Schwalbe Wicked Will

I recently picked up a set of Schwalbe's new tire, the Wicked Will. Here's a short introduction and mini review.When I first saw photos of the Wicked Will I knew I wanted to give it a try. I have the freeride version which is a bit heavier duty than a single ply but doesn't carry the weight penalty of a true dual ply. Schwalbe claims 980 grams on the website and mine came in right on target.


At first look the tire is big. I knew this large volume would save me pinch flats on our rugged BC terrain.



Put next to a 2.5 tire of any other brand and it is noticeably larger. Here it is next to a Kenda Neveal 2.5.


Schwalbe targets the tire for dry and hardpack ground. Unfortunately we don't get much of that this time of year in BC but I gave them a run anyways. I mounted them up tubeless, like every other tire I use. It took a bit more effort, requiring a couple of extra wraps of tape under my Stans strips to get them to seal up. Once I did that it was all good.

The first couple of rides was on cold frozen ground and I was very pleased with the grip they offered. I run around 30-32psi and the tires felt very compliant and stuck to the ground well. I also found that they are a fast rolling tire for the size of them. The next few rides turned to typical BC wetcoast weather and I was a bit worried about how they make out. The tread is quite shallow so I expected them to pack up quite quickly. I was wrong. In all but the muddiest conditions they did fairly well, despite being in a situation they were not designed for. They were a bit sketchy on off camber wet slimy roots and muddy rocks. These conditions are better suited for Schwalbe's Muddy Mary tire.

All in all, it's going to be wet here for another month or so now so I'll be taking these off until the ground dries up and I can give them a proper review.

http://www.schwalbetires.com/wicked_will