26 December 2015

Schwalbe Road Cruiser - Initial impressions

Just received a pair of new tires - 26 x 1.75" Schwalbe Road Cruisers from Wizbiker.com. With the ongoing discount the pair cost me Rs 1200, which is about the same as the Btwin slicks I had on earlier. Here are some initial impressions.

Side view of Schwalbe Road Cruiser 26x1.75 bicycle tire showing manufacturer logos and text
26x1.75 Schwalbe Road Cruiser ready for installation. "K-Guard" refers to the kevlar puncture protection belt, and "Active Line" refers to the 50 EPI (ends per inch) casing.
The road cruisers have a Kevlar belt for puncure resistance ("K-guard"), and should be fairly puncture resistant. The tire is smooth with shallow grooves much like the famous Marathons.

Side by side comparison of two budget touring tires - Schwalbe Road Cruiser vs BTwin Original Semi slick 26x1.75
Side by side comparison of Schwalbe Road Cruiser and BTwin Original Semi-slick
both are 26x1.75 (ETRTO 559)
These tires are almost exactly as wide as the BTwin slicks so there were no issues mounting it with the existing fender setup. One noticable difference is that the Schwable lacks the little 'knobs' on the edges like the Bwtins have, which provide some additional grip on loose earth. The Schwalbes are advertised as having a 50EPI casing whereas the BTwins have 22TPI, so the Schwalbes should definitely be the more supple tire.

Schwalbe Road Cruiser 26x1.75 installed on touring / mountain bike BTwin Rockrider 5.3
Installed. Fender clearance nearly unchanged.
In the little riding I've managed after installation everything seems ok - the tires roll very well. Its too early to say anything yet, but over the next few long rides I'll be looking at performance on-and off paved roads, and (fingers crossed) puncture resistance.

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