Review: Schwalbe Magic Mary & Rock Razor 27,5″ Enduro Tires
launching: new Magic Mary & SG range from Schwalbe Tires on Vimeo.
Today Schwalbe presented their new enduro racing tires line-up with Super Gravity technology in Fort William. Magic Mary and Rock Razor will join allrounder Hans Dampf and their mud-tire Dirty Dan in the Super Gravity family, all being available in 27,5″.
We had the exclusive chance to test these new tires on our home trails. Do you want to know how they perform? Well keep on reading!
Rock Razor
At first sight it becomes evident, that the Rock Razor is mainly designed for real wheel usage. The many low profile center knobs provide very fast rolling performance while the bigger outer knobs give good grip and traction cornering. Coming in at 913 grams in 27.5″ x 2.35″ Rock Razor’s Super Gravity hits a very good weight. We mounted the tire tubeless on a ZTR Flow rim. On the first try inflating the tire, the Rock Razor sat perfectly on the rim, as simple as that!
Rolling on the first meters we immediately felt a big difference in terms of propulsion compared to the previously mounted and lighter Schwalbe Hans Dampf (without Super Gravity Technology). In dry terrain the tire demonstrated its advantages: traction is good and acceleration is amazing – that’s definitely our first choice for fast, hardpack tracks. The braking performance is still OK, especially for a rear tire. Thanks to the regular profile they are quite predictable while cornering, allowing you to control your drifting! Climbing loose / gravel sections the traction of a Hans Dampf is better.
In wet condition the Rock Razor soon reaches is traction limit, but – as said before – is still easily controllable.
Magic Mary
Compared to the Rock Razor the Magic Mary is totally different. The big knobs cry out for loose or wet conditions. As expected the acceleration isn’t on the same level as the Rock Razor, and its no flyweight at 1.064 grams in 27,5″ x 2.35″, Super Gravity, Trailstar Compound. Nevertheless the ramped center knobs guarantee good rolling resistance and it is clear that the Magic Mary has been designed for a wide range of conditions where grip is essential.
The side knobs have good lateral support, preventing them from bending on stones or other hardpack terrain.
The Magic Mary is very precise thanks to a direct feeling while steering and the well supported knobs. Under braking the knobs dig into the dirt providing very good traction, especially as the tire keeps smoothly on the ground. Our perfect combination would be a Magic Mary in the front and the Hans Dampf in the rear as a carefree package. How the tire performs in very dry and loose conditions we have still to find out – when it finally stops raining in Germany!
Weight
Conclusion
Maxxis has been the first choice for many gravity riders out there for the whole past decade, but it seems that Schwalbe has become the big player with the tires everybody wants! By offering the widest range of enduro tires, each of them being very well designed for their intended use, and all available in 27,5″ Schwalbe shows their progressive attitude and a great understanding of the market’s needs. With 29″ enduro bikes like the Specialized Enduro 29, Trek Remedy 29 oder Alutech Tofana 29″ (only German) Schwalbe should seriously think about extending their whole Super Gravity tire range to this segment too!
Words: Fabian Scholz Photos: Robin Schmitt