Since Eurobike 2023, Schwalbe have been showing off a revamped brand identity – complete with a new logo and redesigned sidewall styling. Not long after, they introduced fresh product concepts too, including their new radial tires. With this, Schwalbe are aiming for nothing less than a revolution in modern MTB tire construction. But is the bold move paying off? We put eleven of their current models through a full trail test to find out.
| Model | Weight | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Magic Mary ADDIX Ultra Soft Super Downhill 29 x 2.40 |
1,394 g | € 74.90 |
| Tacky Chan ADDIX Ultra Soft Super Downhill 29 x 2.40 |
1,355 g | € 74.90 |
| Tacky Chan ADDIX Ultra Soft Super Gravity 29 x 2.40 |
1,271 g | € 74.90 |
| Tacky Chan ADDIX Soft Super Gravity 29 x 2.40 |
1,260 g | € 74.90 |
| BIG BETTY ADDIX Soft Super Gravity 29 x 2.60 |
1,335 g | € 74.90 |
| Magic Mary ADDIX Ultra Soft Super Gravity 29 x 2.60 |
1,243 g | € 74.90 |
| Hans Dampf ADDIX Soft Super Gravity 29 x 2.35 |
1,219 g | € 74.90 |
| Magic Mary ADDIX Ultra Soft Gravity Pro Radial 29 x 2.50 |
1,361 g | € 79.90 |
| Albert ADDIX Soft Gravity Pro Radial 29 x 2.50 |
1,355 g | € 79.90 |
| Albert ADDIX Ultra Soft Gravity Pro Radial 29 x 2.50 |
1,352 g | € 79.90 |
| Magic Mary ADDIX Ultra Soft Trail Pro Radial 29 x 2.50 |
1,080 g | € 73.90 |
Schwalbe’s casings at a glance
With Schwalbe, the casing names are refreshingly straightforward. Most of them simply add the intended use behind the prefix “Super.” The five casings – Super Race, Super Ground, Super Trail, Super Gravity and Super Downhill – cover a wide spectrum, ranging from lightweight, fast-rolling options to burly, multi-layered constructions for the roughest terrain. With their new radial casing, however, Schwalbe are moving away from this product naming logic. In this case, the application comes before the word “Pro.”
Super Race
The Super Race casing is all about minimal rolling resistance and low weight. As such, it features only a narrow puncture protection layer beneath the centre tread. With its 67 TPI construction, the Super Race casing is designed exclusively for cross-country racing.
Super Ground
The Super Ground casing aims to strike an ideal balance between puncture protection and rolling efficiency. It’s a classic single-ply casing, with three layers of 67 TPI material stacked beneath the centre tread. For added protection, Schwalbe have integrated a bead-to-bead puncture protection layer, which significantly boosts sidewall cut resistance and also helps the tire maintain air pressure without relying too heavily on sealant. That said, the Super Ground casing sits firmly at the lower end of the spectrum for trail and enduro riders. Its sidewalls are simply too thin for proper trail abuse – once you’re over around 80 kg, pinch flats on the rear tire become a regular occurrence. Lighter riders, on the other hand, benefit from the lower weight and rolling resistance, making the Super Ground casing a solid option up front.
Super Trail/Trail Pro
The Super Trail casing – labelled Trail Pro on Schwalbe’s new radial tires – shares its basic single-ply construction with the Super Ground casing, using 67 TPI casing material throughout. However, it also features an additional rubber insert at the sidewall to improve impact protection and enhance overall stability. Schwalbe market this casing as a versatile option, with enough puncture resistance for All Mountain and Trail riding, while also venturing into light Enduro territory thanks to its relatively moderate weight. In our lab tests, however, the lightweight Super Trail casing with radial construction performed in the lower third of the test field. It offered decent impact protection – comparable to Pirelli’s HardWall casing – but fell just short of the performance of MAXXIS’s EXO+ casing. As such, we’d only recommend Schwalbe’s Trail casing for Enduro use at the front.
