# Schwalbe Racing Ralph Evo 2008 Review



## sabresix (Dec 24, 2006)

Schwalbe Racing Ralph 2008 2.1 Evolution review.

Rider stats: 5' 10, 147.7lbs, semi-pro
Discipline: Solo Endurance and Marathons










I just got back from an exercise covered in dust and grit after running around with armour and double front line from the past few days - in 38 deg celcius heat; so imagine my delight when I got home to find a package on my doorstep.

I managed to get 6 sets of the RR 2008 Evolutions 2.1s to try out this season, and so far I have put 20 miles through them on loose over hardpack terrain, light grass, and soil.

The two tires I mounted came in at 430gms and 450gms; I have not weighed the rest of the tires. Each tire was filled with 50gms of Notubes sealant and a ZTR rimstrip was utilized. Claimed weight of the new RR in 2.1 is 460gms. When I received the tyres, the boxes still had the old RR stickers on, which stated the claimed weight of 470gm. I must have received them hot off the press.

Mounting:

I mounted up these tyres with Stan's Notube sealant. The tyres were initally quite difficult to inflate onto the rim. The bead would not eject from the channel despite my efforts with a floor pump and the soap method. I removed the rimstrip and inflated each tyre to 40 psi with a tube. I then proceeded to leave them over night.

I removed the tubes and attempted to reinflate the tyres using the above mentioned technique. The first tyre inflated instantly to my surprise; the second tyre was also quite quick to inflate, however took a few more attempts. Both of the tyres failed to bead properly, so I inflated them to 40psi, which solved the issue. Both sealed up quite quickly; I left the front tire at my usual 29 psi, and my rear at 33 psi. I have had them on my bike for 5 days already, and no pressure loss at all. Very impressive.

Ride Review:

The trails I ride on are mostly loose dust on hardpack, but I also did a few rocky firetrail climbs and dirt tracks.

The Racing Ralphs were very impressive. I was really railing the loose corners, and the tires hooked up perfectly. The traction was better than the Nobby Nics I had mounted previously. The RR handled root covered track and soil with ease. During the rocky fireroad climb, my front Nobby Nic used to always attempt to wash out during turning, however, I was suprised this did not occur with the RRs, the traction was inspiring to say the least. The new sideknobs really do influence the traction.

The rolling resistance was immensely less comparted to the Nobby Nic and the 07 RR. I was definately coming faster out of fast, loose switchbacks on the RR.

Summary

The 2008 Racing Ralph has a marked improvement over the 2007 series of NN and RR. My favourite tire at this point in time; and I have enough to last for the rest of 2008.


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## Cranked (Jun 1, 2006)

Good to hear the tire manufacturers are pushing ahead and not getting lazy. Love your bike, I've got a Spark too and I don't mean to push the thread too off topic, but what are your thoughts on the rear shock? I've removed the traction-loc system and have worked to find a good all around pressure for the rear shock. It still results in slightly less than hoped for performance. In the dirt not so much of a problem, but I'm in Florida on paved trails mostly for 8 or so months and really wondering if a fox RP23 would creat nirvana? Any input is appreciated.


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## jdoglike (Sep 12, 2003)

where did you buy 2008 tires


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## Some Guy (Mar 27, 2005)

Semi Pro... 12 tyres with the old packaging... something tells me he didn't buy them. The rest of us will just have to wait until they are publicly available


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## sabresix (Dec 24, 2006)

Cranked: I've got my shock set to 140psi, which is 17psi more than what is recommended. It feels firm but active on the traction setting, but uses all but 15mm of travel in the full-active setting.

jdoglike: I'm not sure what's the go with regards to the tires in the States; but I was up at Boston a few weeks ago, and the LBS there was still waiting on them.

Some Guy: Erin, semi-pro - I'm only sponsored and ride for the ADF, wish I was that good though; I bet you could take me down at any XC race. Rumour has it you're moving to NZ pretty soon? 

You should come and hit the Bushy Park crits someday, I'm finally getting back into it. I'll be the guy on the bronze Salsa Ala Carte or the Blue Stumpy HT. The Scott is for marathon duty only. BTW, vis-a-vis the RRs, contact Bikebox through your local LBS; they just got them in.


