eschlwc

i've been ordering panaracer pasela tourguards (tg) in wire bead size 23c from amazon sellers for most all my new builds. they average under $45 for a pair. today i received my tg order, but the seller (niagra cycle) sent tires labeled pasela pt, not tg.

- the panasonic website doesn't show a pasela pt tire, only the pasela or pasela tg.
- its pt model shown on the site is not a pasela, but a ribmo, whatever that is.
- the tires look similar, but the sidewall reads 'panaracer pasela pt protection technology' instead of '... tourguard kevlar.'

what gives? anyone have info concerning the differences between the pt and tg? is it a name change alone or is this a different tire that uses something other than kevlar?

i don't think i'll send them back -- that's a pain, and they probably wouldn't pay for return shipping.

jeirvine 

I just noticed those today. I did a little googling and found this third-hand interweb wisdom:
https://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=69072

"This has been a rolling change brought in by Panaracer. The Aramid fibres that were used in the TG tyres have become more expensive for them to use so they have changed the fibres and are laying them in a slightly different fashion. This hasn’t altered the weight, rolling resistance or the puncture protection of the tyre but they technically have to change the name. According to the Panaracer distributors it would take a chemical breakdown of the tyre to highlight any differences, and that in practical use – no difference can be found"

eschlwc

hurray! thanks, jeirvine, for that helpful info. i can rest easy, it seems.

i don't think i like the sidewall emblem color as much (where 'pasela' is written). it's blue now, instead of the red/orange. other than that, i can't see any obvious difference.

rootboy 

Uh oh. Find something you like and they change it.
Shoulda stocked up.

eschlwc

hopefully, it's a minor change that i won't feel while riding. from reading panasonic's own website for its ribmo pt tire, i was fearful the tpi and weight was vastly different between these two pasela tires (tg and pt]. panasonic should release its own press on this without customers scavenging for information. the seller, too, should have provided me info.

the customer is always right, damnit! (i learned this working at sears at age 16.)

seedsbelize 

Well you must be an old fart then, because it is no longer so.

seely

I got the PT's this last round from QBP, and there was some little notation in the QBP description about the name change. I compared the tires when I got them to my old ones and could find no real difference. The ride is excellent as always, with no change I'm able to discern.

eschlwc

seely, thanks for the note.

belize, it depends whom you ask. my shoulder, for one, has been telling me for weeks that, yes, i am indeed an old fart.

Velognome 

[QUOTE]I must be blessed, just ordered 2 sets of Pasela TG's from Niagra expecting to get PT's. Open the box and TA-DA two sets of Tour Guard tires popped out, 700x25 & 32. Both tires with the TG Aramid layer decal! Go figure.

ThermionicScott 

I think Niagara may have bigger stocks than other sites, and so you may be more likely to get stuff that's a little older. This has been a good thing for me, as sometimes they'll have a tire I'm looking for after nearly everyone else has run out.

dddd

I was just a little suspicious of this source because they really don't "technically have to change the name" when a product is redesigned.

If they redesigned the tires to cover for higher material prices, then this at least argues for the likelihood of a cheapening of the quality imo, as perhaps a thiner and more finely-woven kevlar belt was replaced by an amorphous random-fiber orientation.
Woven fibers would of course give the designers directional control of how the fibers will flex, and thus the degree of fiber flex/movement can be better controlled to the benefit of rolling resistance, at least in theory.
Randomly-layed fibers would seem to me to need more elastomer thickness to contain a larger quantity of fibers for equivalent puncture protection, again at least in theory imo.

eschlwc

mine were from niagara as well (via amazon), but were in the 23c size. so maybe 23c was first tg size to sell out??

still haven't mounted them 'cause i've been waiting on sun rims from green canyon outfitters for almost three weeks! they did arrive in part, but they sent the wrong spoke count, and one was partially separated at the seam! terrible service, but they are making it right. maybe by monday...

tom petty said, "the waiting is the hardest part."

Bruce Enns

I like the new tire, it feels and looks the same as the old TG, we'll see how it holds up. These are 700x25.

dddd

And I like the bike that the tires are on, are those the coolest cranks ever?

Bruce Enns

Thank you, I appreciate the compliment! I really like them too, I was going to replace them with this crank set but I'm kind of up in the air on it.

inkandsilver

Wow, that is a lovely bike.

Bruce Enns

Wow, I've been a member of this forum since February of 2009, almost 5 years .................. and no one has ever complimented my bikes, 2 times in one day now!

It must be the new (used) wheel set or the removal of the dork disk, lol. The Trek is my workhorse .........

Thanks again!

irwin7638

I put one on my Hillborne on the rear and can't see or feel any difference.

Marc

rhm

[QUOTE=Velognome;16171206]You mean you ordered 4 tires and they sent 8?

You should tell them. Do you have your packing invoice still? They have been having some trouble in the warehouse, sent me the wrong $2.45 part twice, now they're trying again... Customer service is being really good, but they should know someone is effing up.

Popeyecahn

Make that 3, nice steed!

Andersper

Are the newer Pasela PT's a bit narrower than specified just like the old TGs (reportedly) were?

irwin7638

I haven't measured them, but the tire is the same except for the fiber material in the belt which seems to be as durable and supple as before. I've gone through a few since they made the change and haven't noticed a difference in any way.

Marc

Andersper

Thanks for the info. I take it you're happy with them? They seem like a decent, more affordable alternative to Rivendell's Ruffy Tuffy or the Grand Bois green label Cerfs.

ThermionicScott 

The old TGs were known to measure small, but the ones I got a few years ago measured really close to the labelled size (27-28mm, depending on the rim, for 700x28C). I would imagine that the PTs are accurate, too, since tire manufacturers seem to be over the "make tires small so they're lighter" game. Some even measure over the labelled size these days!

lord_athlon

My Pasela 35's measure ~37 on my cr-18's.