Home  Partsroom Reviews Product Testing Panaracer Razer XC Tires
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Panaracer Razer XC Tires |
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Written by Jesse Stevens
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Saturday, 06 May 2006 |
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Tester: Jesse Stevens, Team Bikeman.com Rider, Certified Bikeman Product Tester
Conditions: Sweet West Virginia single track.
Review: I (like most of you out there I suspect) have a special area in my workshop for the oodles of tires that I have collected over the years. Some look brand new some are used till the knobs are gone and in my case some still have the original packaging on because when you find a set you like you’d better buy 8-10 pair as next year they may not be the same. The Bikeman sent me a set of Panaracer Razer 2.1’s to test about a month ago and I’ve been logging lots and lots of training miles on them.
I am very particular about my tires, and initially I absolutely hated these things. My first ride was on a semi muddy slick day and the Razers did nothing but slip out of every corner and loose traction on every muddy climb. I take a notepad with me when I am testing something and record my thoughts while my thoughts are still fresh and my comments from that first ride where as follows; “Pathetic cornering performance, ridiculous on roots and wet rocks, no climbing traction” and “I think these are made for road biking”. And that my good friend is why I never put my initial comments in a review. In this case my first impression was based more on the conditions than the tire, these tires do exactly what their meant to do and you can’t ask for much more than that.
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I continued to ride the Panaracer Razer 2.1’s over the next 3 weeks and I quickly realized how rash my initial judgment was. In dry conditions these tires do everything you would want a light race tire to do, they corner very well even high speed, they provide good climbing traction and roll extremely fast. I have found that they perform best on hard dry surfaces and worst in any wet situation. These are the kind of tires that I will take to every race because if the course is dry and fast you can carry astounding speed out of corners and hold momentum very well when not pedaling (which as a single speeder happens a LOT). I would not recommend the Razers for everyday training or riding/racing in low traction situations but they get a 3 BIKMAN rating for their low profile and rolling resistance, their superb cornering performance, well designed tread pattern and general race oriented performance but lack of versatility. These are the kind of tires you need to add to your race arsenal for those hot dry summer races. Let them roll in and out of corners with confidence and surprise the competition as you pull away on the flats. But leave them in the trunk if there are clouds threatening or if you encounter extended sections of loose terrain, you’ll thank me for it. So now you’re wondering what my last notebook entries were? “WOW these things are fast, predictable braking or hard pack, very nice around tight corners, Ok on dry roots, still don’t like anything wet or loose” and “cant wait to race these in July”.
Jesse Stevens
Rated:
 | $31.95 | Buy / Details | Panaracer Razer XC: 26x2.1, Kevlar, Black/Black. Fast rolling dry condition XC tire. ZSG natural tread compound for grip and durability.... |
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