Schwalbe tyres – explain to an idiot

I need new tyres pretty soon.

Magic Mary & Big Betty look like a good combo, I’m interested.

They’ll be used for everything though I do like to go as fast and gnarrr as my poor skills & fitness allow (not very 😛).  Trails are local Manchester, hopefully this year including places like Lee Quarry, Llandegla & Farmer John’s.

What compound is good for what I suppose is classed as general trail riding? After real world experiences & opinion, Schwalbe say the blue stripe version but people in general might prefer orange or whatever because XYZ…

It’s confusing even buying the things, eg Merlin cycles have 2 versions: “performance” with no stripe, and “soft” with the purple stripe which doesn’t match.

Anyway. Interested what anyone has to say. And as this is STW, don’t hold back on other tyre opinions 😂

orange is soft and is generally an allround decent proposition for mixed terrain

Purple is supersoft – for DH really.

Blue is for xc really.

the colours are the easy bit! its tha casing types that get me..

Super Trail is what you want. Hardy enough for most riding, unless you are super aggressive or send it big.

I run a Mary and Betty around the south coast, so surrey hills, QE etc. More than enough rock and roots to test a tyre’s mettle. Used them at Bikepark wales also. No issues at all.

I only ever swap to super gravity for trips abroad.

I use the orange super trail magic Mary and hans danpf. My favourite tyres now and have stuck with them on all my bikes.

Approximate conversion chart vs maxxis. This is not to say that one or other tyre version offers the exact same grip/toughness as the equivalent, but gives you an idea of whats comparable.

Great Race – 120TPI EXO
Great Ground – 60TPI EXO
Super Trail – EXO+
Super Gravity – Double Down
Super DH – DH

Performance – Dual Compound
Blue Stripe – Maxx Speed
Orange Stripe – Maxx Terra
Purple Stripe – Maxx Grip

Personally I like Great Ground/Orange for faster tyres, Super Trail/Orange RR + Super Trail Purple FR for chunkier terrain.

Never used Maxxis but I’m sure that’ll come in useful, thanks.

I use the orange super trail magic Mary and hans danpf. My favourite tyres now and have stuck with them on all my bikes.

Was wondering if the Betty’s will be a bit much. Do they roll ok? Maybe better off with Hans Dampf or Nobby Nic, which look very similar to each other. How do those 3 compare, on the rear specifically (BB/HD/NN)?

Decisions, Decisions.

@benpinnick – that’s super useful thanks!

I run Magic Mary (SuperTrail, Orange) and Hands Dampf (Supertrail, blue) in 2.6 width on my HT all year round. That bike gets ridden in mostly winter slop and short of a full on mud tyre (like a maxxis shorty) I’d say it’s a really good combo.

Have a big betty (ST, Orange) on the big suspension bike as it’s already heavy and I’m not sure it’s that noticeable in terms of rolling resistance to the dampf, but it’s got a bit more meat for braking / cornering on big rocky stuff. Also 2.6s. Not light but punctures are very rare (I also run rimpacts on that bike tho for trips away)

Just got a set of discounted MM/HD ST-O when I bought some new hunt wheels in 2.4 width. Just know whatever they go on, they’ll be great for all round riding.

Performance are rubbish apparently. OE versions, nowhere near the same quality.

This reminds of the Monty Python sketch:

“It’s very simple; If you are having your hair cut but aren’t going out at the weekend, move your coat to the lower peg after you’ve written your letter home, but before you’ve done your prep and spoken to the matron.

If you want a fast rolling tyre you’ll need the one with the blue stripe, but not the one with Super in the name, but that’s OK for a back tyre, but not as good as the green and red lettering that says Expert on the side, but not the one with Expert in the name of the tyre that goes on the front, clear?

• What price are you looking at for a pair?
• How big can you get into your frame and fork?
• How heavy/clumsy are you?
• Hardtail or full sus?
• Do you use an insert?
• Do you run them tubeless?

The above needs to taken into account when picking tyres IME.

Nobby Nics are good but are quite a lightweight tyre for its tread. I like them in 2.4″ though. I have a pair of max speed super trail on my lightweight full sus at the moment. They got me around a wet Aboyne, a dry Tarland, a damp Glenlivet and dryish Mount Keen, even got a top ten on Strava on the way down the gravel glen.

Hans Damf are a bit meh, I don’t like the round shape on the 2.4″ I had, they were quite fragile too.

