Schwalbe Ultremo Clincher

Price Paid:  $30.00 at internet

Favorite Ride:
anything i can get (at my age!)

Bike Setup:
phillips carbon, dura ace group with sram red chainset and cassette

Summary:
sure, this is quick tyre... so long as your not stuck at the roadside! i have got through 4 of these in 2000 miles. the first two both received catastrophic sidewall blowouts within the first two weeks, forcing me to ride home on 30-40psi. but, being a fair minded chap i put this down to misfortune and bought another pair. these avoided damage but both have now fallen to what i consider a manufacturing flaw. the rubber has hard patches which have caused both to deform, the rear within 2 months and the front after 4 months. they are rated above 130psi that i put in, so maybe this is the problem. perhaps shwalbe have over-rated them, i certainly think so!!

it's a shame, because i have used a number of shwalbe tyres and rate the stelvios highly. why then is their top of the range clincher the least reliable?

Strengths:
quick, good looks.

Weaknesses:
the rubber they are manufactured from, inconsistent consistency!

Similar Products Used:
stelvios

Price Paid:  $100.00 at LBS

Favorite Ride:
Estes park

Bike Setup:
Orbea Opal Dura Ace everything

Summary:
I've been using a couple different Ultremo's. I've ridden the Ultremo R's a couple years. Folks should be aware that there was a recall this year of the R's and the bubble that one poster mentioned is a major problem and these should be returned to Schwalbe. Overall these are very, very fast tires. Very sure footed and remarkable competent in a variety of conditions including rain (better then the Stelvio Rain.) They are more flat resistant than most race tires but not great, wear very, very fast. Super light. Basically they are a race tire. Not a tire to lay down a lot of training miles. For this purpose Schwalbe has some excellent alternatives, including the Durano Plus, which is near impossible to flat or wear out. This year I started riding the Ultremo DD's and they are fantastic. Not quite as fast as the R's, corner a bit slower, but very reliable and wear better. Heavier but much more flat resistant including to sidewall cuts. They basically are like a conti gatorskin but in my view are faster, better flat resistance, corner better but do wear quicker. They won't guarantee a flat free ride, but will get you close. For racing purposes these are my ultimate clinchers.

Strengths:
Ultremo R- super light, very fast, supple road feel, great in the rain.
Ultremo DD- Best race clincher (if you don't want to flat out)

Weaknesses:
Ultremo R- Wear quickly. Product recall.
Ultremo DD- da bomb

Similar Products Used:
Conti, Hutchinson, Vittoria

Price Paid:  $65.00 at biketiresdirect.com

Favorite Ride:
Old La Honda

Bike Setup:
Cervelo R3 w/SRAM Red, Easton SLX wheels, Ritchey cockpit/post, weight weenie goodies. Featured in Pro Reviews section.

Summary:
These are the best all round tires I've used. They combine light weight, easy to mount, great road feel, and surprising durability.
I think the high end vittorias are more supple but are harder to mount, are heavier, and don't last as long.
Conti 4000s are harder to mount, have a duller ride quality, are heavier, though they last a lot longer.
Additionally, Schwalbe did a great job at fixing their recall; they refunded me 2 tires very quickly and they are going to great lengths to rectify the manufacturing defect. I have had Conti 4000s fail in similar a similar manner (sidewall bows out; won't remain seated at 120 psi) but never seen a recall for them.

Strengths:
- They are extremely easy to mount, even on Hed Jets with the C2 rim
- They are lighter than most anything out there; mine are 181 and 182 grams
- The ride is supple
- Amazingly, have not had any flats in several hundred miles

Weaknesses:
- they have to recover from their recall
- they are expensive

Similar Products Used:
Vittoria CX-plusher, harder to mount, not as durable
Vittoria Diamante-similar ride quality, harder to mount, more durable
Vittoria Diamente Pro Light-slightly lighter, race-only, similar ride quality
Conti 4000s-worse ride quality, harder to mount, much better durability

Price Paid:  $80.00 at Schwalbe

Favorite Ride:
any cross state ride

Bike Setup:
CoMotion Nor'Wester with couplers, Speedplay frogs, and a 7L Carradice seat bag and Acorn handlebar bag.

In short, a touring bike.

The tires by the way are 700X25

Summary:
NOTE: I was shocked to read postings which pointed to a tire with a dangerous defect. For those of you who have experienced this problem, contact Schwalbe as they have a replacement program.

Durable. Which is why I bought and paid as much as I did for my Prius tires.

Although I live in Long Beach, CA and do most of my riding in Orange, County I spent my summer in Kansas, a state known for sand burrs and goat heads. I wanted a tire I could take into that environment without having to use any liner.

I regularly rode 40-60 mile days around Hutchinson, Ks., and then took the tires (and bike) into Indiana where I spent 5 days riding in Southwestern Indiana.

Strengths:
Seems to resist punctures. Feels good running slightly (10 lbs) under maximum inflation.

Weaknesses:
The side wall looks as though its made from paper until aired up.

Similar Products Used:
I use Conti 700X23 on my Giant TCR, but Schwalbe is in a class by itself.

Price Paid:  $100.00 at mpgear.com

Favorite Ride:
when i can

Summary:
great tires , at least i thought they were.

Strengths:
light

Weaknesses:
using these tires on a 100 mile century. riding through several small towns with cattle guards, hitting these at speed 25 to 30 mph is not good for these tires. i noticed a bump after hitting one of the last guards, stopped. the tire had a bubble at the top ( S shaped) every time the wheel went around the tire was not running true, and was rubbing on this one spot. after around another 20 miles , the tire blew.. lucky i was only 15 miles from the finish.