Schwalbe Racing Ralph 29″er Tires On Test
December 1st, 2007 by Guitar Ted
Twenty Nine Inches has purchased some Schwalbe Racing Ralph 29″er tires in the 2.4 inch size which have arrived here. The 2.25 inchers are due in soon. We will be posting an Out Of The Box as soon as we can get the 2.25 inchers in.
For now here is the pertinent information on these tires as provided to us by Schwalbe:
LOWER ROLLING RESISTANCE - We added our triple compound rubber to decrease rolling resistance and add more cornering stability.
U BLOCK TREAD - We purposely reversed the outer block and specifically positioned the block for better cornering. Every tire wants “to move” outward in a curve the U BLOCK counteracts this outward force through the lug arrangement and shape. The result is less under steer more stability and curve forces are controlled.
EVOLUTION CARCASS - All technical innovations flow first into these top tires, as for example the highly flexible Evolution carcass and unique triple compound. This carcass is made up with a 67 tpi count, it’s important to note that we publish our thread count per carcass layer. What this means is the total count is 201 tpi. The high quality of this tire is underlined by the use of new graphics: Silver with white border.
WEIGHTS - 29 X 2.25 580 grams
29 x 2.40 640 grams
Stay tuned for more soon!
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Looking forward to your test results. I’ve mounted my 2.25 up front, have a 2.4 on the way and two more 2.25s coming. I think I’ll sell my 2.4, the 2.25 was plenty wide for my liking, plus, I am totally happy with the Crossmark as a rear tire, very durable. I think the rear tire lifespan on these Racing Ralphs will not be as good as the Crossmark b/c the rubber feels a bit softer but it’ll reside up front on my ride for a long time to come.
I like the looks and feel of the tire. Being a Schwalbe fan, I have high hopes that these will be wildly popular.
I am definately interested in this tire more as an urban utility tire, although I just picked up a WeirWolf, but also to see how it stacks up against the Fire XC and the Mountain King, for off road.
The other thing for us consumers to consider is Schwalbe’s retail prices. I (pre)ordered a pair of 2.4’s directly from Schwalbe USA and they were $67 and change each plus shipping. I sure as hell won’t be using these for urban utility; I may gently wrap them in cheesecloth when I’m not riding to extend their lifespan as long as possible ;).
Chad - ordering direct from Schwalbe was definitely a bit pricy (I got my 2.25 from them), however, I ordered from both Webcyclery and bike29 - both of whom were cheaper (including shipping).
I think that once they are here en masse, the major Schwalbe retailers will be the place to go for lower prices. They’ll still be Schwalbe-esque in price but not as much as Schwalbe NA has them going for.