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review

Panaracer Agilest Duro TLR Folding Road Tyre

8
£64.99

VERDICT:

8
10
Supple, quick-rolling tyres with good all-round durability that makes them ideal for four-season riding
Tacky compound gives great grip
Supple ride feel
Good range of sizes
Initially hard to fit
Weight: 
297g

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The Panaracer Agilest Duro TLR folding road tyre is described by the Japanese manufacturer as its flagship all-road tyre. It has an impressive blend of grip, low rolling resistance and durability. And considering the amount of puncture protection underneath the tread, their suppleness and the feedback they offer is very decent too.

Our best road bike tyres buyer's guide rounds up our favourite road rubber, with our top winter choices rated on our best winter tyres buyer's guide.

Earlier this year Steve reviewed the Panaracer Agilest TLR tyre, on which these are based. He described them as 'confident and predictable yet light and fast – plus they're tough enough for winter roads'.

That pretty much describes these Duro Agilests too, but Panaracer has increased the amount of puncture protection – so they've really got your back covered on the UK's current wet and grit-strewn winter roads.

2023 Panaracer Agilest Duro TLR Folding Road Tyre 28C - boxed.jpg

The Duro uses the same ZSG Agile compound as the standard Agilest, which means they are grippy. Rub your thumb across the rubber and you'll notice they have a soft, tacky feel, which translates to how well they hang on to tarmac.

2023 Panaracer Agilest Duro TLR Folding Road Tyre Fitted 3.jpg

Even on cold roads the compound remains supple enough to provide decent grip, which gives you confidence tackling corners.

It's good to see a complete lack of tread too, as a road tyre doesn't need any – you're never to aquaplane on a road bike tyre – which means the maximum area of rubber is in contact with the road surface at all times.

I can't really report back too much yet in terms of wear rates as I've only covered around 500 miles, but I can say that both the front and rear tyres look pretty much as new. The little bits of excess rubber from where they are pulled from the mould have worn off, but the central sections are still looking rounded, even on the rear.

Adding layers of puncture protection to a tyre can stiffen it, or at least make its construction feel less supple, but even with the Pro Tite Belt providing resistance to thorns and flint this tyre still feels flexible where it needs to be, which delivers a ride that is comfortable and offers feedback, even when pumped up to full pressure.

While most of this is inevitably down to nothing but happenstance, the tyres haven't suffered any punctures or any obvious damage such as cuts.

Most of my riding taking place on back roads in the dark, so I've clearly clattered the odd pothole or two along the way. And because their fit to the rim is tight and snug, I suffered no problems with these tubeless tyres 'burping' – coming away from the rim when impacting the edge of a pothole.

The downside of the tight fit is that it did make them a bit of a challenge to get them on the rim for the first time. I tried them on rims of varying widths and the Duros took a little persuasion from a couple of tyre levers. However, once fitted, they did stretch and they went off and on again more easily.

The Duro TLRs come in four sizes, 25, 28, 30 and 32mm, which makes them suitable for different types of riding. You've also got the choice of all-black tyres or black with tan sidewalls.

2023 Panaracer Agilest Duro TLR Folding Road Tyre 30C.jpg

Our 28mm test tyres weighed in at 297g, which is a decent weight, and you could use them for performance riding as well as training, with the wider options ideal for audax or even light touring.

Value

At £64.99 these aren't as expensive as some of the top-end race tyres, but for this kind of area – the all-rounder – they are up against tough opposition.

The Pirelli P Zero Road TLR offers similar levels of performance and durability at £55.99, and though they're heavier, I liked the feedback and feel they offered.

The Eagle F1 SuperSport Rs from Goodyear comes in at £60, and in a like-for-like size they are 30g lighter than the Panaracers. I found them robust, grippy and easy to fit.

Michelin's Power Cup Tubeless Ready tyre is lighter but a little pricier at £69.99. George was very impressed with them, dishing out a score of 4.5 stars.

Conclusion

I rate these Panaracers highly. They grip well, roll quickly and offer you a great road feel. They're facing a lot of stiff competition in terms of price, but if you can get a decent deal these cover the bases in terms of performance and durability.

Verdict

Supple, quick-rolling tyres with good all-round durability that makes them ideal for four-season riding

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road.cc test report

Make and model: Panaracer Agilest Duro TLR Folding Road Tyre

Size tested: 30mm

Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

Panaracer says: "AGILEST DURO TLR is based on AGILEST TLR, which adds even great protection for greater security to really test conditions over all types of surfaces with greater confidence."

They are quality all-rounder tyres with a lovely ride quality.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Compound: ZSG Agile

Puncture Protection: ProTite Belt

Sizes: 25/28/30/32mm

Colour: Black/Black, Black/Tan

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
8/10
Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
 
7/10
Rate the product for comfort (if applicable)
 
8/10
Rate the product for value:
 
5/10

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Good all-rounder tyres.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Supple ride feel.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

A really snug fitting initially.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

As mentioned in the review, they are a little dearer than some similar competitors though they are in the same ball park.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your overall score

A bit pricier than some close competition, but both the overall performance and durability are impressive, which is why I've scored them so highly.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 44  Height: 180cm  Weight: 76kg

I usually ride: This month's test bike  My best bike is: B'Twin Ultra CF draped in the latest bling test components

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed,

As part of the Tech Hub here at F-At Digital, our senior product reviewer Stu uses the knowledge gained from putting well over a 1,000 products through their paces (including hundreds of bikes) to write in-depth reviews of a huge range of kit. After first throwing his leg over a race bike back in 2000, Stu's ridden more than 160,000 miles on road, time-trial, track, and gravel bikes, and while he's put his racing days behind him he still likes to smash the pedals rather than take things easy. Although, as he spends a fair bit of his time reviewing ebikes these days he's becoming an expert in letting the motor take the strain. He's also waiting for 23mm race tyres to make a comeback!

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