Schwalbe Smart Sam: Tyres That Are Silent On-Road And Quite Aggressive Off-Road

[HBrook78]

The 47-622 tires arrived yesterday and I mounted them today. They went on more easily than the 700-40c tires. Thanks to all for the tips.

 

[FlatSix911]

The 47-622 tires arrived yesterday and I mounted them today. They went on more easily than the 700-40c tires. Thanks to all for the tips.

A little tire lube never hurts...

 

[HBrook78]

A little tire lube never hurts...

Used some soapy water on the 700-40c’s. Didn’t even need levers for the 47-622’s.

 

[Xyeet]

I'm using Schwalbe smart sams(29x2.25) also. Great all-around tires, rolls well on paved roads and great traction on firetrails, gravel roads etc.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

The new (and highly acclaimed) Schwalbe Johnny Watts tyres come mostly for 27.5" wheels and plus sizes. 29" wheels for narrower tyres leave Smart Sam as an excellent all-rounder alternative, offering good road properties (including silent ride) and quite aggressive off-road grip.

Smart Sams on Specialized Vado Off-Road: A report

During the test trip, I was really surprised how well Smart Sams handled sandy roads. Yes, some sideways slipping was unavoidable but my e-bike could cut through all sand patches met on the ride without stopping. And it was only 1.75" tyres!

 

[Browneye]

Johnny Watts were sold out so Smart Sams went on the extra wheelset for my TranceE. They're so great I doubt I'll ever use the Minions again.
Hurricanes on the StanceE - they are really nice too, but obviously much more road-oriented. It's rather surprising how well they do on hard pack though. Pretty darn amazing tire. Great for the wife - she's mostly path riding, re-learning how to ride on a eMTB. She says it scares her - with time honey...with time.

 

[linklemming]

Johnny Watts were sold out so Smart Sams went on the extra wheelset for my TranceE. They're so great I doubt I'll ever use the Minions again.
Hurricanes on the StanceE - they are really nice too, but obviously much more road-oriented. It's rather surprising how well they do on hard pack though. Pretty darn amazing tire. Great for the wife - she's mostly path riding, re-learning how to ride on a eMTB. She says it scares her - with time honey...with time.

What kind of trail conditions do you prefer the SS over the Minions?

While I love my SS for alot of mixed riding, the Minions just seem to dominate for anything strictly offroad where I ride.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

He prefers mixed terrain rides. Don't pretend you are so dense Lemming.

 

[linklemming]

He prefers mixed terrain rides. Don't pretend you are so dense Lemming.

Mixed terrain can mean different things to different people. Subtle differences matter here.

My questions were directed at Browneye and the mixed condition he rides in for SoCal, not you in Poland

I have done many rides in SoCal and think I have a good idea of what mixed terrain in SoCal means, just trying to get more clarification.

Stop being a Jerk Stefan and let others who dont always agree with you coexist peacefully on these forums.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

My questions were directed at Browneye and the mixed condition he rides in for SoCal, not you in Poland

Strava defines only three types of terrain worldwide: paved, dirt, and unspecified. Ever been outside the United States, Lemming?

 

[linklemming]

Strava defines only three types of terrain worldwide: paved, dirt, and unspecified. Ever been outside the United States, Lemming?

Yes, I have been outside the US, thats an interesting question and quite 'off topic'.

Please follow your own rules, stay on topic and stop your attempts to insult me.

Am I not qualified to ask people their opinions on why they favor one tire over another and to what conditions that opinion is true?

Do I need a passport to do this?

 

[Browneye]

The peanut gallery...

Why Smart Sams?
Wifey still mostly rides paved bike paths, and I had some smooth ebike tires for riding those paths and roads with her, on my second wheelset - easy swap out by just pulling the axles. But I thought I would try the Smart-Sam's just for fun. I have quite a selection of tires hanging in the garage now - a regular tire shop. LOL

My typical ride is about 10 miles of pavement/road, to get to 12 miles of trail. The minions were great off, okay on, but the SS's work great EVERYWHERE! My minions are setup tubeless on the other wheelset - DHR and DHF, so if it's gonna be a 'mountain bike ride' then they go on. Otherwise, the SS's work everywhere else. Had I known about them BEFORE getting the second wheelset, I would have skipped them and saved myself some serious $$. They feel just like the minions offroad to me, I'm not that hardcore. Frankly, I forgot about them the last ride - they grip just fine. No hardcore downhills on my little local loop.

I really like them! They're plenty knobby with 'velcro' knob faces, and a nearly solid center row. With 35lbs in them they feel like road tires, with 25 they feel like knobbies. I set them at 30 for the ride over, then let some air out, probly about 23-25lbs, which was perfect. Really smooths things out.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

The peanut gallery...

Indeed

Yes, I have been outside the US, thats an interesting question and quite 'off topic'.

Mexico or Canada?

Please follow your own rules, stay on topic and stop your attempts to insult me.

As the OP, it is up to me to set the rules of the thread I started. You continuously invade my threads and go off-topic there. Moreover, you seem a racist to me. Anything against Poles or Poland, pray you? Or, you are just jealous there is a Polish guy who rides e-bikes better than you do?

That was the last off-topic statement of mine.

This thread is ONLY about Smart Sam tyres and not about anything else. Please respect that.

 

[linklemming]

The peanut gallery...

