Schwalbe Fat Albert Tire
3.6
/5
REVIEWS
3.6
QIKRATE
4.1
WEB
0.0
|
|
Own this? Help your community (Tap a star to rate) |
|
|
|
|
DESCRIPTION
The Fat Albert EVO Snakeskin UST Tire uses a race-developed Evolution carcass to place it on the lighter end of the tubeless-tire spectrum. And does so without compromising the tire's structural integrity because it uses Schwalbe's Snakeskin technology. This means the sidewalls are reinforced...
OVERALL RATING |
1 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
|
VALUE RATING |
1 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
|
Not sure. It looks cool? I didn't pay full MSRP for it?
This tire did not last 2 months. Zero grip up anything other than hard pack and even then sketchy.
I have a Schwalbe Big Betty 2.4 Gooey Glooey on the front that is absolutely ridonkulous. Based on that, the hype, the reviews, the fact that Yeti is putting Fat Alberts on their 2010 575's, et cetera I thought I would give the rear specific Fat Albert 2.25 a try on the rear. I typically like to run an XC type tire on the rear (Larsen/ Crossmark) but wasn't getting the traction I need on some of the trails I ride. I really, really wanted this tire to be great, give me some more bite when I need it and at the time of purchase everything looked promising. On the very first ride the tire almost hooked up on rocks, roots, steep singletrack but were a little squirrely. I was not sold but I kept on trying thinking "I need to learn how to ride this tires". However, by the 2nd or 3rd ride they showed considerable wear and tear. They became less and less stable. I.e. no braking power, no turning stability, no climbing grip. I have gutted out another month on this POS because I can't stand wasting my hard-earned money on a tire that lasts less than a month. I finally wore the knobs down to nearly slicks after less than two months of riding. Gratefully, I yanked the Fat Albert off this week and threw on an old High Roller that has about 60% tread left on it. It was like riding a new bike that grabbed ahold of everything. What was I thinking suffering with the Fat Albert for so long? Don't make the mistake I did. Save your money and buy something else. 1 chili for terrible tread life and pathetic performance.
Similar Products Used:
Big Betty, High Roller, Weirwolf, Crossmark, Larsen TT, Mosquito, Wolverine, Panaracer Fire AM (2.3)
OVERALL RATING |
1 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
|
VALUE RATING |
1 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
|
Cool Logo?
Flats easily - wears prematurely - won't hook-up
This is a review for the 26*2.25 EVO carcass FAT ALBERT's in front and rear specific versions. Can someone explain to me what the buzz is all about with thess tires? They seem to be all marketing hype and zero in terms of performance. They don't grip on any trail surface - dry to wet - yet the knobs tear and break off easily! Very disappointing for a tire that is so expensive. In addition, I've run the gamut as far as pressures with these and even at low pressures they still are sketchy. To make matters worse, they flat easily. I went 2+ years without a flat on other tire brands, with these I've had multiple. I'm using these up as soon as I can and switching to something else. I won't be burned twice.
Similar Products Used:
Kendas, WTB, Michelin
OVERALL RATING |
2 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
|
VALUE RATING |
3 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
|
High volume, good wear and good rolling resistance, moderate weight for a high volume tire
Moderate traction when dry, poor traction when wet. Wet rocks and roots are downright dangerous. The rear tire is especially bad. Constantly slipping when the going gets tough, either up or down.
This is for the front and rear specific, 2.4 up front and 2.25 in the rear.
DRY CONDITIONS: Up front the 2.4 offers decent grip in most terrain excelling on packed and loose dirt, doing well on hardpack and loose over hard. Adequate on roots and rocks, but thats about it. In the rear the 2.25 is decent at its best on packed and loose dirt, and mediocre on hardpack and loose over hard. Roots and rocks are just frustrating, this tire bounces and slips all over the place.
WET CONDITIONS: If you're thinking of this tire as your all year tire or you live/ride in a perptually wet area, look elsewhere for a tire. Up front the 2.4 is mediocre at best on wet dirt/mud and very poor on roots and rocks. In the rear the 2.25 is even worse. They are so bad I would have to say they are dangerous. Even riding down level singletrack these tires (both front and rear) will slide off of wet rocks and roots that are flush with the trail. You know that feeling you get riding across wet railroad tracks at an angle? That's how these feel with all rocks and roots when things are damp or wet. Not only do they not inspire confidence, but they make you paranoid.
These may be a good tire for you if you ride in a dry area without much rocks or roots, but I wouldnt recommend them for much else. There are many other similar tires that work much better.
3 chili's for Value: They werent super pricey and will last a while.
