Fresh Produce | Schwalbe Albert Radial Tyres

Schwalbe has welcomed a new member to its quirky family of rubber, a fellow named Albert. This all-around trail and gravity tyre also coincided with the launch of the German outfit’s Radial casing construction. Claiming improvements to grip and damping, Schwalbe-sponsored teams like Commencal Muc-Off, have apparently been running these Radial tyres since 2022, earning quite a few top results like Amaury Pierron’s wins in Les Gets and Val Di Sole.

Radial Construction and New Tread Patterns

The Albert is a double whammy with a new tread pattern and the Radial casing.

The Albert is pitched to excel in mixed terrain and conditions and doesn’t pigeonhole itself into being a seasonal or weather-dependent tyre. The Albert is available in two casing options, either Trail or Gravity, both of which feature the brand’s latest Radial casing construction.

Thanks to a new fibre layout within the casing, the Radial construction tyres are said to improve the contact area by 30% at the same pressures compared to Schwalbe’s conventional carcass. This is said to result in improved grip, sensitivity and damping on the trail. The all-new Radial casing isn’t exclusive to the new Albert, however, and will be available on the tried and true Magic Mary, along with a new pattern labelled the ‘Shredda’.

The ‘Shredda’ is the second all-new Radial tyre which sees an aggressive open tread pattern designed specifically for e-MTBs in loose and technical terrain.

Radial tyre casings aren’t a new technology; the tyres in your car likely have a radial carcass. Over the years, there have been a few road tyres with a radial casing, and Maxxis actually still makes one named the Radiale.

Key Details

Price | $137.95 AUD (Trail, Soft), $147.95 AUD (Gravity, Soft/Ultra Soft)
Wheel Size | 29in or 27.5in
Casing | Radial Trail, Radial Gravity
Compound | Addix Soft (Tested), Addix Ultra Soft
Width | 2.5in or 2.6in
Weight | 1200g (29×2.5in, Trail Casing, Soft Compound)

The Albert tread pattern features a 2-3-2 alternating block pattern, with large well-supported side lugs for cornering traction. The claimed 2.5in width measured undersize once fitted, with the outer lugs being the widest part of the tyre measuring 2.4in wide.

The centre lugs have a rather tall profile for clearing mud and penetrating soft soil, so much so, they barely cleared the VPP rocker link on Nick’s Santa Cruz Tallboy, more on that later.

On the scales, the Albert Trail in the Soft compound weighed in at a hefty 1202g, and the Gravity versions weighed 1,352g in the Soft compound and 1,365g in Ultra Soft, which is getting close to the weight of some DH casing tyres from Maxxis or Continental.

Flows Ride Impressions

Albert Radial Trail | Nick’s Santa Cruz Tallboy

Nick has the Trail casing Albert Radials on his Santa Cruz Tallboy.

The damping and sensitivity of the Radial casing are obvious as soon as you roll out of the car park, with the tyres delivering a pleasant muted feeling to small bumps or square-edged impacts. On the trail this translates to a smoother ride that is calm and composed in rugged terrain. The sidewall casing is plenty supportive, and at 22psi in the front and 26psi in the rear, it never squirmed or folded under heavy cornering.

While I can’t validate the brand’s claims about a 30% increase in the contact patch, the traction available certainly suggests there is something to it. Grip is superb overall, and stood out in off-cambered, loose sections of the trail. The way the tyre deforms around the terrain and bites into the dirt is truly impressive, all while maintaining the same pressure for sidewall support and puncture resistance. The square-edged lugs bite into the terrain under braking, so much so that I had a hard time locking up the rear wheel for intentional slides into corners.

The traction and damping available from the Albert Radials are nothing short of excellent. But they’re not exactly the sprightly.

Climbing traction was excellent, and the Albert’s sticky rubber clambered up slick roots and rocks with ease, and we could genuinely feel the tall lugs biting into the terrain during out-of-the-saddle efforts. The hefty weight and lug profile, however, don’t lend themselves to being an overly sprightly set of tyres, with the Albert’s having noticeably more resistance compared to Pirelli’s Scorpion’s or Bontrager’s Gunnison tyres recently fitted to the Tallboy.

The tall lugs did however pose a bit of a clearance issue between the lower VPP link, with about 1mm clearance between the lugs and the link. The Tallboy is rated for tyres up to 2.5in, and in this case, the Albert’s fit, but only just. Other frames with tighter tolerances may run into more show-stopping clearance issues.

Albert Radial Gravity | Michael’s Norco Sight

Mounted to his Norco Sight, the difference in ride feel of the Albert Gravity’s Radial casing is apparent even pedalling down your driveway. It’s a nicely damped, almost floaty sensation, nearly akin to an open tubular road tyre. Did we mention these are toothy enduro tyres?

Straight out of the box, the thickness of the Albert’s Gravity carcass was obvious. They had a strong, durable feel to them, which came to a head when trying to fit them onto my rims. It was quite the wrestling match to get the beads over the edge. However, once on, they inflated immediately. I have a ding in my front rim that always proves a challenge when mounting new tyres, and I was impressed by how easily and quickly the tyres snapped into place.

Usually, I need to use a tube first to get that side of the tyre to bead before inserting sealant via the opposite side. The Alberts had no such issues, and I was able to bead both tyres with just a floor pump.

Riding, the Alberts have a distinct feel that’s a little hard to quantify. Doing the very scientific thumb test, a tyre pumped to 20psi feels closer to something in the low teens — if you didn’t know the casings were different, you’d be reaching for a pump. What this translates to out riding is a tyre that can bend and contort around rocks, bumps and other imperfections to not only maintain contact and purchase with the ground but also significantly quiet the noise and vibration coming into the bike — a tall task when faced with Nerang Loam (Ed’s note: rocks). At the same time, the sidewall isn’t collapsing when you push on it in a corner. It gives the floaty sensation of riding a tyre with a paper-thin, ultra supple sidewall without the fear of deleting said tyre when you look at a sharp rock the wrong way.

There is a noticeable increase in rolling resistance when climbing, compared to my usual Maxxis combo of an Assegai up front and DHR II out back or the Argotal/Kryptotal combo that I have been spending a lot of time on recently. I put the Super Soft compound 2.5in Albert Radial Gravity up front and a soft compound 2.5in Albert Radial Gravity in the rear. I started with my usual 20psi in the front and 22psi in the rear for my 65kg riding weight, and so far, these pressures feel spot on.

The Albert’s have a reasonably tall series of lugs that cover the full contact patch, this means there is still plenty of traction available in the intermediate zone between the centre and side knobs. For riders like me who need to feel confident on a set of tyres before fully committing to leaning the bike over, this style of tread pattern is spot on. There is no vagueness as you transition from centre to side knobs.

When it was time to descend, the tyres came into their own. Surprisingly they felt faster than the two other combos I have been riding with plenty of grip on tap. My local tracks are more rock than dirt and have sharp edges everywhere.

The Albert Gravity tyres stuck to the trail extremely well, even with my usual mix of poor line choices and late braking into loose corners. After a few laps, I didn’t even notice the extra rolling resistance when climbing back up, as the grip and speed available when going downhill were worth the compromise. It’s hard to isolate how much of this grip is due to the tread pattern and what comes from the Radial casing, but it’s an impressive confide boost nonetheless.

Unfortunately, all of this does come at quite a cost, and it will cost you nearly $300 AUD for a set of these Radial tyres. I haven’t been riding them long enough to speak to the durability, but for the way they ride, that splurge sure is tempting.