Rose Shave tuning review: Do Schwalbe Pro One tyres and lightweight Aerothan tubes transform the ride feel?
17.07.26 06:54 932026-07-17T06:54:00+02:00Text: Markus Pinter (translated by AI)Photos: Erwin HaidenBefore investing in an expensive wheelset upgrade, is it worth spending your money on tyres and TPU tubes first? We tried exactly that on the new Rose Shave.17.07.26 06:54 1342026-07-17T06:54:00+02:00Rose Shave tuning review: Do Schwalbe Pro One tyres and lightweight Aerothan tubes transform the ride feel?
17.07.26 06:54 1342026-07-17T06:54:00+02:00 Markus Pinter (translated by AI) Erwin HaidenBefore investing in an expensive wheelset upgrade, is it worth spending your money on tyres and TPU tubes first? We tried exactly that on the new Rose Shave.17.07.26 06:54 1342026-07-17T06:54:00+02:00
Carbon frames, ultra-light wheelsets and the latest electronic groupsets usually take centre stage when road bike performance is discussed among riders. One factor is often underestimated: the tyres. Tyres and tubes play a crucial role in how a bike accelerates, how direct it feels and how much comfort ultimately reaches you as the rider. That is precisely what we wanted to explore in the Rose Shave long-term review.
Our direct comparison between the Rose Shave and its racier sibling, the Shave FF, had already shown that a considerable proportion of the differences in weight and handling could be attributed not to the frame, but to the components. The tyres, tubes and wheelset in particular played a decisive role in the FF’s livelier character. This raised an obvious question: how much extra performance can you extract from the “standard” Shave by optimising the tyres, tubes and a handful of other components?
The raw numbers
The stock 32-millimetre Continental Grand Prix tyres and conventional butyl tubes therefore had to make way for a higher-quality Schwalbe setup. The bike is now fitted with 32-millimetre Pro One tyres combined with lightweight Aerothan TPU tubes.
The scales alone reveal why tyres and tubes are so interesting. These two components alone reduce the rotating mass by an impressive 340 grams.
| Component | Stock specification | Upgrade |
|---|---|---|
| Tyre (32 mm) | Continental Grand Prix TR, 391 g | Schwalbe Pro One Tube Type, 304 g |
| Tube | Butyl tube, 135 g | Schwalbe Aerothan, 52 g |
Further refinements to our long-term review bike
A further 140 grams is saved by replacing the 270-gram Selle Italia Novus Boost Evo TM Superflow with the SQlab 612 R Carbon, which weighs just 130 grams and is also exceptionally comfortable. The setup is completed by two ZEFAL Pulse L2 bottle cages weighing only 18 grams each and a set of Mavic Zxellium Pro SL Ti pedals. Even today, the name is almost impossible to pronounce correctly – but the weight of just 155 grams per pair speaks for itself. It is just a shame that Mavic left the pedal business long ago. Technically, the concept lives on today in the TIME XPRO 12 SL. Even so, the old Zxellium pedals continue to impress me with their feel, build quality and featherweight construction.
In this configuration, our Rose Shave in frame size L settles at a total weight of 7.9 kilograms. Of course, that does not turn a Shave into a Shave FF, but that is not the point. Far more interesting is how these weight savings make themselves felt where they have the greatest impact on the bike’s dynamics.
The first few kilometres? A surprising difference!
Now back to the real subject: the tyres. From the very first metres, it is clear that the Rose Shave has changed noticeably. The difference is most apparent under acceleration. The bike feels livelier, picks up speed more eagerly and responds more spontaneously when you put force through the pedals. This is exactly where the advantage of reduced rotating mass becomes apparent. However, I found another characteristic at least as surprising. I had expected the lighter tyres to make the bike feel somewhat more direct and perhaps even more nervous. That did not happen at all.
Quite the opposite. The Shave’s assured underlying character remains completely intact. The bike still feels pleasantly composed and inspires plenty of confidence, yet at the same time it is noticeably more responsive.
More comfort, not less
The improvement in comfort was even more surprising to me. Subjectively, the combination of Schwalbe Pro One tyres and Aerothan tubes feels slightly more supple than the stock combination of Continental Grand Prix tyres and butyl tubes. Small bumps are filtered out more pleasantly, and the overall ride feel is more harmonious.
I also developed more confidence on fast descents. Although this is only my personal impression, the Pro One tyres always made me feel that I had greater grip reserves. Particularly through fast corners, the setup provides additional reassurance and encourages you to release the brakes a little later.
The right tyre pressure
Finding the right tyre pressure was just as interesting as the tyre change itself. After several rides, with my body weight of 72 kilograms, a range of 3.9 to 4.0 bar at the front and 4.4 to 4.5 bar at the rear emerged as my personal sweet spot.
Higher pressures sacrificed some of the newfound comfort, while lower pressures made the ride feel a little too soft for my taste.
The question of price and the verdict
My conclusion is surprisingly clear. I had expected the lighter tyres primarily to make the Rose Shave feel more responsive. I had not expected comfort and confidence on fast descents to improve at the same time, at least not to this extent. It is precisely this combination that makes the relatively affordable upgrade so interesting to me. The long-term review is still in its early stages, but it is already clear just how much influence tyres and tubes can have on the character of a road bike.
Even using the official RRPs of 64.90 euros for one Schwalbe Pro One and 28.90 euros for one Aerothan tube, the complete upgrade for both wheels comes to an affordable 187.60 euros. For around 340 grams less rotating mass, noticeably livelier acceleration and added comfort, that is a relatively inexpensive upgrade – especially as these are the very components that remain in constant contact with the road and influence the character of a road bike more directly than their price might suggest.