Super Gravity/Gravity Pro
If you want to play it safe on your enduro bike, Schwalbe’s Super Gravity – or Gravity Pro – casing is a solid choice. When it comes to puncture protection, it’s right up there with the best. Unlike the Super Trail casing, the Gravity variant relies on four layers of 67 TPI casing material instead of three. These are combined with a bead-to-bead protective insert and an additional rubber insert in the sidewall. This construction gives the Gravity casing excellent performance in both puncture and impact resistance. It particularly shines in puncture testing, where it even outperforms the downhill casings of some competitors. The only casing to beat it is Schwalbe’s own dedicated downhill option.
Super Downhill
More is more: Schwalbe’s Super Downhill casing is a classic dual-ply construction, using six layers of 68 TPI material under the tread and four layers along the sidewalls. This setup is designed to provide plenty of protection – even at low pressures. But it’s not just the fabric layers that are doubled up: the rubber insert at the bead, which already features in the Super Trail and Super Gravity casings, is used twice here to further stiffen the sidewalls and maximise impact protection.
In our lab impact test, the Super Downhill casing performed brilliantly, withstanding a drop height of nearly 600 mm – bettered only by Specialized’s GRID Gravity casing and the MAXXIS DH casing. When it comes to puncture protection, though, Schwalbe are in a league of their own. In the 5 mm chisel test, which replicates real-world sharp impacts, the Super Downhill casing achieved the best results of the entire test field – both in the sidewall and on the tread.
Radial casing
New for Schwalbe since August 2024 are the so-called radial tires, which differ from conventional diagonally-constructed models by the orientation of their casing threads. Instead of the typical 45° angle, the threads in radial tires run at a much shallower angle – close to 90°. At the time of testing, four models featured this new construction: the Albert, Shredda Front, Shredda Rear, and the classic Magic Mary. Schwalbe promise significant benefits from the change: the more localised deformation of the tire is said to deliver more grip, improved damping, greater safety, and a whopping 30% increase in contact patch size at the same pressure.
However, there is a downside, too – one that Schwalbe themselves openly acknowledge: radial casing tires, due to their high deformation capacity, come with increased rolling resistance. In our lab tests, a Magic Mary with the Ultra Soft compound and Gravity Pro radial casing recorded around 4.3 watts more rolling resistance than the same model with the conventional 45° Super Gravity casing.
This can be offset by increasing tire pressure – according to Schwalbe, without losing the advantages of the radial casing. Even with 50% more air pressure, radial casing tires are still said to have 15% more contact area than those with a standard casing. In our experience, running radial tires with around 0.2 bar more pressure is actually advisable – on hardpack trails, you’ll otherwise notice a drop in speed and have to put in significantly more pedal strokes to clear jumps. But once the pressure is dialled in, the reward is impressive: excellent damping and loads of grip. Thanks to the tire’s ability to deform, it almost feels as if it’s not just rolling over obstacles – but wrapping around them.
At present, Schwalbe’s radial tires are only available in two of their five casing constructions: Trail Pro and Gravity Pro. A Ground Pro version likely wouldn’t make much sense for this technology, but a Downhill Pro radial casing would definitely be of interest to many riders. We’re confident that Schwalbe won’t keep us waiting too long on that front.
Direct comparison: bias-ply vs. radial ply
Schwalbe point out that while the radial casing uses a fundamentally different thread orientation, the overall number of casing layers and material thickness remain unchanged. In theory, this should allow the tire to maintain a similar level of puncture protection as its diagonal counterpart. However, lab results tell a slightly different story. When tested without air pressure, the radial version of the Gravity casing shows a lower puncture resistance than the diagonal version. While this test doesn’t reflect real-world conditions – where the tire can deform and absorb impacts – it’s worth noting that even in the impact test with air pressure, the radial casing underperforms slightly compared to its traditional sibling.
What does this mean in practice? If puncture protection is your number-one priority you might want to reach for a casing one step tougher. That could mean opting for the Super Downhill casing instead of the Gravity Pro radial version, for example.
But does this mean we wouldn’t recommend the radial casing? Not at all! On the trail, things feel different. The radial design clearly shows its strengths when it comes to damping performance.
