schwalbe XC tyres

[daisyhilldude]

ive bought some schwalbe tyres for my road bike and am reasonably impressed

i get the impression that u either love them or hate them

my question is- has anyone tried schwalbe mtb tyres like little alberts, racing ralphs or fast freds or nobby nic's or any other schwalbe tyres (who thinks of these daft names?)

http://www.bti-usa.com/list.asp?cat=TR&sec=TRTS&mfr=SW

if so what do u thinkof them??

[Fatman]

I've got Racing Ralphs on my F600, they are sweet but too bloody expensive.
They roll fast and hook up very well, I'd get more but alot of other tyres are just as good for half the money.

[The_Hoff]

I have been using Schwalbe tyres for while now and love them. I mainly use the Jimmys as they roll damn well for a knobby XC tyre and hook up really well. They are the kind of tyre you can rock up to any race with and know they will be good for the job.

I have used the Fast Freds a few times in races that are predominantly fire road and they seem pretty damn quick, not the grip levels of the Jimmys or Racing Ralphs though as they are pretty close to being a semi-slick.

If I know the race course and it is not going to be too muddy or too loose then I usually chuck on the Racing Ralphs, these things are fast and seem to offer more grip than they should. The tread on them is quite a low profile design and nice and soft so they don't last too long if I use them all the time.

All my tyres are tubeless, they are a few $$$ but so are most good UST tyres so it doesn't bother me too much.

I have never tried their road tyres though, might be next on the list of purchases.

[rone]

I use Big Jim 2.25's and they're awesome. I ride mainly in northern NSW but have used them at Daisy and they hook up really well. You can lean on them right up to the point where you think they will let go and they just carry on gripping. Buy some. You will not be disappointed.

[aaron01]

Have used the racing ralphs in the past & loved them only negatives were the price & wear, The rr wore within about 3months of racing roughly 10 events(I only used them for race events due to cost etc) they were worn pretty bad. As everyone else has stated they are awsome tyres but costly.

[Hud]

I have Racing Ralphs and they are great. Big air volume, light and fast rolling with good grip in dry conditions. In the wet or mud they are not real good they don't climb in the wet either. They wear too quickly for the average punter, and for that reason I won't be buying them again. They are a race tyre though, so this should be expected.

[daisyhilldude]

are we talking racing ralphs in 2.0?? or bigger?

[gaunty]

I'm running the cheap wire bead Big Jim (2.25s) which are pretty good all round. Unfortunately the importer is yet to recognise the market for this size AM tyre and you cant get the UST version here in Aust.

The Jimmy would be good for XC only (in a smallish 2.1)

Havnt tried the Ralphs, Freds, Bettys etc

[Hud]

I have a 2.4 front RR and 2.25 rear.

[gaunty]

I have a 2.4 front RR and 2.25 rear.

What kinda riding you doing on those big RRs. I was considering the same but was a bit worried about the thickness when crossing over from XC to light FR/DH

[Beena]

I'm running the cheap wire bead Big Jim (2.25s) which are pretty good all round. Unfortunately the importer is yet to recognise the market for this size AM tyre and you cant get the UST version here in Aust.

The Jimmy would be good for XC only (in a smallish 2.1)

Havnt tried the Ralphs, Freds, Bettys etc

I met with both the importer (Groupe Sportif) and a representative from Schwalbe Germany last week and they do now realise the market for those tyres. In germany they sell more of the really wide tyres in all models than the narrower ones.
I think it will be a slow shift as we convince people that a wide tyre doesn't have to weigh more and be slower and can afford you alot more grip!
But we'll get there...