Schwalbe’s Pro One was one of the first light, high performance road tubeless tires, but four years on and other tire makers are catching up. But Schwalbe hasn’t been resting in those years since, and has developed an all-new family of tubeless road tires adding more smooth rolling souplesse to their proven grip & durability. The new Pro One is such a big step forward, that Schwalbe’s race product manager calls it, “a tubeless tire with the feel of a tubular”…
2020 new Schwalbe Pro One tubeless road bike tire
Apparently developed back from scratch, the Schwalbe goal was to create a new faster lightweight road race tire, while retaining safety & durability.
Schwalbe calls the smooth, low-rolling resistance of the new tire souplesse, but it isn’t just about going faster, but also keeping road riders (& racers) fresh after long days in the saddle.
The new Pro One gets an all new tire carcass construction based on both newly optimized Addix rubber compounds like we’ve seen off-road and updated manufacturing methods that ensure more consistency.
New Pro One – Tech details
Schwalbe describes the new Souplesse Carcass as a new ‘ turn-up’ construction with two main casing layers under the tread for smooth rolling and three layers in the sidewalls for support at lower pressures and higher abrasion resistance.
A third partial layer under the tread of a 25mm tire is a 14mm wide V-Guard polymer puncture protection belt (wider tires do get wider V-Guards). Separate on top of the casing, the narrow V-Guard provides a high level of puncture resistance only under the centerline of the tire where it contacts the road, but still allows the casing beneath to flex for comfort and decreased rolling resistance.
The addition of Addix rubber is something that’s easy to spot with the signature color detail like we saw in mountain bike tires. Here it shows up as the orange #1, denoting the multi-compound Addix Race rubber with much more silica inside for increased cornering grip without adding more rolling resistance or impacting durability.
The tire tread pattern remains unchanged for the update, as we’ve heard from some wheel makers that it is one of the most aerodynamic in wind tunnel testing. Schwalbe claims 13% lower rolling resistance, 22% more cornering grip, plus increased puncture resistance and longer wearing vs. the previous Pro One tubeless tire.
Schwalbe says the new Pro One was specifically developed to be easy to install with or without a tube – a big part of that thanks to a new sealing lip incorporated into the TLE tire bead. We know of a few rim makers who work closely with Schwalbe to ensure smooth installation, and as a result of that Schwalbe claims the new tubeless tires can be mounted without levers and aired up without a compressor. The tire sizings have also been updated to measure accurately on 19mm internal road rims.
2020 Pro One options & pricing, including the “world’s lightest”
The new high-end 70€ Pro One TLE isn’t only available in Schwalbe’s Tubeless Easy tubeless casing.
There is also a conventional 60€ Tube Type for those who prefer not getting messy with sealant, plus new 70€ Pro One TT Tubeless Easy variants as well.
A top level 25mm new Pro One TLE weighs just 245g (it also comes in 270g 28mm & 295g 30mm, plus 650b, 26″ & 20″ sizes). The comparable 25mm new Pro One tube type is only 4% lighter at 235g.
The third Pro One TT TLE is a bit more unique and claims to be the “world’s lightest tubeless tire”. Developed as a lightweight, ultra low rolling resistance race tire for time trials and triathlons, the new skinwall only Pro One TT TLE uses a fast, single compound Addix rubber, and weighs just 205g in 25mm width (215g in 28mm). With a whopping 21% less rolling resistance than the new Pro One TLE, triathlete Patrick Lange rode its prototypes to a 2018 Ironman World Championship win last year, setting a record time.
In addition to the premium new Pro One tires, a couple of all-rounder Schwalbe One tires get upgrades, as well. Basically, the old Pro One (which I’ve been riding happily for a couple years in 28 & 30mm widths) gets rebranded as the new One, with a new lower price tag. The newly renamed One still comes in both Tubeless Easy and Tube Type versions as well.
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Will we see more pros racing tubeless over tubulars?
Schwalbe’s Road Race product manager gives his thoughts on developing new tubeless tire construction over other tech, with a focus on matching that special smooth rolling feel you get from riding tubulars, and something the pros are always asking for….
Are we going to see more pros switching to Tubeless in future?
“Yes, I am sure. In the age of disc brakes and electronic shifting, young, innovative
pros riding for major teams such as Wallonie Bruxelles or the Women’s WorldTour
Team Canyon SRAM no longer accept a hand-sewn tubular tire as state of the art.
Tubeless tires are far ahead of tubular tires in terms of rolling resistance, grip and
comfort. We are not talking about marginal differences, but improvements of up to 20
percent! On top of that, they have excellent fail-safe characteristics. The great benefits
of the system are proven by a high level of acceptance in triathlon pro-sports, where
every second counts.“
