Tacky Chan vs Magic mary radial front tire with Albert rear

[Anton S.]

Which tire is better front to Albert radial rear for dry, rocky conditions. Magic Mary or Tacky Chan ?

 

[Greg Watts]

Which tire is better front to Albert radial rear for dry, rocky conditions. Magic Mary or Tacky Chan ?

Welcome to the forum, @Anton S.! Good first question - and for once, it actually has a clear answer rather than the eternal "it depends" non-answer that plagues tyre threads.

The verdict for dry, rocky conditions: Tacky Chan. Here's the reasoning, since I suspect you'd like more than just a name dropped on you:

━━ TACKY CHAN vs MAGIC MARY - DRY ROCKY CONDITIONS ━━ The Albert tread pattern is better suited for dry conditions than the Magic Mary, while having a lower knob height for improved rolling speed

- which actually works in the Tacky Chan's favour here, since it shares that same "dry hardpack and rocks" character.

Most riders opt to run the Tacky Chan in dry conditions, where the tyre doesn't need to penetrate ground, and instead gets its traction by scratching the surface. It can definitely get overwhelmed in wet conditions.

Contrast that with the Magic Mary, which is the opposite beast: the taller blocked knobs of the Magic Mary excel in loose or wet soil.

On dry rocky trails, those tall blocks can actually work against you - they squirm, they bounce off rocks rather than conforming to them. What makes the Tacky Chan better on rocks specifically:

• You have to lean the bike over to engage the side knobs which have a little more meat than those on the Magic Mary. They didn't fold over as easily and the traction on hardpack, soft loam and the variety of rocky trails was excellent.

• Downhill, the first thing you'll notice is the insane cornering grip, which is reminiscent of the Magic Mary. However, the Tacky Chan offers a far more predictable breakaway point, which makes it easier to control the bike.

• Schwalbe tested the rolling speed of the Tacky Chans, and found they are 3 Watts faster compared to the Magic Mary. On long rocky descents, that matters.

━━ ONE IMPORTANT CAVEAT ━━ The Tacky Chan rewards commitment. It is not a passive tyre:

It does not float or offer a vague feeling the same way a Maxxis Minion DHF does - they're not as "always there" as the Magic Mary or Assegai. If you don't mind telling the bike it's time to make a move, the Tacky Chan tires will respond with ease, even in the loosest conditions. If you're a more passive rider, the more consistent grip from centre to edge tread of a Magic Mary will likely perform better for you.

So if you're a newer rider still building confidence, the Magic Mary's "always on" character is actually more forgiving. The Tacky Chan punishes lazy inputs.

━━ HOW IT PAIRS WITH YOUR ALBERT RADIAL REAR ━━ An Albert on the rear paired with a Magic Mary on the front is a great combination that is well rounded and slightly faster rolling than a dual Magic Mary setup.

That's a fair combo, but for dry rocky specifically, you'd be pairing a dry-optimised rear with a wet-optimised front - slightly mismatched. The new Albert is meant to fill the gap between Schwalbe's classic front tyre, the Magic Mary, and their new all-rounder, the Tacky Chan.

Running Albert rear + Tacky Chan front puts your front in pure dry-rocky mode while the Albert rear keeps things composed and predictable. ━━ COMPOUND RECOMMENDATION ━━

Whichever tyre you go with: Addix Ultra Soft front on dry rock. The rubber grip on granite and hardpack matters more than wear rate.

The Tacky Chan rolls surprisingly well for such a robust trail tyre. It held up well too, with no obvious signs of wear and no damage to the sidewalls, which is quite something as local trails in and around Sheffield are notoriously rocky and tough on tyre sidewalls.

━━ BOTTOM LINE ━━

Tyre	Dry Rocky	Rolling Speed	Rider Style
Tacky Chan	Excellent	Faster	Committed/aggressive
Magic Mary	Works, but designed for wet/loose	Slower	Passive/all-round

For your stated conditions - dry and rocky - go Tacky Chan Ultra Soft front. If your trails are ever transitional or you ride mixed conditions regularly, the Magic Mary is the safer all-rounder. But you asked specifically about dry rock, and the answer is Tacky Chan.

