Schwalbe Tire Guide

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Schwalbe Tire Guide

 

Tires are hugely influential in affecting your bike experience—more so than any other bike component that you can adjust.

Whether you like to go mountain biking, road racing, touring or riding in the city, different cycling styles require different tire types and compounds due to the variety in surfaces. Tires are produced to specialize in certain terrains and affect how a bike grips and rolls on a surface.

For cyclists wanting to improve performance, it is crucial to understand tire types to select the best tire for your chosen cycling discipline. Especially if you are going to be riding on only one particular surface type, you’ll want to invest in a bike tire that is made for just that.

Schwalbe is one of the best known and reputable cycling tire brands and is known for producing a wide range of tire compounds to support high performance.

 

This article provides an in-depth insight into Schwalbe tires—detailing in some of their unique products such as the new ADDIX line and a brief guide on the best tire pressure.

New Line ADDIX and Their Four Compounds:

Schwalbe has a wide range of tires available to purchase covering all cycling disciplines from road to gravel, touring to winter.

Of interest for this guide is their new line ADDIX and the four associated tire compounds in the range. Schwalbe’s obsession with quality and refinement is well known—with this section outlining how the new ADDIX range follows in this Schwalbe tradition.

The ADDIX range is the latest development in Schwalbe’s research and development to produce the best performing tires for all surfaces and conditions. These latest tire compounds have been produced with high-performance cyclists in mind with a focus on pushing to riders to the limit to provide more grip, more mileage and more speed.

Schwalbe assesses all tire compounds on four dimensions:

  • Rolling Properties
  • Damping
  • Grip
  • Durability

The four ADDIX compounds are detailed below.

  1. Speed:

The ADDIX Speed compound is designed for XC race specialists. For those riders simply wanting to gain speed, the ADDIX Speed is the tire compound for you.

As ever with speed-focused tire compounds, the rolling resistance dimension is the one that is reduced to remove friction blocks that can alter the speed. You can therefore expect remarkably smooth, uninterrupted rolling properties with the ADDIX Speed.

Across the four ADDIX dimensions, the ADDIX Speed scores:

  • Rolling Properties = 100%
  • Damping = 70%
  • Grip = 65%
  • Durability = 65%

As expected, where rolling properties improve grip is the dimension that will suffer the most as seen with a lower percentage. However, that is a very common balance of dimensions for a speed tire which is designed to be risk-taking to enhance speed.

 

  1. Soft:

The ADDIX Soft is a versatile tire compound designed to perform well across a variety of cycling disciplines. The ADDIX Soft can be found performing well at enduro downhill racing as well as the ultra-demanding mountain trail riding.

The ADDIX Soft is also known for performing well when used as in combination with other tires. For example, using the ADDIX Soft at the front while using the Speedgrip on the back enables a greater balance between grip and speed. While for those seeking stronger damping, the ultrasoft could be used at the front with the soft compound at the back.

The ADDIX Soft scores:

  • Rolling Properties = 80%
  • Damping = 85%
  • Grip = 85%
  • Durability = 80%

Based on this assessment, the ADDIX Soft is certainly designed for a fun cycling experience. Compared to previous Schwalbe soft tire compounds, the ADDIX Soft is vastly improved in terms of durability – a common weakness of soft tires.

This provides riders with stronger confidence that their soft tires will perform well over a longer period on tricky mountain terrain. The ADDIX Soft is best suited to electric mountain bikes to make use of the superb damping and powerful grip.

 

  1. Speedgrip:

The ADDIX Speedgrip is renowned for being a universal compound that can perform well across the widest range of cycling surfaces and styles. Probably most commonly used in AM, XC and Trail racing, the ADDIX Speedgrip does exactly as the name suggests, provide a fantastic balance between speed and grip.

Compared to the previous PaceStar compound, the ADDIX Speedgrip exceeds performance to improve mileage and durability – the Speedgrip is certainly the most advanced universal compound ever produced by Schwalbe.

Across the four dimensions it scores:

  • Rolling Properties = 90%
  • Damping = 75%
  • Grip = 75%
  • Durability = 100%

As the score suggests, durability is king with the ADDIX Speedgrip compound, ensuring the compound can be used reliably in the toughest terrains for a long period.