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## Some Guy (Mar 27, 2005)

Whoops... I think I just put 2 and 2 together and got 6 . My bad.



sabresix said:


> Some Guy: Erin, semi-pro - I'm only sponsored and ride for the ADF, wish I was that good though; I bet you could take me down at any XC race. Rumour has it you're moving to NZ pretty soon?


Moving to New Zealand? That's the first I've heard about it .



> You should come and hit the Bushy Park crits someday, I'm finally getting back into it. I'll be the guy on the bronze Salsa Ala Carte or the Blue Stumpy HT.


Maybe I will, it's just so far to travel for a short race. Maybe I'll find some excuse to head out that way and drop by.



> The Scott is for marathon duty only. BTW, vis-a-vis the RRs, contact Bikebox through your local LBS; they just got them in.


Oh damn, I was trying to avoid spending money on my bike at the moment!


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## crisillo (Jul 3, 2004)

Some Guy said:


> The rest of us will just have to wait until they are publicly available


They are already (have been for a while here in DE :smilewinkgrin


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## notenoughtime (Sep 7, 2004)

How do I know if it is 2008 or not? Are all RR Evos 2008? What changed?


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## crisillo (Jul 3, 2004)

notenoughtime said:


> How do I know if it is 2008 or not? Are all RR Evos 2008? What changed?


the tread pattern on the 08 RRs is different...and the sidewall graphics are too...those are the 08 graphics in the pics..


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## DIRT BOY (Aug 22, 2002)

Some Guy said:


> Semi Pro... 12 tyres with the old packaging... something tells me he didn't buy them. The rest of us will just have to wait until they are publicly available


They are available. Schwalbe NA started shipping on Tuesday all 2008 tires.


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## Flyer (Jan 25, 2004)

I know you guys are talking about a race tire here and the RR is a fantastic race or even a good harpack trail tire. However, it's only the sideknobs that have changed so the coumpond and middle knobs stay the same as the older one. I tried it as a trail tire and found it lacked grip in wet and loose conditions so I'd definitely not recommend it as a general trail tires unless you know what conditions it can handle- and it can handle harpack, for example. The Nobby Nic is a lot better in loose conditions due to bigger and/or softer main knobs but still not a tire I like in wet conditions.

Not arguing here but simply pointing out that the RR is a fantastic race or racebike tire- just don't expect the new design to make it grip like an Albert  

Many use it as a trailtire but newbies should understand that it is a race tire first and speed and light weight are the primary goals.


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## doccoraje (Jan 12, 2004)

I've been using Racing Ralphs as a rear tire for maybe 2 years, 3 weeks ago I got the 
2008's and I don't think it shares a lot with the previous ones, at least in terms of thread, the knobs are bigger and square, before they were triangular and not so "bulgy", also they were more round before, maybe the new knobs make it look more square. The tire feels great, I couldn't find a difference in rolling resistance and I used it on hardpack, some rocky trails and some sand patches along a riverside. The new ones have a better grip both on traction and lateral grip, maybe they are worth trying as a front tire, but I'm still using the Nobby's.
The sides are still very thin, the snakeskin offer is only for the 2.25, so I'll have live with the 2.1 thin sidewalls.
For me, it´s too soon to say if it's better or not, but I'm liking the added grip
The weight 439 gr, I didn't get the chance to weigh a lot of them, the local Scwalbe dealer only brought 2 for me from Eurobike.


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## Ultra Magnus (Jan 13, 2004)

sabresix said:


> Mounting:
> 
> I mounted up these tyres with Stan's Notube sealant. The tyres were initally quite difficult to inflate onto the rim. The bead would not eject from the channel despite my efforts with a floor pump and the soap method. I removed the rimstrip and inflated each tyre to 40 psi with a tube. I then proceeded to leave them over night.
> 
> I removed the tubes and attempted to reinflate the tyres using the above mentioned technique. The first tyre inflated instantly to my surprise; the second tyre was also quite quick to inflate, however took a few more attempts. Both of the tyres failed to bead properly, so I inflated them to 40psi, which solved the issue. Both sealed up quite quickly; I left the front tire at my usual 29 psi, and my rear at 33 psi. I have had them on my bike for 5 days already, and no pressure loss at all. Very impressive.


