Are Schwalbe's Really This Soft?

peter413

One ride old Trailstar Muddy Mary is already showing some pretty bad wear, some of the knobs are almost completely torn off! Are they really this soft or have I got a dodgy one? Only did about 5 sub 2 minute runs so under 10 minutes of riding on a not very rocky track (Deer Hunter at Innerleithen if you know it). Would have thought it should last better than this. Maybe if it was a Vertstar I could understand this happening.

cooldad

Maybe the clue is in the name.

ilovedirt

I think someone has been pulling some naughty skids. Remember, skids are for kids.

peter413

There was the very occasional lock up but it was pretty damn loose and when you're trying to get the best time you can it happens.

ilovedirt

I run Schwalbe hans dampfs, had them since christmas and they look nothing like that... And they've seen their fair share of abuse. I've no idea what you've done to do that to them. Got mates running muddy marys (I used some on a rental bike for a few days in morzine this year) and I've never seen that happen before... looks like you've been skidding on tarmac more than anything else.

peter413

I think I'll shoot On One (where I bought it) an email and see what they say. I've never had this happen in such a short space of time, not even with Super Tacky Maxxis' and I know a few people who use Mary's and none of them have had this issue.

rockmonkeysc

I had the same problem with muddy marys on rocky trails. Not sure why but my Conti Der Khaisers feel much softer but are lasting much better.

peter413

Yeah I've been running a Kaiser on the front for well over a year now and it's still perfect. If it was rocky I would maybe understand a little better but it wasn't, just dry hardpack. I've sent them an email now so will see what they say, if it is normal then looks like I'll be going back to Maxxpro Maxxis' for rear tyres, can't afford to be replacing my tyres all the time. Shame though because it was really nice to ride with and they're fairly cheap from Germany.

cooldad

I still seem to be missing the point - running soft big knobs designed for mud on dry hardpack that's a bit rocky rips the knobs off?

peter413

The name is very misleading, it isn't actually a mud tyre, it's meant as an allrounder.

ilovedirt

Yeah, this isn't a mud tyre. I'd say it's equivalent of a minion - decent all rounder.

rockmonkeysc

peter413 wrote:

The name is very misleading, it isn't actually a mud tyre, it's meant as an allrounder.

Muddy Marys arent really very good at all in muddy conditions.

peter413

Neither are Minion's etc. That's what Dirty Dan's and Wetscream's are for.

rockmonkeysc

But minions don't have a name to suggest they are intended for muddy conditions.

peter413

Say High Roller's then, they're really not that fast despite a lot of people being adamant they are because they're called High Roller's. Pretty sure it's a gambling term or something which explains the dice on the decal.

It is rather confusing though. Continental kind of did the opposite with the Der Baron, it works great in the dry as well as the wet but most wouldn't use them in the dry because they were called Rain King's.

cooldad

I'll stick to my Ignitors then. Never broken any knobs off, but that could be something to do with my delicate girly XC riding style.

rockmonkeysc

Ignitors aren't much use for downhill. Not all that good for xc either.

cooldad

Downhill I'm sure you're right, but I use Exceptions all year round for XC and they do the job. For me.
But as this is a gnarrly DH type thread I'll stop the derail.

lawman

Could have been a dodgy production batch, I've heard, and experienced, similar with other Schwalbes recently, but by the same token my Hans Dampfs have been fine for 6 months, the rears done a lot of miles and still looks pretty good in places, obviously worn but not extremely so. Schwalbe are pretty good with stuff like this, so send them back to on-one and see what they say

Kowalski675

peter413 wrote:

Pretty sure it's a gambling term or something which explains the dice on the decal.

Yup, a high roller's a gambler who places large bets.

.blitz

peter413 wrote:

Are they really this soft or have I got a dodgy one?

Have had a Vertstar Mary tear up like that but only after a several dozen runs at Cannock where its all sand and pebbles and not particularly rocky. A Vertstar Betty is also going the same way

No such problems with the Trailstar versions though you must be killing it

sanchez89

A Pacestar Nobby Nic i used to run on the rear had suffered a fair few ripped knobs (ooo err) but that had a few road miles and some skiddy sliding on gravel so i can understand. but alot of the knobs were a bit torn after the first few runs at cannock on just the trails. that tyre was also from On One as it was one of the cheapo Cube branded things.

maybe they are just cack. stick to Conti's from now on

The Northern Monkey

Is this on a front or rear tyre?

Id be running bettys in dry rocky conditions though... trailstar front pacestar rear.

peter413

Was on the rear. It wasn't rocky though, just dry and after using a Trailstar Betty on the back, there's no way I'd be replacing the Der Kaiser on the front. Pacestar isn't available with the DH casing either I don't think. I actually had the Betty on 2 days before I stuck the Mary on because I wanted that little bit more grip in the loose stuff.

The Northern Monkey

Ahh yeah the betty pacestar is a bit loose feeling but I love it! Could stick the trailstar on the rear for more grip I spose!

I use the single ply betty evo's, not had any issues yet on the rocky south wales routes but I do run DH tubes... I run the bettys around 20psi too!!!

peter413

I was using the Trailstar...

I need to be running the DH casing on the DH bike anyway, single plys etc just squirm too much and you have to run pretty high pressures to avoid flats plus I can still rip apart the casings on dual plys if I'm really pushing it so I don't think a single ply would last very long. I'm already running 30 front, 40 rear to avoid hitting the rim, that gets upped to 45 on the rear for really rocky tracks like Fort William.

I run single plys on the smaller bike no bother at the same pressure riding the same tracks, just different riding styles on different bikes I guess.