I've been curious about the new (ish) Schwalbe "radial" tyres since they were first released a little while ago now, and I've finally got my hands on one. After a few crashes on loose, slippery, steep corners and a timely press release from Schwalbe about the second generation of radial tyres, I grabbed my credit card, took a deep breath and ordered a Schwalbe Pro Trail Tacky Chan Ultra Soft Radial (27.5 x 2.5). I think that's the whole name anyway, it's really not clear in the new simplified Schwalbe tyre lineup what the tyres are called.
The Schwalbe Pro Trail Tacky Chan Ultra Soft Radial (27.5 x 2.5) (From now on just tire / tyre interchangeably, to make sure all English speakers are equally offended) was the most difficult tyre I've had to install so far. Getting it onto the wheel was straightforward and didn't need any tools. After a quick check that it was mounted the right way round thumbs were enough to get it in place. Getting it to inflate was harder. I don't have a Tire Booster or equivalent, but I did get it to seat in the end after reinstalling it with a tube, seating both sides with the tube in, deinflating, carefully unseating only one side, removing the tube and trying again tubeless. Once seated it sealed perfectly first time with minimal fuss.
For the first ride I wanted to try a couple of the trails that I crashed on recently and see if I could tackle them with more a bit more confidence and less bloodshed. I started with the tire at 21psi. I've been running 20psi in my front tires for years, and had just recently been experimenting with 19psi to try to get a bit more traction on the steep and loose trails that have been my focus so far this spring. Reviewers have been suggesting to use a bit more pressure than in a bias ply tyre, so 21psi it is.
On the way to the trail I tried to get a feel for any increased grip by riding up some kerbs at increasingly acute angles and deliberatly finding diagonal roots to ride across. Placebo is a powerful thing, but my feeling was that it was definitely more stable than my previous tires in these situations. I also had the feeling that as the front tyre slurped it's way over obstacles, the rear, bias ply tire was more willing to bounce or slip sideways. This could mean nothing, or everything, depending on how much you want to buy a new tire. A few emergency stops once I hit the woods had me convinced that it wasn't worse than the last tyre, so I was ready to hit the steeps.
The first trail went well. I was able to creep slowly down some loose marbly sections keeping speed in check easily, and instead of crashing and sliding down on my butt like last time, I got away with a couple of panicked foot dabs. The second section of trail was also an improvement from the last time I rode it. I had the feeling that I could hinge into the bike and really trust the front brake to keep me in check, even round the awkward switchback that sent me over the bars the time before. At this point I was pretty convinced that the new tire was at least part of the answer, although it's also possible that I'd just learned something from the last time I rode there.
After a snack break and a bit of playing around on some drops, it was time to hit the last trail for the day. This is one of my favourites - some flat corners between the trees at the top, and then a dive into a section of off camber straights with a few roots connected by steep flowing corners with extremely small catch berms. It's a trail that I always start with a few butterflies and end up with a big smile on my face. The first run was almost perfect. I deliberately tried to use as much front brake as possible and there was not a hint of loss of traction from the tire. I decided to pedal / push up to the top for a final lap. While pushing I finally had a chance to look at the Tacky Chan with a bit of dust on. Something seemed strange, the new tread pattern almost looked like it was installed the wrong way round. It took a few seconds for the penny to drop. It turns out that the perceived supernatural braking grip had all been experienced with the stupid thing mounted backwards and absolutely no braking edges in contact with the trail at any time.
Despite knowing this, the second lap went just as well as the first, and I pushed the tire even harder on the brakes, just to check that it really was working. Once home, flipping the tire went as well as it could have and it aired up on the first attempt with the valve core still in. Whether that's because of the sealant already in, or the tire stretching a bit, I have no idea.
So what have I learnt? Was my old tire completely worn out? Is the Tacky Chan so good that even backwards it feels like magic? Were the conditions a bit different for this ride? Perhaps the Radial Carcass was inside me all along. Who knows. In any case I'm looking forward to trying it on another couple of trails I have yet to clean, this time mounted the right way round. Tune in in a couple of days to see if I survive.
