In this article I’m going to give you my top picks for the best Schwalbe 26 inch mountain bike tires.
Of all the tire brands, Schwalbe is probably the brand I’ve used most through the years. And yes, that says something. I believe I use them for all of my tubes, and I’ve got tubes 2 decades old that still work just as fine as when they came fresh out of the package. I’ve also used multiple iterations of their phenomenal Marathon lineup, for daily drivers and touring cycles.
After diving more deeply into bike restorations Schwalbe lost a bit of its previous allure. Instead I started using Panaracer, mainly because that brand offers incredibly light true skinwall tires, which simply look awesome on vintage wheels.
Nonetheless, the Schwalbe lineup on this list offers incredible value for money. And it also contains one of my all-time-favorite allround mountain bike tires: the tan wall Schwalbe Nobby Nic.
So without further ado, here is the list of the best Schwalbe 26 inch mountain bike tires.
Schwalbe Big Apple
The beaded Schwalbe Big Apple tires are a great value for money and come in three different sizes, from 2 to 2.35 inches.
It’s not my favorite in the racing department, they’re simply too heavy for that. But as mentioned before, extra rubber does mean more durability in general, and more miles.
So besides already being cheaper than other options on this list, it will last you a long time as well and you’ve got the RaceGuard puncture protection to boot.
- affordable excellent commuter tire, RaceGuard puncture protection
- heavy
Schwalbe Big Ben
The Schwalbe Big Ben is the Big Apple’s brother, which means it’s even heavier. In fact, they’re almost the heaviest tires overall in this list. But on the flipside it does come in a number of brown colors other than black to accentuate your frame and make for a cool retro build. And it’s also reflected in a price which will hurt your wallet the least.
The Plus version is also probably the plushest ride here, but with almost a kilo per tire, don’t expect to be flying away when the light goes green.
- plush ride, extremely durable
- heavy
Schwalbe Big Betty
The Schwalbe Big Betty is the go-to rear tire for the Schwalbe Magic Mary. Where the Magic Mary has proven to be among the top tires in terms of traction, when combined with the Big Betty you improve your overall braking power.
It has a horizontal tread pattern to do so, that’s sufficiently spaced to have sufficient clearing characteristics as well when you release the brakes again.
Of all the downhill combinations available on the market today, I can’t think of a single one that beats Schwalbe’s current offering of Magic Mary and Big Betty. It’s one of the heaviest sets of downhill-specific tires, that’ll provide you the ultimate in traction.
- Rear downhill tire, fantastic traction
- Meant for downhill
Schwalbe Billy Bonkers
The Billy Bonkers is Schwalbe’s answer to the popularity of the Maxxis DTH for pumptrack and slopestyle. They also come in an extremely light 490 grams 26 inch version, making it the perfect tire for fast city flying, gravel and cross country riding.
The Billy Bonkers also comes in a tan-wall version, but you’ll have to stick with a 2.1 inch width, because that’s the only one in Schwalbe’s lineup. The German brand has made a racing tire, which also proves to be very fast and grippy.
It’s a tough choice to make between the two. One isn’t necessarily better than the other
- Very lightweight tire, with tan option available. Great grip, and rolling-resistance characteristics. Fantastic option for MTB builds.
- None
Schwalbe Fat Frank
The biggest appeal of the Schwalbe Fat Frank is that they come in a variety of great colors. Besides your standard black, you have beige, creme and tan options for both tread and sidewall. So if you’re looking to add some design flair to your ride you can get the Fat Frank with a brown tread pattern and creme sidewalls, or entirely creme.
This is not a racing tire as some of others, that are meant for slopestyle and pump track. That means it won’t be faster or lighter than those tires.
They come in a 2.35 inch width version besides the standard 2 inch. So if you can get over the weight of 975 grams per tire you’re in for both a colorful and plush ride.
- great for vintage MTB builds, multiple colors available
- heavy wired tire
Schwalbe Hurricane
I also decided to include the Schwalbe Hurricane in this list. It’s a shame they don’t sell them in skinwall versions as well. But the tire packs a solid combination of a flat centerline and side knobs.
The side knobs means the tire is more versatile than the average slick, opening up the possibility to take your bike offroad and away from the beaten path.
If you want to keep a MTB look for your tires without sacrificing too much speed on the road, this is the perfect tire for you. Especially if you like the occasional trail as well because of the added grip.
- Great all-round gravel and light XC tire, with an affordable quality.
- None
Schwalbe Kojak
When used in their 26 inch variant, the Schwalbe Kojak feels very similar to WTB’s ThickSlick: almost no profile, the same width, but slighter lighter at 570 grams. So if you don’t like the screaming white branding of WTB, sporting a couple of Kojaks will be more your thing.
- affordable slick, very lightweight
- None
Schwalbe Magic Mary
The Magic Mary is Schwalbe’s grippiest tire from their entire lineup. It performs both brilliantly as a downhill tire, but is just as effective for all-round trail riding in brutal conditions.
It has top-of-the-line traction combined with super fast rolling characteristics and a good feel for the trail at high speeds. If you want to be in the moment and experience flow going down sloppy slopes the Magic Mary delivers big time, with virtually zero cons.
Good braking power, allround riding characteristics in dry and wet conditions, this is Schwalbe’s top tire for all-mountain, enduro and downhill, no matter what the conditions are.
- Very grippy, go-to gravity tire, solid braking power, 4-season downhill tire
- Meant for downhill
Schwalbe Marathon Supreme HS469
The Schwalbe Marathon Supreme is meant for speed with hardly any profile at all on very light tires.
