daleb116

I have been looking around for info on a question I may have to pony up and answer myself. Does anyone have experience or thoughts on Panaracer T-Serv vs. Pasela vs. Compass Bon Jon? I am looking for new tires and thought I would go a little wider for my LHT or Volpe which have usually had 700x28 or 700x32 tires. I am looking for 35mm and a little more supple than my usual Contacts These would be for recreational and up to century rides and I am ready to experiment. Of course I could buy a pair of each

Dean V

I have the Compass Bon Jon on my gravel bike. Nice tyre. Supple, comfortable and still quite fast.
But haven't had the others so can't give you a comparison.

Aubergine 

I have tried the 32 mm Paselas and both Compass options (regular and extra light). The Compass tires seem to me to be a bit smoother rolling all round, but the Paselas are still very nice tires.

blazin

I just mounted the 38mm Panaracer GravelKing slicks. They are light (340g) and supple and mounted up tubeless fairly easily (compared to difficulties I've heard about with Compass). On my wide rims I can run them at 30psi or even less for a smooth ride over gravel and rough roads or closer to 40psi for spirited riding on pavement. I'm very happy with them thus far.

DrIsotope

I've ridden both the Pasela and the Pasela PT, and they are both completely competent tires. Nothing extraordinary, but the thin sidewalls make the tough-cased tires feel a bit smoother riding than similar options. But the Bon Jons, if run tubeless, will be like riding around astride two clouds. I ran tubeless 700x35 Gravelkings, and the ability to run sub-60psi pressures makes for one smooth ride.

arimajol 

I just installed a set of T-Serv 32's on my girlfriend's commuter. She says she likes them so far. I've been using Panaracer RiBMos on my commuter. They are a great improvement over gatorskins for a durable option.

Tim_Iowa

Although Compass tires are made by Panaracer, they are quite different than Panaracer-branded tires. They use different casings and compounds.

Compass tires roll noticeably faster than a mid-range tire like a T-serv or Pasela. Very noticeably.


Suppleness/comfort scale (according to my opinion)

0 - solid rubber tire
1 - "airless" foam filled tires
2-3 - most box-store MTB tires
4 - Schwalbe Marathon Plus (reinforced touring tire)
5 - Schwalbe Marathon
6 - Panaracer T-Serv, Pasela TG
7 - Panaracer Pasela non-TG, Soma New Xpress
8 - Panaracer Gravel King slick
8.5 - Challenge Gravel Grinder 120, Schwalbe liteskin/addix compounds
9 - Panaracer Pari-Moto
9.5 - Compass std casing, Grand Bois
10 - Compass EL, Challenge open tubular

(I've never ridden tubular tires, so maybe they'd get an elusive "11" on this scale.)


In my opinion, the price of Compass tires is worth it for the ride improvement. But, their value is diminished if you ride in flat-prone areas (gutters, thorns, etc).
However, they are updating their designs with tubeless-ready bead. Tubeless setup would fix their lack of flat protection.

HTupolev

T-Serv are beefy urban tires, not dissimilar in category from your Contacts. They're tough but slow, and if you need to run them squishy (i.e. for unpaved riding), they become very slow.
I went on a gravel ride last summer, on my vintage MTB drop-bar conversion with Rat Trap Pass ELs. One of the other guys who showed up is about my equal in a road paceline, he was riding his CX bike and he'd fitted it with 30-something-mm T-Servs, pumped fairly low for the gravel. I dropped him on the day's big climb despite my bike weighing nearly ten pounds more than his, and when we were on flat pavement, he couldn't even keep up in my draft when I was cruising along steady.

I run non-PT Paselas on my 1983 Miyata 710, because Paselas are some of the best 27" tires available. The casing is thicker than Compass tires, but still fairly flexible. The tread rubber feels different, and it's "squeakier" when wheeling the bike around inside.
They ride smooth and perform reasonably, although they don't have the liveliness that a high-performance tire does, they don't sing on the road. Soft, but not necessarily supple.

I haven't used Bon Jons, but I've found the Rat Traps to be excellent. It's fast, supple, has a smooth and lively ride. Excellent acoustics, the high width lends the road hum an interesting deep roar. Tread is several millimeters deep at the centerline, making for better wear life than most high-performance tires.

tyrion

Some words from Jan Heine and Panaracer:

https://janheine.wordpress.com/2018/...om-panaracers/

daleb116

Thanks everyone! Steering toward one of the Compass tires, or Pasela. Hoping for some good rides soon. Spring keeps teasing us.

