Schwalbe G-One R Gravel Tyre Review

Schwalbe’s G-One R Gravel tyre is a race-ready gravel tyre that’s fast-rolling and offers a velvety-smooth ride.

I wouldn’t say that I am a connoisseur of gravel bike tyres, I’ve only been riding gravel bikes for a very short time and have limited experience on a variety of tyres, but I would argue that this makes me the perfect test case for the new Schwalbe G-One R gravel Tyre.

You see, under the boomerang inspired knob design, and raised side knobs of this speedy gravel tyre, hides some new technology to boost puncture protection, tubeless set-up and also the overall suppleness of the ride. As someone who is more accustomed to the beefier tyres of a mountain bike, jumping on a gravel bike feels more engaged. The stiffer and steeper gravel bike design and geometry means that as a mountain biker I feel a lot more in terms of how direct the bike is and also in the amount of vibration that makes it through the bars and saddle. So for me changing from a stock tyre on my Focus Atlas to the sportier Schwalbe G-One R gravel tyre did result in some noticeable differences.

Schwalbe call this Souplesse, which in all honestly I thought was a poor spelling of suppleness when I first read the press release, but actually means flexibility in French. When you get to handle as much rubber as I do, tyres too, then you get a good feeling of how a tyre should feel. I’m talking about the construction here, as many brands can get compound and tread design right, but construction is much more difficult.

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The Souplesse and Super Race carcass construction of the Schwalbe G One R just feel right and before even fitting them you get an idea of our compliant they’ll and how they should reduce trail buzz while retaining traction. Souplesse actually benefits the tyres in 2 key areas, it claims to offer a velvety motion on the trail but also integrates Schwalbes Tubeless Easy technology. Because the G-One R is so flexible mounting them up on my Halo rims was very easy and popping them on the bead before inflating with a track pump made for an easy installation. Souplesse offers a dual-ply construction under the tyre tread while 3 lateral carcass layers give increased resistance against cutting.

Being a race tyre, you want the G-One R to offer amble protection while not weighing a ton, and in addition to the protection on offer from Souplesse, there is also V-Guard Puncture Protection on hand. This is s hi-tech polymer fibre that is extremely lightweight but also very resistant to cuts. Schwalbe says that the polymer is the same material found in bullet and stab-proof vests.

On top of being light, fast-rolling and offer puncture protection, a race tyre also needs to offer enough mechanical and chemical grip as possible without increasing the overall rolling resistance. Mechanical grip comes from the Boomerang style tread design which features a tighter spacing in the centre, while Schwalbe’s Addix Race Compound takes care of the chemical grip. Addix Race is actually a multi-compound rubber that offers speed and durability in the centre, but becomes softer while offering increases traction on the side knobs.

Riding the Schwalbe G-One R tyres

As I made clear at the very start of this review, I’m not a seasoned gravel rider, but my transition from the stock WTB tyres on my Focus to the supple G-One R resulted in some clear differences. It might be that I’m more susceptible to the vibration and shock coming through the bike than a more experienced gravel rider, but I certainly feel the Schwalbe G-One R is much more supple and seems to absorb vibrations and trail shocks more effectively.

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It’s an interesting experience to ride the same trails and paths but feel less shock and more grip, but at the same time retain a fast-rolling speed. I wouldn’t say that the G-One R is as fast on tarmac as the WTB Riddler I removed from the bike, but once off-road the more advanced tyre excels in pretty much every situation.

You’re obviously not going to get the same sort of traction on loose over hardpacked as you would from a Nobby Nic, but just looking at the trend you should know that, but I was really impressed with how well the tyres handled loose dirt and light mud. Schwalbe has developed the tread depth so it has enough bite but clears easily too without upsetting speed. Of course, you won’t want to use the G-One R in deep mud conditions, there are better specific tyres for that, but as an all-around race fast tyre, I couldn’t be happier.

What could be better

• The RRP is around £70.00 which is a lot, but this is an excellent tyre.

What I loved

• Supple ride.
• Puncture protection.
• Available in 40 and 50.

Overall

A very supple tyre that rolls well and provides excellent traction and puncture protection.

• Make: Schwalbe
• Model: G One R
• Price: £69.99
• From: Schwalbe

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