velotel
10-02-2018, 02:39 PM
Schwalbe G-1 Allround, size 700x40, tubeless. My friend Sylvain mounted them (an easy mount) before my 8-day tour in the Alps. Figured 8 days riding the Alps ought to show what they’re about. It did.
Pretty much did it all, smooth asphalt, rustic asphalt, barely asphalt, smooth dirt, smooth gravel, coarse gravel, embedded rocks and dirt, chewed up rock, gravel, and dirt, cracked, lumpy, crumbling tar and gravel, only mud was missing, which was fine by me. Lots of climbing, lots of descending, lots of gravity plunges on twisting, diving, nervous blacktop.
I weigh 65-66 kg (143-145 lbs) and usually run the front tire at around 35-36 psi, the back at 38-39. That’s the pressure reading on the gauge on my pump. No idea if it’s accurate. When the road was particularly rocky I’d let air out of both tires. Unmeasured, just press the valve, release air. Maybe a pound or two. Sometimes I’d let more air out if the first time didn’t do the trick. Always improved the ride on rocks and dirt with no decrease in performance on asphalt.
The small knobs did all that was needed. Might not be enough in mud but mud’s not my thing so…. How they’ll last remains to be seen but little sign of wear after the tour. The distance we covered was modest, 292 K (181 miles), but the vertical was more impressive, 10,408 meters (34,147 ft), with a good bit of climbing on dirt and rock on steep grades, which normally wears the back tire faster than other conditions.
Fattest tires I’ve run on my bike, fat enough that I need to let air out to get the front tire past the brake pads. They also have a nice round profile so presumably their footprint is generous, especially at low pressure. When I ran them at maybe 42-43 psi, they felt bouncy on asphalt. The sweet spot on blacktop for me seems to be right around 39-40 psi, again based solely on my pump’s gauge. At that pressure they feel crazy fast, purely subjective, not data-based. They feel as fast as the Compass Bon Jons I ran for awhile but given that was around 2 years ago, the comparison has little validity. What I really remember about the Compass tires was how much fun they were, flying over the asphalt then diving into curves with an astounding sureness that made me all but cry out in joy. These Schwalbe G1 tires have the same effect. I come out of turns smiling like an idiot thinking damn these tires are fun!
And no flats. That was on some at times pretty rough conditions too with me maybe at times carrying a bit more speed than might have been reasonable. No loss of air overnight either, or at least almost none. I say almost none because most every morning I’d put the pump to the tires and naturally there’s some air that escapes in the process of hooking up. I think any loss I saw was just that but again conjecture.
So, that’s my feedback on the G1s. My son insisted I try them, told me he thought they were currently the leading edge of tires for fat-tired road bikes. My experience of different tires is limited but they sure as heck impressed me.
A few pics that sort of show the tires.
Pretty much did it all, smooth asphalt, rustic asphalt, barely asphalt, smooth dirt, smooth gravel, coarse gravel, embedded rocks and dirt, chewed up rock, gravel, and dirt, cracked, lumpy, crumbling tar and gravel, only mud was missing, which was fine by me. Lots of climbing, lots of descending, lots of gravity plunges on twisting, diving, nervous blacktop.
I weigh 65-66 kg (143-145 lbs) and usually run the front tire at around 35-36 psi, the back at 38-39. That’s the pressure reading on the gauge on my pump. No idea if it’s accurate. When the road was particularly rocky I’d let air out of both tires. Unmeasured, just press the valve, release air. Maybe a pound or two. Sometimes I’d let more air out if the first time didn’t do the trick. Always improved the ride on rocks and dirt with no decrease in performance on asphalt.
The small knobs did all that was needed. Might not be enough in mud but mud’s not my thing so…. How they’ll last remains to be seen but little sign of wear after the tour. The distance we covered was modest, 292 K (181 miles), but the vertical was more impressive, 10,408 meters (34,147 ft), with a good bit of climbing on dirt and rock on steep grades, which normally wears the back tire faster than other conditions.
Fattest tires I’ve run on my bike, fat enough that I need to let air out to get the front tire past the brake pads. They also have a nice round profile so presumably their footprint is generous, especially at low pressure. When I ran them at maybe 42-43 psi, they felt bouncy on asphalt. The sweet spot on blacktop for me seems to be right around 39-40 psi, again based solely on my pump’s gauge. At that pressure they feel crazy fast, purely subjective, not data-based. They feel as fast as the Compass Bon Jons I ran for awhile but given that was around 2 years ago, the comparison has little validity. What I really remember about the Compass tires was how much fun they were, flying over the asphalt then diving into curves with an astounding sureness that made me all but cry out in joy. These Schwalbe G1 tires have the same effect. I come out of turns smiling like an idiot thinking damn these tires are fun!
And no flats. That was on some at times pretty rough conditions too with me maybe at times carrying a bit more speed than might have been reasonable. No loss of air overnight either, or at least almost none. I say almost none because most every morning I’d put the pump to the tires and naturally there’s some air that escapes in the process of hooking up. I think any loss I saw was just that but again conjecture.
So, that’s my feedback on the G1s. My son insisted I try them, told me he thought they were currently the leading edge of tires for fat-tired road bikes. My experience of different tires is limited but they sure as heck impressed me.
A few pics that sort of show the tires.