2 chili's overall: Poor performance makes them a tire that will sit in your spare bin
Similar Products Used:
WTB Stout, WTB weirwolf 2.35 and 2.55lt, panaracer fire FR, maxxis ridgeline and rendez, Conti Mountain King 2.4 and more
OVERALL RATING |
5 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
|
VALUE RATING |
4 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
|
Unbelievably grippy, rolls surprisingly well
Brings half the trail with it, quite spendy at retail
Note: this review is for the newest Fat Alberts, front & rear specific, 2.4 front, 2.25 rear, both Snakeskin sidewall protection. As above, run w/Stan's sealant on Arch rims, about 20/22psi front/rear.
I've gone from a Weirwolf devotee to a Nobby Nic fanatic, and with a couple rides on the Fat Albert may have found my new religion. It's true that most of the hardpack trails in my area really call for a fast rolling tire with relatively round profile. And it's true that $60+ per wheel is really far too much to spend for a bicycle tire. But when the summer dirt gets dry and churny, and you start looking for those new gnarlier lines, is it so wrong to be wanting a bit more in the grip department? And this is where the FA comes in ... in spades.
Compared to other Schwalbe tires like the Nobby Nic & Racing Ralph, the FA is noticably more square, with super-aggressive side knobs. I've yet to exceed their cornering capacity, and so far there's be none of the dreaded knob "fold-over" that can plague tires like the weirwolf. The FA's really seem to excel in loose rocky conditions. Our rocks are relatively small & loose, but still the FA really does a great job of plowing through them with relatively little deflection. I've noticed they pick up a LOT of rocks to fling at your shins & down tube (not gravel, like baseball-sized, or cricket-ball sized, to put it in metric terms). It's a little painful, but I see that as proof that they're doing their job.
On loose & loamy stuff, they seem to drift only slightly, but I haven't really put this to the test yet to see how predictable or limited this is.
As for rolling resistance, which is one of the selling points of the Nobby Nic and high on my list of priorities, it's a little early to tell. I was expecting it to be far worse, though, and I can't really say that I notice much of a difference, surprisingly. There's a little added weight over the NN, so some of that may be part of it. Overall, I'd say that the FA feels like a faster tire for unpredictable conditions, since whatever you may lose on the flats & climbs is more than gained by superhuman confidence and speeds on the descents.
The new church is open. See you there.
*I don't own a caliper to do any measuring, but the 2.4 looks big. There is no way it would fit in the rear on my frame, whereas I've been able to fit other 2.3 tires in the past. So I would say that the prevailing wisdom of subtracting .1" from all of Schwalbe's reported dimensions does not apply in this case.
**Incidentally, setup with Stan's sealant was a total breeze. I've had really good success with durability of the Snakeskin sidewalls in rocky conditions, and it does seem like this helps the beads seat properly for a tubeless setup. And I'm hoping the wear will be excellent, as with past Schwalbe offerings (better be... given the price!).
Similar Products Used:
WTB weirwolves, Schwalbe Nobby Nic, Conty Mountain King
OVERALL RATING |
3 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
|
VALUE RATING |
3 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
|
Good for soft riding eg hard XC
Good only for soft riding eg hard XC
Poor cornering
Unpredictable handling
Hates landing drops and going straight
Use this tyre for aggressive XC riding on dry hardpack, nothing more. It is still only as good as many others, lacks any specific ability, eg Nobby Nic climbs like crazy, Big Betty does what??
Similar Products Used:
Many, many.
OVERALL RATING |
5 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
|
VALUE RATING |
5 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
|
big, light for volume 720g), smooth on hardpack, very grippy in every terrain, and very comfortable!
hmmm, none, hitherto. Perhaps the sidewalls are to thin for use in a rock garden.
This is for the soft compound (Front Only FO) Fat Albert light 2.35, front AND rear (wanted endless grip for the fall period). I use it 2,5 bar front and 3.0 rear, just to be on the safe side for 120kg).
On hardpack and tarmac it feels very simmilar to the ZMAX Millenium 2.35, astonishingly: it rolls very smoothly, in spite of the wide open profile and keeps relatively quite. Rolling resistance is higher with the Fat Albert, though. (the ZMAX 2.35 rolls amazingly well, indeed). The soft rubber of the Fat Albert Soft Compound may explain this, in part. Both tyres are the most comfortable ever. Even the Mutanoraptor, which has in fact, as a wide 2.24, a only slightly lesser volume, is not as comfortable by a wide margin; the thicker sidewalls of the WTB may explain this. The Fat Albert, in contrast to the Ritchey 2,35 WCS grips like hell in every soil, especially in the wet it is superior to any tyre I 've used. In deep Gravel the Ritchey gets a bit sketchy (as does, to a lesser extent the Mutanoraptor, the one and only drawback on this else very grippy tyre), also in the wet the Ritchey's grip deteriorates quite a bit.
