Road Bike Tire Test: Schwalbe Pro One HT (tubular) 25
Contents and Test Summary
- Introduction
- Manufacturer Specifications
- Size, Weight, Thickness
- Rolling Resistance: 19.1 Watts
- Puncture Resistance: 45 Points
- Static Wet Grip: No Data
- Conclusion: 2.0 / 5 Not Recommended
- Comments
- Schwalbe Pro One HT (tubular) 25
(100% is best)
The Pro One HT is one of the few tubular road bike tires available from Schwalbe. Because most of the tires that are made by Schwalbe perform great in the rolling resistance tests, I'm very curious to see how their tubular version of the Pro One performs. The Pro One HT is a new 2017 model year tire that seems to have replaced the older One tubular. The HT part of the name means it's a handmade tubular tire which according to Schwalbe guarantees exceptional quality.
When compared to the older One tubular, the Pro One HT comes with a much finer diamond tread pattern, and tire weight appears to have gone down by 20 grams for the 22 mm version. I couldn't find any other obvious differences between these two tires as both still use a 107 TPI casing and OneStar compound. I'm testing the 25 mm version as that comes closest to the other road bike tires that I've tested over the last three years.
Manufacturer Specifications
| Manufacturer Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Brand | Schwalbe |
| Model | Pro One HT (tubular) |
| Year | 2017 |
| Tire Type | Tubular |
| Supplied By | Bought in store |
| New or Used | New |
| Mileage | 0 km |
| Price Range | Very High |
| Buy At | |
| Manufacturer part number | 11101216 |
| TPI | T107 |
| Compound | OneStar |
| Bead | Tubular |
| ETRTO | 28x25 |
| Size Inch | 28" |
| Specified Width (mm) | 25 |
| Specified Weight | 290 grams |
| Max Air Pressure (psi) | 145 |
| Made In | Pro Data |
| Available Sizes |
28x22 28x25 |
Schwalbe Pro One HT (tubular) 25 Test Results
Size, Weight, and Thickness Measurements
| Size, Weight and Thickness Measurements | |
|---|---|
| Specified Weight | 290 grams |
| Measured Weight | 303 grams |
| System Adjusted Weight (tire + tubular glue) |
313 grams |
| Measured Width | 25 mm (un-round) |
| Measured Height | 23 mm (un-round) |
| Total Tire Thickness Center | 2.6 mm |
| Total Tire Thickness Sidewall | Pro Data |
| Unmounted Casing Width | No Data |
| Unmounted Tread Width | Pro Data |
| Tread Cover (Tread / Casing Ratio) | No Data |
| All size measurements are taken at an air pressure of 100 psi / 6.9 bars on a 21.5 OD rim. | |
The specified weight of the 25 mm Pro One HT is 290 grams, my sample comes in at a slightly heavier 304 grams. At an air pressure of 100 psi / 6.9 bars, this tire has a width of 25 mm and a height of 23 mm.
After cutting the tire open, we can see the Pro One HT is equipped with a butyl inner tube just like the Continental Competition (read review). The Schwalbe inner tube is a bit thicker at 0.55 mm than the Continental inner tube which has a thickness of just 0.40 mm. In contrast, the Vittoria Corsa G+ tubular (read review) comes with a latex inner tube which lowers rolling resistance a bit. The total thickness of the tread of the Pro One HT, at the center of the tire, is 2.6 mm. The sidewalls are very thin as they have a thickness of just 0.45 mm.
