If you peek behind the tape at just about any professional downhill event, you will surely spot a familiar tire that looks way more worn than it should be considering it is on a sponsored rider’s rig. Often that is intentional as riders and their mechanics are looking for every bit of speed they can get. We’ve regularly spotted pro mechanics behind the race van amongst a pile of chopped rubber tread blocks with some headphones on, taking on the mind-numbing task.
But now Schwalbe introduces the first tread cutter made specifically for mountain bike tires, and it’ll make mechanics’ and DIYers’ lives a little easier…
You can go pretty crazy trying to pick out the perfect tire for a particular trail as there are always a handful that will do more than a good enough job. However, you may have a favorite go-to that you want to use but it could stand to be a little faster, and when racing down the clock, incremental improvements matter. Despite getting all of the free tires they want, pros like to stick to one or two favorites and modify them as needed. Most teams just use regular cutters, snips, razor blades, or something repurposed from the motorsports side of things.
Schwalbe’s Tread Cutter is sized just right to fit in between the close quarters of a mountain bike’s tread and features a great little “height adjustment” so you can dial in how much you want to chop and keep it consistent, while bobbing your head to the latest K-pop. This will also surely speed things up when you’re about to snip what could turn into 3+ beers worth of knobs.
