Review: Schwalbe Tacky Chan Tire - Born on the Race Course
After three years of development, much of it on the World Cup DH circuit, Schwalbe's newest addition to their lineup is ready for its public debut. The Tacky Chan was designed with a strong focus on DH racing, where precision and high speed cornering support are at the top of rider's wishlists.
The tire started out as a 3D model back in 2020, with ramped center lugs to increase rolling speed, more stable shoulder lugs than the Magic Mary, and wider spacing between the center lugs. From there, Schwalbe's designers heavily modified a Big Betty tire to see how the design performed in the real world.
The tire started out as a 3D model back in 2020, with ramped center lugs to increase rolling speed, more stable shoulder lugs than the Magic Mary, and wider spacing between the center lugs. From there, Schwalbe's designers heavily modified a Big Betty tire to see how the design performed in the real world.
Tacky Chan Details
• 29 x 2.4" in Super DH, Super Gravity, or Super Trail casing
• 27.5 x 2.4" in Super DH or Super Gravity casing
• Addix Ultra Soft or Addix Soft rubber
• Actual weight. Super DH casing: 1382 grams (29") / 1241 grams (27.5")
• Price: $98 - $104 USD
• schwalbe.com
• 29 x 2.4" in Super DH, Super Gravity, or Super Trail casing
• 27.5 x 2.4" in Super DH or Super Gravity casing
• Addix Ultra Soft or Addix Soft rubber
• Actual weight. Super DH casing: 1382 grams (29") / 1241 grams (27.5")
• Price: $98 - $104 USD
• schwalbe.com
The first prototypes were ridden and raced in 2021, and then 2022 saw the design further refined based on feedback from racers like Thibaut Dapréla, Myriam Nicole, and Amaury Pierron. By the end of that season the tire had an impressive race resume, amassing 11 World Cup wins.
Initially, the tire will be available in 29” and 27.5 x 2.4” sizes, with Super DH, Super Gravity, and Super Trail casing options available for 29” wheels, and Super DH and Super Gravity options for 27.5” wheels. The Super DH and Gravity tires are $104 USD, and the Super Trail tires are $98 USD.
It's good to see an Ultra Soft, Super Trail version of this tire in the lineup – that means the softest, stickiest rubber isn't just reserved for the heavy downhill tires. Speaking of weight, the 29” DH casing tire I've been testing weighs 1382 grams, and the 27.5” one weighs 1241 grams.
As for the name, I honestly thought it was a joke all the way up until my test tires showed up, and I still have trouble believing that Tacky Chan actually made it to production. Now I'm just waiting for the Shreddy Vedder, Michael Sipe, and Loose Springsteen models to be announced
PERFORMANCE
I mounted up a pair of the new tires on a set of Reserve aluminum rims, which have a 30mm inner width. Installation was trouble free, and everything popped nicely into place without any sealant leaks. Once mounted, the tires measure true to their 2.4” width.
I ran 20 psi in the front and 22 psi in the rear for the duration of the test period. At various times the wheels were mounted on a Trek Fuel EX, a Propain Tyee, and a Specialized Turbo Levo.
ROLLING SPEED
The concept of a fast rolling downhill tire may seem like an oxymoron, but that's an accurate description of the Tacky Chan. On harder packed trails the increased speed compared to something like the Big Betty is very noticeable. It feels smoother, and much less like it's actively trying to claw and dig into the ground.
TRACTION
I've been able to ride the Tacky Chan in a wide range of trail conditions – everything from dry and dusty to wet and slimy. Deep mud has been the only surface condition not on the menu so far, but that's not really when you'd want the Tacky Chan anyways.
The Tacky Chan rewards a more aggressive, harder-charging riding style. Schwalbe's designers describe it as a tire that works best on familiar trails as opposed to riding blind in an unfamiliar zone, and after spending time with it that description makes a lot of sense. Tires like Schwalbe's Magic Mary or a Maxxis Assegai seem to find their own way without requiring much rider input. With the Tacky Chan there's not as much of an autopilot feel – it works best when it's pushed into a line rather than being allowed to choose its path.
