Classic & Vintage - White Panaracer Pasela vs Vittoria Randonneur?

Any experience with white Panaracer Pasela vs Vittoria Randonneur tires? I am a cream/white tire fiend and have been using the Paselas on 700C roadish bikes. Was going to just put the set I already had on my new build (a lugged, lilac single speed), but everyone's been saying they are slow and encouraging me to get different tires. But which?.. The Vittoria Randonneurs are the only other white 28mm road tires I know of with a decent reputation, but I haven't tried them. Are they "faster" than the Paselas with an equivalent degree of puncture resistance? Feedback welcome and thanks in advance.

I installed a pair of white Randonneurs recently. The have a slightly different profile than the Pasela (the Pasela seems to be more "round"). I believe they do offer pretty good puncture protection, but there is no Kevlar, so perhaps not as much protection as a TG Pasela. I recall that the Randonneurs did not feel particularly light. I can't really comment on the ride, though. I only took the bike on a few mile shakedown ride as it was several sizes too small.

http://gallery.me.com/justinhughes/100409/IMG_4591/web.jpg?ver=13137882400001

i have the black with reflective strip Vittoria Randonneurs, and they seem to be very durable. Another pair lasted me for years. They're a ***** to put on and take off. However, i can't really say much about the ride feel, since i don't seem to be so in-tuned with that (i ride Schwalbe Marathon Pluses on two of my bikes)

BTW, colonel, another beauty of a bike! love the all white decor!

Thanks, dude. Installation was a bear in my experience too. Some of the worst I've ever mounted.

I have the Randonneurs in 28's these seem bomb proof against punctures but rarely ever use them anymore because they feel very slow on the road. Punctures are few and far between for me anyway.

Thanks. Seems the two are probably equivalent speed-wise then.
Might as well stick with my Paselas.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6156/6187559850_598a498576.jpg

I don't find Paselas to be slow at all, unless we're comparing them with a high-end high-performance tire.

IMO Paselas are "quicker" than Randos. 28 Paselas are also wider than 28 randos.

Quicker and wider!
Definitely keeping them then : )

How about these white Duranos in 25c?: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-durano-performance-folding-road-race-tyre/

Paselas are mediocre at best. If you go with 25s there are several makes with white or white stripe...

i have the black with reflective strip Vittoria Randonneurs, and they seem to be very durable. Another pair lasted me for years. They're a ***** to put on and take off. However, i can't really say much about the ride feel, since i don't seem to be so in-tuned with that (i ride Schwalbe Marathon Pluses on two of my bikes)

BTW, colonel, another beauty of a bike! love the all white decor!

I have the Vittoria Randonneurs 28-622 in black and they were the most difficult tire I've ever mounted. The easiest I've mounted to date were a set of Conti TourRide tires. As far as ride, I've ridden them about 20 miles and they seem a bit harsh to me, but I'm more accustomed to riding tires in the 32mm to 38mm range. These measure an actual 26mm on my CR-18 rims and may ride OK for the size of the tire, but I don't have a good reference point to compare them to in that size tire.

BTW, I've got Black/Tan Pasela's in 35mm and they ride very nicely.

IMO Paselas are "quicker" than Randos. 28 Paselas are also wider than 28 randos.

Randos in 28 measure 26 on CR-18 rims.

How about these white Duranos in 25c?: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/schwalbe-durano-performance-folding-road-race-tyre/

Paselas are mediocre at best. If you go with 25s there are several makes with white or white stripe...

You know what, I agree.

I had white Paselas on my Bruce Gordon because I liked the look.

Pretty "dead" road feel though.

As for the Vittorias, I had them on my Cross Check two years ago.

They were so tough to mount I ended up with bleeding fingers.

Never had a flat though on either though.

The ones I wouldn't mind trying are the Panaracer Ribmos.

http://www.panaracer.com/images/products/urban/ribmo.jpg

These aren't available in white, mind you.

Are you guys using the pinch technique to sink the randos down towards the center of the rim? I thought they were the toughest, but after perfecting the technique, they're not much more difficult than other tires.

Are you guys using the pinch technique to sink the randos down towards the center of the rim? I thought they were the toughest, but after perfecting the technique, they're not much more difficult than other tires.

Talc and a prayer!

Finally broke out the heavy artillery:

http://www.crankbrothers.com/tools_speedlever.php

I've seen the Pasela's break down over time, but only really with the tan wall ones. I personally am a huge randonneur fan, i like the puncture resistance along with the feeling they give. I always was under the impression they are slightly bigger than they are labeled, rather than smaller though.

