Schwalbe have developed a new compound for some of our favourite fast cross-country tyres. The great news is that the new 127tpi (threads per inch) Evo Pace Star rubber has made their high performance, fast cleaning 465g (down from 510g) Rocket Ron tyre even better.
The compound mixes what Schwalbe call an easy rolling base under a fast centre compound with a grippier shoulder compound. The new triple compound allows fast straight-line running with more predictable cornering grip.
We’ve felt a bit short-changed by other brands’ attempts at compound tuning, but not this time. In a side by side test with older Rocket Ron Evolutions (in the same width and pressure) the Pace Stars felt livelier, responsive and faster. We felt as though each twist and deflection of the individual tread blocks was acting to drive the bike forward.
The casing/bead design makes them tubeless ready too. Ours went tubeless with a dash of Stan’s and a track pump. Available in 1.85in, 2.1in, 2.25in and 2.4in versions. Still not cheap, but worth the spend.