I had a similar experience with my older style RR. I had to go back to my automotive roots and do like they do with car tires to seat the bead... REMOVE THE CORE! Once I removed the valve core (after monkeying around for at least an hour!!! :madman: ) they set instantly with the air compressor. You need high CFM airflow sometimes and the valve core causes too much of a restriction.

BM


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## fmf (Jun 30, 2006)

Hi all,

Was wondering if any of u guys run the RR's with tubes.... I don't have a tubeless wheelset and was wondering how these tires perform with tubes...

Does it make a difference? Do u get more rolling resistance with tubes?

Txs!


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## Bikeon (Apr 17, 2008)

doccoraje said:


> The weight 439 gr, I didn't get the chance to weigh a lot of them, the local Scwalbe dealer only brought 2 for me from Eurobike.


 Schwalbe tires has huge diffirances in weight. Here is mine, selected from few by my "net LBS" . I know so some 403-410 g RR exist too.


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## sellemt (Jul 13, 2008)

I run a set of mavic crossmax slr's and im looking for the ultimate lite tire. Are you guys ordering the non tubeless tires and just running those with no tubes? how is the puncture protection


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## tolleyman (Mar 5, 2006)

I've been running the non-tubless 29er versions with no problems using Stans.


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## doccoraje (Jan 12, 2004)

sellemt said:


> Are you guys ordering the non tubeless tires and just running those with no tubes? how is the puncture protection


non tubeless, dt's rimstrip and stan's sealant, using it on the rear only, no problem with punctures so far.


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## IAmtnbikr (May 17, 2008)

I have a Racing Ralph for the front and a Fast Fred for the rear on the way to try. Been using Specialized Rockster up front and Mt Baldy for the rear. Still have a new pair of them left as backups just in case, but the new tires should shed quite a bit of weight and work as well I hope. If so I'll be down to around 22.35-ish or just under as the current tires are 515g/505g.


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## evil genius (Jun 15, 2006)

*Ust*

Anyone tried the RR in UST?


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## Tiffster (Jan 30, 2008)

Just bought 2 2.1 Racing Ralphs both 430 g


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## scarsellone (Oct 17, 2005)

evil genius said:


> Anyone tried the RR in UST?


Have a set of the 2.1 UST, FF 2.0 UST, & NN 2.1, & 2.3 UST.
In summary I used the RR for almost all races, & I was quite pleased. I tried so many diff combinations. I primairly used the RR front & back. On fast courses I used the FF on the back. Wish they made a 2.1 UST, the 2.0 was a bit small.
I bought the NN's for mud & wet wheather, but I found to be heavy & not that far from the RR in traction so I sold them.
I think my next tire will be the Conti RaceKing or the Rocket Ron?


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## evil genius (Jun 15, 2006)

I am looking at the Conti RaceKing too, but isnt the Racing Ralph a lot lighter? Whatever I get it has to be UST. I hate messing with that goey crap.


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## Tiffster (Jan 30, 2008)

Conti Race King 2.2 supersonic is 480g

Dont bother with the 2.0 from what ive read. The UST version will be about 00g heavier i think.

Do you not run sealant in your UST Tyres??? kinda defeats the point of running UST.....


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## evil genius (Jun 15, 2006)

I have been running Conti Explorer UST without any sealant for a year without problems. ( on Mavic tubless rims) If the rims and the tires are UST you shouldnt really NEED sealant. I know some people still run it for insurance against punctures.


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## Tiffster (Jan 30, 2008)

Yeah with true UST you dont NEED sealant but it makes sense to run like 10-20ml just to stop punctures etc.


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## IRONMAN1518 (Jul 19, 2008)

*To use or not to use sealant in tubless wheels?*

SOME people need it in some places like the southwest......we have the demon of mtb tires:
the Goathed!:devil: You WILL get a flat on a mtnbike it's just a question of time......it already found the victim......YOU:madman: In Southern NM and many other places yep u need sealant!! Or carry lots of tubes/parches.


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## Tiffster (Jan 30, 2008)

I mounted mine tubeless last night.

Had to use the old inflate with tube and then remove with 1 side of the bead still seated trick though.

Very happy that i only put them on there sides for about 2 hours and they are still rock hard 24 hours later - i dont think they have lost any pressure. I only used 50grams of sealant too!


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