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EB18: Schwalbe goes airless, adds more sizes & moto-style eMTB tires

2019 Schwalbe mountain bike tires get wider sizes and 24-inch options
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Schwalbe’s 2019 collection sees a few new models, a few new sizes, more e-bike ready options, and their take on an airless, tubeless, flat-proof urban commuter tire. The biggest range of new things is on the mountain bike side, so we’ll start there…

2019 Schwalbe Hans Dampf now comes in wider 29x26 and smaller 24-inch sizes

The Hans Dampf trail/enduro tires add a wider 29×2.6 option on the Evolution line (on left, it gets Snakeskin, TubelessEasy, Addix Speedgrip), and the Performance Line adds a smaller 24×2.35 for little shredders. That one gets their standard tubeless-ready casing with all purpose Addix compound. The entire Hans Dampf lineup got a slight compound refresh earlier this year, too.

New Schwalbe Racing Ralph and Racing Ray tread designs for 2019

Announced in May, the completely redesigned Racing Ray and Racing Ralph become a dedicated front and rear pairing for XC racing. Check out our first ride review and all tech specs here. They’re available in 26/27.5/29 x 2.25, plus a 29×2.1.

2019 Schwalbe Eddy Current front and rear specific eMTB mountain bike tires

All new for e-Bikes are the new Eddy Current front and rear specific eMTB tires. They use a blocky tread design similar to motocross tires. That plus an Gravity casing and extra soft, grippy rubber helps handle the extra heft added by a battery and motor. They also match up with one of the trends we saw for e-mountain bikes: Mismatched tire sizes. The Eddy Current front is a 29er, available in 2.4 and 2.6 widths, while the Eddy Current rear is a 27.5×2.8.

It’s not just these tires that are e-Bike ready. Virtually every model shown in this story has an e-rated equivalent with higher speed ratings, or is simply e-certified for the lower 25km/h rating even in its standard casing and construction.

Schwalbe e One e-bike tires for road bikes

But when you want a dedicated e-bike tire for fast, racing road bikes, the new E-One gets the highest 50km/h speed rating. It comes in 700×28 and 700×32 and uses their V-Guard for upper mid-level puncture protection.

Schwalbe P-One tubeless ready road bike tires

For roadies on a bit more of a budget, the new One takes the same overall design as their higher end Pro One, but sticks with a standard Performance line construction. Which, honestly, isn’t all that standard…it’s still Tubeless Easy and has a V-Guard puncture protection, and gets a dual compound construction. It’s available in all black, along with blue, white and red striped sidewall options.

2019 Schwalbe Energizer Plus eBike tires for commuter and city bicycles

For touring bikes and commuters, the new Energizer Plus comes in 28×2.0 and 28×1.5 (aka 700c standard road wheel size, aka 622mm). They get their 3mm thick Green Guard puncture protection and Schwalbe’s newer Addix E-Compound rubber to maximize both durability and grip at high speed. Yes, they’re optimized for e-bikes with a 50km/h speed rating, but should also work great for human-powered bikes wanting a bombproof tire.

2019 Schwalbe Urban Airless System commuter city bicycle tires with foam insert to prevent punctures and flats

Or, opt for the new Urban Airless System tire, which pretty much can’t go flat thanks to their new expanded foam liner. The material is an “extremely elastic thermoplastic” that lasts for up to 10,000km of riding and feels like a tire inflated to 3.5bar (~51psi). The important thing is, they say, it feels like you’re riding on a real inner tube because it’s able to deform to smooth out the ride, but is physically incapable of flatting. Here’s the trick: It has to be installed by certified and trained dealers, because…

2019 Schwalbe Urban Airless System commuter city bicycle tires with foam insert to prevent punctures and flats

…it’s actually a multi-part system that needs a special machine to install it. The three-part system consists of the tire, the thermoplastic foam ring, and a blue Airless ring. The blue ring deforms and fills in the channel at the bottom of the rim to help the rest of the system fit properly. Initially it’ll only come in one size, with a 700×40 (~1.5″) for rims with an internal width of 19-21mm. The system will retail for €84.50 per wheel, and will only be available in Germany and The Netherlands at first.

Schwalbe.com

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MaraudingWalrus
MaraudingWalrus
6 years ago

If they can pull of an airless system that actually rides well – or at least rides better than Conestoga wagon wheels – then they’re going to print money. There has always been a demand for tires that don’t go flat from the more casual riding crowd (who might not care what the ride is like) and the commuting crowd (who may care what it rides like).

yogibimbi
yogibimbi
6 years ago

Don’t forget the touring crowd. Having a flat tire loom over you in the middle of nowhere can sort of take the fun out of things, unless you pack like two extra tires, 4 extra tubes and kilos of patches and glue anywhere you go. Which also pretty much takes the fun out of things.

What’s the weight on the airless?

Antoine
Antoine
6 years ago
Reply to  yogibimbi

I rented a giant road bike once with some airless tire that looked “fairly good” can’t remember the name but i would have said it was by a big brand. Was about 5km/h slower than on a regular road bike tour. Felt washed at the end. Making an efficient airless tire must be tricky :p

blue.sun
blue.sun
6 years ago

Well, if the compound used in airless internal “tube” is similar to compounds used in running shoes (it seems so, just by the bubbles), it could be pretty heavy thing. But it could also use thinner tyres with no puncture protection. We’ll see…

FFM
FFM
6 years ago

Calling it now: the old Racing Ralph was so good that the new one, which is visually quite different, doesn’t sell well at first because no one can bring themselves to give up such a great tire and trust something else.

M Marquez
M Marquez
2 years ago

HI, how can I a foam liner for my MTB 27.5. IM from the Philippines

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