Schwalbe Tubeless

[mountainbaker]

So, I went for Schwalbe Racing Ralph on the rear and Nobby Nic up front. They keep getting punctures. It all seems to be small flinty stones, gravel sized. There's plenty of it around here.

I have Continental on my 26" bike, and they have had 1 puncture in 2 years, and these Schwalbe 3 punctures in 4 rides. Patching tubless tyres is a rigmarole I'd rather do without.

Ian, you said something somewhere about "Don't use Schwalbe if you ride around Brecon" is that for the same reason?

Anyway, I guess I'm going back to Continental for the 29er. Another large wedge wasted on a substandard product.

[FLV]

I had trouble tearing schwalbe tyres when I used them.

I use specialized tyres a lot. I particularly like the fast track 2.2 and if I want more grip on the front, a ground control 2.3

They're lighter than maxis but seem to last better than schwalbe for me

At £30 quid a go full price for tubeless ready I think decent value if you can get past the brand.

I'm not a fan of conti personally, but many people are.

*edit
Stay away from s-works, too flimsy

[johnnystorm]

I had fancy schwalbes on my canyon and took chunks out of them and got two punctures on their maiden voyage around sandy Thetford! They were also a complete arse to fit to Stan's Crests.

I've since had a pair of the ORC Nobby Nic folders which fitted the crests tightly, but without a struggle and went up tubeless with a track pump. They've been to Wales and taken a few thorns but been fine.

My Maxxis Ikons lasted about 60 miles before a slit killed them and I have a pair of ignitors that slit in the dying minutes of a 4 hr race.

I think as long as you go folding, but not "race light" you'll get an acceptable balance of weight, grip and durability. Contis can be different as well though. The oem race kings on my fargo went tubeless straight away on the oem ringle rims. My BIL has an el mar with the same rims but folding trail kings and they were a mission to inflate and were really porous.

The exception I've found are Bontrager TLR 29-1 they're the light (500gm) folders but have sturdy feeling carcasses.

[Ian]

My experience of schwalbe tyres has been hit and miss. Can't set up a Racing Ralph on a Stans rim, and durability is poor in rocky areas. Maxxis, Conti or Spesh tyres have all been fine for me.

[mountainbaker]

Thanks guys. I reckon I'll try some Conti X-Kings, tough, good in mud and roll well on road. Conti's are generally great, I have them on my 26 inch bikes, and the ones on my road bike have done > 4000 miles and still pretty fresh.

[composite]

I went with the On One smorgasbord (£20!) on my lurcher. They went up tubeless very easily. They are a bit heavy but seem pretty tough and to be fair most 2.25 tyres aren't light. Got some Maxxis Aspens to put on for the summer. I got on with the 26" version so thought I would give them a go on the 29er.

[johnnystorm]

My experience of schwalbe tyres has been hit and miss. Can't set up a Racing Ralph on a Stans rim, and durability is poor in rocky areas. Maxxis, Conti or Spesh tyres have all been fine for me.

It was a Ralph & Ron I fought with on crests. Iirc stans said not to use schwalbe for a time as they were at the opposite ends of the tolerance scale for a given diameter.

[tommid]

I ran a set of 26 Nobby Nics for two years without puntures and similarly ran Racing Ralphs with similar results, but since switching to 29s I have been using a WTB tyres (Weirwolf LTs,EXI wolves andd Bronsons). These had been fine for a few years, but last weekend I did get the inevitable puncture (there is a lot of black thorn around Norfolk at the minute). I have just brought another set of new WTBs so I will keep you posted on these.