Schwalbe Big Apple 26 Inch Peformance Line Tire

I had to measure carefully to make sure that it would fit. On my Schwinn Sierra there is about 38" clearance everywhere. In Florida we have few hills mostly bridges so I use 12-21 to get the close ratios that I like. I was using 30mm slicks before and the Big Apple tires changed the gearing about 9% 2 gears. My rims are a bit narrow, but these were the easiest tires I have ever mounted without tools. On my rims they measure 59mm wide. These tires are simply the best. They are quiet and soak up any imperfections in rough asphalt. They absorb sidewalk divisions and deliver a really comfortable ride, even with an overly stiff aluminum frame. I have ridden about 500 miles so far and they show almost no wear. I ride mostly on the street. The usual debris has no effect. I have tried a range of pressure from 20 to 60 psi, but find that 25f and 30r work best for the 215 pound gross weight. There are several sections where I ride across fields with deep silt or fine sand. These tires have enough flotation that I ride on the top of the soft stuff with no tendency to knife in during turns. The reflective sidewall makes for more visability while riding at night to avoid the heat. I was considering buying a new touring bike, but these tires have made my existing bike almost perfect, so I intend to stay on my much improved existing bike. Wet surfaces are handled very nicely and the increased width seems to divert the spray more to the side and away from the rider. The customer service at BTD was nothing short of stellar. I made an error and ordered 29" tubes with the 2.35x26 tire. BTD was nice enough to call and inquire if I wanted 29" or 26" tubes. All told, I had a great shopping experience and am more than pleased with the tires.

My bikes have replaced my vehicles, road & mountain. The road bike was having a tough time. I broke spokes once or twice a week and experienced flats at the same rate. I went to a mountain bike in an effort to mitigate the problems. The incidence of broken spokes was reduced. However, in Southern Calif., in some areas, we have a lot of new arrivals who love to break glass. In the street on the side walk it does not matter to them.

Last May I had a bad crash. About midight I was riding down a sidewalk. There were plates over a permanent trench type drain. The plates had opened up abot a 2 12 inch gap. It was dark. My front wheel went in, I went over the bars and damaged both wheels. I had been running 26x1.50.

Due to my size the LBS wanted to special order some extra heavy wheels on 12ga spokes. I said ok. We paired them with 1.95's inorder to gain greater weight distribution. However, the tires were still just the cheap $12-$15 variety. The LBS did not carry anything better. The spoke problem was solved but the tires contiued to fail at the same rate.

I have been a customer of BTD for some time so I decided to see what they offered. The Schwalbe Big Apple was the only tire that stated a 330 lb weight capacity. I ordered two with Innova thorn resistant tubes. I did have a problem with the Innovas. They could not handle expansion to 2.35. The salesman suggested I try the Michelin tube.

I believe the Michelin tubes showed up in early July. I just had my first flat 3 days ago on December 2nd! That was 5 months before a single flat. I rode the same areas I have always ridden To work, the market, the mall and to visit friends. This tire and tube combination has been outstanding. Instead of being in the LBS twice a week I have not been back for 6 months ($$$)! I love these tires. I do my best to avoid the glass but sometimes I will hear a crunch. However, the crunch has yet to be followed by pssssssssst. I am 6'4 and in September weighed in at 363.4 lbs.

Neither of the tires I got were round. I remounted, and in fact the casing isn't even. Bumpy ride is noticeable at higher speeds and pressure. Not noticeable on the gravel I mostly ride.

These are very smooth rolling, very puncture resistant tires. Never had a flat in over a year in NYC, and the streets are paved with glass here. You can run the 2.3s as low as 15psi. I usually run them 20 front and 25 rear.

