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Hi,
Just looking for some new tyres and Schwalbe have changed things around a bit since I last bought them.
Seems like speedgrip has been rebranded as ground control, and looking at the specs they've added a bit of weight.
Was about to buy the below, but then noticed that there is another version. Has anything actually changed? Are the new ones 'better'?
https://www.sigmasports.com/item/Schwalbe/Racing-Ray-Addix-SpeedGrip-EVO-SnakeSkin-TLE-MTB-Tyre/UF96
https://www.sigmasports.com/item/Schwalbe/Racing-Ray-Evo-Super-Ground-TLE-MTB-Tyre/SL1M
Just looked at my bike and realised that the Rocket Ron I have is a Ground Control, whilst the old one is a Speedgrip - if I'd realised I'd have weighed them both to see if any difference.
Thanks.
Speedgrip is the rubber compound, Super Ground is the casing.
Speed is their hardest / fastest compound - red stripe
Speedgrip is their allrounder for XC / light trail - slightly softer than Speed, with a bit more grip. Blue stripe.
The Super Ground casing is more puncture protective than the Super Race, but not as protective as the Super Trail casing.
For regular trail and XC riding, the Super Ground casing is more than enough. If you're riding enduro, tougher trails, wet rocks / roots etc, you want to go with the Super Trail tyres.
The new ones are better in the sense that they're more sturdy / less prone to snakebites and sidewall tears. People always moaned that Schwalbe tyres weren't that durable (I personally never had an issue with them). The downside is that they're a touch heavier.
Thanks.
It seems like (for the XC tyres at least)
Super Race casings = red stripe = tan sidewall
Super Ground casings = blue stripe = black sidewall
I guess the question is, what casing did they have before they started referring to super race & super ground and should I care?!
It also seems bizarre that the race casings, which you'd expect to be lighter than ground, are quoted as being 15g heavier?
Given the tan thing and that I've got an orange bike, I need the black ones.
Before the new labelling / compounds they were called something like Pacestar / Trailstar / Vertstar (in order from race to gravity applications).
Then they brought in the new compounds, and a year or two later the new casings.
The newer ones are 'better', but I'd have no qualms riding the older ones if they were available for a good price.
Milese
Super Race casings = red stripe = tan sidewall
Super Ground casings = blue stripe = black sidewall
The stripe colours refer to the compound only, the Super Race casings tend to come in race compound only, Super Ground usually blue Speedgrip compound. You can get most of them with either tan or black sidewalls.
Devash has pretty much hit the nail on the head...
Prior to the latest "Super" carcass structures, you had Liteskin (very light XC tyres), Evolution, Super Gravity and Downhill. There was always a huge gap between Evolution and Super Gravity, which the new Super Trail carcass bridges (Super Ground has effectively replaced the Evolution casing, albeit it's very slightly heavier and tougher).
As for the Addix Compounds... Well they're even easier. Just 4 of them... Speed (red) is your XC race tyres, SpeedGrip (Blue) is your trail tyres and softer option front XC race tyres, Soft (Orange) is your Trail/Enduro tyres and Ultra Soft (Purple) is your soft conditions Enduro and DH tyres.
Simple!
The only confusion comes in when retailers (for some unknown reasons I can't fathom) decide they're going to list specific parts of the information in a tyres description, but not other parts, and then they don't do it consistently across the range! Drives me bonkers!!!
mboy
(Super Ground has effectively replaced the Evolution casing, albeit it’s very slightly heavier and tougher).
And none of their good tyres are available in Super Ground, you have to go 250g heavier to get a Magic Mary.
And none of their good tyres are available in Super Ground, you have to go 250g heavier to get a Magic Mary.
Yup, never understood why they don't do a Magic Mary in Super Ground casing. Plenty of Uk riders are using them as general conditions / light trail tyres due to the tread working well in typical British filth. Surely there must be a market for a lighter, better rolling version.
I guess when they beefed up the Nobby Nic they thought there was no need?
Yeah, their new range just seems really badly thought out, prices have gone way up, and there's no stock. The lightest version of the Mary/Betty combination are heavier than Maxxis doubledown.
I guess when they beefed up the Nobby Nic they thought there was no need?
Looks that way and the new Nobby Nic does look a lot like a mini Mary. Perhaps if I want a sub kilo trail tyre the Nic is what I should be looking at?
Problem is, if you want sub 1kg, you can only have the hard Speedgrip compound.
I think that was the case but (in theory, reality is probably different) Schwalbe are listing a 29 X 2.4 Nic Super-Ground Addix Soft at 850g
https://www.schwalbe.com/en/mtb-reader/nobby-nic
Yeah, their new range just seems really badly thought out
Take a look at the links in my previous post... You pick the tread pattern you want, then choose from the compound and carcass options available to that tread pattern. It's pretty simple to understand I think!
prices have gone way up
Prices have gone way up where? The RRP or the price you're paying? I can assure you it isn't the former...