Schwalbe are excellent at fast xc tyres, like Racing Ralph etc

Was tempted by a Magic Mary and Big Betty pairing but bought DHR/DHF combo instead as I got 2 for £80, even in decent widths, carcass and rubber compound.

Magic Mary is the best all year round tyre I’ve used, personally I would go for super trail purple front and Big Betty supergravity orange rear if I was buying at the minute. I’ve been using a maxxgrip  exo+ Assegai/maxxterra DD  DHR2 for a few years and the MM is better in wet conditions but not as good on harder ground, not much between them and while I prefer the Maxxis I would happily use the Schwalbe’s

Personally I would go Tacky Chan or NNic on the rear for 3 season riding. There’s no conditions/time of year where I would run a Hans Dampf over either of those. Big Betty I would save for the winter…

I would go Nobby Nic in 2.35 inch, front and rear. Great fast rolling tyre and fairly light at around 850gms each.

I’ve seen that Schwalbe now also have ‘bike park’ specific tyres, how do these compare to the other bewildering amount of choices?

Bike park are really heavy wire beaded tyres. Would avoid personally.

For all round trail riding I’d go orange compound front and orange or blue on the rear – depending if grip or rolling speed is more important to you.

I bought a Hans Dampf / orange / super trail in a sale – it’s not much cop in mud tbh. If you want more rolling speed I’d go Nobby Nic, if grip is more important than Big Betty.

Super Trail both ends is generally fine for me in all round stuff. If you bash into stuff / are really sending it then super gravity on the rear.

I haven’t tried a Tacky Chan to comment on that tread pattern.

@benpinnick – that’s super useful thanks!

+1

This sort of information should be on the internet somewhere! Oh… wait.

Saved it for future reference… i.e. next time I’m buying tyres and realise I’ve already forgotten what all the things mean.

I bought a Hans Dampf / orange / super trail in a sale

If it’s nearly new I might be interested – I really liked HDs on my Patriot.

@molgrips – it’s still on my hardtail at the moment – had about 3 rides on it. I don’t have another option to replace it for next winter at the moment….but about to put the summer wheelset on that has the Rock Razor on the rear 🤔

Not sure what other 2.6” tyre I’d replace it with that’s ok in mud but rolls alright too. The old style Forekaster I had on there before was perfect – but it’s gone all maxxis wibbly on me.

+1 for a tacky chan on the rear, paired with MM up front. TC is a faster rolling but still very grippy tyre.

I have Mary’s up front on both my full suss and hard tail, think they are both orange? One of the softer ones without being DH. superb tyres, loads of grip.

I was running Hans Dampf on the rear of the FS so did the same when I built the HT. Mistake really as they’re quite draggy. On advice from this site I swapped the rear FS for a blue Nobby Nick and it’s been great. Smooth rolling but grippy enough for 80% of the year.

I’ve been playing with tyres recently and I happen to have three sets of wheels that I’ve been swapping and trying. Old school Maxxis DHF/DHR on one set, pretty solid performance all round, although I’ve not used them much. Then the combination I’ve been using for a while, MM soft front and Conti Kryptotal rear, again, pretty solid all round performance, although the front lacks grip at times. More recently, I thought I would try the Tacky Chan super trail, ultra soft front and soft rear. I absolutely love them, ridiculous grip and the rolling resistance penalty is lot smaller than the grip would suggest, my favourite tyres to date. I do suspect that to shine they like a fairly committed riding style… 🙂

It gets a little more complex if you want to throw Contis in there as they offer less options and are a bit more in between. So for example (Conti is in italics). As you will see they’ve managed to make the tyres compounds a bit gripper but they don’t really suffer from fast wear or especially slow rolling, which has always been Conti’s party trick, and the casings are decently tough for their weight. Where they fall down a bit is the tread is deep and/or a bit closely spaced on the two more versatile tyres and so doesn’t migrate from hard pack to soft and back so well as other tread patterns like the Magic Mary, and they released only the DH tyre with 2 hardness options to start (more are coming apparently) so it was limiting in so much that you maybe want Enduro casing but you end up with a too soft rear and a too hard front. Full on riders like them though as the DH casing is not stupid heavy and you get to run that soft/supersoft combo for the sweetspot of grip v rolling.

