First Ride: Schwalbe Tacky Chan 2023 Review
21.06.23 10:34 1032023-06-21T10:34:00+02:00Text: Ralf Hauser (translated by AI)Spurred on by the Commencal/Muc-Off Downhill Team, Schwalbe set itself an ambitious goal: to develop a tire that could make the world's fastest riders even faster. The result is the Tacky Chan.21.06.23 10:34 1302023-06-21T10:34:00+02:00First Ride: Schwalbe Tacky Chan 2023 Review
21.06.23 10:34 1302023-06-21T10:34:00+02:00 Ralf Hauser (translated by AI)Spurred on by the Commencal/Muc-Off Downhill Team, Schwalbe set itself an ambitious goal: to develop a tire that could make the world's fastest riders even faster. The result is the Tacky Chan.21.06.23 10:34 1302023-06-21T10:34:00+02:00
Amaury Pierron, Myriam Nicole, and Thibaut Daprèla, these are some of the fastest male and female bike racers in the world. Being able to directly involve professionals of the caliber of a World Cup winner, World Cup overall winner, or a World Champion in product development is a luxury that not many companies can afford. Schwalbe can. However, the path to creating a winning tire should not be without its challenges...
The Development
Three years ago, in 2020, Schwalbe launched the project. The tire was supposed to surpass their previous workhorse in the Downhill World Cup, the Magic Mary, in terms of speed, control, and precision.
Within a few weeks, the first prototypes were developed. The basic idea for the new tire was created in a 3D model. Small ramps on the knobs were designed to improve rolling characteristics, with shoulder knobs up to 20 percent more stable compared to the Magic Mary to increase side grip.
The new tire received L-shaped knobs and slightly longer braking edges. Ten percent larger gaps between the center knobs reduced the weight.
We knew what we wanted to ride: a tire that was better for pedaling and a bit more precise. We already had a good relationship with Schwalbe, so we got the first prototype in 2021 in Maribor and continued to develop it together.
World Cup Rocket Thibaut DaprélaAs the first test specimen, the developers made a total of twelve different cuts on a Big Betty to determine the balance between support and compliance of the shoulder knobs. Even with this version, higher speeds were achieved while simultaneously increasing braking traction.
In 2021, the prototype was already used in races and Thibaut Dapréla chose it for the World Championships in the same year. The Frenchman was top in training and qualification. However, in the all-important race run, he crashed twice. Nevertheless, he believed that the tire could reach the finish. His feedback: The large knobs were somewhat too stiff, too unyielding to achieve the best possible cornering control.
Subsequently, the shoulder knobs were made slightly smaller on a millimeter scale, the braking edge one millimeter longer, and a double knob indentation resulted in a tighter interlocking.
For the rest of the season and in 2022, the Tacky Chan celebrated numerous victories. Amaury Pierron won the overall ranking of the 2022 Downhill World Cup with it. Myriam Nicole won the World Cup in Val di Sole - one of the toughest tracks of the racing season and one of a total of eleven World Cup victories.
Details
The Tacky Chan can be ridden uncompromisingly as both a front and rear tire and is also combined by World Cup riders in various ways depending on the track and conditions. Compared to the Magic Mary, it is about 60 g lighter and has 3W less rolling resistance on the test bench. In Super Trail version, it should weigh just under 1,200 grams.
Our test models in Super DH configuration and Ultra Soft compound, which we will be taking a close look at in the coming weeks, weighed 1,391 g for the 29" and 1,264 g for the 27.5" variant.
The production model of the Tacky Chan is now available in sizes 29" and 27.5" x 2.4" in various carcasses and rubber compounds.
Since its main focus is on downhill performance, the Ultra Soft rubber compound has been available from the start with a Super Trail carcass (in addition to Super Gravity and Super DH). Even the lighter Super Ground option is expected to follow. With a Soft rubber compound, the tire is initially available in 29" as Super Trail and in 27.5" as Super Gravity version.
The recommended retail price varies between €68.90 and €74.90 depending on the variant.
If you race, you're looking for a tire that is precise and fast. The Tacky Chan is precise in corners and when you want to choose difficult lines. It helps you to become faster and has very, very good grip. That's why we use it often.
Thibaut Daprela knows what he wantsFirst Laps
A few descents in and around the Leogang Bikepark before the World Cup weekend are by no means a conclusive review, but certainly enough for a first impression.
What was immediately pleasing: that one doesn't have to spend a long time getting used to the tires. With other models, advantages and disadvantages in certain situations become apparent quickly, but with the Tacky Chan, we'll have to search for drawbacks for a while longer.
Naturally, the few bone-dry, compacted trails that day, which weren't closed for racing, weren't the ideal terrain to push the tire to its limits - especially since most of the corners were banked.
And yet, even on such paths covered with a loose layer of dust and garnished with gravel outside the ideal line, many a tire would quickly reach its limit. It wouldn't have been the first time that I found myself unintentionally spread out in a berm with a test bike for exactly that reason.
Ein paar Strecken mit lockeren Waldboden-Sektionen und trockenen Wurzelabschnitten, wo der Reifen zielsicher seine Bahnen zog, haben wir dann aber doch noch gefunden.
Gelegentliche Schrägfahrten sowie Abstecher von der ausgefahrenen Ideallinie weg kosteten den Reifen nur ein müdes Lächeln. Selbst beim Kletterversuch im Steilen biss sich der Tacky Chan als Hinterreifen im Untergrund beachtlich fest.
In seinem ersten Stint hinterließ der Reifen also einen starken Eindruck. Er ließ sich in keiner Situation aus der Ruhe bringen und vermittelte dementsprechend hohes Selbstvertrauen.
Ob der Tacky Chan auch auf feuchten und nassen Strecken beziehungsweise bei unterschiedlichen Bodenverhältnissen spielerisch agiert, werden die nächsten Monate zeigen.
