SQUIRREL_13650067
I’m a man who needs confidence in his tyres before I can really let rip on the trails, and no set of rubber has ever enabled me to feel as much trust as Schwalbe’s range of Radial rubber.
I’ve ridden Schwalbe's new tyres in everything from high-Alpine tech, through bike-park berms to sloppy English mud, and in almost every scenario they’ve blown me away.
That's why they're my pick from a busy year of testing for Gear of the Year 2025.
- Read more: Schwalbe Magic Mary Radial review
Ground control to Major Tom
While not strictly a true radial tyre, as you’d find in the automotive world, the orientation of the plies within the tyre’s carcass cross each other at a much shallower angle than in a non-radial tyre.
This, in theory, should enable the tyre to deform with less force, increase the contact area with uneven ground, and alter the deformation force curve, enabling you to run higher tyre pressures for a given grip level.
On the ground, this is one product that really does live up to the marketing hype.
I started my Radial journey with a pair of Albert Radials, Schwalbe’s mid-chunky trail bike tyres, with a Trail casing at the front and a Gravity at the rear.
They were thrown into the deep end for a week of riding in the Alps, with everything from fast, flowy singletrack to some perilously steep and loose technical riding, and the odd dust bowl thrown in for good measure.
I worried that the Albert, which previously I’d only considered for the rear, wouldn’t be aggressive enough to run up-front confidently, with its shallower tread blocks and less pronounced shoulder.
However, the suppleness of the carcass worked its magic, gluing me to the trail regardless of whether I was surfing over loose rocks or braking heavily through dusty corners.
When the rain finally fell on the UK, turning our trails sloppier, I took little convincing to throw on a pair of Magic Marys.
I’ve always been a fan of their blocky treads, but when paired with the Radial casing, a whole new level of grip was unleashed.
Nothing's ever perfect
Now, the Radial tyres aren’t perfect. Their malleable casing seems to rob rolling speed on tarmac, so the extra drag became a bit of a… drag on prolonged climbs.
The extra compliance the casing has also means some of my hardest-riding pals have found the rear can squirm a bit more in higher-load corners. They’ve paired a Radial front with a conventional rear to get around this feeling.
Finally, as reported everywhere, you can generally run these tyres with a couple of extra psi in them, helping prevent pinch punctures without compromising on grip or comfort. However, I’ve found their ideal operating pressure window is a little narrower than other MTB tyres, so regularly checking pressures is a must.
For me, though, these slight compromises are well worth the extra grip, control and comfort offered by Schwalbe’s Radial rubber.
Simply put, if your riding – like mine – benefits from the utmost confidence in your tyres, pop these on your shopping list.
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