Schwalbe

Racing Ralph TL Ready Tire - 29in

Although Schwalbe's Racing Ralph TL Ready 29in Tire places a focus on durability, it's fast enough to fool you into thinking that you're on Furious Freds. Yet, in comparison to the Rocket Ron, the Racing Ralph's tread pattern is better suited for flat-out speed. So, you gain a longer shelf life and greater speed at the price of a little less grip -- a small price to pay in our book.

The real secret to creating the Racing Ralph is Schwalbe's Pacestar Triple rubber compound. Essentially, PaceStar places harder rubber down the center line, making for faster rolling and improved wear life. Meanwhile, the side knobs receive a softer rubber compound, improving cornering traction by increasing flexibility. In essence, you get the speed of a harder compound tire, mated to the cornering grip of a softer tire. This means that you get the benefits of both rubber compounds, without suffering from the drawbacks of either. This is due in part to the soft rubber compound, but also in part to the 'U-shaped' tread blocks on the shoulders.

These tread blocks are angled around 20 degrees towards the outside of the tire, with siping that doesn't quite divide the block. These siped U-Blocks fairly malleable, meaning that they're able to mold over a trail surface. So, in other words, they work to counteract the lateral forces that you experience when you're cornering hard.

The tire is designed to be tubeless ready (TL), and as you may have guessed, the tubeless designation means that these are optimized for a tubeless setup. But, you are able to run them with tubes if that's your preference. By 'Tubeless Ready,' Schwalbe means that the bead hook on this tire is enlarged. Why does this matter? Well, it makes seating the tire to a tubeless rim a whole lot easier. Which, if you've ever ended up covered in tire-sealant after trying to seat a stubborn tire, will be a welcome improvement.

The Schwalbe Racing Ralph TL Ready 29in Tire is available in the color Black and in either a 2.10- and 2.25-inch width