Panaracer GravelKing Semi Slick Plus TLC

The new Panaracer GravelKing Semi Slick Plus TLC is a tyre designed for both road use and hardpack gravel trails, maintaining the high levels of grip and speed found on other models in the range. Easy to set up tubeless and with tough puncture protection, they make perfect sense for a whole host of applications.

The GravelKings come in various guises, and just when you think they've got all bases covered along comes another one to fill a gap. This SS+ TLC fits in between the GravelKing Slick Tread and the more aggressively treaded GravelKing SK.

> Buy now: Panaracer GravelKing Semi Slick Plus TLC from Sigma Sports for £34.00

As you can see from the photos, Panaracer has gone for a minimalist tread in the centre with things getting a little bit more knobbly towards the shoulder to help cornering when off-road.

A lot of gravel routes and byways in the UK this time of year tend to be more like mud tracks, and with a tyre as smooth as this you aren't going to be venturing anywhere near the woods or grassy trails.

Luckily for me, I have a network of hardpack gravel trails spanning hundreds of kilometres just a stone's throw from my front door, and the SS+ has been a complete blast on these.

At 38mm wide, which is stretched out to about 40mm on the majority of rims, the width is fine for fast rolling on a hard surface, and should you hit a patch of small, loose aggregate the tyre isn't going to sink either.

One of my favourite routes is a 100km loop taking in Stonehenge at the midway point. The terrain is about a 50/50 mix of country lanes and hardpack gravel tracks, which makes for the perfect testing ground for this kind of tyre.

On the road the SS+ is impressively fast for such a large tyre. At 460g it's no lightweight, but that's never really noticeable as the SS+ never feels stodgy. It's quite supple considering the reasonably low 120TPI casing, and gives a good degree of feedback, keeping you engaged with what's going on with the surface beneath you. This level of suppleness is even more impressive considering that the SS+ has a layer of Panaracer's ProTite protective guard from bead to bead and a nylon belt for puncture protection.

Cornering grip on the road is good, providing plenty of confidence even at speed, and although it isn't up there with a full slick, I wasn't really conscious of the tread compressing when banking the bike over hard.

All of this translates over to the gravel too. Grip levels are good, and when cornering hard on descents you get a little bit of extra bite from the tread on the shoulders.

The tracks I used for testing do have a fair amount of potholes and large stones poking up from the surface, which can be hard on tyres and wheels if you aren't paying attention. At speed you can't miss them all, and some of the whacks can be hard even when you're out of the saddle to provide a bit of elbow and knee suspension. I clouted the SS+ a fair few times with no issues.

I had no problems with punctures, either, riding on the rural lanes after the hedges had been cut, although running them tubeless should see them sealed quickly anyway, should you pick up a thorn or something.

Speaking of tubeless, the Panaracers were really easy to fit on a mixture of wheels, popping onto both hooked and hookless rims without issue. More importantly, they are easy to remove. If you puncture badly out in the middle of nowhere and need to install a tube or add a patch, the last thing you want to be doing is wrestling a tyre off the rim.

When it comes to options, they are available in widths of 32mm, 35mm, 38mm and 43mm for 700C wheels. If you use 650B then your only option is 48mm (27.5 x 1.9in). All tyres are available as full black or black with tan sidewalls.

Priced at £49.99 each means that the SS+ is a penny cheaper than the very lightly treaded IRC Boken that Matt tested recently. He was impressed with how well they grip on the road, and the weights are very similar.

Another tyre that works well on road and hardpack off-road surfaces is the Hutchinson Overide. For the same 38mm size they are quite a bit lighter at 425g, and a fair bit cheaper at £32.95. They perform well on a range of surfaces, but I'd say that the SS+ is a more performance-orientated tyre everywhere.

> Buyer’s Guide: 25 of the best gravel bike tyres

Overall, I really can't fault the GravelKing SS+ for the type of riding I do – they make my gravel bike feel fast and lively wherever I'm riding, and thanks to great levels of grip I can really have fun. Yes, there are cheaper tyres out there, but the Panaracers deliver the full package. I can't wait for the summer when drier conditions mean they'll be even more versatile.

Verdict

Brilliant, robust tyres that offer great performance and grip on any hardpack surface