Schwalbe Big Ones on a Fargo?

[JamesM]

I'm thinking about pulling the trigger on a pair of Big Ones by Schwalbe:

http://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/off-road_tires/big_one

to put on my Fargo to tour the Lost Coast in CA. Majority of the route is on pavement (riding from SF and Back) and some gravel/fire roads.

Im currently running Racing Ralphs (2.2 and 2.35) and love em but the knobs would be gone by the time i hit the dirt.

Its a large Fargo 2015, and i weigh about 195. I load up the revelate bags with gear and food for 3 days, so another 10 -20 lbs (guessing).

These tires look pretty fun! But i am wondering if 2.35 @ 530g set up tubless on stans rapid 25mm rims (OEM) - am I screwing myself for the 200 miles of pavement on this ride by going with such a wide tire? Is an35 or 40 mm tire more appropriate?

What tire would you run?

Thanks,
James

[RonK]

I'd be choosing the 42-622 TL-Easy Marathon Supremes for my Fargo on a pavement tour and yes I'd run them tubeless. They roll beautifully.

[drwelby]

Rolling resistance can be a weird thing. In the test of the Big One at Bicycle Rolling Resistance they measured it as one of the best rolling tires they've tested:

Rolling resistance is extremely low. At the low air pressure of 25 psi, the Big One dethrones the Continental Speed King II by 3.3 watts (15.8 Vs 19.1 Watts). What's even more surprising is that at the high air pressure of 55 psi, the Big One with a 225 grams butyl inner tube has less rolling resistance than a Schwalbe One V-Guard or Continental Grand Prix 4000S II road bike tire at 120 psi.

What about Schwalbe's claim of the Big One being their fastest tire ever produced? I didn't test the Big One in a tubeless configuration, but when taking the numbers from my Tubeless Vs Latex Vs Butyl article, rolling resistance at 55 psi should be close to 9.3 watts. Even at the much lower air pressure of 25 psi, rolling resistance should be close to 10.8 watts when used in a tubeless configuration. This really is an insanely fast tire.

I would probably be more concerned about the durability of the tire, but I haven't tried one yet.

[JamesM]

Tough choice between the fun factor of the light, fat Big Ones and the more practical and predictable Marathon Supreme.

[harryonaspot]

I like big tires. The comfort factor is huge. Are you racing or trying to hang with others? Plus fat tires make for a fun ride. Hard to explain til you try them

[JamesM]

I went with the Schwalbe Big Ones, 2.35 tubeless. Real fun tire, and it rolls pretty darn fast. Ive put a couple hundred miles (paved) on them so far, mostly with a light load and they feel great. Really grippy. 30-40 lbs of pressure is stiff, and I am settling between 25 - 30 lbs mostly for a nice cushy ride. These tires are super light for their size and they feel quick.

The front does seem to want to steer itself a bit, however i got that when I put a 2.35 racing ralph on the front too. A 2.2 did not do this.

I've yet to riders  dirt or gravel with them save a few miles around the park. I'm planning a 300 mile road trip with 30 or 40 miles of dirt section so we'll see how they do on sandy dirt. I expect the need to take it easy on dirt descents due to front end washing out a bit, and probably some traction issues climbing steeps. For this trip I'm happy to give up some dirt performance in exchange for sailing down rt 1 with a tailwind on fat, fast slicks.

[JamesM]

Pic

[drwelby]

How wide are those in real life?

[JamesM]

on 25mm rims, they are measuring 2.39 inches or 60mm.

[bikeny]

Those do look like fun tires, but I would be a bit concerning about durability on a tour, especially on dirt/gravel roads. I just got a set of 29x2.35 Super Moto tires for my commuter. I believe it's the same casing, just a bit beefier and with a bit of tread. They took a while to set up tubeless, but they seem to be holding now. I have not tried them yet, but looking forward to it!

Just take it easy on the dirt roads and you should be fine. Please report back on you tour and how the tires held up!

[JamesM]

re: durability, point taken. It is on my mind. I will be bringing along two tubes, a couple of tire boots, needle and thread, tape and a small bottle of extra sealant. Hopefully that will cover me in case of tears or punctures. If this trip had more off-road miles or was more remote I would go with something more suitable like the Supremes or Super Motos.

[Michael_S]

Schwalbe Thunder Burts are really fast rolling tires and do pretty good on dirt with nice side knobs.  They make a 29 x 2.25"size.  I use the 2.1" 650B version on my custom dirt rando bike and every time I ride it  I'm amazed how fast they roll on pavement. 

mike

[JamesM]

Reporting back on this, I completed this ride from Eureka to SF on Schwalbe's Big Ones, and I thought they did a great job. The map:

http://www.findmespot.com/spotadventures/index.php/view_adventure?tripid=344018

This is about a 300 mile ride with about 30 miles of dirt. The first 100 miles or so through the lost coast area took 3 days. The last day was a marathon run of 180 miles to make it to work on the morning of the 5th day.

The lost coast leg of the ride had a fair bit of broken and potholed pavement on steep hills, and these tires handled the crumbling roads with aplomb. Sticky and fast, with lots of float over the rough spots.

Usal Road is a 25 mile stretch of dirt with lots of short steep climbs and descents. I reduced tire pressure to around 25 psi, and these fat, squishy slicks gave very good traction over the loose and steep climbs. The descents had to babied a bit however, with the front end washing out easily in the loose and dusty conditions.

The last leg was from Fort Bragg to SF via rt 1, southbound along the coast. I stopped at a post office to mail home a bunch of camping gear and misc. crap, making the bike 15 pounds lighter. I topped off the pressure a bit and headed south with a nice tailwind. The bike sailed along all day and all night, and i covered the 180 miles to home in 21 hours of riding. Just in time to roll into work at 7:30 AM, straight from the trip.

The rear tire suffered one puncture on the first day, which the stans sealed up on it's own. That puncture would open up again later in the trip, but again it sealed itself. I was ready to pop in a tube, but the tire held the rest of the trip. I will probably be pulling the tire off at home and gluing in a patch.

Overall, I am really happy that I put these tires on. They made the ride super comfortable for me, floating over the rough stuff and helping to keep me riding 21 hours straight on the last day. If the ride involved more dirt I would go with something better suited to that, but with all the pavement these tires were a blast to ride on.

[zuren]

Apologies for dredging up an old thread but this topic is exactly what I posted on in a different forum.

Is the Schwalbe Big One a replacement for the Super Moto in their product line?  I cannot find the Super Moto in stock anywhere.

I have a Surly Ogre that I'm outfitting to be my "everything" bike with a change in tires for the trip.  Someday I may look to a cyclocross or gravel bike but for now the Orge has to fill the gap.  I'm mostly riding mixed gravel and rough pavement in a rural area.  I'm considering other tires like the Vee Speedster and the Hookworm along with the Big One/Super Moto.

Despite being light and fast, I've read some negative feedback about durability.  I suppose that is to be expected; they are beach tires after all.

Thanks! 

[JamesM]

The big ones are a fun tire, but they are a race tire as you noted, and not durable like the super motos. They got several little punctures on my lost coast trip (300 miles pavement with some dirt and really broken ashpalt). I ran them tubeless and stans sealed every puncture, but, they are not really a touring tire. They also wear quickly.