Schwalbe radial tyres

[irie]

I find the new MM Radial and Assagai to perform nearly similar in most conditions, although straight up hard pack I'd choose the Assagai.

I tried the 2.5 Albert up front on my Relay and that bike is only used on the steepest, loosest trails. It did not perform well. although in the rear the Albert is great.

I now have the Albert 2.5 up front on my trail bike, that sees a lot flatter hard pack riding and very much like it for that application.

Out of curiosity, have you tried Maxxis High Roller 3 and if so, how did you find it compared with MM, Albert, Shredda, and Assegai?

 

[Suns_PSD]

Sorry, but I haven't tested the HR3 yet.

 

[Poggs38]

I've ran them and like some things, and dislike others.

The MM 2.5 measures a solid 2.47" and works very well as a front aggressive tire.
The 29 x 2.5 Albert measures about 2.32". It's working well now as a front trail bike tire on another bike, but it was inadequate for the front of my Relay e-bike.
I have a 27.5 x 2.5 Albert and it measures a real world 2.41" and works really well as a rear tire, that said next time I'll be using the 2.6 version which is supposedly about 2.5" width.

I have a Relay and have loved Magic Mary / Big Betty Combo for my usual loamy trails. I heard good things about the Continental Kryptotal tires, so switched over to the Enduro casing version after my Schwalbes wore out. Not so great in loam/ mud and it spat me off big time on some roots today, so am looking at going back to my trusted Magic Mary front. What casing did you go with for your Relay? Im happy sticking with 2.5 casing and think I want the Trail casing as this is equivalent to Supertrail cross-ply. Im only 80kg fully kitted and bike is 19kg. I ride light and dont hit big jumps. Most of my riding is loose, loamy, Rooty natural stuff.

 

[xtraman122]

Got myself a new set of tires with the Albert rear and Magic Mary front, both 2.5” Ultra Soft Trail Pro and it really is noticeable how well the radials cut down on the fine little bumps/trail chatter. They’re also amazing at gripping on steep climbs, I was able to scale up some big pieces of granite on a few steep climbs in below freezing temps with zero slipping, they were like glue.

I’d still like to see them make a radial Big Betty, but the Albert has impressed me so far. I definitely don’t plan on using anything other than radial tires for the foreseeable future, it really was crazy how much you could feel a difference from them.

 

[Inde_Si]

Anyone rode radial tyres with a cush core ?

I don't seems to find anything that advise against the use of tyre insert, but I want to be sure.

 

[xtraman122]

Anyone rode radial tyres with a cush core ?

I don't seems to find anything that advise against the use of tyre insert, but I want to be sure.

I have them in there, they work just fine.

 

[teapeaage]

I have them in there, they work just fine.

Do you have them front and rear or just rear?

Also, for your MTB - did you go for Gravity casing front and rear or Trail front Gravity rear? Thank you!

 

[xtraman122]

Do you have them front and rear or just rear?

Also, for your MTB - did you go for Gravity casing front and rear or Trail front Gravity rear? Thank you!

Front and rear originally, although I’ve since ditched the front, just didn’t seem necessary. Worked just fine.

I have trail on both because that’s all that was available at the time I ordered. I could see running gravity, but honestly don’t think it’s needed 90% of the time. One of the good YouTube reviews I saw on them mentioned that the casings on these really are more than capable at what they’re rated, and the trail is strong enough for a lot more than people give it credit for. I don’t do much jumping, but I am a heavier guy and have tons of rocks on the trails I ride and they seem just fine so far.

 

[teapeaage]

Front and rear originally, although I’ve since ditched the front, just didn’t seem necessary. Worked just fine.

I have trail on both because that’s all that was available at the time I ordered. I could see running gravity, but honestly don’t think it’s needed 90% of the time. One of the good YouTube reviews I saw on them mentioned that the casings on these really are more than capable at what they’re rated, and the trail is strong enough for a lot more than people give it credit for. I don’t do much jumping, but I am a heavier guy and have tons of rocks on the trails I ride and they seem just fine so far.

Awesome, thank you.

I'm about to order them, Albert front and rear I think (I don't ride through wet stuff usually). Coming off of Assegai/DHR combo.