Even with the faster rolling speed the braking traction is impressive – one of my current favorite trails requires almost constant heavy braking to keep speeds in check, and the Tacky Chan proved up to the task. The Big Betty still has the edge for outright traction, but that comes at the cost of rolling speed. Compared to the Maxxis Dissector, the Tacky Chan seems to bite harder, likely due in part to the taller knobs. It felt most at home on medium-soft to hardpacked trails, trails where it was possible to really get some weight onto the tire.
On wet, slippery roots the Tacky Chan is decent, if not mindblowing - the UltraSoft rubber did what it could to find grip on those slimy wooden noodles, and there weren't any totally unexpected slide outs, but it's not as easy to trust as a MaxxGrip DHR II.
CORNERING
Cornering is the Tacky Chan's strong suit, and it takes some seriously hard pushing to even come close to approaching its limit. On more than one occasion I braced for it to break free, only to be rewarded with the sensation of it digging in even harder. It'd be a great tire for bike park usage, especially in the rear, and in the Soft compound to improve its lifespan.
DURABILITY
Schwalbe's Ultra Soft rubber compound is the softest in the lineup, which also makes it the fastest wearing. Riders looking to maximize their investment will want to go with the Soft compound, at least in the rear, especially if there are lift-served laps on the menu. Unfortunately, at the moment that Soft compound is only available on the 27.5" Super Gravity option, or the 29" Super Trail version - there's no Super DH casing / Soft rubber combo yet. Overall, the wear is in line with what I'd expect from the UltraSoft rubber. As for the casing, the Super DH has proven to be plenty tough enough to handle all sorts of sharp, unforgiving trail surfaces.
If I was planning on running the Tacky Chan on an enduro or trail bike here in the Pacific Northwest I'd go with an Ultra Soft Super Trail front tire, and then the beefier Super Gravity casing for the rear in order to save some weight while still retaining plenty of puncture resistance.
Pros
+ Great cornering support + Very precise – rewards confident line choices
+ Fast rolling considering the amount of braking traction and overall grip
Cons
- Precise feel means it's not as forgiving of mistakes - The name
Pinkbike's Take
 | The Tacky Chan straddles the line between being a specialist or an all-rounder. As a front and rear pairing, it requires an attentive, confident rider to really make the most of it. It's more forgiving when used as a rear tire with a slightly wider and friendlier front tire – the Magic Mary / Tacky Chan combo is a good one for riders hunting for a little more rolling speed without sacrificing grip. |
Author Info:
Must Read This Week
"Chan (ちゃん) expresses that the speaker finds a person endearing. In general, -chan is used for young children, close friends, babies, grandparents and sometimes female adolescents. It may also be used towards cute animals, lovers, or youthful women."
This tire is officially the cutest.
I want it
Rocky Balboa and Roadrunner (for the road cyclists) deserves a spot in this list but you can't go unsued now that Warner Bros are keeping an eye on the circuit.
Should have come out with a pairing that would smash it at the box office. Rear Tacky Chan & Front Chris Fukker. Rush Hour homage.
I stand with this comment in spirit.
there's this Japanese commercial/anime/character/whatsit called Gudetama, which is like an egg yolk, which is what I picture when hearing 'Taki-Chan'. Sticky blobby cute.
That combo only works during Rush Hour
-Detective James Carter
I love you man, don’t change for anyone!
Plus, people would assume I do stunts.
Props for the Ultra Soft trail casing though. Conti and Schwalbe have really missed out on that one to Maxxis for a long time
*Schwalbe product team frantically taking notes* - "Yeah, those are awful ideas....give us some more terrible ideas we would never put into production..."
"Oh yes they are tremendously important."
"And how is that?"
"Well you see they keep the car off the ground."
I still remember Hunt using the N-word, as part of some old English expression, while commenting with Murray Walker. That was probably in 1991 when you already knew it wasn't something to say. I bet he got told not to do it again.
About the actual tires though, I am interested that people have commented that at least the Magic Marys seem to wear fast. I have pretty much the exact same number of park laps on my DH bike as my son had on his Maxxis shod enduro bike, plus he has all the trail rides where I used my trail bike. His DHR/DHFs seem to have definitely lasted longer than my Marys which I replaced last year.
..and there is your +1 sir
I’m running Specialized tires, and they work. I see them as the opposite of Schwalbe- good, not great, long lasting and cheap.
