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review

Schwalbe X-One Allround tyres

9
£66.99

VERDICT:

9
10
Fast, grippy and easy to set up tubeless, they're excellent tyres and well worth the money
Weight: 
781g

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Designed to offer off-road grip in mixed conditions and speed on the road, the Schwalbe X-One Allround is pretty much the perfect tubeless tyre for the privateer cyclo-cross rider. These provide decent grip in slick mud, but roll really well when the course is dry.

  • Pros: A great tyre for the whole UK cyclo-cross season; easy tubeless setup; safe at low pressures
  • Cons: I still prefer tubulars for pure racing; price is rather high

Cyclo-cross is a great way to have some fun in the winter while getting in a good workout. It can get rather pricey for equipment, though, so having one set of tyres that will allow you to race and also head out on the road helps. The X-One Allround is that tyre. I found these to be capable in all but the heaviest mud, but also happy to buzz along the road with ease.

> Find your nearest dealer here

The Allround sits in the middle of the X-One range. You've got the Speed for bone-dry conditions and the Bite for the worst mud. The Allround leans a little more towards the Bite in design. You've got prominent knobs that are really soft and flexible. They're spaced closer together on the Allround, and there are more of them. The central knobs are shorter than those on the Bite and all of this combines to give you a tyre that is faster on drier courses.

Schwalbe X-One Allround.jpg

In fact, this is a fast tyre in general and it doesn't lose much to a wider road tyre. I took this out on quite a few rides with a mix of tarmac, gravel, grass and muddy forest trails.

Before you head out on these tyres, you'll probably be wanting to make them tubeless. From flat, I was easily able to get them seated on some Prime Black Edition wheels and a set of DT Swiss rims. There's no fuss involved which meant I was straight out on the bike, not wasting time in the shed. Schwalbe's TL-Easy system works perfectly.

Schwalbe X-One Allround mounted.JPG

For my 62kg weight, I was able to run these down at 20psi with no issues. I could have nudged them down to 18psi, but felt that burping the tyre would be too risky. For general riding, I found the mid-30s to be a good sweetspot for mixed terrain.

Even down at those super-low pressures, I've had no punctures after bottoming out on some pointy rocks.

Having previously reviewed the X-One Bite Microskin, the Allround certainly feels fast and I think it's a better option for a full UK cyclo-cross season, especially if you've got a summer league near where you live. Sure, the grip in the worst mud isn't as great and these won't clear as quickly, but you can solve the first problem with careful pressure choice and line selection.

> Your guide to cyclo-cross racing - the bikes, races and skills

> 6 reasons you should try cyclo-cross this winter

The weight is still not as good as a tubular system but 340g isn't bad at all. The X-One Bites I tested were 378g each so there's a decent weight saving with these. Another option is the Challenge Grifo. These now come in a tubeless version, but if you're just racing then the much more supple 300tpi Grifo Pro clincher (£67) would be my choice with latex inner tubes.

I'd still pick my tubulars for racing, but the X-One Allrounds have certainly opened up my options for the 'cross bike. It's also clear that a good tubeless tyre like this is a much better option for a combination of racing and general riding.

Overall, they're a great option for a CX bike that you want to use for more than just racing. The grip levels are good in all but the worst (best for CX) conditions, they roll very well on the road and are easy to set up tubeless.

Verdict

Fast, grippy and easy to set up tubeless, they're excellent tyres and well worth the money

road.cc test report

Make and model: Schwalbe X-One Allround

Size tested: 35mm

Tell us what the product is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

From Schwalbe:

"Tubeless Easy for Cylo-crossers. The exceptional profile and OneStar rubber compound make the Schwalbe X-One the most versatile and unbelievably fast cross tire ever. To make it the absolute high-flyer, mount it without a tube on a tubeless-compatible wheel.

"In combination with the right wheel you can run tubeless tires for cyclocross with extremely low air pressures without fear of 'Burping' (unwanted air leakage). For instance, it works extremely well with the Iron Cross from No Tubes."

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Width tested: 35mm

Microskin sidewalls

TL Easy tubeless system

OneStar compound

700x33mm also available

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
9/10

The construction is very good which quickly becomes apparent when you go to mount them up and they seat easily. The shoulder knobs are also very soft which is great for finding grip.