Craptacular8

Interesting. I have a set of the T-Servs. I have some miles on them previously mounted to a commuter. Was planning to re-mount them on another commuter bike, but maybe I just don't go there, lol. I remember them being competent, like you describe, but nothing special. I'd probably be happier with the Clemente MXPs back on there, as I don't typically have to worry about flats, and prefer having 120tpi sidewalls.

Concur on the Compass tires, I've got those on everything else, and love them. Would love to hear how the Soma Supple Vitesse SL tires compare (also made by panaracer), or even the Jack Brown Greens. I'm mostly intrigued because they come in a 700x33 size, and if they stay that size, or only plump up a little more than their stated size, they could work nicely to give me the largest tire I could safely stuff in a 2017 Diverge mounted on wide rims.

I'll probably have plenty of time to research, as I just ordered Compass 32's to replace the stock tires. I've heard they can grow to 34 or so, though my 28's have actually run true to size, which has been the exception of my Compass tire experience.

Barrettscv 

I would avoid the T-serve and consider the slick version of the Gravelking.

I have the 700x28 Gravelking and the 700x32 Compass Stampede Pass. Both tires are smooth riding and roll with minimal resistance. The Gravelking is more substantial, but I've never has a flat with either tire.

Kapusta

Do they still sell the Jack Brown Green?

I ran a set of those for a couple thousand miles before switching to a set of Stampede Pass Extralight (32mm), which then led to a set of Bon Jons (35mm), and then Barlows (38mm).

As far as size, on old 17 mm ID rims, the JBs ran pretty true to size (around 33.5mm). On those same rims, both the Stampede Pass and Bon Jon Pass measure up about 2mm narrower than claimed size.

As far as ride quality, the Compass tires are definitely better both in smoothness and speed.

Craptacular8

Good to know then on the Jack Browns. I still see them listed on Rivendell, and with their stated weight, thought they were more comparable to the Compass tires than it sounds like they really are. All of my Bon Jons both standard and EL casings measure out 37 and some change, so if the Stampede's that I ordered do that, I'll be just fine with that. Thanks.

Kapusta

The JBs are the tire that opened my eyes to what high volume light tires with a supple casing could offer, and changed the way I thought about tires. Compass just does it better.

Interestingly, comments I’ve read from Grant Peterson (of Rivendell) seems to dismiss the idea that some tires are more “supple” than others or that it really makes a difference. Pretty strange considering that is exactly what made the JB Greens such good tires.

79pmooney

I don't think the relationship between ride quality and "suppleness" is 1:1. Related yes, but not everything. As an example, I had been running nice tires on my good fix gear. Had tire issues with my front very early in what was to be a longish ride. Stopped at a bike shop. They had Verdesteins (I'm hammering the spelling - they aren't in front of me) for $70 and $40. I bought the cheap one. Heavy rubberized sidewall. Felt completely uninspiring to the touch and feel. They have stayed on that wheel because I don't notise them as all when I am riding. They feel secure on corners and seem ot rool very well. Rough pavement works fine despite tham being not all that big (25c) and the wheel being my only radial spoked one.

But while "suppleness" might not be exactly the defining characteristic of sweet tires, materials and construction do make a huge difference. No one who has ever ridden good silk sewups would argue that point. (It would be fun to test ride side-by-side the silks I used to race and Armadillos!)

Ben

dim

Compass tyres are on my wishlist and have been for a long time .... I now have a new gravel bike that can take up to 40mm wide tyres, but I need to have a new wheelset built first before I try them (tubeless)

however, for my 'fast bike', I will stick to Specialized Turbo Cotton with latex tubes .... I've only had one set of these, but WOW ... these are fast and comfy ... puncture protection is very good on the roads that I travel on , and they are good for 2000 Km+ (I dont mind paying a bit extra for speed and enjoyment)

I'm going to try the Compass Bon Jon Pass on my gravel bike for commuting (tubeless) ... I've heard very good things about them

daleb116

In the end I purchased a set of 37mm Paselas for a Long Haul Trucker and 38mm Barlow Pass with tubes for my tried and true Volpe. The Compass tires are a little tight on the Volpe. I have had 37mm Continentals of a couple of types on it but I think the Compass tires balloon out a bit. Both sets of tires are very nice. I may swap them around or go for Bon Jon tires in the spring. I do not feel I lost much speed, if any with the Compass tires. I usually ride on pavement and found both tires to be comfortable on bumpy county roads (vs the 28 mm and 32 mm tires previously used). Since the purchase I relocated to an area with many paved trails so the riding is even more comfortable.