- Type: XC raceMaterial: PaceStar Triple Compound, SnakeSkinSize: 26 x 2.35Bead: foldingFoldable: yesWeight: 575 gRecommended Use: XC raceManufacturer Warranty: limited
The Schwalbe Rocket Ron has it allAAAgood looks, charm, and a rapier wit. In tire terms, that translates to light weight, low rolling resistance, and plenty of grip in the corners. One thing that it was never known for, however, was durability. In the world of race tires, durability is something that is often sacrificed. It’s a compromise that racers and tire manufacturers have come to accept as the price of low weight. The Schwalbe Rocket Ron Tubeless Ready Tire with SnakeSkin adds the durability and width that you need to make it more of an everyday real world tire. At about 100 grams more per tire, the SnakeSkin version of the Rocket Ron is a little meatier than its for-racers-only cousin. For everyday, all-mountain applications, however, that 100 grams means tougher sidewalls and a wider footprint and is well worth pulling up the climb. The Rocket Ron uses Schwalbe’s PaceStar Triple Compound, their fastest. Schwalbe engineers recognize that it’s not possible for one compound to do it all, so they’ve combined three to optimize the tire’s performance. To that recipe they also added SnakeSkin, a woven layer added to the sidewalls to protect them from abrasion damage. The low-profile tread of the Rocket Ron is fast, and it’s still an excellent cornering tire thanks to the U-Block shoulder tread. These tread blocks are angled at 20 degrees or so towards the outside of the tire. Compared to the Racing Ralph, the slightly more prominent blocks have been spaced a bit further apart to achieve more void space. This is part of the reason that it self-cleans in mucky stuff so you can continue to have traction to drive down the trail and keep the bike upright. A small sipe doesn’t quite divide the block, creating the “U” shape. They work to counteract the lateral forces endured when cornering to maintain traction and to keep the bike stable. This tire is designed to be tubeless ready (TL), which means you can say goodbye to pinch flats.