So who might buy this Fat Albert tyre?
1. check width of chain stays!
2. you want a big, comfortable tyre that grips like hell in all conditions, especially in wet?
3. you want a tyre which on tarmac doesn't give you the feel of going on a chain saw, but rolls smoothly and has still a reasonable rolling resistance?
Then this tyre is your ticket.
If optimal grip is no priority and you want super fast rolling big comfortable tyre, try the Ritchey 2,35 WSC Millenium. If you want a big hard core tyre with thick side walls and very good grip in most conditions, you might be happy with the WTB Mutanoraptor. For the other tyres I've used (see above): only weight weanies might sacrifice the assets of a big tyre for some 300g of lower weight.
Similar Products Used:
Michelin: Jet S (got bubbles in the side wall), WG XLS(very good XC race for mixed soils), Ritchey (all very fast tyres, a bit skechty in deep gravel): ZMAX 2.1WCS, ZMAX 2.35 Millenium, ZED 2.1WCS, Excavader/Elevader 2.1WCS, ZED 2,1PRO, Conti: Vertical Pro, Explorer Pro, Dual Fighter, Twister Supersonic (use only if below 70kg!), WTB Mutanoraptor (verrry good and grippy, except of deep gravel)
OVERALL RATING |
5 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
|
VALUE RATING |
4 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
|
Lite. Fat. Round.
None, yet.
When I first laid eyes on these tires and then Charles at Hammerhead told me how much they weighed on the scale (sub-700), I knew I had to try em. So why not drive several hundred miles to Utah to break em in!
My first ride was actually in Durango, but didn't ride long. We hit Slickrock but that didn't tell me much since anything sticks to that trail. They did roll well and kept a stable footing. No pinch flats either. We hit up Bartlett's Wash the next day and same story there. Then Klodike Bluffs. No real surprises on the jeep road and dusty rock. I did manage to ram into a slickrock ditch thingee, but the tires kept on keepin on. Then Amasa Back; good traction and still no flats even plowing downhill. Finally, Porcupine Rim. Traction was still good on the climbs even in low gears, and the wheels were solid and stable on the oh so fun downhill. And again, still no flats.
Came home and hit up some swoopy hardpack through tight trees at Walnut Creek. Fine. No unexpected slideouts. Had a better idea on what to expect and I'd compare the tires to the Motos exccept a little more bouncy and lite. Rode the Greenbelt and still kept on going until we came back on the main trail and I hit a sharp rock coming down the root/rock chute near that popular swimming hole. Not bad, I'd say. One flat in all this time is good for me. Rode Flat Creek the other day and traction was still on. Last ride out here, I had a horrible time keeping upright in the sandy corners. It's been dry since with little rain, so all we have is dust now and the tires held up great. It didn't feel at all like I was lugging a fatty tire up the climbs and I was floating over lots of the loose rock. And no flat.
It'll take a while longer under different conditions to tell how these tires hold up against the Vert Pros and Motos and Gazzi, but so far, so good.
Similar Products Used:
Conti Vert Pro, WTB MotoRaptor 2.4, Hutchison Mosquito Lite 2.3, Nokian Gazzilodi Core 2.3
OVERALL RATING |
4 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
|
VALUE RATING |
5 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
|
Good
No weakness
It's great tire with great price. In Indonesia it's only US$4 !
OVERALL RATING |
5 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
|
VALUE RATING |
5 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
|
Good weight for a big trail tire. Hooks up well in all conditions from slimy rocks and roots to dry hardpack. Strong enough for aggressive trail riding with big rocks and medium sized drops. Great puncture protection. I haven't flatted yet!
None so far.
Good tire for heavy trail riding. Great tire for big boys over 175lbs or for those who like to ride real hard. Not really the best for weight wienies!
Similar Products Used:
A little bit of everything.
OVERALL RATING |
3 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
|
VALUE RATING |
3 |
★★★★★
★★★★★
|
fast rolling all around dry conditions tyre
nice round profile
the rear 2.25 knobs are breaking off? these r the light versions.
thin.
nice rolling.
Get them:
if you are a lighter rider
dont go tooo fast,
ride dry, hardpack.
these seem like great tyres for So Cal.
Similar Products Used:
nevegal/blue groove
minions
- Available At