Compounds:
Dual Compound / Performance > Endurance > Maxx Terra / Orange Stripe
Maxx Terra > Soft > Maxx Grip / Purple Stripe
Maxx Grip / Purple Stripe > Supersoft > Ultra Tacky / –

Casings:
EXO 60tpi / Great Ground > Trail > EXO+ / Great Trail
EXO+ / Great Trail > Enduro > Double Down / Super Gravity
DH = DH

This is only my view having tried them, no durometers were involved in this assessment (although I do own a couple).

Whichever Schwalbe tyres you go for (and Nobby Nics are my choice) do NOT buy Performance line.

They are the cheaper versions. OK in the dry but hopeless in anything more than slightly damp.

Oo-er decisions are hard.

What price are you looking at for a pair? – Up to around £100 for the pair. Bit more if necessary. Less = better.
How big can you get into your frame and fork? – Um, not sure. I currently have 2.4 with space to spare, will have to check how much.
How heavy/clumsy are you? – Not very.
Hardtail or full sus? – Hardtail.
Do you use an insert? – No.
Do you run them tubeless? – Yes.

Are Tacky Chan’s faster rolling than the Betty’s? I overlooked them so far because I thought they were DH specific design and therefore grip & toughness over everything. Seems I’m thinking wrong here.

If we’re throwing in Contis then Kryptotal front and rear would be a good allround combo. I’ve got the trail / endurance rear and the enduro / soft front.

If they bring out a trail / soft front that would probably be my ideal 3 season front tyre. Probably equivalent to an Assegai or DHF 3c maxx terra exo+.

I always think the Mary is fantastic where there is lots of deep / loose gravelly stuff or it’s wet and muddy but I wouldn’t run one in the summer personally.

Are Tacky Chan’s faster rolling than the Betty’s?

Yes, much faster.

Are Tacky Chan’s faster rolling than the Betty’s?
Yes, much faster.

Sounds good.

Just need them to start popping up for £35 on Merlin like the BB now

😀

You can get a tacky chan from here

https://www.ridewill.com/p/en/schwalbe-11654532-tire-tacky-chan-29×240-super-trail-e-50-addix-soft-tubeless-ready-black/1517655/

Never bought from them before though

This is only my view having tried them, no durometers were involved in this assessment (although I do own a couple).

My fingernail test from a while back for a subset worked this out:

Conti Endurance = MaxxTerra centre > Conti Soft > Schwalbe Soft/Purple = MaxxTerra edge

Are Tacky Chan’s faster rolling than the Betty’s?
Yes, much faster.

I haven’t tried Bettys but the press blurb at launch said they’re 3W faster, without any detail on under which conditions or with a baseline number to compare to. The TC is about Dissector speed.

I had a MM super soft on the front of my ebike and it was quite simply the grippiest tyre I’ve ever used. Wore quickly though, even on the front.

It would find grip where there was no grip – mud, wet roots, rocks, dust. With a soft on the back, the rear would slide a little more, but predictable and controllable.

When I mulleted and went 29 up front, I couldn’t find the MM I wanted, so ended up with soft Eddy Currents all round. Still a decent combo, but not the insane level of grip of the MM SS. Not sure if want to drag either combo round on a normal bike though

Dear gods! When did tyres become such a minefield of choice??? I remember when it was Ground Control both front and back and just get on with riding!

FWIW, I quite like the Hans Dampf up front (no idea on compound). It grips well enough in sloppy, rooty garbage and runs tubeless well.

Dear gods! When did tyres become such a minefield of choice??? I remember when it was Ground Control both front and back and just get on with riding!

Yep – 1.95″ for XC, a whole 2.1″ if you were dead hardcore!

Your choice in 1990.

Panaracer Fire XC used to be my only tyre of choice back in the day. Red sidewalls!

MM/TC in the post, both in Super Trail Soft (orange) 🙂

Maybe they’ll be too much, maybe perfect, who knows until I try them out. My tyre experience is very limited as I don’t ride as often as I’d like and tyres tend to stay on for years until they’re worn out.

Let’s see.. out of interest (probably only mine 😛) here’s my tyre history since getting more into mountain biking (about 15 years ago maybe?):

Whatever looked suitably knobbly and didn’t cost more than about £15

Conti X-King / Race King 2.2″ (basic wire versions, from Halfords. Probably replaced these at least once)

<decent bike starts here, tubeless starts here>

Pirelli Scorpion M 2.4″ (1st gen versions)

That’s it! Still have the Scorpions on now but they’re a bit bald.

Ah the Specialized Hardpack 1.5in

Now there was a fast tyre.

Not surprising as it’s narrower than my current 44mm gravel tyres.