Debating Trail vs Gravity and 2.5 vs 2.6 for front (ultrasoft), will probably stick to 2.5 gravity for the rear (maybe more supple ride). I almost never go through my battery so I'm not worried about the weight or the rolling resistance penalty. Also a heavier rider, also don't jump a lot. I'd immediately go for trail for the front but it doesn't come in 29x2.6 and wondering if it blowing up to smaller than 2.4" in reality won't be an issue (I'm on 2.4 assegai exo+ currently on front)

 

[xtraman122]

Awesome, thank you.

I'm about to order them, Albert front and rear I think (I don't ride through wet stuff usually). Coming off of Assegai/DHR combo.

Debating Trail vs Gravity and 2.5 vs 2.6 for front (ultrasoft), will probably stick to 2.5 gravity for the rear (maybe more supple ride). I almost never go through my battery so I'm not worried about the weight or the rolling resistance penalty. Also a heavier rider, also don't jump a lot. I'd immediately go for trail for the front but it doesn't come in 29x2.6 and wondering if it blowing up to smaller than 2.4" in reality won't be an issue (I'm on 2.4 assegai exo+ currently on front)

I read about all the sizing stuff with them being skinnier than expected. Just measured my 2.5s with the calipers and got about 2.39” on the outer part of the casing on both of them. Not sure what a non-radial Schwalbe would measure up as; I have no idea how true to size they normally are. My tires may be a bit soft too as I haven’t ridden in 2 weeks or so.

 

[timo2824]

I just received a pair of Shredda's that I'll be putting on my bike tomorrow. Currently running 29x2.6 super gravity magic marys in addix soft. The Shredda's are 29x2.5, but I think with the larger side knobs the overall width will be similar. I'll mount one and put it next the the old MM and compare width and height.

 

[timo2824]

Ok finally got to mount them, here is my initial impression, currently too much snow for a ride report.

Comparing them to my MM super gravity soft 29x2.6's.

New tires shredda gravity ultra soft radial 29x2.5.

Both at 24psi, the shredder is taller because of the knobs, both are the same width with the MM having a larger body, the sidewall actually sticks out farther than the side knobs, but the shredda having larger side knobs makes them the same width overall.

Mounting them isn't too bad if you keep the bead down in the rim, kinda like a very light duty motorcycle tire. The shredda's are heavier according to my uncertified arm scale. Hopefully I'll get a chance to ride them before the next cold front moves in on Saturday, I'll post a ride review after. I kinda like the balloon look of the MM carcass better than the narrower look of the shredda, but I'm hoping performance of the radial is better. If I can't really tell a difference I'll probably switch to specialized tires just because the MM and Shredda's are more per tire than a set of specialized.

 

[Streddaz]

I can't speak about the Schwalbe tyres, or even whether they do have more tyre in contact with the ground. Tyre pressure x contact area for both tyres equals the weight of rider and bike.
But I do know that tyres are part of your suspension. A few years ago (pre emtb), my mate and I were similar weight and skills on similar bikes. He preferred higher pressures than I did. We were rolling down a slight slope, lots of bends, lots of roots. He commented that he had to pedal to keep up with me. I had front 20, rear 24. He had 5-7 psi more than I did.

I believe that my tyres were conforming to the roots more than his. His wheels were bouncing off the roots and slowing him down, I was flowing over them.

Therefore, contact area on a flat surface is not the only contributor to rolling resistance over rougher surfaces.

It's being found in Gravel racing that a softer wall bigger tyre will have a better rolling resistance than a stiff walled thinner tyre. The width doesn't necessarily make the tyre roll faster but it does allow for lower pressures without as much risk of punctures. Rolling resistance comes down to the tyre being able to deform over any imperfections in the trail surface and the size of the tread on the tyre. A light, high TPI tyre will have better rolling resistance than the exact same tyre with a lower TPI (stiffer side wall).

Probably not a big consideration with an Ebike as you would probably choose a more stronger tyre for puncture resistance. With the new radials I have heard that you can run a higher pressure (say 3-5 psi) and still have the same traction. I would be interested to try one.