SCHWALBE 29er – Rocket Ron 2.25 tires – Verdict: by “c_g”

After having started out with the Rocket Ron in the worst imaginable conditions (see here), I have had some good mileage and varying terrain and weather on them and feel ready to give my conclusive verdict on them. Here in central Europe we have much more varying conditions than Grannygear, (“It never rains in California”), who has reviewed these tires in So Cal (here) – so this might add some different perspective on the tire.
5_RR_The Rocket Rons have been known to me for some time in their 26” versions (though for me riding this wheel size is getting less and less ?) and once again it has been astonishing to see how the same tires performance can be boosted by the differing tire size and contact patch of 29ers.

Traction: I had hinted this in my intro on the Rocket Ron already where it climbed and gripped well under the worst conditions. Thus it comes as no surprise that it performed really well in terms of traction and grip on any ground – especially when compared to other racing treads. Only in cornering on particularly loose or very deep ground would I frequently push the Rocket Ron beyond its limits – but it did so in such a gradual and controlled manner that I always felt it coming with enough time to react correspondingly. In climbing or braking traction the tire really shone out and was a pleasure to ride. The treads self cleaning and mud shedding properties were great, too. It felt equally nice on loose gravel as it did on roots or rocks.

Riding pressure: Despite me anticipating the Rocket Ron to require higher pressures to corner in a stable manner, I soon found my most favored pressure to be in the mid 20s (or around 1,5 to 1,6 bars) – not bad at all for the thin and subtle casing. At these pressures the Rocket Ron did absorb a good amount of trail shock and still had enough reserves (through the good volume) for the rough. I had very little complaints with them not offering enough suspension or feeling flexy.
6_RRPuncture resistance: A bit surprising was that I have had two flats with the one tire I ran on the rear from sharp objects penetrating the tread (one was a rusty nail and the other a pointed piece of rock.) I acknowledge that there is little proof here that this was the tires fault and that in unfavorable conditions this could have happened with any other tire too. But the simple fact that I haven’t had any flats of that kind for the past three years and now two at least makes me suspect there is a connection. After all the phenomenal weight can only be achieved by shaving off material and even Schwalbe acknowledges the limited puncture resistance of the Rons.

Wear: Despite Grannygear’s findings on the matter, I found the Ron to be a on the faster side of wear – the tread on the rear showed noticeable rounding of the knobs edges from the use I put it through. Once again this comes as no surprise and SCHWALBE themselves grade the Rocket Ron to be primarily optimizing for speed, traction and weight so it is – once again – horses for courses.

Weight: The low weight (coupled with the lightweight AMERICAN CLASSIC 29er wheels) made for a noticeably easy acceleration and was a joy to me on many occasions. I was running SCHWALBE’s lightweight 29er tubes (at 120 g each) and considering how nice it felt I can only say that I am seriously looking forward to having these tires in a tubeless ready version for 2011 by adding less than 40 g per tire – even when running a full load of sealant this would result in some weight saved – not to speak of the performance benefits.

Smoothness and Speed: Coming from the smoothest running tire known to man (the GEAX Saguaro tubulars) I felt that the knobs of the Rocket Ron made a bit of vibrations when climbing on paved or super smooth surfaces but no more than many other tires do also. This sensation goes away immediately when riding anything from gravel roads upwards (so basically anything we biker usually spent our time on ?). Other than that and especially when considering its great traction the Ron has been as fast a tire as you can wish for.7_RR

Verdict: Overall the Rocket Ron has been a very remarkable companion to me throughout the test. The super low weight of the Rocket Rons ( 514 g per tire) at such a respectable volume coupled with its very good grip & traction – the Rocket Ron is unique and hard to beat. Despite its slight drawbacks in terms of puncture resistance and wear, I stick to my initial claim to have the Rocket Rons as my weapon of choice for racing in mixed to wet terrain – my only wish for a tubeless ready version is to be fulfilled soon ?. As it is I would rank it among the best XC-racing tires – and if in your regular riding conditions you don’t encounter sharp rocks or abusive conditions then it might as well be the lightest all round and trail riding tire you currently find. (I am confident that if the request gets big enough there just might be another, tougher version of the Rocket Ron, with
something like their Snake Skin sidewalls, which would immediately make it a perfect companion for those tough alpine endurance races.) But then again there is yet another tire by SCHWALBE that is claimed to fill this gap of the allrounder or called by SCHWALBE the “ALLGROUNDER”.)
… enter the stage SCHWALBE Nobby Nic 29er 2.25 … soon with my first impression