Fat Bike Tire Test: Panaracer Fat B Nimble
Contents and Test Summary
- Introduction
- Manufacturer Specifications
- Size, Weight, Thickness
- Rolling Resistance: 47.9 Watts
- Puncture Resistance: 37 Points
- Conclusion: 2 / 5 Not Recommended
- Comments
- Panaracer Fat B Nimble
(100% is fastest - lightest - highest - strongest)
The Panaracer Fat B Nimble is actually the first Panaracer tire I've tested. I've gotten a lot of requests for Panaracer road bike and touring bike tires as Panaracer supposedly makes some of the fastest bicycle tires on earth. I'm testing the 26 x 4.00 120 TPI folding version of the Fat B Nimble as that's the fastest, most expensive, and should be made of the best materials Panaracer can deliver.
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I can't find much info about what kind of compound is used on the Fat B Nimble. The tread pattern looks like it will roll fast and still provide a good amount of grip with the high amount of knobs of reasonable height. I must admit I've had very high expectations of this tire and even expected it to have a good chance of being the fastest fat bike tire. Read on to find out how wrong I was!
Manufacturer Specifications
| Manufacturer Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Brand | Panaracer |
| Model | Fat B Nimble |
| Year | 2016 |
| Supplied By | Bought in store |
| New or Used | New |
| Mileage | 0 km |
| Price Range | High |
| Buy At | Ad Amazon.com |
| Manufacturer part number | |
| TPI | 120 |
| Compound | |
| Bead | Folding |
| ETRTO | 97-559 |
| Size Inch | 26" |
| Width Inch | 4.00 |
| Specified Weight | 1180 grams |
| Max Air Pressure (psi) | 20 |
| Made In | Members Only |
| Available Sizes |
29x3.00 27.5x3.50 26x4.00 |
Panaracer Fat B Nimble Test Results
Size, Weight, and Thickness Measurements
| Size, Weight, and Thickness Measurements | |
|---|---|
| Specified Weight | 1180 grams |
| Measured Weight | 1135 grams |
| Measured Width Carcass | 94 mm (un-round) |
| Measured Width Tread | 94 mm |
| Measured Height | 81 mm (un-round) |
| Measured Knob Height Center | 4.0 mm |
| Measured Knob Height Edge | 4.5 mm |
| Measured Total Thickness Center (excluding knobs) | 2.40 mm |
| Measured Total Thickness Sidewall | Members Only |
| All size measurements are taken at an air pressure of 16 psi / 1.1 bars on a 65 mm inner width rim. | |
Specified weight of the folding 26 x 4.00 Fat B Nimble is 1180 grams, my sample puts 1134 grams on the scale which is a very nice weight for a fat bike tire. Maximum width of the casing is 94 mm. The maximum width between the shoulder knobs is 85 mm. The maximum height is 81 mm.
The center knobs have a maximum height of 4.0 mm, the shoulder knobs are a bit bigger and come in at 4.5 mm. The sidewalls have a thickness of 0.85 mm which is slightly below average, but a bit thicker than the ultra-thin sidewalls that come in at 0.5 - 0.6 mm.
Rolling Resistance Test Results
| Rolling Resistance Test Results | ||
|---|---|---|
| Inner Tube | None (60 ml sealant) (current protocol) | Schwalbe SV13J (390 gr) (test protocol) |
| Rolling Resistance 20 PSI / 1.4 Bar | Members Only | Members Only |
| Rolling Resistance 16 PSI / 1.1 Bar | Members Only | Members Only |
| Rolling Resistance 12 PSI / 0.8 Bar |
38.0 Watts CRR: 0.01139 | 43.5 Watts CRR: 0.01304 |
| Rolling Resistance 8 PSI / 0.6 Bar |
47.9 Watts CRR: 0.01436 | 55.4 Watts CRR: 0.01661 |
| All numbers are for a single tire at a speed of 29 km/h / 18 mph and a load of 42.5 kg / 94 lbs. Use the formula: RR (Watts) = CRR * speed (m/s) * load (N) to calculate rolling resistance at a given speed and load. |
||
I expected the Panaracer Fat B Nimble to perform very well in the rolling resistance test. Unfortunately, I was very wrong. At the low air pressure of 8 psi / 0.6 bars, rolling resistance is a whopping 55.4 watts. The much faster Schwalbe Jumbo Jim came in at 36.9 watts which means almost 20 watts per tire is lost. If you're serious about performance and ride your fat bike at low pressures (most do) this isn't the tire for you.
At higher air pressures the difference is a bit smaller, but the Fat B Nimble still has a very high rolling resistance compared to other fat bike tires. I'm really disappointed by the Fat B Nimble and now am extra curious about how other Panaracer tires perform.
Puncture Resistance Test Results
| Puncture Resistance Test Results (higher is better) | |
|---|---|
| Total Puncture Score Tread | 37 Points |
| Total Puncture Score Sidewall | Members Only |
| Tread Puncture Force Sharp Needle | 8 Points |
| Tread Puncture Force Blunt Needle | Members Only |
| Tread Total Tire Thickness | 2.40 mm |
| Sidewall Puncture Force Sharp Needle | Members Only |
| Sidewall Puncture Force Blunt Needle | Members Only |
| Sidewall Total Tire Thickness | Members Only |
Puncture resistance of both the tread and sidewalls is very average and doesn't justify the very high rolling resistance of this tire.
Conclusion
- Panaracer Fat B Nimble
(100% is fastest - lightest - highest - strongest)
Because I get quite a lot of messages from visitors asking me to test some Panaracer bicycle tires as they apparently have a low rolling resistance, I had very high expectations of the Fat B Nimble. Unfortunately, the Fat B Nimble performs very bad in the rolling resistance tests. With a rolling resistance of 55.4 watts at 8 psi / 0.6 bars, this tire is near the bottom of the charts.
Rated 2 out of 5 because of the high rolling resistance and no exceptional performance or features to make up for it. For a pair of tires, you'll lose up to 40 watts of power when compared to the fastest rolling fat bike tires. Check the fat bike overview (overview) page to see how the Panaracer Fat B Nimble stacks up to the competition.
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RATING:
2
/ 5
TEST VERDICT:
Not Recommended