I built my Surly Puglsey into the War Rig for gravel races back in 2016. I put on Salsa Woodchipper handlebars, Gevenalle shifters, and Panaracer Fat B Nimble tires. This bike has done the Almanzo 100 twice, the Heck of the North twice, the Ragnarok 105, the Freedhem 76 (fastest fatbike), the Westside Dirty Benjamin two or three times, The DAMn (fastest fatibke), and a number of other endurance gravel races. All of these rides were on the same set tires, Panaracer Fat B Nimble. These tires are at the end of life after 8 years (uncounted miles), and Panaracer doesn't make Fat B Nible tires any more. I was bummed out and didn't think I'd find a tire I'd love like the Fat B Nimble. But needing to find something new for some big ride this year, I did a kinda sciency test ride with my Panaracer Fat B Nimble tires and some Schwalbe Jumbo Jimmy tires (thanks to Lisa for letting me borrow your tires).
 |
| My drop-bar Pugsley at it's first race with the Panaracer Fat B Nimble - the 2016 Almanzo 100. |
My test was to ride the same Strava segments with my Panaracer tires and again with the Schwalbe tires. I worked to keep variables to a minimum, like riding in the same position (hands on hoods), holding the same power (targeting 200 W), two segments (one eastbound & one westbound), same tire pressure (15 psi), and both tires labeled 26x4. The only thing that wasn't great was riding paved trails on tires meant for gravel roads, but this was my best option since the paved Cedar Lake Trail has no stop lights or road crossings.
For starters, I weighed both tires:
 |
| Old Fat B Nimble at 1132g |
 |
| Nearly new Jumbo Jim at 1128g |
Here are the two segment results:
So Jumbo Jim for the win! I am honestly blown away ... and I'm excited to test the Jumbo Jim tires on my races later this summer.
 |
| Quick view of the two segments |
