In every mountain biker’s garage they sit…the worn out, the unloved, the unwanted and the seldom used. The tires of season’s past; knobs torn and missing. The new “next big thing”, the tires your buddy recommended or those you read about in a magazine and then hated. They are all there. Some you put back on in the hopes that with the right conditions, they’ll perform as advertised. Others, you have given up on. My tire stack is dominated by one brand of worn out tires – SCHWALBE. German engineering, good rubber compounds and lots of choices in tread patterns and widths.
Schwalbe Racing Ralph 2.25
On my Norco Faze SL I am running an MTB classic with a bit of new bling, the Racing Ralph 2.25 Pacestar.
If you haven’t been paying attention in class, “fat is where it is at” for MTB tires these days. Don’t believe me racer-boy? Think that 1.9 at 50psi is faster? Check out this link for some science behind the hype.
http://www.schwalbetires.com/wider_faster_page
The 2.25 works awesome for the trails that I like to ride on. This size gives the tire extra flotation and the low profile knobs on the Racing Ralph are a little bigger for added confidence in loose, rocky terrain.
Schwalbe Racing Ralph Tread
The PaceStar 
compound is one of Schwalbe’s newest. The triple compound mixes an easy rolling base under a fast/harder center compound with softer, grippier side knobs. What it aims to do is allow for a faster rolling tire with more cornering grip. While the Racing Ralph has always been a fast tire, with this new compound and in a larger size, it really expands who and where this tire can be ridden. On my 5″ travel bike it is awesome for anyone with decent bike handing skills and desire to have a tire that rolls really well. There is always a trade-off between traction, grip and speed. With the Racing Ralph you can have it all for most trail conditions.
Schwalbe’s Tubless Ready 
worked great. The tires have a specially formed and coated bead. This seals the rim very well and also provides safe seating. The tires slipped on to my Mavic Crossmax ST rims with out tire levers. With the recommended 60 ml of Stan’s tire sealant and a good floor pump I got the back tire to seat no problem.
Tubeless Ready
The front one would not go, so I had to use a compressor (not uncommon for tubeless tires) to get it to seat. Once inflated they held air really well. A quick rotation and shake to make sure the sealant was well-distributed and they were almost ready to go. I dropped them down to 29psi and let them sit over night. In the AM and with the same reading on the digital pressure gauge I was ready to ride them.
ride780 Trail Review Racing Ralph 2.25 PaceStar TR (530 g weight)
The Racing Ralph has long been one of my personal choices for tires. For hard pack, fast-rolling conditions, there are few tires that can match the RR. The most noticeable difference is the softer shoulder knobs and their U-Shape (sipe pointing in the direction of travel) and the increase in size in the 2.25. I have thousands of KM’s on the 2.1′s but the bigger size was an eye-opener. Bigger is better! I know that I can go even lower with tire pressure to increase traction with the lager casing. These are the tires I ran at the Bow 80 with mud, slippery roots, loose rocks and screaming fast descents with no problems. If conditions were really sketchy (80-90% loose rock) I would consider putting on something with bigger knobs on the front for some go-fast peace of mind however. Overall, a great tire that was easy to set up for tubeless and delivers as promised as a great race tire or trail tire. ride780 approved!
For 2012 Schwalbe has revised the Racing Ralph yet again. Modified tread profile and 127tpi sidewall have decreased the weight and rolling resistance again.
Light and fast!