Why Smart Sams?
Wifey still mostly rides paved bike paths, and I had some smooth ebike tires for riding those paths and roads with her, on my second wheelset - easy swap out by just pulling the axles. But I thought I would try the Smart-Sam's just for fun. I have quite a selection of tires hanging in the garage now - a regular tire shop. LOL

My typical ride is about 10 miles of pavement/road, to get to 12 miles of trail. The minions were great off, okay on, but the SS's work great EVERYWHERE! My minions are setup tubeless on the other wheelset - DHR and DHF, so if it's gonna be a 'mountain bike ride' then they go on. Otherwise, the SS's work everywhere else. Had I known about them BEFORE getting the second wheelset, I would have skipped them and saved myself some serious $$. They feel just like the minions offroad to me, I'm not that hardcore. Frankly, I forgot about them the last ride - they grip just fine. No hardcore downhills on my little local loop.

I really like them! They're plenty knobby with 'velcro' knob faces, and a nearly solid center row. With 35lbs in them they feel like road tires, with 25 they feel like knobbies. I set them at 30 for the ride over, then let some air out, probly about 23-25lbs, which was perfect. Really smooths things out.

Thanks for the feedback, I agree that for 'a mountain bike ride', I prefer the minions. The SS and even JWs work better for more mixed terrain.

 

[linklemming]

Indeed


Mexico or Canada?

As the OP, it is up to me to set the rules of the thread I started. You continuously invade my threads and go off-topic there. Moreover, you seem a racist to me. Anything against Poles or Poland, pray you? Or, you are just jealous there is a Polish guy who rides e-bikes better than you do?

That was the last off-topic statement of mine.

This thread is ONLY about Smart Sam tyres and not about anything else. Please respect that.

So lets explore all the (non SS) off topic posts on this thread shall we:
Stefan Mikes: Post 4,19,21,47,70,73
Steve Mercier: Posts 20,22,311
Saratoga Dave: Post 27
HBrook78: Post 30,32
FlatSix911: Post 43

I can provide more examples if you would like in many other threads. Should I PM you?

By no means am I condoning anyone for doing this, its just the nature of these forums. Its not up to you to selectively enforce the rules, sorry.

The purpose of these forums is to share information, even if they dont flatter you.

In post #67, I asked Browneye a simple thing to clarify, reacting to a disagreement in another thread, you brought it over to this thread. Dont blame me for that

Nice ride on the SS front/JW rear equipped bike today, great tires. Best of both worlds x2

 

[linklemming]

Browneye,

Something I have noticed with the SS is that if I dont religiously keep the PSI higher than I would expect for a 27.5x2.6 (I have to run 30psi instead of 25psi), I get this really weird
sensation on pavement/asphalt when first tipping the bike over and transitioning off of the center knobs to the second row.
Its actually kind of scary and for a millisecond I think Im going to loose the frontend, it goes away as I lean the bike over more.

Curious if you experience this?

 

[Alaskan]

I had Smart Sams that came on a RIese & Muller Homage Rohloff HS. Out for a ride, it had rained earlier and the road was still wet. I took an unbanked corner that I go round almost daily on my way home and lost traction , nearly dumping myself on the road in traffic. If I had been using clip in pedals I would have been down and at the mercy of the automobiles. Fortunately I was not pedaling, using flat pedals and quickly did a firm toe tap with the inside foot and made it through the curve without dumping. Talk about a quick shot of adrenalin!

I will never trust those tires again, on pavement. I still have them hanging in the shop, under 1,000 miles on them, available at 50% off

 

[bob armani]

I had Smart Sams that came on a RIese & Muller Homage Rohloff HS. Out for a ride, it had rained earlier and the road was still wet. I took an unbanked corner that I go round almost daily on my way home and lost traction , nearly dumping myself on the road in traffic. If I had been using clip in pedals I would have been down and at the mercy of the automobiles. Fortunately I was not pedaling, using flat pedals and quickly did a firm toe tap with the inside foot and made it through the curve without dumping. Talk about a quick shot of adrenalin!

I will never trust those tires again, on pavement. I still have them hanging in the shop, under 1,000 miles on them, available at 50% off

Close call indeed Richard. I know the feeling. Be careful out there. So easy for these bikes to get in front of you in a snap. I have to say, the 4 cylinder equipped brakes have saved me a few times to a close call. Great performers for my setup.

 

[Alaskan]

Close call indeed Richard. I know the feeling. Be careful out there. So easy for these bikes to get in front of you in a snap. I have to say, the 4 cylinder equipped brakes have saved me a few times to a close call. Great performers for my setup.

Thanks, I get it. In this case, while skidding on wet pavement, braking would have put me into an instant worse skid and been disastrous. The Smart Sam just could not hold on to the wet pavement nearly as well as the Super Moto X I had ridden round that wet corner many times. I replaced them with Hurricanes which a far superior on paved surfaces especially when wet. I know that the SSs are very good on gravel and dirt trails, but I do not trust them regarding their grip and safety on pavement, especially when wet.

 

[bob armani]

Yep! Makes perfect sense as to what you have described. I can see the S-Moto X being superior in that category. They look like they were exclusively built as a road tire. In addition, I think Schwalbe put a lot of thought and R & D into it. Just a great performer for the intended purpose. I use the stock all-rounder Nobby Nic, however, I do have to be careful on wet/flat pavement as well. My thinking is the JWs would perform better under those same conditions. My next pick once I am ready for a tire swap.