It’s a great fast-rolling commuter and touring tire that offers excellent puncture-resistance characteristics as well.
Though it might not be the flashiest tire on the market, its appeal lies in its ability to crunch many miles. So even though it might not be the most affordable tire on the market, the ROI is high nonetheless.
- fantastic grip, durable and puncture-resistant, fantastic lightweight touring tire
- None
Schwalbe Nobby Nic
The Schwalbe Nobby Nic is the best all-round trail tire from the German manufacturer. If there’s a tire that could rival the dominance of the Maxxis DHR and DHF and its omnipresence on the trail, it’s this one.
It’s tread pattern provides loads of grip and traction. Its allround nature means it’s just as good in the front as it is in the back. And it’s also often seen as a grippy front tire for aggressive XC riding, with a faster and lighter tire in the back.
You can go up to a size 2.35 if you want to and it’s also the only tire that comes in a 26 inch tan version. So if you’re looking for a solid all-round setup, meant for every conceivable condition, dry and wet, hardpack and forest trail, and you want to ride a tan version, this is the tire for you.
- High quality fit-and-forget all-round trail option. Loads of sizing / compound combinations possible. Can be used both front and rear for trail riding, or front for XC.
- None
Schwalbe Racing Ralph
Schwalbe’s lineup consists of a number of highly specialized cross-country tires. The Schwalbe Racing Ralph being one of them.
As stated on the website, the Racing Ralph was designed for the rear. That’s because it has the shallowest center tread pattern, making it perfect for riding as fast as possible in dry conditions.
Although it’s meant for a combo setup with a grippier tire in the front, you could actually use it as a dual setup when bikepacking or gravel riding instead of pure XC racing.
If you want to ride as fast as possible, and maintain that speed when cornering, I suggest pairing it with a grippier front tire. You can opt for the Racing Ray, Rocket Ron, or Nobby Nic. With the Racing Ray offering the least amount of grip and the Nobby Nic the most. The Rocket Ron sits in between the three.
- Fantastic rear XC tire. Low weight, and super fast. Combine with Racking Ray, Rocket Ron, or Nobby Nic for a grippier setup.
- None
Schwalbe Racing Ray
Where the Schwalbe Racing Ralph was designed as a rear tire, the Schwalbe Racing Ray is meant for the front. It also means that one of the most obvious choices for a Schwalbe cross country setup would be the combination of the two.
And it seems that the combination works for a lot of people better than ever. with great braking power and traction in the back and great traction and grip in the front, even for wet conditions.
- Extremely fast front XC tire, super fast setup with the Schwalbe Racing Ralph
- none
Schwalbe Rocket Ron
Both the weight and tread pattern puts the Schwalbe Rocket Ron squarely into XC territory. The evenly spaced knobs mean you always hold contact with the ground ensuring a low rolling resistance.
They are small as well, which means you need to look for the Nobby Nic if you want a more allround and grippy trail tire. But if you want a bit more speed the 640 gr. for a 2.35 inch version you can run two of these.
You should be able to confidently do light trail riding in loose and wet conditions with these tires, and the XC-oriented tread pattern combined with either the Super Ground or Super Race compound will provide you with the speed you need.
It’s worthy to note that the Schwalbe Rocket Ron performs really well in the rolling resistance department, as do all Schwalbe tires. So it’s both light and fast.
- great allround XC tire, perfect for gravel and bikepacking, very fast tire
- - None
Schwalbe Super Moto-X
If you want to go really wide with your tires then the Schwalbe Super Moto-X is what you need. Make sure your frame and fork actually fits the enormous 2.4 inches before placing the order though. You wouldn’t be the first with rubbing problems. And that your rims are not too narrow. You don’t want the tire to blow of the wheel as well.
- balloon tire
- might not be compatible with your rims, very heavy
Specifications Schwalbe 26 inch mountain bike tires
Name | Size | ETRTO | Weight (gr) | Tread color | Sidewall color | Compound | Puncture protection | Tire bead | TPI | Buy at Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Schwalbe Big Apple | 26×2.00 | 50-559 | 675 | Black | Black Reflex | ADDIX | wired | |||
Schwalbe Big Apple | 26×2.15 | 55-559 | 710 | Black | Black Reflex | ADDIX | wired | |||
Schwalbe Big Apple | 26×2.35 | 60-559 | 780 | Black | Black Reflex | ADDIX | wired | |||
Schwalbe Billy Bonkers | 26×2.10 | 54-559 | 490 | Black | Tan | ADDIX | foldable | |||
Schwalbe Hurricane | 26×2.10 | 54-559 | 620 | Black | Black | ADDIX | RaceGuard | wired | ||
Schwalbe Marathon Supreme HS469 | 26×2.00 | 50-559 | 560 | Black | Black | ADDIX | foldable | |||
Schwalbe Nobby Nic | 26×2.25 | 57-559 | 720 | Black | Black | ADDIX SpeedGrip | tlr | |||
Schwalbe Nobby Nic | 26×2.35 | 60-559 | 810 | Black | Bronze | ADDIX SpeedGrip | tlr |
Johan van Seijen
FoundeR Restoration.bike
Johan van Seijen is the founder of restoration.bike. His passion for cycling in general, and restoring older bikes turned into a website to share his knowledge with a broader audience. Starting out on his father’s road bike and riding classics as the Amstel Gold Race and Liege Bastogne Liege he has shifted his attention to trail, XC, and gravel riding since. No matter how much he loves writing about everything related to cycling, nothing beats actually using his ever-expanding bicycle collection.
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