Preview: 2015 Schwalbe product news (including a new Nobby Nic)

For 2015, Schwalbe has unveiled a number of new tyres, including a brand new Nobby Nic, a whole new fatbike tyre, refreshed One and Durano road offerings, a high pressure Ironman option, some custom classics, and tubeless conversion goodies.

The new Nobby Nic

Nobby Nic has the widest range of applications of all of Schwalbe’s MTB tires. It is popular among tour and all-mountain riders, but is also perfect for blistering marathon races or technically challenging Enduro competitions. Now, Schwalbe presents the third generation Nobby Nic.

The new Snakeskin sidewall: Even better cut resistance, increased protection and most importantly it allows an extremely easy Tubeless conversion.

With the Nobby Nic, Schwalbe also revised its SnakeSkin side wall, which reliably protects MTB tires from side wall damage. The new SnakeSkin side wall is made from a stable monofilamentous polyamide fiber rather than the previous multifilamentous fiber. It has three crucial advantages: even better protection against tears, increased puncture protection, and, above all, a very easy tubeless conversion. The use of liquid sealant is necessary, but the assembly is otherwise just as easy as with real tubeless tires. This is where the new standard in the Evolution line, Tubeless Easy, gets its name. It replaces both the previous tubeless tires and the Tubeless Ready version.

The profile design was also completely overhauled. It is now even more versatile and works even more impressively in every riding situation. To achieve this, Schwalbe Chief Developer Markus Hachmeyer further optimized every single stud – size, shape, surface and layout. Because every detail influences the tire’s performance. V-shaped grooves add additional braking and grip edges without increasing block squirm. Optimized center stud arrangement for improved traction, improved braking grip and predictable cornering. Significantly bigger and well positioned outer blocks improve the control on a demanding trail. Well dimensioned gaps. For very good self cleaning.

“It is not the fastest cross country tire, the most robust endurance tire, or the least slip-resistant mud tire. But if you are looking for a tire which works in every situation, a tire which won’t let you down, whatever the weather or the terrain, there is no better choice than the new Nobby Nic!” declares Markus Hachmeyer. As before, Nobby Nic is available with two Triple Compounds: the extremely fast PaceStar and the supremely slip-resistant TrailStar Compounds. Despite the distinctly improved riding performance, the tire’s weight and rolling resistance remain the same. “We are so convinced by the new Nobby Nic that we are also using it as a replacement for the tire legend, Fat Albert, as well as for the old Nobby Nic,” says Hachmeyer.

Jumbo Jim

Fatbikes are among the hottest trends at Euro Bike 2014, whether as a mountain bike, trekking bike or pedelec. Schwalbe’s new Jumbo Jim fits in perfectly with the fat bike, yet is surprisingly light at 990 grams.

Here, the focus is on the tire: On the fatbike it is all about the approximately ten to twelve centimeter rolling width. Although the bikes are not new, the trend is spreading from North America to Europe. Originally they come from Alaska and Canada, where riders equipped with fat tires were able to plow through the snow and mud. Now, more and more trekking cyclists and mountain bikers are discovering the extraordinary Fatbike experience. “When riding in deep snow, sand or gravel the only help is to have a large volume tyre combined with extremely low air pressure from about 0.4 Bar. This brings the best traction for momentum in almost any terrain,” says Marcus Lambertz, Schwalbe Product Manager. With the Jumbo Jim Schwalbe presents a lightweight Fatbike tire. In the normal 4:00 inch width (100 mm), it is even under the one kilo mark at 990 grams. Alternatively, they are also available in extra-wide 4.80-inch (120 mm). Schwalbe of course offers a suitable tube.

Jumbo Jim is available from specialist bicycle dealers in a Snake Skin / Tubeless Easy version and in a LiteSkin side wall version.

Colour to the One

Colour also comes into play with the racing bike: the top class race tires come in four new colours ready for the 2015 season.

“We deliberately kept the colourful stripe on our Schwalbe One very narrow and positioned it on the outer far part of the tread,” explains Peter Krischio, Schwalbe Product Manager for Race. This means the colour accents look attractive in red, blue, white or subtle silver, and – even more importantly – they have virtually no impact on the performance of the Triple OneStar Compound.

The new colour variants complete the model palette of the Schwalbe One top racing bike tire, which was launched in 2013. Peter Krischio adds: “It is still the fastest and, at the same time, most reliable competition tire from Schwalbe. The name demonstrates how important this racing bike tire is for us.”

Durano refresh

The Durano is the popular training tire for long-distance riders: At Eurobike, Schwalbe will show the new version and its updated brothers Durano Plus, Durano DD and for Sports Pedelecs, Durano E.

