DOWNHILL-Carcass

The extra-strong Downhill version. It has all of the Freeride features plus a double carcass and particularly strong Snake Bite protection. It all adds up to more stability at the lowest pressure. All Downhill tires are equipped with double carcass, Snake Bite protection, Limited Slip Technology and Snakeskin. Except of Dirty Dan who is just produced with Gooey Gluey, you have two compounds to choose.

 

 

 

 

FREERIDE-Carcass

All of our Freeride tires enjoy this technology: SnakeSkin, Triple od Gooey Compound, Snake Bite Protection, Limited Slip Technology. In comparison to our DH-Tires, the Freeride version is equiped with a folding wire, a smaller Snakebite-protection-layer and a single-ply carcass. This saves 200-300gramms.

 

 

 

PERFORMANCE-Version

Looking for honest performance? Want good quality and low weight? Don’t need anything too extreme, or the latest technology? Then try the Performance version of our MTB tires.

 

Compared with our Downhill Tires, the Performance version offers you a worldcup-proven tread for a small price. Muddy Mary and Big Betty are available in these versions for all-day-use. They are featured with ORC Compound, 50 EPI-carcass and a wired bead. For double-carcass, Snakeskin and Snakebite-protection please choose the Downhill-version.

 

 

What tube is the perfect choice for my ride?

A tube is not just a tube!This is why a Schwalbe tube is really unique:

 

Airtightness. Apart from the quality of the ingredients, the purity of the rubber mixture is crucial to the quality of the tube. The base material is therefore sieved at enormous pressure through seven filters before being extruded. All tubes are inserted into a mould and inflated for vulcanization to ensure constant wall thickness and high air pressure retention. 

 

Reliability. All tubes are inflated and stored for 24 hours in order to test for air pressure retention. Afterwards each, individual tube undergoes a careful visual inspection. This special quality control helps prevent unpleasant surprises and is why, over many years, Schwalbe tubes have become highly respected for outstanding reliability by bicycle dealers.

 

Warning! We do have the perfect tube for your tire. Please check the sizes, printed on top of the box with your tire before mounting it. Do never use a thinner tube for Downhill-tires. It will flat your tire after hitting the first obstacle and your bikeride is over. Our advice is the 13F Freeride tube, which is available with AV and SV valve. It`s a lightweight MTB-tube for large-volume tyres, weight approximately 185 g. Size: 54/75-559 for tyre widths from 2,1" up to 3,0". It makes you roll faster than the DH tube riders and flatting is almost impossible. This is the choice of our Worldcup riders!!!

 

 

Triple Nano Compound

Triple Nano Compound: The three-way optimal rubber mixture. Light rolling base. Durable center. Grippy shoulders. Nano particles improve grip and rolling resistance - particularly effective in the dynamic center compound. The perfect choice for stony and dry conditions.

 

 

Limited Slip Technology (L.S.T.)

Limited Slip Technology (L.S.T.): The tire bead has a special rubber coating that effectively reduces the tire slipping on the rim.

 

 

 

SnakeSkin

SnakeSkin: A clearly visible feature of our Freeride and Downhill tires. The outer side wall coating consists of a SnakeSkin fabric instead of heavy rubber. Just as durable, but clearly lighter.

 

 

 

Snake Bite Protection

Snake Bite Protection: Side pinch-puncture protection provides safety and stability. It saves you from flats, but is also very flexible for a good “feeling”.

 

 

 

 

What does the tread do?

Off road, the tread is very important. In this situation the tread establishes an interlocking cog-like connection with the ground and enables the transmission of all driving, braking and steering forces.

 

 

 

What is a tire made of?

There are three basic parts to a bicycle tire, the carcass, the bead core and the rubber tire tread. Furthermore, almost all SCHWALBE-tires have a puncture protection belt.

 

The carcass is a rubberized textile fabric, which is laid around the bead cores. The carcass is then coated with a rubber compound. The tire tread is applied and the whole assembly is vulcanized.

 

The bead core of the tire determines its diameter and ensures a secure fit on the rim. Generally the bead core of a tire is made of steel wire.

 

In folding tires, the steel wire is replaced with a hoop of Kevlar fiber. The advantage is that the tire can be folded and that, depending on the size, its weight can be reduced by 50 to 90 g.

 

All SCHWALBE carcasses are made of nylon. The density of the carcass fabric is expressed in EPI or TPI (Ends Per Inch, Threads Per Inch). The range of carcasses used for SCHWALBE tires are 24, 37, 50, 67 and 120 EPI.

 

Generally, tires with denser fabric are more resistant to punctures and roll better. Yet the ultra-fine 120 EPI carcass is more susceptible because the individual filaments are very fine. The best compromise for low weight and resistance is around 50 to 67 EPI.

 

The rubber compound of a tire is composed of several components:

 

  • Natural and synthetic rubber
  • Fillers, e.g. carbon black, chalk, silica
  • Softeners, e.g. oils and greases
  • Anti-ageing agents (aromatic amines)
  • Vulcanizing aids, e.g. sulphur
  • Vulcanization accelerators; e.g. zinc oxide
  • Pigments and dyes
  • Innovation and passion

 

Depending on the compound, the composition is roughly 40 - 60 % rubber, 15 - 30 % fillers, with the other components accounting for the rest.  

 

 

What do the various size markings on bicycle tires mean?

Nowadays, bicycle tires sizes should all fall in line with ETRTO’s (European Tire and Rim Technical Organization) tire and rim standards. Yet the older English and French tire size markings are still used.

An ETRTO size marked 62-559 indicates the width of 62 mm and the tire inner diameter of 559 mm. This designation is clear and allows an unequivocal match with the corresponding rim size.

Inch sizes can also follow the pattern 26 x 2.35, which, in this case indicates only tire’s outer diameter and the tire’s section width. The tire inner width can be different from tire to tire. Lots of non-european tire manufacturer produce their tires smaller than we do. Every Schwalbe tire falls in line with the ETRTO so it could be that the same size of a Schwalbe tire is much wider than your old one.