New 2016 Schwalbe Fat Albert – Front & Rear: Initial Ride Impressions
I’ve had a few rides on the new front and rear specific Fat Albert tires from Schwalbe. Given the unconventional tread design, I’ve had both curiosity and doubts about how well the tires would work for our Pacific Northwest trail conditions.
Schwalbe Fat Albert Front
Schwalbe Fat Albert Rear
Key questions that I had about these tires after seeing them at Interbike 2015 last September were:
Front:
1. How well would these brake in a straight line given that there is no flat braking surface as you might see on a Maxxis High Roller II or DH-R II?
2. How stable would braking with these tires be in a straight line?
3. How much cornering grip would this tire have?
Rear:
1. How well would these tires roll?
2. How much cornering grip would these tires have with rounded side knobs and intermediate knobs?
The short answer is that the Fat Albert Front performs surprisingly well and is especially good in certain situations. Cornering traction on the Fat Albert front seems as good or better than a Maxxis DH-F which was the top pick in our recent comparison test of enduro tires: Dirt Merchant Bikes' Spring 2016 Enduro Tire Comparison Test: Maxxis DH-F/DH-R vs Specialized Butcher/Purgatory vs Schwalbe Hans Dampf/Nobby Nic.
I am, however, quite confused about the design intent of the Fat Albert Rear and how its characteristics match up with the needs of potential target rider groups.
Test Parameters:
· Trail Conditions: Trails were slightly damp from rain coming down a day before. Traction conditions were relatively high
· Tire Pressures:
o Front: 22 psi
o Rear: 26 psi
Fat Albert Front Tire Impressions:
1. How well would these brake in a straight line given that there is no flat braking surface as you might see on a Maxxis High Roller II or DH-R II?
The Fat Alberts had decent braking traction, though perhaps not as rock solid as a High Roller II or a Magic Mary under heavy braking pressure.
2. How stable would braking with these tires be in a straight line?
I thought the front tire might tend to wander under heavy braking in a straight line due to the lack of a flat braking surface. Based on my riding experience, this wasn’t a problem at all.
3. How much cornering grip would this tire have?
Cornering grip was quite good. An unexpected side benefit was the ability of the tire to change direction during hard cornering. In contrast, the High Roller II has a very solid edge feel but tends to be on-or-off in its cornering grip. The new Fat Albert Front provides much better ability to change lines during hard cornering.
4. Other strengths
The Fat Albert Front was also especially good at braking while cornering. My guess would be that any three knobs on one side of the tire form a stable tripod for braking when the tire is leaned over.
Fat Albert Rear Tire Impressions:
I’m going to convey my impressions of the Fat Albert Rear Tire before explaining my confusion about the design of this tire:
1. How well would these tires roll?
Rolling resistance is about average and feels higher than that of a Maxxis DH-R II and much higher than a Nobby Nic.
2. How much cornering grip would these tires have with rounded side knobs and intermediate knobs?
Cornering grip is not that good, but it tends to slide predictably. The intermediate knobs may be preventing the side cornering knobs from digging in as firmly as would be ideal. The Maxxis DH-R II has more cornering grip while the Schwalbe Nobby Nic seems to have about the same level of cornering grip.
3. Other strengths
Climbing traction seems good, but I generally don’t find that climbing traction is at as much of a premium as cornering grip. Braking traction is generally good.
Though the new Fat Albert Rear tire has some strengths, I am confused about the benefits of the tire for the usage profiles of likely user groups. As a design researcher focused on driving product innovation by looking at customer needs/attitudes, I typically start thinking of new product concepts or product refinement based on how products might better fit users’ needs and preferences. For a more robust, traction oriented tire such as the new Fat Albert, I can think of two potential user groups:
· Enduro/All-mountain riders focused on grip for downhill cornering and braking, and
· Trail riders with a need for a balance of lower rolling resistance with reasonable good cornering and braking ability
I don’t think the Fat Albert Rear tire fits the needs of either of these user groups:
1. Enduro/All-mountain riders:
a. Needs: Cornering grip, Braking traction to maximize DH speed and control
b. Fit with the new Fat Albert Rear:
i. Cornering Grip: For this group of riders, cornering grip would be lower than ideal.
ii. Climbing Traction: The Fat Albert’s climbing traction is good to have, but not essential as the focus for these riders is downhill speed, stability and predictability
iii. Braking Traction: OK
c. My Recommendation for ideal rear tire: Maxxis DH-R II that provides better cornering grip and braking traction along lower rolling resistance than the new Fat Albert Rear tire provides.
2. Trail riders:
a. Needs: Lower rolling resistance that reduces energy expenditure for longer rides while not compromising cornering and braking ability.
b. Fit with the new Fat Albert Rear:
i. Rolling Resistance: Rolling resistance of the new Fat Albert is higher than I would like for a tire that I might ride for longer rides
ii. Cornering Grip: The level of cornering grip is reasonable and the tire slides predictably
iii. Climbing Traction: The Fat Albert’s climbing traction is good to have, but it seems that the design of this tire has prioritized climbing traction at the expense of rolling resistance.
c. My Recommendation for ideal rear tire: Schwalbe Nobby Nic that provides significantly lower rolling resistance along with cornering grip and climbing traction that is comparable to the new Fat Albert Rear tire.
Summary:
I like the new Fat Albert Front tire a lot and will keep riding it for a while to get more experience with how it compares to the Maxxis DH-F. The focus on climbing traction for the new Fat Albert Rear tire does not make sense to me especially given that this comes at the expense of markedly higher rolling resistance than the other rear tires I have recommended. I will likely be swapping out the Fat Albert