
repeated blowoffs could have wrecked the beads.

At this point, even if I could "fix" the problem I no longer trust the
tires.

Regards,
Anthony

 

[landotter]

On Apr 28, 2:47 pm, Anthony DeLorenzo <[email protected]>
wrote:
> On Apr 25, 12:20 pm, landotter <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > On Apr 25, 1:05 pm, Anthony DeLorenzo <[email protected]>
> > > That was my experience with Paselas. I bought a pair. One could not
> > > stay on a rim for longer than 4 hours without blowing out a bead.
> > > Fortunately, this did not happen while I was riding. The other would
> > > stay on to some rims, but not others.
>
> > Which size Pasela, how long ago, and had they been folded before you
> > mounted them?
>
> They were 700x35 with Kevlar beads, so they came folded. I bought them
> last spring, tried to put them on several different bikes with
> multiple rims. Gave up, then tried again this spring on my road bike.
> I managed to have one hold on to the back, but the front one blew out
> again.
>
> I replaced them with Vittoria Rando tires, 700x37. So far about 500 km
> and very happy.

> My Kevlar beaded ones are basically all kinks. I suppose that the
> repeated blowoffs could have wrecked the beads.
>
I doubt it. I guess it could have been a bad batch. I've only dealt
with a couple kevlar beaded tires, and they weren't my own, and I
found them floppy and hard to manage, so I've felt happy to save the
money by staying with wire beaded stuff. That said, I did get them on
w/o a blowout, but it sure took a lot longer than wire beads.

 

[datakoll]

holy squid ! i'm going back to the garage this week. I'll cut off a
section and ship it down forthwith.
Google jettisoned my last post praising Panaracer for design
sophistication for producing radially suspended tread surfaces.
reads like the twilight zone here.