MTB Tire Test: Schwalbe Racing Ralph 2019 TLE Addix Speed

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  • Schwalbe Racing Ralph 2019 TLE Addix Speed
Performance compared to all other MTB tires
(100% is best)
Pro Members get 11-point radar charts



Schwalbe Racing Ralph 2019 TLE Addix Speed road bike tire on a rolling resistance test machine

The Schwalbe Racing Ralph has been around for as long as I can remember. Starting with the 2019 model, the tread pattern has been redesigned. The 2019+ model now has a completely new tread pattern that is more optimized for use on the rear wheel. The updated tread pattern makes it a completely new tire of which only the name is the same. The rear wheel optimized tread pattern makes sense as many people were already using the previous model Racing Ralph on the rear with a grippier tire like the Nobby Nic or Rocket Ron on the front.


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Schwalbe launched the new Racing Ralph as a pairing with the Racing Ray that is optimized for front wheel use. The new Racing Ralph/Racing Ray combination seems a good replacement for the classic Racing Ralph/Rocket Ron pairing. To further indicate the intended front/rear use of the new Racing Ralph and Racing Ray, the Racing Ralph is only available with the faster Addix Speed compound and the Racing Ray only with the grippier Addix SpeedGrip compound.


From a technical standpoint, it's interesting to see Schwalbe only offers the new Racing Ralph with the Addix Speed compound instead of both the Speed and SpeedGrip compounds that they did with the previous generation. Furthermore, they also dropped the LiteSkin versions and now only offer SnakeSkin/TLE versions in just 4 sizes. We're not sure if other versions will be released in the future or if this is the new direction Schwalbe is going for the future.


Manufacturer Specifications


Manufacturer Specs
Brand Schwalbe
Model Racing Ralph 2019 TLE Addix Speed
Year 2019
Supplied By Bought in store
New or Used New
Mileage 0 km
Price Range High
Buy At Ad Amazon.com
Manufacturer part number 11601099
EAN4026495843775
TPI 67
Compound Addix Speed
Bead Folding
ETRTO 57-622
Size Inch 28"
Width Inch 2.25
Specified Weight 625 grams
Max Air Pressure (psi) 54
Made In Members Only
Available Sizes 26x2.25
27.5x2.25
29x2.10
29x2.25

Schwalbe Racing Ralph 2019 TLE Addix Speed Test Results

Schwalbe Racing Ralph 2019 TLE Addix Speed  mountain bike tire on a rolling resistance test machine

Size, Weight, and Thickness Measurements


Size, Weight, and Thickness Measurements
Specified Weight 625 grams
Measured Weight 609 grams
Measured Width Carcass 53 mm (un-round)
Measured Width Tread 56 mm
Measured Height 51 mm (un-round)
Measured Knob Height Center 2.3 mm
Measured Knob Height Edge 4.0 mm
Measured Total Thickness Center (excluding knobs) 1.5 mm
Measured Total Thickness Sidewall Members Only
All size measurements are taken at an air pressure of 35 psi / 2.4 bars on a 17.8 mm inner width rim.

Rolling Resistance Test Results


Rolling Resistance Test Results
Inner Tube None (40 ml sealant)

(current protocol)
Conti MTB 29 (225 gr butyl)

(test protocol)
Rolling Resistance
55 PSI / 3.8 Bar
Members OnlyMembers Only
Rolling Resistance
45 PSI / 3.1 Bar
Members OnlyMembers Only
Rolling Resistance
35 PSI / 2.4 Bar
20.2 Watts
CRR: 0.00606
23.7 Watts
CRR: 0.00710
Rolling Resistance
25 PSI / 1.7 Bar
22.5 Watts
CRR: 0.00674
27.0 Watts
CRR: 0.00809
All numbers are for a single tire at a speed of 29 km/h / 18 mph and a load of 42.5 kg / 94 lbs.

Use the formula: RR (Watts) = CRR * speed (m/s) * load (N) to calculate rolling resistance at a given speed and load.

Puncture Resistance Test Results

Schwalbe Racing Ralph 2019 TLE Addix Speed  mountain bike tire on a rolling resistance test machine
Puncture Resistance Test Results (higher is better)
Total Puncture Score Tread 20 Points
Total Puncture Score Sidewall Members Only
Tread Puncture Force Sharp Needle 5 Points
Tread Puncture Force Blunt Needle Members Only
Tread Total Tire Thickness 1.5 mm
Sidewall Puncture Force Sharp Needle Members Only
Sidewall Puncture Force Blunt Needle Members Only
Sidewall Total Tire Thickness Members Only

Hard Surface Static Grip Test Results


Static Grip Test Results
Wet Grip Average No Data
Wet Grip Center No Data
Wet Grip Edge No Data
Measured Knob Height Center 2.3 mm
Measured Knob Height Edge 4.0 mm
Grip in points = coefficient of friction * 100
MTB grip test rim width = 30.0 mm
Wet Grip Test and Off-Road Tires (info)

Conclusion


  • Schwalbe Racing Ralph 2019 TLE Addix Speed
Performance compared to all other MTB tires
(100% is fastest - lightest - highest - strongest)

Pro Members get 11-point radar charts

In 2019, we're still not convinced by the Addix Speed compound as it is not as fast as the older PaceStar compound that Schwalbe used up to 2017. Schwalbe made big claims about the Addix Speed compound being faster than the PaceStar compound but our tests once again indicate that's not true. To see this for yourself, you can now compare 3 generations of Schwalbe Racing Ralph TLE side by side on our website here: Racing Ralph TLE 2015 vs Racing Ralph TLE 2017 vs Racing Ralph TLE 2019


When we compare the new 2019 Racing Ralph to the 2017 Racing Ralph (read review) that uses the same compound, we see performance on our tests is very close. One positive thing is we now at least got a tire that weighed less than the specified weight. With such small differences, it's going to be up to your individual use case whether the new Racing Ralph is going to be an improvement or not.


Ad Buy Schwalbe Racing Ralph 2019 TLE Addix Speed at Amazon.com


RATING: 4.0 / 5
TEST VERDICT:
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