Schwalbe radial tyres

steve_sordy

Wedding Crasher
Nov 5, 2018
8,934
9,275
Lincolnshire, UK
Curious about the rolling resistance as they'll have more contact surface
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.
 
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Mikerb

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
May 16, 2019
6,531
5,008
Weymouth
Not convinced personally. "Radial" construction on cars are a completely different story......far more weight on the tyre and much greater centrifugal force. Invariably also much lower profile and ratio of sidewall to tyre width. I see no crossover benefit to mtb tyres. Tyre pressure is far more variable with mtb tyres and needs to be with so many variations in trail conditions.
 

Bndit

Active member
Jul 14, 2022
291
338
Finland
Not convinced personally. "Radial" construction on cars are a completely different story......far more weight on the tyre and much greater centrifugal force. Invariably also much lower profile and ratio of sidewall to tyre width. I see no crossover benefit to mtb tyres. Tyre pressure is far more variable with mtb tyres and needs to be with so many variations in trail conditions.
Everyone who has ridden these tires says otherwise :p
 

Mikerb

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
May 16, 2019
6,531
5,008
Weymouth
From what I read they said the tyre was more comfortable but had greater drag, and all the riding condition seemed to be dry/ hardback. That does not sound like much of a revelation to me.......sounds just like what happens with non radial tyres at lower pressures.
 

digitale

New Member
Jul 22, 2024
6
0
USA
I got some seat time on Albert 27 x 2.5 soft gravity casing in the rear and 29 x 2.5 ultra soft trail casing up front. It is definitely a noticeable difference when coming off my Maxxis tires (exo assegai and dhr2). They have a different sound to them when hitting bumps, and have a softer feel to them. Rolling resistance doesn't seem much different, they recommend you run the pressure a few psi higher than your standard pressures (I was running about 30psi/33psi vs 27/30psi what I normally run). If you've ever added cushcore it feels very similar to that without the weight penalty. YMMV, but I thought it was worthwhile upgrade for me (I had planned on getting rid of the oem exo maxxis tires at some point).
 

irie

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Subscriber
May 2, 2022
2,516
2,530
Chichester, W.Sussex, UK
We now have Maxxis Maxxgrip High Roller 3's on our Rails (29 DD front, 29 DH rear), cannot fault them. In South Downs mud even DHR2's quickly turn into slicks whereas the HR3's don't.

Would be interesting to compare them with Schwalbe Albert/Shredda.
 

digitale

New Member
Jul 22, 2024
6
0
USA
We now have Maxxis Maxxgrip High Roller 3's on our Rails (29 DD front, 29 DH rear), cannot fault them. In South Downs mud even DHR2's quickly turn into slicks whereas the HR3's don't.

Would be interesting to compare them with Schwalbe Albert/Shredda.

I got a Magic Mary coming for the front, I like something a little bit more aggressive for the front.
 

James_MTB

Well-known member
Jan 15, 2018
290
267
I’ve had seven rides (80 miles) on the Magic Mary tires, and I can’t imagine going back to regular tires.

I like the damping and how they mold around trail obstacles. There's more grip, though I’m not entirely convinced it’s the 30% that Schwalbe claims. They’re not a cure-all for slick, wet roots; you still need to unweight.

It took me some time to figure out the right psi for the rear tire. The front needed 1.5 psi more than usual, while the rear required 2-2.5 psi extra.

I plan to get the Shredda front tire for the harshest winter conditions and likely some Alberts for summer. I mainly ride on loamy trails.

We'll all be riding radial tires, it's hard to believe it’s taken this long.

mm.png


mm1.png
 

Mikerb

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
May 16, 2019
6,531
5,008
Weymouth
I got some seat time on Albert 27 x 2.5 soft gravity casing in the rear and 29 x 2.5 ultra soft trail casing up front. It is definitely a noticeable difference when coming off my Maxxis tires (exo assegai and dhr2). They have a different sound to them when hitting bumps, and have a softer feel to them. Rolling resistance doesn't seem much different, they recommend you run the pressure a few psi higher than your standard pressures (I was running about 30psi/33psi vs 27/30psi what I normally run). If you've ever added cushcore it feels very similar to that without the weight penalty. YMMV, but I thought it was worthwhile upgrade for me (I had planned on getting rid of the oem exo maxxis tires at some point).
not sure what trails you are running but no way I would use EXO on my trails. Always DD on the back, maybe EXO plus on the front. Max grip on the front, max terra on the back..............and the maximum tyre pressure I run is 22 rear 20 front.
 

digitale

New Member
Jul 22, 2024
6
0
USA
not sure what trails you are running but no way I would use EXO on my trails. Always DD on the back, maybe EXO plus on the front. Max grip on the front, max terra on the back..............and the maximum tyre pressure I run is 22 rear 20 front.

Like I said, I had planned to swap them out anyways. They came stock on my bike.
 

Suns_PSD

Active member
Jul 12, 2022
516
423
Austin
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.
 

irie

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Subscriber
May 2, 2022
2,516
2,530
Chichester, W.Sussex, UK
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.
What was inadequate?
 

Mikerb

E*POWAH Elite World Champion
May 16, 2019
6,531
5,008
Weymouth
For racers every tiny advantage counts but most of us would struggle to justify higher cost for marginal differences.....especially when set up and riding skill levels probably dominate apparent tyre performance.
It has taken time but I know which tyres deliver reliable performance for me on the trails I ride......winter and summer and can usually find good discounts on them. I will stick to what I know!!
 

Durrti

Active member
Aug 22, 2021
153
154
California
The traction was mediocre, at best.
Curious 🧐 I’ve been running Assegai’s for years and thought that was the best front tire ever.
I’m running the Albert now and have so much more traction than I ever did with the Assegai. Albert on the rear is ok not my favorite.
SoCal rider here.
 

Suns_PSD

Active member
Jul 12, 2022
516
423
Austin
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.
 

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