Schwalbe’s tire lineup hasn’t added any new model names this tradeshow season, but it’s still managed to grow immensely by adding more sizes to popular tread patterns. None exemplifies this more than the Smart Sam, which adds everything from Plus-sized mountain bike versions to downsized iterations aimed at the cyclocross and gravel crowd. And there’s a lot more of this throughout the range, plus revamped treads on the Pro One road tubeless tires, reworked commuter/urban tires and much, much more.
Shown above from left to right are the Smart Sam tires in 29×2.1, 28×1.65 (~700×42) and 28×1.4 (~700×35) sizes. They’re also available in multiple widths for 27.5, 26 and 24 inch wheel diameters…
The Smart Sam will also be available in a 27.5 x 2.6 “plus” tire, as well as the e-bike certified 29 x 2.1 shown above. Behind it is the new Big Ben Plus 26 x 2.15 e-bike certified tire. Like it or not, e-bikes are coming strong and Schwalbe is gearing up with a lot of e-bike ready options for pavement and dirt.
The Nobby Nic also gets ECE-R75 certification for e-bikes, and it gains new sizes and a new casing for aggressive riders on a budget.
APX reinforced sidewalls have an extra fabric and rubber section just above the bead to prevent snake bites and tire damage when running really low tire pressure. It’s been on their racier tires, but now is added to some of their plus MTB tires since you need to run lower pressures to really take full advantage of the larger rubber. Of course, they’d rather you use their ProCore system, but for those that don’t want the added expense or weight, there’s APX. They say it adds about 100g to the tire. For the Nobby Nic, it’ll be available in 2.6 – 2.8 – 3.0 widths.
To cover the burgeoning 26-plus movement, the Jumbo Jim adds a 26 x 4.4 option.
Moving on to cyclocross, their X-One lineup splits into the X-One Bite (left, foreground) and X-One All Round. The Bite has larger, taller knobs with siping to dig into the terrain, while the All Round gets smaller knobs with ramped lower profiles in the center and taller, edgier knobs on the sides. They’ll be available in a UCI-friendly 28 x 1.3 (700×33) size with that beautiful skinwall as an option on the All Round.
The G-One also gains new options. We reviewed the original Allround version as a fast gravel tire, and now there’s a grabbier dual compound G-One Allround 28 x 1.5 (~700×40) version (center), plus a new lower profile G-One Speed option available for beach/sand racing (left, 29×2.35) or just really fast riding on questionable hard top (right, 700×30).
When it’s time to head to the real tarmac, there’s the new Pro One HT handmade tubular. It gets a very fine crosshatch tread (almost like a file tread) and comes in 700×22 (240g) and 700×25 (290g). The casing is a blend of cotton and polyester, which makes it both supple and strong, offering some pinch flat protection.
The Pro One behind it is their updated premium race tire and is tubeless ready. It takes last year’s tubless One and turns it up a notch for a lighter ride, with the lower tubeless rolling resustance.
The One adds new color stripe versions in white, red and blue. While not tubeless ready, these add their V-Guard puncture protection to an otherwise race-worthy tire.
The Lugano Endurance (foreground, all black) is a new version that has a bulked up tread layer with longer lasting rubber that’s aimed at the urban crowd more than the performance rider. Available in 700×25 (350g).
The Marathon line of commuter and city tires has added e-bike certified models. The new Marathon GT (right, slick center section) uses a special rubber combined with nylon casing to remain very comfortable while offering much improved puncture protection. To its left is the Marathon GT 365, so named because it’s meant as an all-season tire that’ll handle a nasty winter mix as well as dry summer days.