Schwalbe’s rubber compounds at a glance
Schwalbe have developed four different rubber compounds for the mountain bike segment. From fast-rolling to maximum grip, the lineup is as follows: ADDIX Speed, ADDIX Speedgrip, ADDIX Soft, and ADDIX Ultra Soft. You can identify which compound a tire uses not only by the lettering on the sidewall but also by a coloured stripe on the tread. The marking follows this pattern:
Red stripe = ADDIX Speed
Blue stripe = ADDIX Speedgrip
Orange stripe = ADDIX Soft
Purple stripe = ADDIX Ultra Soft
ADDIX Speed
ADDIX Speed is Schwalbe’s fast XC race compound, designed with a clear focus on reducing rolling resistance. As such, it’s only paired with tread patterns intended for XC use. When it comes to trail and enduro tires, ADDIX Speed doesn’t play a role.
ADDIX Speedgrip
ADDIX Speedgrip is Schwalbe’s universal compound, covering the widest range of applications within their line-up. That’s why it’s featured on the biggest number of Schwalbe’s mountain bike tires. You’ll find ADDIX Speedgrip not only on XC tires but also on more aggressively treaded All Mountain and Trail tires like the Nobby Nic, Wicked Will, and Hans Dampf. For trail and all-mountain use, ADDIX Speedgrip is a great choice on the rear wheel when you’re aiming for a fast-rolling setup – it strikes a good balance between grip and low rolling resistance. However, for the front wheel, we’d always recommend stepping up to the softer ADDIX Soft or even ADDIX Ultra Soft compounds.
ADDIX Soft
Schwalbe’s most aggressive tire models for enduro and gravity all feature at least the ADDIX Soft compound. Compared to ADDIX Speedgrip, this compound offers noticeably better damping and grip – without sending rolling resistance through the roof. That makes ADDIX Soft a highly versatile compound that works well beyond just gravity-oriented riding. When paired with the right tread pattern, rolling resistance remains surprisingly low in our lab tests. So even for trail riding, there’s really no reason to run a faster-rolling ADDIX Speedgrip compound on the front wheel. If your rides are focused on descents, ADDIX Soft is definitely a solid choice up front – and for more aggressive enduro riding, it’s also the right pick for the rear.
ADDIX Ultra Soft
While the ADDIX Soft compound aims to strike a versatile balance, ADDIX Ultra Soft is clearly designed as an uncompromising downhill compound focused on maximum control. As Schwalbe’s grippiest and most damped rubber blend, it’s also intended to perform year-round, regardless of the weather. Especially when paired with a radial tire casing, the damping performance is exceptional. However, due to its high rolling resistance, this compound is only recommended for use on the rear wheel in bike park settings – where climbing isn’t part of the equation.
Schwalbe’s tread patterns at a glance
Albert
While the Albert may have slimmed down in name compared to its predecessor, it has gained in tread block density. Its closed tread pattern is designed to perform particularly well on harder surfaces and delivers the best rolling efficiency among Schwalbe’s radial tires. In our lab test, the model with ADDIX Soft compound delivered a strong result of 36.7 watts – quite impressive for a radial casing. If you’re looking to benefit from the damping performance of a radial construction without compromising too much on rolling resistance, the Albert is a great option, especially on the rear wheel. Here, too, the added comfort pays off. With the Ultra Soft compound, the Albert also shines up front. Thanks to its wide limit range, it offers predictable handling and inspires confidence. The Albert is available in 2.5” or 2.6” widths and comes with either the Trail Pro or Gravity Pro casing. As for rubber options, you can choose between ADDIX Soft and ADDIX Ultra Soft.
Hans Dampf
Designed as an all-rounder for both all-mountain and enduro use, the Hans Dampf aims to perform on the climbs as well as the descents. And it does – in our lab test, the Hans Dampf with Super Gravity casing and ADDIX Soft compound rolled exceptionally well, placing in the top three for rolling resistance. For uphill enthusiasts, there’s even more to gain: the ADDIX Speedgrip compound shaves off a few extra watts. That said, for most riders, the ADDIX Soft version strikes the perfect balance between low rolling resistance and solid descending performance when used on the rear wheel.