The Schwalbe Durano endurance tyre attains a completely new, dynamic profile and is now ten grams lighter. It’s outstanding quality of extremely high mileage remains. The dual compound ensures great grip for training on wet winter roads. The RaceGuard with a double layer of nylon fabric is good protection for light sporty tires. There are five color options including an all-white version.

The new Durano Plus has maximum puncture protection. The SmartGuard protection belt made of elastic rubber is not quite as deep as in the Marathon Plus; nevertheless it offers a unique level of puncture protection for road tyres. “It is the most puncture resistant bike tire available,” says Peter Krischio, Schwalbe Product Manager for Race.

The new Durano Plus has maximum puncture protection. The SmartGuard protection belt made of elastic rubber is not quite as deep as in the Marathon Plus; nevertheless it offers a unique level of puncture protection for road tyres. “It is the most puncture resistant bike tire available,” says Peter Krischio, Schwalbe Product Manager for Race.

The abbreviation DD stands for Double Defense. In addition to the RaceGuard protection belt there is a reinforced SnakeSkin layer on the shoulder and primarily on the sidewall of the Durano DD and thus provides all-round protection with little added weight. The Snakeskin fabric is also new: Compared to the previous material used by Schwalbe it is now a monofilament fabric which provides even better cut resistance and increased abrasion protection.

There is also a new version of the Durano for fast, sporty E-Bikes up to 50 km/h. The Durano E is available in five sizes and two versions and carries the ECE-R75 mark for fast e-bikes valid throughout Europe.

Ironman tyre in all white

Forget black and make the white choice: the snow white Ironman tyre is a real head-turner on the triathlon bike. Schwalbe is bringing out a “White Edition” of its Ironman, limited to 2,000 units.

Schwalbe’s Ironman is the official tyre of the international competition series staged by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC). It is the first pure triathlon tyre from Schwalbe with an uncompromising high-speed design. When it came to the tread, Schwalbe chose an aerodynamically optimised, high-traction, grooved tread which covers the whole side wall and gives the tyre an advanced dynamic appearance.

The Ironman is Schwalbe’s first ever racing tyre that has been approved for a maximum pressure of eleven bar. “Such a high pressure is not recommended on the majority of roads, but on time-trial segments with a very homogeneous road surface, the high air pressure reduces flexing, and is thus an advantage in terms of rolling resistance,” explained Peter Krischio. “In addition, the tyre can be pumped up at a moment’s notice if the bike has to be handed over for the competition the day before.”

Schwalbe’s white folding tyre with the fast OneStar Compound will be on offer for the first time at the Ironman in Frankfurt, in the Expo Area.

Century for modern classics

Modern technology and classic design combine to form the new Schwalbe Century tire. At the beginning of the 20th century a bicycle culture existed in many European countries. This first heyday of cycling remembers bikes in a vintage style and modern interpretations such as lifestyle bikes, fixies or Dutch bikes in unusual colours. Schwalbe pays homage to these early days of bike culture with the new Century, whose profile and contour detail are based on the tires of the early 20th century.

The highlight: the side wall in traditional billboard technology is achieved with raised lettering in a contrasting colour attaining a somewhat 3-D look. If you like it traditional, black tires are finished with a cream sidewall. The tires with silver-grey side walls again finish the look of the lifestyle bike. And the British Racing Green variant in combination with white gives classic bikes a distinguishing look! With reflective strips, 50 EPI carcass and K-Guard.

The Schwalbe Century is available at a price of 24.90 euros from professional bicycle shops. The four colour variants of Black-reflex, Racing Green / White and Black with side walls in cream or silver grey, are all available in sizes 37-622 and 50- 622. Other Size: 28-622 in Black-reflex.

Tubeless conversion made easy

For those who want to go tubeless, but do not want to buy new wheels, Schwalbe is now bringing out the right accessories in rim tapes and valves. Such conversions have been carried out on mountain bikes for a long time. In general, it is perfectly possible to make wheels airtight using the rim tape, even with the racing bike’s high pressure system.

“Most wheels can be converted without any problems. For the first time, we are providing rim tapes and valves, to seal conventional wheels and prepare them for the tubeless installation,“ says Markus Hachmeyer, Senior Product Manager at Schwalbe. This means it is no longer necessary to invest in new expensive wheels for the switchover. The special aluminum tubeless valves are very light and, with their black anodized appearance, are very discreet on every wheel rim. The conical valve base is suitable for the majority of wheel rims.

“To ensure that the wheel rims can cope with the loads and that the tire sits securely on the wheel rim even in tubeless operation, only wheels which have been explicitly approved by the manufacturer for tubeless conversion should be used. DT Swiss, for example, verified its entire program for tubeless compatibility and approved most of it. In doing so, the possible tire pressure according to tire width is also determined,” emphasized Hachmeyer. Some wheels, however, are explicitly disapproved for tubeless conversion. If in doubt, please consult the wheel rim manufacturer for information on tubeless conversion.