Rolling Resistance Test Results
| Rolling Resistance Test Results | |
|---|---|
| Inner Tube | Tubular |
| Measured Width | 25 mm (un-round) |
| Rolling Resistance Real tire width in mm: 22-24 = 132 psi/9.1 bar 25-27 = 120 psi/8.3 bar 28-29 = 108 psi/7.4 barUltra High Air Pressure (120 psi / 8.3 bar) |
Pro Data |
| Rolling Resistance Real tire width in mm: 22-24 = 110 psi/7.6bar 25-27 = 100 psi/6.9 bar 28-29 = 90 psi/6.2 barExtra High Air Pressure (100 psi / 6.9 bar) |
Pro Data |
| Rolling Resistance Real tire width in mm: 22-24 = 88 psi/6.1 bar 25-27 = 80 psi/5.5 bar 28-29 = 72 psi/5.0 barHigh Air Pressure (80 psi / 5.5 bar) |
19.1 Watts CRR: 0.00573 |
| Rolling Resistance Real tire width in mm: 22-24 = 66 psi/4.6 bar 25-27 = 60 psi/4.1 bar 28-29 = 54 psi/3.7 barMedium Air Pressure (60 psi / 4.1 bar) |
Pro Data |
| The Road Bike section is a multi tire size section, air pressures have been adjusted to the measured casing width. 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. |
|
*Tubular gluing process: Continental rim cement, two layers on rim, two layers on tire -> let dry for 24 hours. Next day: 1 layer on tire, mount tire to rim -> let dry for 72 hours. Test tire after 72 hours.
In the rolling resistance tests, the Schwalbe Pro One HT doesn't impress me at all. With a rolling resistance of 16.1 watts at an air pressure of 120 psi / 8.3 bars, the Pro One HT is much slower than the Vittoria Corsa G+ (tubular) (read review) and even the Continental Competition (read review). Upping the air pressure to 140 psi / 9.7 bars appears to be next to useless (even on the drum) as it lowers rolling resistance to just 15.8 watts. At lower air pressures, the Pro One HT doesn't impress either.
The Pro One HT is the first premium tire from Schwalbe that underperforms in the rolling resistance tests. When we look at the clincher and tubeless road bike tires that use the same Schwalbe OneStar compound, rolling resistance of the Pro One HT should have been closer to 12 watts at 120 psi / 8.3 bars. I've retested this tire several times to make sure the results are correct, but I really couldn't get it to run any faster. It looks like the tubular Vittoria Corsa G+ and Corsa Speed are still the tires to beat for best tubular tire.
Puncture Resistance Test Results
| Puncture Resistance Test Results (higher is better) | |
|---|---|
| Total Puncture Score Tread | 45 Points |
| Total Puncture Score Sidewall | Pro Data |
| Tread Puncture Force Sharp Needle | 10 Points |
| Tread Puncture Force Blunt Needle | No Data |
| Tread Total Tire Thickness | 2.6 mm |
| Sidewall Puncture Force Sharp Needle | Pro Data |
| Sidewall Puncture Force Blunt Needle | No Data |
| Sidewall Total Tire Thickness | Pro Data |
In the puncture resistance tests, the Pro One HT doesn't impress me either as it's outperformed by both the Vittoria Corsa G+ and Continental Competition in the tread puncture test. In the sidewall puncture test, the Pro One scores a very low 3 points which pretty much is the lowest possible score.
Static Grip Test Results
NOTE: Grip test data is only available on tires tested after November 2018. You can find more information about our grip test here: Introducing Grip Testing
| Static Grip Test Results | |
|---|---|
| Wet Grip Average | No Data |
| Wet Grip Center | No Data |
| Wet Grip Edge | No Data |
| Grip in points = coefficient of friction * 100 Road bike grip test rim width = 19.0 mm |
|
Conclusion
- Schwalbe Pro One HT (tubular) 25
(100% is best)
The Schwalbe Pro One HT performs much worse in the rolling resistance tests than it should when we consider the results of other tires from Schwalbe that use the same OneStar compound. Rolling resistance is even worse than some cheap $25 clincher tires which is not what you expect from a tire that costs nearly four times as much. On top of the high rolling resistance, puncture resistance doesn't impress either. I can't find a reason to recommend this tire as faster tires are available that cost the same.
I didn't test a lot of tubular tires yet, but after testing the "all-round" tubular tires from Vittoria, Continental, and Schwalbe, it looks like you can't go wrong with the Vittoria Corsa G+ tubular (read review). The Corsa G+ is the only tubular tire that performs on par with the best clincher tires. Check the road bike overview page here to see if more tubular tires have been tested by now: road bike overview. You can also compare the Continental Competition, Schwalbe Pro One HT, and Vittoria Corsa G+ tubular side by side here: tubular tires: Continental Vs Schwalbe Vs Vittoria
RATING:
2.0
/ 5
TEST VERDICT:
Not Recommended