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

Since I put my JWs on last spring, there's only been a few times where I wish I had my Maxxis Forekasters on.
However, they are coming off soon, as it's nearing Ice Spiker Pro time again.

The times where I'd wanted the more dedicated off-road tires, were all technical climbs with rocks and roots.
An occasional climb on foot is not a big deal, because it has to be the tires - couldn't possibly be my technique and choice of line... or could it? 😲
 
Johnny Watts on my 2018 Riese & Muller Delight Mountain 27.5 x 2.6 with SKS Blumels 75mm fenders.

They followed a pair of 2.4" Hurricanes which were whisper quiet and silky smooth on paved roads and adequate off road. Originally came with 2.8" Nobby Nicks which were noisy and dangerously slippery on wet pavement.

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Hi Alaskan ! Dan from Germany here.
I was looking for people sharing their experience with the Schwalbe Hurricane and Johnny Watts and the best information I found so far were your posts about those tires in this forum here.

Since I can't decide which of those tires to take, could you please compare them for me?
I'm interested in their rolling resistance, noise level/vibration, their ability to dampen small road bumps, cornering and breaking performance both dry and wet on tarmac/paved roads.
And of course their offroad performance.

The bike I had before had 2.0 wide Schwalbe Big Ben, which is basically the Super Moto X without the better Addix rubber mix that the Super Moto X has.
Now I got a new one which has 2.35 Maxxis Forkaster off road tires which are horrible on tarmax/paved roads.
First of all their noise level is annoying and if you go above 18 mph it becomes unbearable. Terrible rolling resistance , virbations, braking performance and cornering ability (on roads).
 
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Hi Alaskan ! Dan from Germany here.
I was looking for people sharing their experience with the Schwalbe Hurricane and Johnny Watts and the best information I found so far were your posts about those tires in this forum here.

Since I can't decide which of those tires to take, could you please compare them for me?
I'm interested in their rolling resistance, noise level/vibration, their ability to dampen small road bumps, cornering and breaking performance both dry and wet on tarmac/paved roads.
And of course their offroad performance.

The bike I had before had 2.0 wide Schwalbe Big Ben, which is basically the Super Moto X without the better Addix rubber mix that the Super Moto X has.
Now I got a new one which has 2.35 Maxxis Forkaster off road tires which are horrible on tarmax/paved roads.
First of all their noise level is annoying and if you go above 18 mph it becomes unbearable. Terrible rolling resistance , virbations, braking performance and cornering ability (on roads).
It really depends on your bike and where you ride it. I ride mostly on roads with occasional forays onto gravel pathways or stone strewn logging roads.

I started all my bikes with Super Moto X tires and then moved to Hurricanes when they come out. They were quieter, faster and had more grip both on pavement as well as trails, far better in wet conditions as well.

My Trek Allant 9.9s is still wearing Hurrricanes as they just work well for that bike without suspension, ridden almost exclusively on roads.

I changed out the Hurricanes in favor of 2.8" Johnny Watts on my 2018 Riese & Muller Delite (with Gen 2 CX, derailleur with 11-46 cassette, Fox Factory suspension and Bikespeed RS dongle). They are an even better off road tire and look like they will take rougher treatment than the Hurricanes. They are surprisingly quiet, roll quite nicely and are extremely well mannered both on and off pavement.

I hope this helps
 
I started all my bikes with Super Moto X tires and then moved to Hurricanes when they come out. They were quieter, faster and had more grip both on pavement as well as trails, far better in wet conditions as well.
That is pretty amazing that Hurricanes are better in every way on pavement/tarmac.
This is the kind of information you only get from practial experience from someone who could make a direct comparison with all other variables being the same.
And I assume that by saying that the Hurricanes are far better in wet conditions that you didn't mean for offroad only but also for pavement/tarmac?

Why would anyone want to buy the Super Moto X then except vor visual reasons if the Hurricane is better both on pavement/tarmac and off road?
This information is gold !
 
It really depends on your bike and where you ride it. I ride mostly on roads with occasional forays onto gravel pathways or stone strewn logging roads.
This is my bike.

