Panaracer Agilest Duro TLR road tyre review

Japanese brand Panaracer is best known for its GravelKing tyres, with its Agilest TLR road tyre also reviewing well in the recent past.

The Agilest Duro TLR is also made from the brand’s fastest ZSG compound, designed to bring a comfortable, supple ride feel.

However, it's aimed at riders looking for a tough tyre for winter conditions – without compromising on weight, grip and comfort.

Panaracer Agilest Duro TLR specs and details

The ZSG (Zero Slip Grip) compound is proprietary to Panaracer and has been the keystone of its road bike tyres for many years. You can think of it as the Japanese tyre specialist’s version of Continental’s Black Chilli compound.

The compound has been developed to offer consistent performance across all weather and wide temperature fluctuations, from warm summer heat to below-freezing winter days.

You’ll find versions of the ZSG compound on everything from the lightweight racing Race Evo tyre and the tough touring Pasela right through to the most well-known GravelKing range.

In this case, Panaracer says it has been refined to reduce the chances of picking up grit and flint – both so common on winter roads – and reinforced with a ProTite protection belt.

Panaracer claims the ZSG Agile compound brings a 12 per cent reduction in rolling resistance and loses 20g compared to the previous iteration.

Loftily, Panaracer also claims the Agilest offers less rolling resistance than the Race Evo – and better grip with it.

This being a reinforced ‘Duro’ version, Panaracer may have sacrificed some suppleness in favour of increased puncture and wear resistance.

It shares the same 120 TPI casing as the standard Agilest – the reinforcement is almost certainly the reason for the small reduction in sidewall ‘give’.

Panaracer has got the weight balance competitive with these 700x30c models, weighing in at only 290g.

Continental’s GP5000 AS TR weighs 343g and Pirelli’s P Zero Race TLR 4S weighs 344g, both in a 700x28c size. Hutchinson’s tubeless Fusion 5 All Season tyre comes close at 285g (claimed), but again in a smaller 28c size.

I tested the all-black iteration of the Agilest Duro. For those who prefer a tanwall, Panaracer offers a version to suit.

Panaracer Agilest Duro TLR ride impressions

The Panaracer Agilest Duro TLR fitted easily, sealed fast and stayed sealed on my Black Inc Five test wheels.

On this 21mm-wide (internal) hookless rim, the nominal 30mm width measured up at 29.2mm – narrower than I would reasonably expect.

The tyre bead is smooth and accurate with no lumps or bumps to compromise the sealing. I tried them on hooked rims and they sealed easily there too.

On the road – throughout an exceedingly wet test period – the Agilest Duro TLR impressed. The tyre’s profile is rounded and transitions smoothly from tread to sidewall with no discernible lip.

This smooth transition makes the Agilest a superb tyre for cornering, especially when grip is tested by the conditions.

The consistent roll as I leaned in, combined with a surface that’s lightly textured (not unlike glass paper), gave me buckets of confidence.

The compliance in the compound and construction impressed me too.

I ran the 30c tyres at 61psi for the front and 64psi for the rear (using SRAM’s tyre pressure guide as a reference point). Running the larger-volume tyre with what could be considered a lower pressure, I found the comfort levels among the best I’ve had from a toughened winter tyre.

I even ran them a little lower on a particularly wet ride out and the tyre has stayed puncture-free, with nothing in the way of cuts or chips in the tread surface to report.

Panaracer Agilest Duro TLR bottom line

What I (and many others) want from a winter tyre is good grip and puncture protection. The Agilest Duro TLR certainly has the former, and so far has offered the latter too.

While they aren’t quite as big in volume as Panaracer claims, they’re still mightily comfortable.

They may not feel as rapid as a given summer tyre choice, but these have fast become my favourite tyres for adverse conditions. I’d imagine I’ll still be using them until at least the end of spring.