Schwalbe Johnny Watts (and other Schwalbe SUV tyres) User Club

[RandallS]

Somewhere between 2000 and 2500 Kms on my 27.5 x 2.6 JWs on my Giant Fathom.
Tread is still looking rather good although that bike is not being ridden much anymore - just a spare for friends until it's sold.

I miss their quietness on pavement on my new ride, although I don't ride on paved as much on my FS bike.

 

[smorgasbord]

So, it's getting time to replace my Maxxis Chronicles with something else. On one bike tread is getting low, and even on the other, well age takes its toll. Size currently is 27.5 x 3.0. Like the wide for comfort and occasional non-road riding.

Should I pick up the old Johnny Watts in the 27.5 x 2.8 size since it appears the new ones don't come that wide anymore? Any other suggestions? Mostly dry on-road, but want to handle wet without any issues and deal with some off-road on occassion.

 

[Stencil]

I run with smartsams and JW.

I prefer the smartsams offroad (hardpack with fine gravel on top) and the JW for more onroad. Im actually running both tires on the same bike as I like the JW(for wear) at the rear and the smartsams at the front(for traction) but this is based on the mix of trails I ride.

Hi all. New to these forums. Currently riding a NCM Moscow M3 with Arisun Mt Cronos 27.5x2.35 tires (similar to Maxis). No complaints off-road but looking for more of an all-arounder. Been going back and forth between the Smart Sams and Johnny Watts.

I'm riding paved surfaces more frequently, but I still want a reliable performer off-road and on non-technical trails.

Are tires roughly equivalent on tarmac and paved surfaces? Which would be better for single-track with lots of roots and strewn rocks? (That's what we get here in the forests of North Carolina )


Thanks,

 

[Flannel Guy]

JW are perfectly fine for roots and rock gardens and great on hard pack and pavement, The only terrain they are really not good in is loose gravel.

 

[California Flash]

Somewhere between 2000 and 2500 Kms on my 27.5 x 2.6 JWs on my Giant Fathom.
Tread is still looking rather good although that bike is not being ridden much anymore - just a spare for friends until it's sold.

I miss their quietness on pavement on my new ride, although I don't ride on paved as much on my FS bike.

Just a heads up for all, the new Johnny Watts 365 tire is now available through Schwalbe North American. I ordered two today and the agent said I was the first person to order them in the USA.

The agent said the rubber compound was specifically designed for cold weather climates.

The tread pattern is a little different than the Johnny Watts.

Johnny Watts 365 | DD, GreenGuard | Black-Reflex | 27.5x2.35 | Addix 4season | 11159377

The all-season SUV tire Siped tread ensures secure interlocking on all surfaces Very good puncture protection thanks to Double Defense RaceGuard (folding tire) or GreenGuard (clincher tire) Addix 4-Season Compound: grippy and durable compound for all co…

www.schwalbetires.com

 

[California Flash]

I like it! Finally Johnny Watts are developed for ebikes. I'm gonna buy a pair for my Bull.

Just note that the Johnny Watts tire has been available for e-bikes for quite a while. The Johnny Watts 365 tire is a little different that the regular Johnny Watts. The tread pattern is different and I believe the rubber compound has been specifically designed for colder climates.

Jim

 

[DaveMatthews]

Love the idea of the JWs, but they don't seem to be tubeless ready so I just went Continental Ruban instead.

Ruban: From Rural to Urban

The energy-saving SUV allrounder that gets you to both Rural and Urban. The partner for your commute, running errands and the weekend tour.

www.continental-tires.com

 

[DaveMatthews]

Dave they're not advertised tubeless ready but it can be tubeless.

Yeah I read that as well, but also read some people not having success as well.
Didn't want to take a chance.

 

[RandallS]

Yeah I read that as well, but also read some people not having success as well.
Didn't want to take a chance.

Personally - not that fussed about tubeless, but everyone's needs can be different.

I suppose, for my "summer" tires on my Intrigue, I should look into it, but for my studded tires, don't care.

Plus to be fully transparent - I have a full swap of 29" wheels with studded (Ice Spiker Pro's), and got all of it 2nd hand and tried tubeless, but they wouldn't seal properly.
That probably has something to do with my attitude...

 

[DaveMatthews]

Personally - not that fussed about tubeless, but everyone's needs can be different.

I suppose, for my "summer" tires on my Intrigue, I should look into it, but for my studded tires, don't care.

Plus to be fully transparent - I have a full swap of 29" wheels with studded (Ice Spiker Pro's), and got all of it 2nd hand and tried tubeless, but they wouldn't seal properly.
That probably has something to do with my attitude...

Maybe the rims aren't tubeless ready? What did they come off of?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Maybe the rims aren't tubeless ready? What did they come off of?

I think Randall's rims on the Liv e-MTB are tubeless. Perhaps he didn't "shoot" the tyre onto the rim with a compressor properly? Bad rim tape?

 

[RandallS]

I think Randall's rims on the Liv e-MTB are tubeless. Perhaps he didn't "shoot" the tyre onto the rim with a compressor properly? Bad rim tape?

Guys, it was "used" rims for the winters...WTB STi rims 30mm and I got the ISPs (29"x 2.4") used as well - very cheaply.
Cassette (in reasonable shape) was included - I added a new 203 Rotor to simplify the swaps as the wheels came 203/180. and I didn't feel like fiddling with the brakes each time.
I think I was about $450 "all in" to have a simple swap for the typical changeable conditions this close to the Rockies.
I go from summer to winter now in about 5 minutes on the Intrigue.

