Had two sidewalls split on me in the last week (Ralph EVO running tubeless) Maybe it’s just bad luck!!
Wanting to keep with a super fast tyre that’s race light, any experiences of Snakeskin version anyone? Any real differences in durability?

Yep.

I run Nic snakeskin on the AM bike, never had sidewall issues, and did a 81 mile flint/forest xc event on Sundays running a Ralph on the rear with no issues at all.

Yes, I race Elite XC and will use snakeskin if the course dictates it. I’d not use them everywhere due to the weight penalty but if there’s good size rocks or sharps etc. then I’ll stick them on the rear at very least. You loose more time fixing punctures than the time you’d loose in rotating mass.

Yes I have run a pair of 29er snakeskin ralphs for quite a while, 8+ months on the back and most of that time on the front as well only swapping to a hans dampf on the front for the gravity enduro at Afan. Couple of thorn punctures but thats it

As I’m sad and weigh things, here are how they measured up

Racing Ralph 29×2.25″ Evolution TL 538g
Racing Ralph 29×2.25″ Evolution Snakeskin TL 603g

I have the non snakeskin on my other wheels and I do notice the sidewall flex in extreme cornering as I run quite low pressures but again, no punctures so far with them

using 29″ snakeskin on my race bike

Had to get 26″ snakeskins last year too as I kept puncturing the plain evo carcass in races and it was losing me places riding along on an almost flat tyre to the pits or stopping to try and get it to seal and blown back up with CO2

In saying that, the wife was out with me and using my 26″ race wheels with those tyres last week and put a hole in the tread of the tyre with a wee sharp stone common to trail center type trails. It wouldn’t seal with the sealant alone and we had to plug it with one of those gummy things which eventually worked though it took a long time to seal tight. I never had any issues in XC racing with them or the 29er ones though.

If the above weights are correct in the 29″ version, then the weight penalty for using Snakeskin over plain Evo in 26″ version must be as low as 40-50g per wheel?

You would need to have a very fine tuned set of legs to tell the difference in rotating mass there when racing.

Thanks for your responses. This is the type of damage on the 2 tyres that Ive wrecked this week. No sealants gonna plug that. Both on rocky tracks to be fair.
Was wondering whether to try something like a Spesh Renegade?

You could always patch it rather than bin it and use it for less rocky use in future? Though it looks a right big ‘ole! Worth a try anyway i’d say.

The specializeds are also light weight if you are looking at Sworks versions, Control have tougher sidewalls… not sure on weights but it seems to be similar to Evo Vs Evo Snakeskin on the schwalbes.

If you aren’t racing do you really need such light weight tyres?
If you are racing, you just have to weigh up the risk against benefits

The weight penalty for snakeskin used to be much more than that, nearer 100g per end. almost not worth worrying about if those figures are right.

Yeah, for 60g per tyre (29″) which is roughly what I’ve found, it’s worth running the Snakeskins. Even if the terrain isn’t rocky enough, I like the more robust sidewalls for cornering with lower pressures. It would have to be a pretty tame featureless course/trail for me to consider non snakeskins tbh!

Does anyone know if you can get the 29er Rons in Snakeskin in the UK? I’ve never seen any….

ta!

You can but they’re like rocking horse poo. a delivery has come in this week apparently, we’ve had ours on back order for 4 months.

I love the speed of the 2013 Ralphs, anyone know how the Spech Controls compare?

The weight penalty for snakeskin used to be much more than that, nearer 100g per end. almost not worth worrying about if those figures are right.

You’re right I wouldn’t notice that. Its the loud hiss and followed by a muffled rubble that’s easier to notice 😐

Next Day Tyres have Snakeskin Rocket Ron 29s. I ordered some this afternoon and got the dispatch email half an hour later.