My favorite tires are a fresh set. In motocross, the pro “race” tires typically rely on their knob edge being fresh. And if you cut the leading side of the knobs to give them a new edge, the knob becomes weak and the tire doesn’t work.
There’s a lot of criticism of modern F1, but one thing I don’t miss is the “Old Guard”. Dickish, racist, and just sexist.
Tred baron (they are German after all) - bad taste, sorry.
Honey I lost the skids
Treads (nuclear)
Bald weagle (after you know, Dave)
Donald jump
Winston downhill
Britney steers
Tom cruiser
Loamer Simpson
Brad grip
Snow rogan
Baby got track - sir drift a lot
Lord of the dings
King gnarles
A+ effort.
I had the same experience with Nobby Nic, but they didn't look worn out. So grippy and awesome for a short time and they just turned very slick and icy despite the knobs still being intact. Like there was a very thin grippy rubber layer and it was worn off of there and all that remained was the harder durometer base rubber.
I understand that this is how tires are made (multiple layers of increasingly harder durometer rubber from outside to inside) but it just seemed like it happened so quickly and the tires didn't look like they should be that slick yet.
I thought I was losing my mind and I finally had enough and tried fresh rubber and I kicked myself for waiting that long.
I ran a Magic Mary/Knobby Nic combo for a year of very aggressive riding here in the jank of northern NM. It works very well in extreme hardpack and rocks where knobs don't even begin to penetrate. Here, contact patch is king.
I'm sure they would be less better on softer trails (aka, dirt) where a deeper tread block works better.
I race enduro and my "riding style" has been described like George Foreman's boxing style - None-plow through blindly with force
Or was this the older versions, before the "Super" series of compounds? The earlier versions did wear horribly.
Besides, aren't we used to wierd Names on german brand tyres? Such a shame Continental stopped using names like The Kaiser or the Baron. I would have bought a new "count palatine" tyre. I also used to trigger the wife saying "i'm heading out for a threesome with Magic Mary and Big Betty".
@norcalbike: Yes, but they weren't available. At least i never got any. This year in april was the first time i could buy the MM super trail super soft in a german shop, and i had email notifications for availability active for a long time.
It seems like a fast rolling Big Betty. I have the BB on the rear of my DH wheelset and it does roll pretty slowly.
Interestingly too - I haven't seen the Big Betty on too many riders world cup bikes, except maybe once or twice. Amaury even used the E-bike "Eddy Current" one time!
This must be a lot better than just running the Magic Mary all the time as a rider for Schwalbe. That's all I've really seen teams running up until now
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztGBs6PRnt8
DE Store with decent price:
www.bike-components.de/de/Maxxis/Minion-DHR-II-3C-MaxxTerra-EXO-WT-TR-29-Faltreifen-p87381/?v=127173-schwarz
I'm very curious what trail he's got in mind.
Anyway I don’t see anything wrong with the name
Worse than a dhr 2 so you'd pick an assegai surely?
Is it a mary for the dry or what?
We aren’t in the Charlie Chan era any more. Come on Germany!
I’m going to replace my rocket Ron’s with maxxis rekons.
Why would it be offensive to anyone except Jackie Chan?
Because he happens to be Asian? It's a pun on a famous person's name, period. It has absolutely nothing to do with his heritage or culture.
As a white guy, should I be offended by the Huck Norris?
Lighten up Francis, everyone's trying to be a victim these days.
Among respondents to the 2000 United States Census, Chan was the 12th-most common surname among Asian Pacific Americans, and 459th-most common overall, with 59,811 bearers (91.0% of whom identified as Asian/Pacific Islander). Chan was the ninth-most common Chinese surname in Singapore as of 1997 (ranked by English spelling, rather than by Chinese characters). Roughly 48,400 people, or 1.9% of the Chinese Singaporean population, bore the surname Chan.'
I'm going to hell but I lived thru that incident as a local.
There is a Massachusetts legislator with the name Tackey Chan
Did they name it after him? (Sic)
Meanwhile, Conti is using rejected pharmaceutical names for their tires.
Goodyear can have The triglyceride, The S.A.D, The Transasaurus etc.
Yeah same