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Panaracer Cinders
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Product: Panaracer Cinder MTB tube-type tires. Configuration: 26 x 2.25. Actual width: 50 mm (1.96”) across the casing; 54.6 mm (2.15”) across the outer knobs. Test Platform: Kona Dawg Primo. Reviewed by: Rich Ries. Cost: MSRP unknown; typical street/online price $40. Mass (weight): 748 g. (1 lb. 10.4 oz.) actual; 760 g. (1lb. 10.8 oz.) claimed. When's the last time you bought a bike part where its actual weight was less than the manufacturer's claimed weight? Recommended? Yes.
Executive Summary: Excellent all-around tire that's perfect for winter riding.
Ratings
(1 is lowest, 5 is highest)
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Comments
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Traction
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4
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Good-to-excellent in all but hardpack
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Acceleration
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3
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No more or less doggy than other tires this size with lotsa big knobs
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Cost/Value
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4
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The price is average but they wear well
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This is the second full season for these tires and they continue to impress me. They hook up well except on hardpack, and even there they're not skitterish or loose, just not as sticky as they are everywhere else. I've yet to get my first flat. The wear has been really low. Ride quality is good. I typically ride 2.3-inch tires, maybe a little wider in summer and maybe a little narrower in winter. The Cinders' measured 2.15” width coupled with their excellent traction in wet and loose conditions make these among my all-time favorite winter tires.
The Cinders benefit from several of Panaracer's best technological offerings. Panaracer touts the inclusion of their ASB - Anti Snake Bite chafer - which is supposed to reduce the likelihood of a snake bite flat by an average of 40 percent. These are not tubeless tires. I run the front at about 22 psi and the back at about 24 psi. No snake-bites. But then I never snake bite even when running pressures lower than these on other 2.3-inch tires, so I'll stop short of giving Panaracer the credit. I will give them credit for their ZSG Ultima compound, however, which they say “provides incredible grip in wet or dry road conditions and superior handling performance. ZSG Ultima will wear at least 10% longer without sacrificing any riding performance.” They can extend their grip hype from the road to the trail and I think the 10 percent extended wear claim is much too modest. The Cinders also have Panaracer's Multi Step Knobs, which are supposed to provide better traction over a wider range of surfaces while reducing the tires' weight. Those claims seem valid to me.
Cinders are available with Aramid (folding) or steel beads in 1.95-inch, 2.10-inch, and 2.25-inch widths. All are 26-inch (559 ERD). All are tube-type.
If you're looking for durable, reliable, all-around tires that are fun to ride, put the Cinders at the top of your list.
Although the Cinders' knobs are tall, the tires never feel squirmy. Steering, acceleration, and braking are all reliable although when the Cinders break loose, they do so with little warning. Fortunately the aggressive knobs make for easy recovery.
Even though the Cinders' tread pattern is not especially open, they shed mud well. And no, of course I'm not advocating riding on muddy trails. But in the Midwest and especially in the Midwest in winter, you're going to encounter muddy spots here and there. A tire that doesn't load up and turn into a racing slick is an asset.
There's not a huge height difference in the Multi Step Knob design and a season's-worth of wear pretty much equalized knob height anyway. Of the three tech tricks Panaracer included on the Cinders, the Multi Step Knobs are probably the least significant. Those little waffle patterns would have ranked least significant - they wore away after just a handful of rides - but Panaracer wisely chose to not attach some gimmicky acronym to them.