Schwalbe Racing Ralph

[The MTBer]

At this moment my Hardtail MTB have 550km on the clock and I am currenty riding Schwalbe Racing Ralph 29 x 2.25 evo ( Think it is the cheap one. They are stock on my Giant) and after every ride I've got a flat tire. My rear tire looks like a dog is chewing it and some of nobbys is gone. I am running 40 tar and 60 off road. Is this normal??

 

This didn't happen on my previous MAXXIS Crossmark/ Larsen TT and Specialized Captain Control.

 

Currently is am hating Schwalbe so much that I just want to rip off the tires!!!

 

Ps I don't have a dog to chew my tires...

[rouxtjie]

Do that...rip them off, they superkak tyres, but if you just go one up and get snakeskin version, it's probably the best out there Ito complete package

[The MTBer]

Is die snakeskin soveel beter, want die haat wat ek binne my het na gister se ride....

[BrandonF_]

40 on tar, thats the problem.

 

I run Rocket Ron fr and Racing Ralph rr the Evo Non Snakeskin, 1200kms, front looks like new, seriously, and the rear is 60% done. I race 3 times a month, very rocky terrain, and my local trails are Tygerberg.

 

And trust me, its not a "good run" with this set, its the only tyres I use.

 

Snakeskins are overrated, learn to pick lines

 

As a rear tyre, tar will eat it for breakfast tho

[Newboy]

I agree with Rouxtjie, the Evo is one of the worst tires around but the Snakeskin version is my favorite. Depending on how aggressive you ride the option of going Rocket Ron on the front is a good one, it has got slightly more grip than the Racing Ralph. Snakeskin version is a must though.

[The MTBer]

The thing is I have a DH bike and with that bike I ride over all the rocks, with my XC bike i must chhose a line and sometime I get a snakebike of a 'almost' snakebite, my tires (front and back) is in a very bad condition after 100km I couldn't evenen convert to tubeless. I love my rock sections on the bike but like i said there are parts MISSING from my tire, say yesterday my tube is popping out of the tyre when it is inflated.

[kandui]

Arisun "Mount Graham" 29x2.20

R380 each. Can't go wrong with them.

I rode the Epic on them , front and back. Excellent grip.

No punctures. Best value for money tyre I have come across.

[leona]

booo to schwalbe. up with continental! protection xking/race king is all you need.

[BrandonF_]

booo to schwalbe. up with continental! protection xking/race king is all you need.

 

Hehe! its become personal now! We all have our favorites and believe me, they ARE the best!

[BogusOne]

Anything but Conti. Money wasted for me on a set of X-kings. Less than 100km on a set that is buckled and not useable anymore.

 

ROCKET RON FTW!!!

[DJR]

Why are you running a Racing Ralph on a DH bike, and then nogal 40% on the road. Methinks, you need to rethink your riding and tyre strategy.

 

Sorry, hardtail I see

[rouxtjie]

Is die snakeskin soveel beter, want die haat wat ek binne my het na gister se ride....

N duisend keer better..

[The MTBer]

Running Schwalbe Racing Ralph on my Giant XTC. My DH bike is running Kendas

[BenReaper]

I am fairly new to mountain biking,bought my bike in December.I did about 1000km on the stock tyres(cant remember what they were) and had about 3 flats.Have done almost 400km on my 2nd set now(Maxxis Crossmark) now and about 2 flats.My wife bought her bike in January with Schwalbe Rapid Rob tyres as standard,we've had to replace 3 tubes on her bike already.Yesterday we went for a 40km ride, me 0 flats,wife 2 flats.She decided to get a set of Crossmarks fitted asap.

[Godzilla]

I've tried Geax Segauro & Mezcal. Mezcal useless, Segauro great.

Tried Conti and think they are useless.

Some other brand that made the ''Python''.

I then changed to Schwalbe RR about a year ago with Snakeskin. I now have the RR 2,2 on both my hardtail and my Giant Anthem dually.

I'll never run anything else - I love them.

[Capricorn]

snakeskin is not overrated. its misused as a term to denote overall improved durability. That is not its function.

Snakeskin (SS) provides sidewall protection in all Schwalbe tyres that use SS. It does not extend over the top cap of the tyre (where the knobs are situated), and thus have no bearing on durability of the knobs.

 

The durability of the knobs are governed by a combination of the tyre compound, the terrain, and your riding style; braking habits being the overriding one for most riders.

 

Evolution line is just a descriptor for how schwalbe constructs their tyres. Something about the weave of the fiber reinforcing, and how evolution weaves apparently reduces rolling resistance.

Schwalbe then adds various technologies to the basic evolution tyre: tech like

• anti puncture protection (K-guard, V-guard, speed-guard, HD-guard)
  
• sidewall protection (snakeskin)
  
• tread patterns
  
• carcass lay-up (supergravity)
  
• tubeless tech (full UST compliance or just TLR)
  
• combinations of compounds
  

Note: sometimes they combine various technologies under one name,eg double defense,which is combo of HD-guard + SS.

 

Schwalbe compounds are a bit complicated with no less than 12 compounds available. Most are application specific, like wheelchairs, or non-marking rubber, or special compounds for winter use.

 

The most important ones for MTBers are SBC (schwalbe basic compound) used in their cheapest of tyres, dual compound and triple star compounds.

 

 

Triple star compound is actually a family of compounds, namely Pacestar, Trailstar, Vertstar, and the little known Gatestar compounds. Schwalbe developed 6 compounds of varying hardness and other physical properties for use in their Evolution line of tyres. Of these 6 compounds, each family compounds only uses 3 of the available 6 compounds, hence the name: triple star compounds.

 

The triple combination is chosen based on application (eg XC, DH etc), rolling resistance, grip etc.

 

A long and somewhat confusing story short, but if you are riding on tar, the hardest compound with highest inflation pressure is your best bet.

 

As a balance between tar and dirt riding, I would recommend an Evolution line (for fastest rolling resistance) with double defense, or snakeskin as a minimum, pacestar compound.