Sam%2027%20Off%202%20Open%20blau%20MJ%202021.jpg


I ride 90% + on tarmac roads to commute.
How much worse is the Johnny Watts on tarmac/pavement than the Hurricane?

On the weekends I go offroad to enjoy myself, but mostly when it is dry, because I don't want to spend more time cleaning than riding, so no mud.
Since I don't know the English words for the specific surfaces I mainly ride on I just add a few pictures to illustrate them.
The first 2 pics is the typical Black Forest forest roads I ride often. The others are small stones mixed with sand or loose stones.
 

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Good compromise is run Johnny Watts on rear and more aggressive tire on front where offroad grip is critical for braking and cornering.
This is my bike.

Sam%2027%20Off%202%20Open%20blau%20MJ%202021.jpg


I ride 90% + on tarmac roads to commute.
How much worse is the Johnny Watts on tarmac/pavement than the Hurricane?

On the weekends I go offroad to enjoy myself, but mostly when it is dry, because I don't want to spend more time cleaning than riding, so no mud.
Since I don't know the English words for the specific surfaces I mainly ride on I just add a few pictures to illustrate them.
The first 2 pics is the typical Black Forest forest roads I ride often. The others are small stones mixed with sand or loose stones.
Good compromise is run Johnny Watts on rear and more aggressive tire on front where offroad grip is critical for braking and cornering.
JW are excellent on road, very quiet.
 
I got them now.
I haven't had time to ride much but the first impression (tarmac only) is good.

They are quite quiet when you ride straight but when you corner a little harder they get louder.
I haven't yet cornered to the maximum angle yet but I would be interested in how they do when cornering hard on tarmac.

Sound wise they sound like knob tires when doing so but the grip seems to be quite good but I am not yet sure enough if I can trust them enough to do so.
Has anyone cornered them hard on tarmac?
 
I just swapped out my Schwalbe G-one speeds, which I loved but they were too prone to flats, for a set of Johnny Watts 2.35” tires. I set them up tubeless and they hold air just fine even without sealant. I took them on a 30 mile ride today that included about 10 miles of muddy gravel road. They are smooth and silent on the pavement, corner well, and they also did fine on the gravel, tho they are noticeably not as supple feeling as my g-one speeds (which BTW were fantastic gravel tires) and I had to let some air pressure out— at 28 rear and 26 front for 135lb self and still felt firm on the asphalt but more forgiving on the gravel. I will experiment with slightly lower pressure for future rides to see if they can feel more supple without feeling squirmy. Overall I like them due to their versatility and claimed durability (to be determined with more miles). With the g-one speeds I was getting flats every week - if not every other ride- so if these don’t flat - I will be very happy with these tires.
 
With the g-one speeds I was getting flats every week - if not every other ride- so if these don’t flat - I will be very happy with these tires.
it would be very interesting if you reported the status once in a while.
 
1000kms so far and no complaints, very quiet on road which is where I spend 90% of my time. Not explored offroad grip yet.
My brother reports JWs don't behave too well at low temps on wet surfaces: the rear wheel tends to slip.
He had replaced his tyres with Maxxis Minion DHF (front) and HighRoller II (rear) to just discover the Winter has come :D So he swapped his tyres to Schwalbe Ice Spiker Pro in expectation of ice... which turned out to be the fact!
 
Have these on my Ride1UP 500 Series for over 600 miles now. I would say I could feel them compared to my Super Moto X and Small Block 8.

I think they are calmer now. I did sense a bit of loss of traction when cold at first, but I've been out all day today at 25 degrees and they feel great. doing fine in snow and ice as well so far.

I ride rough and these have been great so far, no wear at all. (my Super Moto X wore out at like 1.5k)
 
it would be very interesting if you reported the status once in a while.
So far I have had them out for a couple hundred miles, including gravel, a little mud and some rough asphalt, and I am very happy with them. They work great tubeless, they hold the air very well and work better with lower air pressure (25-30psi for my 135lb self) than the g-one speeds—which would would get squirmy. And NO FLATS!
 
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