Besides, your gas and electric bills have just gone up by 54%, petrol is 30% more expensive than it was 2 years ago, house prices have gone up by 20% typically since the pandemic began, the cost of a 40ft container (that these tyres are shipped in!) has gone up from about $2k to $20k in the same time etc... I could go on... That you are now paying @ or near RRP (which hasn't gone up incidentally) for an MTB tyre really isn't the biggest of your worries!
there’s no stock
What size are you looking for? Google suggests otherwise...
https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/schwalbe-magic-mary-evo-super-trail-mtb-tyre/rp-prod202924?gs=1&sku=sku820245&utm_source=google&utm_term=&utm_campaign=&utm_medium=base&gclid=Cj0KCQiA3rKQBhCNARIsACUEW_ZafEcuH-PCoZMWyHYFaleroDHpjpYy5PsAmm38-9QjscbSH88lZ78aAveCEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
https://www.probikekit.co.uk/bicycle-tyres/schwalbe-magic-mary-evo-super-trail-tubeless-mtb-tyre/12764145.html?affil=thggpsad&switchcurrency=GBP&shippingcountry=GB&variation=12764148&&thg_ppc_campaign=71700000089325717&gclid=Cj0KCQiA3rKQBhCNARIsACUEW_ZibjV4I1tRm7irULEZwqk_J5Mz-KKkHRFnRoQlVBKu7tmuXsnbLv4aAgkHEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
https://www.merlincycles.com/schwalbe-addix-magic-mary-super-trail-tl-easy-folding-tyre-275-209484.html?utm_source=PHG&utm_medium=AffiliateMarketing&utm_campaign=phg-GB&ucpo=128328&source=PHG
Plenty out there in bricks and mortar stores too... Don't get me wrong, they're thinner on the ground than they might have been had cycling not had the crazy boom it has had (especially ebiking) during this pandemic, but they're out there for sale still and constantly being replenished.
Looks that way and the new Nobby Nic does look a lot like a mini Mary. Perhaps if I want a sub kilo trail tyre the Nic is what I should be looking at?
The new Nic is good. Doesn't have the edge bite of a Mary though. I like it on the rear in combination with a Mary up front. Depends on what you ride, where you ride etc. though. If you're more of a trail centre rider and you haven't got a super long/low/slack bike you might be really happy with one on the front too. It rolls really well for the amount of grip it has too, and when it slides it does so in a very predictable manner.
Yup, never understood why they don’t do a Magic Mary in Super Ground casing. Plenty of Uk riders are using them as general conditions / light trail tyres due to the tread working well in typical British filth. Surely there must be a market for a lighter, better rolling version.
The old 2.35" Evolution casing Mary kinda was this tyre... It was still 930g in a 29er version give or take, and the sidewalls were pretty flimsy for such an aggressive tyre. Still, they were hugely popular. But people used to destroy them all the time because of the thin casing, and as I understand it, that was the catalyst to move towards the latest "Super" casing options and the introduction of Super Trail to sit inbetween Super Ground and Super Gravity, providing a trail light (but still with a bit of protection) Mary option without having to go to the burly Super Gravity casing.
Inevitably, no matter what you do to improve a product, there's always going to be somebody who preferred the older version, you can't please everybody sadly... 🤷🏻♂️
Happy to answer any more specifics via PM if anybody wants to get in touch...
That's almost like an advert there mboy.
I thought you were supposed to tell people who you work for when promoting them on here?
The new Nic is good
Agreed with this. They finally solved the old Nic's propensity for unpredictable washouts when off-camber cornering, with no noticeable effect on overall rolling resistance. I ran one on my Giant Anthem all last year and it never missed a beat for general XC / light trail riding in all conditions.
mboy
Take a look at the links in my previous post… You pick the tread pattern you want, then choose from the compound and carcass options available to that tread pattern. It’s pretty simple to understand I think!
It's easy to understand, just badly thought ouy - the good tyres are not available in lighter carcasses, the ttail carcasses are heavier than Maxxis Doubledown, good tyres can't be had under about 1200 g (we've had this converstion before, we can probably agree to disagree at this point)
Prices have gone way up where? The RRP or the price you’re paying? I can assure you it isn’t the former…
Yes, where I get them, they used to be about 20% cheaper than Maxxis for me, not they are same price.
Besides, your gas and electric bills have just gone up by 54%, petrol is 30% more expensive than it was 2 years ago, house prices have gone up by 20% typically since the pandemic began, the cost of a 40ft container (that these tyres are shipped in!) has gone up from about $2k to $20k in the same time etc… I could go on… That you are now paying @ or near RRP (which hasn’t gone up incidentally) for an MTB tyre really isn’t the biggest of your worries!
Not sure how any of that is relevant - am only comparing them to Maxxis, they used to be cheaper, now they're not, so they have lost that advantage they had previously
What size are you looking for? Google suggests otherwise…
Not really looking at Schwalbe any bmore - I looked into Mary/Betty when I was after enduro tyres a while ago, none were available, whereas I could get Maxxis no problem. That tyre at £63 might as well be out of stock - am used to paying 50 odd euro for Maxxis.