When it comes to grip and traction, the Hans Dampf does reveal its all-rounder nature. In the bike park, things can get a little looser compared to chunkier options – although still manageable. For maximum bite, the Tacky Chan and Big Betty are stronger contenders. The Hans Dampf is available in two rubber compounds – ADDIX Speedgrip and ADDIX Soft – and comes in 2.35” and 2.6” widths. Casing options include both Super Trail and Super Gravity. In addition to standard wheel sizes, 26” and even 24” versions are available too.
Tacky Chan
Schwalbe market the Tacky Chan as their fastest downhill tire – and one that’s designed to work equally well up front and at the rear. And it delivers: rolling resistance is only slightly higher than that of the Hans Dampf, yet it offers noticeably better descending performance thanks to its strong braking traction. It’s lighter than a Magic Mary and, according to Schwalbe, features more stable side knobs. In practice, we found the Tacky Chan to have a broader margin of control, although it doesn’t quite reach the same peak grip levels as the Magic Mary. You’ve got four casing options to choose from: Super Ground, Super Trail, Super Gravity and Super Downhill. For all versions except the Super Downhill casing, you can pick between ADDIX Soft and ADDIX Ultra Soft compounds. However, width options are fixed – the Tacky Chan is only available in a 2.4” version.
Big Betty
The Big Betty is a true classic in the Schwalbe line-up, first appearing back in the 1990s. After a brief hiatus, it’s made a full comeback on the trails. And rightly so – the Big Betty delivers noticeably more descending performance than the Hans Dampf, with only a moderate increase in rolling resistance. In the ADDIX Soft compound and Super Gravity casing we tested, the Big Betty impressed with lower rolling resistance and excellent puncture protection. Combine that with its outstanding braking traction, and it’s clear this tire is a top choice for the rear wheel in hard enduro riding. For front tire duties, though, other Schwalbe models offer more grip. This trail-tested classic comes in a wide range of configurations: choose between 2.4” and 2.6” widths, ADDIX Soft or ADDIX Ultra Soft compounds, and Super Trail, Super Gravity or Super Downhill casings. On top of the standard 27.5” and 29” sizes, the Big Betty is also available in 20”, 24” and 26” versions.
Magic Mary
The Magic Mary is designed as an all-round front tire for gravity riding. Its aggressive tread pattern, complete with massive side knobs, delivers excellent cornering control on soft terrain. Thanks to its open tread layout and impressive self-cleaning ability, it also performs well in muddy conditions. At the time of testing, the Magic Mary was available in both radial and traditional diagonal versions. Riding both in the same compound allowed us to compare them directly – and the radial model clearly stands out with improved damping and grip. For front wheel use, we’d definitely recommend the radial version. In terms of puncture protection, the Magic Mary with Super Downhill casing tops our weighted protection score across all test tires. What’s still missing? A Magic Mary with a Downhill Pro radial casing – hopefully, it’s only a matter of time. That said, even the conventional version impresses with predictable, well-damped ride characteristics and tons of grip. The radial Magic Mary is available in both Trail Pro and Gravity Pro casings, each in 2.5” width. The Trail Pro version comes exclusively in ADDIX Soft, while the Gravity Pro model can also be ordered in ADDIX Ultra Soft. Like the Big Betty and Tacky Chan, the “conventional” Magic Mary comes in a variety of casings and sizes to suit your setup.
Our recommendation
Enduro – Allround (f/r): Magic Mary Radial Gravity Pro ADDIX Ultra Soft / Albert Radial Gravity Pro ADDIX Soft
Trail – Grip (f/r): Albert Radial Trail Pro ADDIX Ultra Soft / Tacky Chan Super Gravity ADDIX Soft
Trail – fast rolling (f/r): Tacky Chan Super Trail ADDIX Soft / Hans Dampf Super Trail ADDIX Speedgrip
For more information, visit Schwalbe’s website.
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Words: Lars Engmann Photos: Peter Walker
