Schwalbe Pro One TLE Addix V2
THE SCHWALBE PRO ONE TLE V2 PROVES THAT SEQUELS CAN BE BETTER
Words and Images - James Raison
I was a fan of the original Schwalbe Pro One because it delivered, at the time, the best user experience for road tubeless in my experience. I don’t think it was the best performance-clincher overall, but it was easy to set up, required very little maintenance, rolled quickly, and gave me over 4,000 km before I wore them down to canvas. My only problem was the cornering grip. I found they lacked sharpness on turn-in compared to its direct competitors; the Vittoria Corsa, Continental GP4000/5000, etc. So I was very keen to see how the Pro One TLE V2 fared.
ABOUT
Addix Race Multi Compound
245 g (25 mm version)
Claimed 13% lower rolling resistance, 22% more cornering grip
Optimised for rims 19mm and wider
TUBELESS SETUP
I’m in a strange position with commenting on the tubeless capabilities for the Pro One TLE V2s.
They came in concurrently with a set of BikeBeat Uberflieger Pros; with a rim advertised as tubeless ready. I was skeptical because there was almost no hook on the rim for the tyre to snap onto, and found the setup excruciatingly difficult because the tyre couldn’t stay mounted without constant pressure. I did manage to setup one wheel, and had a bike shop help me with the second. It took two mechanics to get the wheel setup. The short version is; these tyres set on rims that were exceptionally difficult, which I’m chalking up to a good result for the Schwalbes.
It’s hard for me to comment beyond that because my other road tubeless wheels were already set with other review tyres.
THE RIDE
Within minutes of hitting the tarmac on the new tyres it was clear; this is remarkably similar to the first generation but slightly better in every way.
First, let’s talk about speed. It’s something difficult to talk about beyond anecdotes but I’ve ridden enough tyres now to have a sense for what a fast tyre feels like. The Pro One TLE feels like a fast tyre, just like its predecessor. I won’t say it’s perceptibly faster than the first generation because I haven’t ridden them back-to-back on the same wheels. They do, nonetheless, roll with enthusiasm and absolutely belong among the quickest performance clincher tyres.
Thankfully we have a consistent testing resource to remove reliance on my feel-pinions and the stellar folks at bicyclerollingresistance.com found “slightly lower rolling resistance than its predecessor” with 10.2 watts of resistance measured at 120psi. Check out their full analysis.
My main wish for this new generation tyre was to give me more confidence when cornering. Schwalbe do claim “22% more cornering grip”, which I have no idea how they even measure. In short, these are an improvement but there’s still a small amount of vagueness when cornering. You tend to notice it on corner entry, with the front end feeling less than razor-sharp. I feels sticky enough and I never worried they’d let go of all their grip, but I don’t quite feel the same confidence on them as something like the Vittoria Corsa V2, Wolfpack Race Cottons, or Specialized Turbo Cottons that I tested have been riding around the same time. I want to be clear though; the Pro One TLEs are a little behind some of the best handling tyres I’ve ridden. That’s no damning indictment, rather showing how they compare to their premium tyre competitors.
I found a nice comfort zone when they were set tubeless; around 65 psi on the rear and 60 psi in the front. The wide Bikebeat Uberflieger wheels and my low body weight allow for some quite low pressures and they certainly felt nice. They’re not pillowy like some of the 30mm+ tubeless tyres I’ve used but dropping the pressures makes them smooth on an otherwise harsh bike. I did run them tubed after a couple of months because I got sick of fighting to keep them inflated. Running tubeless tyres with tubes isn’t ideal from a comfort perspective because the beefy sidewalls and thick beads tend to make for a stiffer ride than a standard clincher. That’s the case with these tyres, but they’re still plenty supple enough to ride tubed with a little more pressure in them.
WEAR AND TEAR
This is my pinch-of-salt-heavy section of every tyre review because individual experiences may vary wildly when it comes to tyres. The original Pro One garnered a reputation for getting cut up but my experience was puncture-free for their entire lifetime. Nonetheless, Schwalbe has changed their tyre construction with the Microskin from the last generation getting replaced with V-Guard under the tread and a slightly thicker casing. It should, theoretically, last slightly longer and be slightly more resistant to sharp object intrusion.
I’m seeing wear-signs on the tyre surface similar to the previous Pro One; a few micro cuts on the surface of the tyre but none leading to punctures. There’s only minimal flattening on the tread surface, less than I’d usually expect to see on performance tyres that have close to 1,500 km on them, especially because I’ve actively sought out gravel to plough them through. Something like a Specialized Turbo Cotton will be much more worn at this age.
Generally speaking the Pro One TLE V2 has performed fine, but I’m physically easy on my tyres.
WRAPPING UP
Schwalbe has incrementally improved the original Pro One in every way, making it easy to recommend Pro One TLE for people wanting a fast tubeless tyre. Most importantly, they’re a performance road tubeless tyre that’s easy to set up and live with. There’s no point to road tubeless if you spent longer setting them up and maintaining them than you would changing the occasional punctures. That’s where the Vittoria Corsa G2s drove me bonkers when trying to live with those tubeless. I’d take the Schwalbe’s over the Vittoria’s for their tubeless ease alone.
They’re still not the sharpest handlers, which is really my only criticism. Otherwise, Schwalbe has produced another excellent, rapid, tubeless tyre.
Disclosure statement: These tyres were sent for review by Schwalbe’s Australian distributor. It’s not paid, and we don’t get any proceeds or kickbacks.