The (still unsold) Fathom, which has the 27.5" JWs on, is a manual swap that takes about 30-40 minutes now.
That's when I pay attention to the rolling direction on the JWs of course.
The ISPs don't care.

 

[Stencil]

Just a heads up for all, the new Johnny Watts 365 tire is now available through Schwalbe North American. I ordered two today and the agent said I was the first person to order them in the USA.

The agent said the rubber compound was specifically designed for cold weather climates.

The tread pattern is a little different than the Johnny Watts.

Johnny Watts 365 | DD, GreenGuard | Black-Reflex | 27.5x2.35 | Addix 4season | 11159377

The all-season SUV tire Siped tread ensures secure interlocking on all surfaces Very good puncture protection thanks to Double Defense RaceGuard (folding tire) or GreenGuard (clincher tire) Addix 4-Season Compound: grippy and durable compound for all co…

www.schwalbetires.com

How are the 365's working out? Not much info online, (eg reviews) probably because tire is so new.

 

[California Flash]

How are the 365's working out? Not much info online, (eg reviews) probably because tire is so new.

The bike shop just installed them. I am going to pick the bike up later today. I will issue feedback after a few rides with my impressions.

 

[California Flash]

The bike shop just installed them. I am going to pick the bike up later today. I will issue feedback after a few rides with my impressions.

I completed my first ride on these tires. I keep data on all my rides so I can make a pretty close comparison between this tire and the Marathon E-Plus.

The Johnny Watts 365 is both heavier and much larger than the Marathon E-Plus. In addition, The 365 rubber compound is much "stickier" than the E-Plus. One would think these differences would translate into slower speeds, but it does not. Comparing the 365 to the Marathon, the 365 is about .3 m.p.h. slower.

The 365 appears very quiet on chip seal asphalt. On new, super smooth asphalt it is slightly more noisy but by no means is it loud. This is surprising as the tread is much more aggressive than the Marathon.

Ride quality is excellent. Very smooth.

Again, this is based on one 25 mile ride. I will update this review after I accumulate more miles.

Based on the tread design and the sticky rubber compound, I expect the 365 will perform well during our Michigan winter which is why I purchased it.

Johnny Watts 365

Marathon E-Plus

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Schwalbe Johnny Watts 365

It is an amazing tyre! (Here, the size 66-584 or 27.5x2.6"). My brother riding his Giant Trance E+ 2 Pro has used Johnny Watts for the warm season, and Ice Spiker Pro for icy winter. Now, he bought, installed and tested the 365s on an offroad winter ride (involving some pavement).

My brother is delighted with the 365s! He is a lightweight person riding his (tubed) tyres at 1.5 bar (22 psi). His first observation was total silence of the 365s on the pavement (he switched the motor off to listen to the tyres). Then, we had a pretty long ride in difficult off-road terrain including soft/deep soil, snow, and icy surfaces. He was testing braking on each of new surface: All tests ended with the A-grade, he enthusiastically said.

The 365s have the excellent capability of self-cleaning: After we rode through a long segment of soft and sticky "manure" (it was a terrible part of the ride!), his tyres self-cleaned totally in a very short time.

His verdict: "As good as Schwalbe Ice Spiker Pro, minus the studs". He thinks he would only swap his 365s for ISPs when there would be a lot of ice in our area. (I think 365s could not handle solid bare ice or black ice; the ISPs are totally made for that but noisy).

 

[Stencil]

Schwalbe Johnny Watts 365

View attachment 141630

It is an amazing tyre! (Here, the size 66-584 or 27.5x2.6"). My brother riding his Giant Trance E+ 2 Pro has used Johnny Watts for the warm season, and Ice Spiker Pro for icy winter. Now, he bought, installed and tested the 365s on an offroad winter ride (involving some pavement).

My brother is delighted with the 365s! He is a lightweight person riding his (tubed) tyres at 1.5 bar (22 psi). His first observation was total silence of the 365s on the pavement (he switched the motor off to listen to the tyres). Then, we had a pretty long ride in difficult off-road terrain including soft/deep soil, snow, and icy surfaces. He was testing braking on each of new surface: All tests ended with the A-grade, he enthusiastically said.

The 365s have the excellent capability of self-cleaning: After we rode through a long segment of soft and sticky "manure" (it was a terrible part of the ride!), his tyres self-cleaned totally in a very short time.

His verdict: "As good as Schwalbe Ice Spiker Pro, minus the studs". He thinks he would only swap his 365s for ISPs when there would be a lot of ice in our area. (I think 365s could not handle solid bare ice or black ice; the ISPs are totally made for that but noisy).

I guess the 64000 dollar question is, how do they compare to the original Johnny Watts?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I guess the 64000 dollar question is, how do they compare to the original Johnny Watts?

The original JW get hard and slippery on the wet below 10 C/50 F.

 

[Stencil]

Similar foot print as Johnny Watts more quieter. Ebike specific non rotatable.

Which do you think has more rolling resistance, ie, slows you down on paved surface, original JW or 365s?

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Which do you think has more rolling resistance, ie, slows you down on paved surface, original JW or 365s?

The original JWs are much faster than the JW365, my brother says.
The soft rubber of the 365s makes the bike (as he describes it) "stick" to the pavement for excellent traction at the cost of the rolling speed. Necessary to mention, he rides both models of tyres at the same (pretty low) pressure. Another comment: the tread of 365s is similar to one found in automotive winter tyres, for better handling of snow.

For the above reasons, he is swapping his tyres depending on the season:

• Johnny Watts: The warm season
• Johnny Watts 365: Most of the cold season
• Ice Spiker Pro: Polish January & February, when we get a lot of ice here.