Schwalbe Pro One Tyre Review- Road Tubeless

There has been lots of road cycling topics on my blog recently, you'd be forgiven for forgetting I am an mountain biker! This is a review for tubeless road bike tyres, a mountain biking staple for many years that is now finally coming across to the road.

I purchased the Schwalbe Pro One's as a pair in a conversion pack supplied with latex and tyre lubricant. I chose 25mm tyres which I fitted to a pair of Roval CLX 32 rims. 

Mounting tubeless tyres is something I've done a thousand times on the mountain bike. The process was the same and there were no unexpected surprises with the Pro One's. They snapped onto the rim easily and I added the sealant through the valve, removing the core with the tool supplied with the tyre kit. Both tyres inflated with minimal fuss using a track pump. Where it was slightly more unnerving was pumping them up to 90 psi instead of 20, and it certainly made me jump as the bead popped into place with a loud 'crack!'

First impressions are muted by the squeaky noise the fresh rubber makes as it squirms along the asphalt. The best way to describe it is like wearing new trainers at the squash court. Whether this is mould release agent from manufacture I don't know, but it does fade quite quickly. Grip is also worryingly low during those early first few miles. I'd say it was about 60-80 miles before my confidence grew and I was able to lean on the tyres during high speed corners. I haven't experienced this with new tyres before and don't know why tubeless tyres should be any different.

One of the definite advantages of the tubeless set-up was the ability to run the tyres at 80 to 85psi. There is a significant improvement in comfort with no trade off in rolling resistance compared to the 95 to 100psi I'd normally run on a tubed set-up.

I really don't rate the Schwalbe Doc Blue latex supplied with the kit. Overnight between every ride for the first week the tyres went flat. They stayed up during the rides, but you seem to need to keep the latex active inside the tyre because as soon as I stopped the pressures would drop. Swapping to Stans No Tubes immediately cured the problem.

The first wet ride was a big disappointment. The Pro Ones are sketchy, providing very little confidence in corners and desperately low grip compared to something like the similarly priced Continental 4000s2. On steep climbs the rear wheel was spinning out, while those around me encountered no such difficulties finding traction. Bear in mind that the lower pressures of tubeless tyres should, in theory, offer more grip due to the larger contact area with the ground. The rain had also washed out flints and grit which lead to a small cut in the center of the tyre which refused to seal.

Nowadays when I ride a mountain bike with inner tubes it feels totally wooden. The same was true when I swapped back to tubes after riding the Pro Ones. So I've learnt that tubeless has definite advantages in terms of the ride quality, but after a month and several hundred miles the Schwalbe Pro Ones are unfortunately coming off the bike.  

Even after the unusual bedding in period the Schwalbe Pro Ones do not offer the performance of a high quality tubed tyre and I'd definitely avoid the Schwalbe latex. Time for me to explore some other tubeless options.