Rate the product for performance:
 
9/10

Fast, with enough grip for most conditions. Where these score really well is when you take them on a ride with lots of surface changes. They never felt out of place, well, not until the mud made things near-unrideable!

Rate the product for durability:
 
9/10

I've really clouted some rocks and scrubbed at the sidewalls. They're still looking fresh.

Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
 
8/10

They're lighter than the full mud tyre and you don't really feel it out on the bike.

Rate the product for value:
 
6/10

These are getting towards the pricey end for tyres, but they do provide great performance and the TL Easy system works well.

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

These are very good up until the mud gets super-slick. Then you'll just have to drop the pressures as much as you can.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

The speed over mixed surfaces is really good. You can easily go for a leisure ride on the road on a Saturday, then go racing on the Sunday.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Get between the race course tape and these just don't feel as good as a nice tubular.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

A little high: the Challenge Grifo TLR is £54.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your overall score

Fast, grippy, easy tubeless setup and slightly lighter than the X-One Bite. These are still not as good as tubulars for racing, but they certainly open up more options for a cyclo-cross bike.

Overall rating: 9/10

About the tester

Age: 24  Height: 177cm  Weight: 62kg

I usually ride: Cannondale Supersix Di2  My best bike is:

I've been riding for: 5-10 years  I ride: Most days  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, time trialling, cyclo-cross, commuting, club rides, general fitness riding, I specialise in the Cafe Ride!

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8 comments

Avatar
LRTom | 5 years ago
0 likes

781g is heavy........

Avatar
fukawitribe replied to LRTom | 5 years ago
0 likes

LRTom wrote:

781g is heavy........

It's not super-light - but it's not too bad for a pair of 35mm off-road capable tyres (seems to be a little higher than the claimed weight, actual weight of these seem to vary above and below that in the press reviews)

Avatar
othello replied to LRTom | 5 years ago
0 likes

LRTom wrote:

781g is heavy........

Claimed weight is 370g but I've seen them at 390g. Running them tubeless you don't have the tube weight of course. 

As a comparison the Grifo Pro claimed weight is 355g, and tend to come in around 365g. Thena  tube on top of that. 

 

Avatar
othello | 5 years ago
1 like

My son used these (and the Bites) for a full season of local league and National Trophy racing. We set them up tubeless and they were excellent. 

At the start of the season he wasn't convinced by them, but it turns out this was because they were all black and not tan wall. Sigh!

With an open mind, he really rated them. They were fast and grippy across all conditions apart from proper mud. As my son is light (7 stone wet through) he was able to run them at lower pressures then most could get away with. We had them down to 16psi at times, and they never burped. Impressive, as he really does like to corner hard. On hard courses we went a bit higher on the pressure for faster rolling, but still givign plenty of grip on the sides. The Onza Porcupine style nobbles do flex a bit, which allows you to keep grip at a higher pressure. 

When it was muddy (e.g. National Trophy at York and Crawley) we swapped to the Bites. I got my tubeless tecnique drilled, changing 4 wheels in under an hour in the Premier Inn carpark on the Saturday night! The Bites are the dogs wotsits for proper mud. 

Tubeless inflation has been generally good, and I've swapped from these to the bites, and back, numerous times. I have found that sometimes the bead stays in the rim well, and even with a  tubeless tank it won't pop up to the bead. Takes a few goes and then it pops. 

Avatar
CXR94Di2 | 5 years ago
0 likes

I can see these being good for slippery tracks.  I prefer the G One  for more general riding and use a MTB for rougher environment 

Avatar
Prosper0 | 5 years ago
0 likes

Thankfully these came with my excellent Canyon Inflite so I didn’t have to stump up £120 just for tyres. But I must say they are outstanding mixed performance tyres, surprisingly grippy off-road and don’t feel too bad on road. 

Tubeless setup was astonishingly easy. Went up and sealed first time with a normal track pump. The whole process was faster than changing normal clinchers. 

Avatar
fixit | 5 years ago
0 likes

come on guys, 67 quid for a fuckin tyre for mud??? come on...

Avatar
CXR94Di2 replied to fixit | 5 years ago
1 like

tsarouxaz wrote:

come on guys, 67 quid for a fuckin tyre for mud??? come on...

 

Thats retail, already they cost significantly less

https://www.bike24.com/p2264778.html  39 Euros

 

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