I've seen the Pasela's break down over time, but only really with the tan wall ones. I personally am a huge randonneur fan, i like the puncture resistance along with the feeling they give. I always was under the impression they are slightly bigger than they are labeled, rather than smaller though.

Put a caliper on them. Believe me, they're narrower than advertised!

Thanks for the Schwalbe Durano tip!

The Paselas are definitely wider than advertised, more like 30mm. I have 2 sets and have been using the older one since July last year. No flats, no signs of breakdown. I would not call the ride quality "dead." They are cushy, which is nice over bumps. But I would not mind a faster tire either. Going to look into that Durano.

Veloria, if you like the Pasela, you would probably like the Grand Bois line of tires. They're said to be even cushier and even faster than Paselas. They're made in the same factory, and I think they're designed by a special team of enthusiastic engineers with a penchant for French culture, hence the French names. I don't know if they have any tires in white. Wait, I think the Hetre model comes in colo(u)rs.

The Paselas (and T-Servs) are always a little wider than their call size. So cushy and round that I've never noticed them to be "slow". The ride encourages more miles out of me. My recent Conti Contact purchase made me go back to the Panaracer.

With the Paselas, some people are saying they're bigger than marked, others that they're smaller. I just put a caliper on my 28mm tires and they came up at... 28mm.

Maybe the problem is they're not consistently big, small or right on?

I've ridden the Grand Bois Hetres (in cream of course) on two bikes and love them:

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6164/6190649534_71dfa7024e.jpg

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6072/6131643708_7694a5345c.jpg

But for this bike I am looking for 700Cx25-28mm, and as far as I know Grand Bois has nothing in that size in cream. I went ahead and ordered the Schwalbe Duranos though, so will report back on how those compare once I try them.

I think it might be more related to rim width but from my experience they're either true to size or slightly fuller.


With the Paselas, some people are saying they're bigger than marked, others that they're smaller. I just put a caliper on my 28mm tires and they came up at... 28mm.

Maybe the problem is they're not consistently big, small or right on?

I apologize but I have to ask.

Would any of you run white tires on your automobiles if they were made for them?

With the Paselas, some people are saying they're bigger than marked, others that they're smaller. I just put a caliper on my 28mm tires and they came up at... 28mm.

Maybe the problem is they're not consistently big, small or right on?

The width of the rim you mount them on changes how wide they are if you measure the width of the tire.

I apologize but I have to ask.

Would any of you run white tires on your automobiles if they were made for them?
That's not such a strange question. There is an entire flickr group (http://www.flickr.com/groups/774274@N20/) dedicated to this.

I'm only interested in bikes though.

I'm sure some would use white car tires. And some would use colored tires.

I apologize but I have to ask.

Would any of you run white tires on your automobiles if they were made for them?

With road bikes there is a limited number of things you can change to make them distinct unlike the varying body styles of automobiles. If every car looked almost identical in shape there would be a market for colored tires.

I apologize but I have to ask.

Would any of you run white tires on your automobiles if they were made for them?
I totally would. But I'd want to have the right car, first:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4116/4758327675_00be3c14be.jpg

I do love white tires on bikes, too. :)

- Scott

I apologize but I have to ask.

Would any of you run white tires on your automobiles if they were made for them?

I totally would, too!

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xHYd91sZs5I/Tjfyt4vu8QI/AAAAAAAAFNM/-TrRUvKGAzU/s1600/buick-1905-model-c-1513.JPG

Well there you go. I have been schooled. I surely thought the answer to my question would be a bunch of, "no way, the tires would be black and dirty in a week" type of answers.

Well there you go. I have been schooled. I surely thought the answer to my question would be a bunch of, "no way, the tires would be black and dirty in a week" type of answers.

I'm still kinda new here, but I gather the C&V way is to take a lot of good pictures before oiling the chain or actually riding the bike much. ;)

I'm still kinda new here, but I gather the C&V way is to take a lot of good pictures before oiling the chain or actually riding the bike much. ;)

Either that or know how to take photos that disguise flaws. All my bikes are filthy and I don't often clean them. But you usually can't tell in photos.

I'm still kinda new here, but I gather the C&V way is to take a lot of good pictures before oiling the chain or actually riding the bike much. ;)

For the folks with Derailleur bikes at least. ;) For us IGH guys, that's a non-issue!

For the folks with Derailleur bikes at least. ;) For us IGH guys, that's a non-issue!
I'll admire your clean-ish bike while I pass you on the uphills and downhills ;) j/k