Fat Bike Tire Test: Panaracer Fat B Nimble

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  • Panaracer Fat B Nimble
Performance compared to all other fat bike tires
(100% is fastest - lightest - highest - strongest)
Pro Members get 9-point radar charts



Panaracer Fat B Nimble road bike tire on a rolling resistance test machine

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.


Ad Buy Panaracer Fat B Nimble at Amazon.com


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

Panaracer Fat B Nimble  fat bike tire on a rolling resistance test machine

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 OnlyMembers Only
Rolling Resistance 16 PSI / 1.1 Bar Members OnlyMembers 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

Panaracer Fat B Nimble  fat bike tire on a rolling resistance test machine
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
Performance compared to all other fat bike tires
(100% is fastest - lightest - highest - strongest)

Pro Members get 9-point radar charts

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.


Ad Buy Panaracer Fat B Nimble at Amazon.com


RATING: 2 / 5
TEST VERDICT:
Not Recommended


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