If the Magic Mary is a true icon of the enduro/DH tire, Schwalbe still lacked a truly versatile tire for these practices in its catalog. The Magic Mary has a certain versatility, especially at the front, but fails on the hardest terrain and is not at all suitable for rear riding (energy drain and rapid wear) while the Big Betty is a bit its opposite , good on hard ground and rear climbing but limited in rough terrain, even more so at the front.
At Schwalbe, the Albert is more or less opposite the Assegai: a tire that is good everywhere, precise on the packed dirt of bike parks, reliable on sharp stones and sufficiently stable in loose or wet conditions so as not to have to to change tires if the weather forecast predicts a few days of rain. We will find more efficient in each area individually but the Albert would like to be that “choice of reason” when we do not want to juggle between different tire settings throughout the year.
As a result, it adopts a very popular “2-3-2” stud design at the moment, which can be found in different variations from almost all manufacturers. From certain angles, we could find a resemblance to the Hans Dampf, in a more modern and aggressive version (higher and wider studs).
The studs provide a fairly clear tread but we also notice sharp edges on all sides, which have not been beveled forward to improve performance, for example. In this regard, we imagine that the tire should be mounted at the front as well as at the rear.
The ball (measured between 59.5 and 60 mm for our 29×2.5″ tires on 30 mm rims and at 1.5 bar) is a little rounder than that of a Maxxis Assegai for example but that could be due to the carcass: whether it is in the Trail or Gravity version, it uses the new “radial” construction from Schwalbe. The quotation marks are necessary because although it is more radial than on a conventional tire, it is not really radial like on car tires for example.
Unlike the Magic Mary which exists in a classic and “radial” version, the Albert is only available with this new construction and Schwalbe has logically adapted the shape as well as the placement of the crampons to best exploit its advantages… and limit its disadvantages.
However, this arrangement of the threads is only one way of constructing the carcass and does not define the structure of the tire in itself. As is usual, the Schwalbe Albert is offered in several carcasses, all with this “radial” construction but more or less robust and reinforced. There are two of them here, Trail (1110 g in 27.5″ and 1180 g in 29″) and Gravity (1245-1265 g in 27.5″ and 1330-1350 g in 29″ depending on the section). For once, Schwalbe does not give details on their similarities or differences and we simply know that both use a 67 tpi structure.
In the catalog, the Schwalbe Albert is offered in both 29″ and 27.5″, in 2.5″ and 2.6″ sections each time. Then, you can choose between two carcasses (Trail and Gravity) and two rubbers (Soft and Ultra Soft) but not all combinations are available. For example, the Gravity carcass is only available in Soft rubber in 27.5″, a configuration that we imagine designed for bikes (especially e-bikes) in mule format. In terms of price, it will cost €73.90 for the Schwalbe Albert in Trail carcass, regardless of the dimensions or rubber, and €79.90 for those in Gravity carcass.
Schwalbe Albert Radial: the field test
In this new version available only in radial carcass, we rode the Schwalbe Albert on several bikes (Focus Jam2, Santa Cruz Vala, Scott Ransom and an e-bike produced by Kinesis for the Bosch test fleet), in Trail and Super Gravity in 2.5 and 2.6, with four different testers. In all cases, we immediately realize that these tires are different in their behavior, and this requires us to review some of our benchmarks. The carcass gives the impression of greater flexibility and we have the impression of having “softer” tires than usual when we ride with the same pressures as in conventional tires. In short, the first contact is rather… disconcerting!
Be careful, when we talk about “soft” tires, it is mainly laterally, with a feeling of vagueness that we can perceive in the supports, because even on very technical terrain without too much support, they do not really show themselves. penalizing. On the other hand, when it comes to hill performance, you have the impression of being stuck.
Listening to the recommendations of the brand and other riders who had already had the opportunity to ride them, we increased the pressure slightly. Around 0.1 to 0.2 bar depending on the pilots. This may not seem like much, but it's enough to change perception quite significantly, and greatly improve sensations! The defects perceived at the beginning largely disappear and give way to a sensation of grip that is quite impressive. The rubber and the design of the tire almost take second place as the carcass seems capable of deforming to match the reliefs.
With a bit more pressure than usual, you no longer have the impression of having a “sticky” tire on rolling terrain, but on the other hand, what a sucker going downhill! This is particularly obvious on roots and wet stones, where the tire seems capable of clinging to the slightest crevice to provide quite astonishing grip! Well, this would obviously be nothing without quality rubbers, but we know these Schwalbe rubbers (Addix Soft at the rear and Ultra Soft at the front), and here they seem to be able to express their qualities even better in combination with the radial carcass.
The Schwalbe radial tires give off a particularly pleasant velvety feeling and we also feel that there is less rebound, that the bike is more “calm” on very rough terrain. Confidence is boosted, and this is felt even more when they equip a heavier, electrically assisted bike. This reinforces the aspect that is well placed on the ground, with a bike that holds the lines more easily, which does not let itself wander. At the front, it's the lateral grip that mainly impresses, and the predictability of changes of direction, while at the rear it's more the braking that convinces and the traction too, mainly in e-bike use. As for the section, the 2.5 seems the most relevant and very versatile, but the 2.6 did not give us the impression of being too big or giving too much of an impression of blur. On an e-bike, it can prove to be an interesting choice.
These tires were unanimous among our testers… except for one of them. Its aerial and very generous steering did not manage to marry with the behavior of the radial carcass, too vague for its taste and not adapted to its very dynamic piloting. We can deduce that this is aimed at pilots looking for safety and efficiency, more than those who above all want fun, big downforce and beautiful slides to control.
As for the profile of the Albert, in the end we only spoke a little about it because it is mainly the carcass and the way the tire is worked that we remember, more than the design. Here, we can describe it as versatile: it shows its limits in heavy mud when it comes to breaking loose, but it does quite well everywhere else, including when it's wet. We are still looking forward to testing the radial carcass more fully with the other available profiles (notably the Magic Mary in front assembly) in order to offer you a broader test of the range and to be able to better evaluate each design. In terms of resistance, we had only one small puncture to deplore with the Trail version, and none with the Gravity version which seems quite indestructible. In terms of wear, it's still a little early to say, but the radial carcass does not seem to have a major influence on this side and the side studs which tear off seem to be part of the past.
Verdict
We didn't really know what to expect with the arrival of this new type of radial carcass. We said to ourselves: it's well known and mastered in the automobile industry, if it was so interesting in the bicycle industry, someone would have already done it before. Maybe it was just not that simple, that it required a certain maturity, but in any case these new tires launched by Schwalbe are a success. We feel a real contribution when things get rough, with a calmer bike, more planted on the ground, and also in wet conditions, where they seem capable of grabbing onto the slightest little roughness to provide grip on roots, stones or on slopes where we are used to sliding much more with classic tires. Some drivers will perhaps less appreciate their slightly more vague behavior in the downforce, but you already need a great level of driving to realize this, and this seems more a question of taste because some of our testers are very fast and engaged piloting loved it. In any case, we highly recommend that you give it a try. We were very pleasantly surprised by this Albert and we can't wait to take the test further with the other profiles.
More information: schwalbe.com
You can also hear enduro world champion Alex Rudeau tell us about these tires in our podcast: https://www.vojomag.com/podcast/lunch-ride-alex-rudeau-devenir-le-premier-champion- from-the-world-of-history/