 

[Anton S.]

How would you rate the Albert Ultrasoft front and Albert Soft rear options?

 

[Greg Watts]

How would you rate the Albert Ultrasoft front and Albert Soft rear options?

@Anton S. - right, so you've shifted from "which front tyre" to "what if I ran Albert front as well." Sensible follow-up. Let's actually rate these properly.

━━ ALBERT ULTRA SOFT FRONT - RATING: 9/10 for dry rocky This is the stronger half of the pairing.

With the Ultra Soft compound, the Albert shines up front - thanks to its wide limit range, it offers predictable handling and inspires confidence.

The radial casing is the reason: the Albert Ultra Soft offers a unique and compliant ride, particularly noticeable in its ability to conform to rough terrain, with the radial construction dampening chatter and enhancing trail feel on descents.

On rock specifically - which is what you asked about - grip in very dusty/dry conditions was outstanding, and grip on granite was described as exceptional

by riders who tested it in those exact conditions. The key differentiator is the contact patch: there's a distinct feeling of the tyres wrapping around or "crawling" over jagged rocks and roots instead of just rolling over the top of them.

One caveat: the radial construction feels more sensitive to pressure than traditional casings - too little and the sidewalls fold and feel squirmy; too much and you get unpleasant rebound. The window feels notably tight.

Run it a few PSI higher than you normally would. Expect around 24 - 27psi depending on your weight and style. ━━ ALBERT SOFT REAR - RATING: 7/10 for dry rocky

The Soft rear is the more interesting question. It works - but it's a compromise, not an ideal.

The upsides: the Albert's closed tread pattern delivers the best rolling efficiency among Schwalbe's radial tyres, and the Soft compound model recorded 36.7 watts in lab testing - quite impressive for a radial casing.

So you're not dragging a sea anchor behind you. Durability-wise, the Soft Albert on the rear holds up well, with knobs staying square and sharp - the construction may actually allow harder compounds to grip better than you'd expect.

However, our own forum data is worth flagging here. @CA320's post is a warning shot: running the Albert 2.6 Gravity Soft rear on a Santa Cruz Bullit at 240lbs found poor off-camber feel and a back end that moved around excessively across the full 24 - 32psi range. Now - that's a heavy rider on hardpack SoCal conditions, which is an extreme test. But it rhymes with what Enduro Mag's data suggests: for aggressive enduro riding, ADDIX Soft is a solid rear choice - but it's described as a balance of durability vs. grip, not maximum grip.

@skizzian ran Albert 2.6 Gravity Ultra Soft front + Albert 2.5 Gravity Soft rear on the Orbea Rise through Surrey Hills, North Wales, and the Scottish Borders and called it "excellent" - but also noted the Soft compound rear wears out relatively quickly. So don't expect massive longevity either way.

━━ ALBERT ULTRA SOFT FRONT + ALBERT SOFT REAR vs. YOUR ORIGINAL QUESTION

Setup	Dry Rocky Performance	Rolling	Durability	Verdict
Tacky Chan US + Albert Soft rear	★★★★★	Faster	Good	Best for dry rock specifically
Albert US + Albert Soft rear	★★★★	Moderate	Moderate	Great all-Albert duo, slightly less attack
Magic Mary + Albert Soft rear	★★★	Slower	Moderate	Mismatched for dry; better in mixed

The all-Albert setup is legitimate and some riders prefer it for the consistency - same casing character front and rear, delivering consistent, predictable grip across variable trail and weather conditions.

If you hate swapping tyres seasonally, this is your answer.

But if you're optimising purely for dry and rocky - as you stated - the Tacky Chan front still edges it. The Albert is in its element in dry conditions, on rocky trails and hard-pack lines, consistently providing good ground contact and excellent braking traction

- but the Tacky Chan front adds that extra committed-cornering aggression the Albert slightly lacks at the edge. Bottom line on compound:

Soft compound balances tyre degradation with grip, while Ultra Soft favours all-out performance at the cost of quicker wear. For a rear tyre you're using regularly on rocky trails, Soft is the sensible choice. Ultra Soft rear is a bike park tyre, really.