These tires are worry free! I have been using them for 4 years now and I estimate that I have put very near 30,000 miles on them, riding 26ers and a 29er. They last 12-15,000 miles (probably longer, but I change them when they look pretty worn) and don't get flats! I have gotten two flats with them, both of which were from the tire getting impaled by a shard of glass. I recall hearing a clicking sound and thinking that it was the brake pad spacer on my disc brakes that had finally worn out. I rode about a half mile from that point to find that my tire had lost air pressure. What I found was a fingernail sized chard of glass stuck into the tire perpendicular and it took a half mile of riding over it for the razor sharp glass to cut the kevlar liner of the tire. I'm not sure why, but the latest ones say 55 PSI vs 60 PSI, but I still pump them to 60 PSI.

I've only ridden 15 miles so far on these tires & just had to post a review. If anything bad occurs, I'll be sure to update.

I put these on my mtn bike. I've been looking to get a hybrid, but just put these on & voila! I felt confident in jumping curbs & general things I usually do on the trail & these tires seem really sturdy. I rode mainly on streets & sidewalks doing an urban trekking adventure.

CONS They're costly, but I don't regret it one bit. Don't let this turn you away.

Get 'em. You'll like 'em.

I've only got a couple hundred miles on 'em so far, but haven't had a flat yet. I usually run them at around 37psi. This gives me a nice soft ride, but I don't really notice a lot of rolling resistance.

I left Marathon Plus tires on front but put a 2 Big Apple on back of my Catrike Expedition tadpole recumbant and with about 40PSI the ride was smooth as silk. Rolling resistance is very fast. With several thousand miles on the tires both front and back I saw very very little wear from some pretty hard use. I highly recommend this tire for that application.

Great tires-I keep them minimally inflated and they smooth out a lot of the bump which is great when I'm carrying a heavy load and have to remain seated.

I ride these tires a few times a week to class. It's an 8-mile round trip on streets with some traffic and traffic lights. The tires are light because of the very thin, supple sidewall, though they have a Kevlar layer to resist puncture. I have them inflated to about 40 psi, and they ride crisply, just like typical road tires, but don't jolt me around. Very low rolling resistance, lots of cushion. Only negative thing I have to say is that the front tire seems prone to shimmy on downhills. Nothing that is hard to control, but would discourage me from letting go of the handlebars. Overall, I'm very pleased with this purchase. I no longer wish to get rid of my bike.

I use this as my rear drive tire on a home built tadpole tricycle. It is great, the ride is very comfortable. I want to put this on the front wheel soon.

I bought this tire to use because Schwalbe lists this as one of their E-bike ready tires. I am guessing this means its capable of supporting heavier weight and higher speed than a normal tire. I have a marathon on front, and put this on the rear because I have a hard tail MTB. I love the cushion it provides and rolling resistance does not seem to suffer compared to the 1.5 armadillo it replaced. Make sure you measure the clearance, this tire just fit in my frame. Also, wide rims will help as I have heard that narrow rims may not hold this tire very well. Overall, very happy with this tire so far after several hundred miles commuting on road, gravel paths and Multi use trails.

I put these on a commuter bike for summer riding. Even with all the claims about lower rolling resistance of the magic balloon tires, I don't quite buy it. I consistently turn out faster commute times on my skinny tired bikes over the one with these. Don't get me wrong, for a 26 tire these roll smooth and fast. Just don't believe the hype.

ON THE OTHER HAND! These are quite comfortable on quite a variety of trails including ones with rocks and roots. Try that on a road bike.

They are on the heavy side and I have had 1 puncture flat in 500 miles. No big deal.

I might go for the 2.15 next time, or I might stick with the 2.35.

26 x 2.35 (60 x 559), actually measured 685.8mm (27) tall, 57.75mm (2.27) wide on a 32mm (external width) rim. This is typical for Schwalbe on wide tires in the 559 size, most I check are about 3mm under specified width.

I was surprised by how sluggish the ride felt just with one Big Apple 26 x 2.35, not as bad as a Maxxis Hookworm, but a definite increase in drag, enough to take the lively feel out of the ride. Not as cushiony as I expected either, some other tires in this class have a softer ride.

The Lite Skin sidewall reminds me of sort of a canvas like feel.

I will try the 26 x 2.15 (55 x 559) size next I think.