Meanwhile, the relationship between rolling properties and grip provide riders with a better-balanced option of the two compared to the Speed and Soft tire compounds – the Addix Speedgrip can very much be seen as a hybrid of the two.

 

  1. Ultrasoft:

The ADDIX Ultrasoft is specifically designed for ‘hardcore’ riders participating in endure or downhill racing due to the design focus on strengthening the damping dimension of the tire.

The ADDIX Ultrasoft is a vast improvement of the previous VertStar compound, particularly in terms of damping and grip can reliably performance in all weather conditions.

The need to have ultrasoft tires only comes when facing challenging mountainous terrain as the rider needs to navigate rocks and boulders at high speeds without getting thrown off. The solution to not getting thrown off is to use a tire compound with maximum damping and maximum grip as the ADDIX Ultrasoft delivers.

Across the four dimensions, it scores:

  • Rolling Properties = 70%
  • Damping = 100%
  • Grip = 100%
  • Durability = 60%

As is evident, the ADDIX Ultrasoft will deliver superb performance in terms of grip and damping. However, as it is invariably used in tough terrains and is a soft compound, the durability is the weakest across all of the ADDIX compound range.

What Tires Have Each Compound:

After understanding the different compound types, the selection of the tire design is the next consideration. Some tires will provide different compounds for the front and rear wheels to support performance in specific terrains. This section gives an idea of which Schwalbe tires use which ADDIX compound.

 

 

 

ADDIX Speed: The Rocket Ron, Racing Ralph and Thunder Burt use ADDIX Speed tire compounds for both front and rear tires – therefore focusing purely high speed.

The Racing Ray tire only uses the ADDIX Speed for the rear tire with a Speedgrip compound for the front tire.

 

 

ADDIX Speedgrip: The ADDIX Speedgrip is a tire compound frequently used in partnership with other compounds as it performs well in speed and grip.

Only the Nobby Nic tire uses the ADDIX Speedgrip for both front and rear tires. While the Hans Dampf, Rock Razor and Rocket Ron also use the ADDIX Speedgrip for the front tire only.

 

 

 

ADDIX Soft: The Eddy Current, Magic Mary and Big Betty are examples of Schwalbe tires that use ADDIX Soft compounds on both front and rear tires to ensure strong performance on enduro and downhill terrains.

The ADDIX Soft is also commonly used as a rear tire compound in tandem with the ADDIX Speedgrip used for the front tire. These combinations are evident in the Hans Dampf, Rock Razor and Nobby Nic tire designs.

 

 

 

 

ADDIX Ultrasoft: The ADDIX Ultrasoft is rarely used for both front and rear tires, largely because this tire compound is only used on the toughest, harshest downhill terrain.

The Dirty Dan is the only tire to use the ADDIX Ultrasoft for both tires, while the Magic Mary and Big Betty use Ultrasoft compounds for the rear tires.

 

 

What is the best tire pressure (tire pressure calculator)?

Finding the best tire pressure is entirely dependent on several specific variables such as electronic vs mountain, rider weight, tire width, riding style, terrain and trail conditions. There is no definitive to answer to the best tire pressure.

 

For Schwalbe tires, there is an integrated tire pressure calculator, found here, which will give you specific tire pressure calculations to suit your riding needs. This is a great tool to use to get a very precise calculation for you to adjust your tires.

 

For beginners to understand, high tire pressure generally increases stability and puncture protection, while reducing on grip and speed.

 

Low tire pressure is more comfortable, has better grip and rolling when off-road cycling, however, there is less stability and less puncture protection.

 

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, this article has given you some insight into the latest range of Schwalbe tire compounds and what the ADDIX range has to offer cyclists across all cycling disciplines, terrains, abilities and conditions.

For high performance, understanding the strengths and weaknesses of different tire compounds is essential to ensure the right tire compounds are used for the right cycling conditions. Crucially, selecting the correct tire compound can be hugely important in preventing serious injury.

Before purchasing a Schwalbe tire, first understanding your own tire needs and research in great depth the purchasing options and tire combinations to give you the best chance of purchasing the best Schwalbe tire combination.