Schwalbe’s new G-One RS gravel tire is made for racing with a focus on speed

Published June 2, 2022 09:03PM

Schwalbe’s G-One family of mixed-terrain tires has a new member that’s geared toward riders particularly concerned about rolling speed. Making its public debut at this year’s Unbound Gravel is the new G-One RS, said to be the company’s “fastest gravel tire” to date, and it certainly at least looks the part.

In concept, the new tire is essentially the spiritual successor to Schwalbe’s old X-One Speed. The center of the tire is practically a slick, however upon closer inspection, it’s actually covered with a directional “zig-zagging herringbone” tread. It’s similar in concept to what Vittoria uses on its Terreno Zero (or an old Maxxis Larsen TT for old-school MTB folks), but on a much smaller scale.

In cross-section, that center tread resembles a sawtooth pattern, and just like the Terreno Zero, Schwalbe says it offers surprisingly good braking or drive traction — depending on which way it’s rotating — while producing “20% less rolling resistance” than the current G-One R.

Further out to the sides, the G-One RS borrows the G-One R’s comma-shaped shoulder knobs to retain some cornering bite, with progressive knob heights to help maintain a smooth transition from edge to edge.

Schwalbe builds each G-One RS tire with its single-durometer Addix Race rubber compound, sitting atop the company’s Super Race nylon casing design. Puncture protection comes courtesy of Schwalbe’s V-Guard reinforcement belt under the tread cap.

Schwalbe is offering the new G-One RS in three widths — 35, 40, and 45 mm — but only in 700c diameters with TLE tubeless-ready casings. No 650b options have been mentioned just yet, and I’m not sure we should expect any given the tire’s focus on gravel racing.

Claimed weights for the three sizes are 410 g, 445 g, and 505 g, respectively, all with a retail price of US$88 / €73 (pricing for other regions is to be confirmed).