MTB Tire Test: Schwalbe Big One LiteSkin PaceStar

The Schwalbe Big One is a mountain bike tire designed for beach racing. Because of the beach racing requirements, the Big One has a huge volume, minimal profile and an extremely low weight for its size. Schwalbe claims the Big One, when mounted tubeless, is the fastest tire they have ever produced. If that claim is true, it should have less rolling resistance than some of the fastest road bike tires on the market.

I'm testing the LiteSkin version of the Big One, which is only available in the more popular 29 x 2.35 size. A Tubeless-Easy version is also available in 27.5 x 2.35 and 29 x 2.35 sizes, 26 is not available at the moment. I'm testing the LiteSkin version because I want to know how an extremely light, but big tire performs in the rolling resistance test. Although this tire is marketed as a beach tire, it should be useful as a rear tire in all-round cross-country usage as well.

It should be possible to mount the LiteSkin version tubeless to get the ultimate performance, but it will be much harder to get it to seal than the Tubeless-Easy version. If you want to use the Big One in a Tubeless configuration, I recommend the TL-Easy version because I've found there to be only a very minimal difference in rolling resistance between LiteSkin and TL-Easy.

Manufacturer Specifications

Manufacturer Specs
Brand	Schwalbe
Model	Big One LiteSkin PaceStar
Year	2016
Supplied By	Bought in store
New or Used	New
Mileage	0 km
Price Range	High
Buy At
Manufacturer part number	11600805
TPI	127
Compound	OneStar
Bead	Folding
ETRTO	60-622
Size Inch	29"
Width Inch	2.35
Specified Weight	440 grams
Max Air Pressure (psi)	50
Made In	Members Only
Available Sizes	29x2.35

Schwalbe Big One LiteSkin PaceStar Test Results

Size, Weight, and Thickness Measurements

Size, Weight, and Thickness Measurements
Specified Weight	440 grams
Measured Weight	458 grams
Measured Width Carcass	57 mm (un-round)
Measured Width Tread	57 mm
Measured Height	54 mm (un-round)
Measured Knob Height Center	0.5 mm
Measured Knob Height Edge	0.5 mm
Measured Total Thickness Center (excluding knobs)	1.1 mm
Measured Total Thickness Sidewall	Members Only
All size measurements are taken at an air pressure of 35 psi / 2.4 bars on a 17.8 mm inner width rim.

Schwalbe claims a weight of 440 grams for the 29 x 2.35 LiteSkin. My sample comes in at 458 grams which is still excellent for such a big tire. Measured width on a 17C rim, at an air pressure of 35 psi is 57 mm. The measured height is 54 mm. Although the Big One is only 2 mm wider than a Race King 2.2, it looks gigantic because of the tiny knobs.

As expected, the 'knobs' on the Big One are tiny with a height of just 0.5 mm at both the center and edge of the tire. The total measured thickness of the tire excluding the knobs is just 1.1 mm. I suspect when the knobs are worn off, there won't be much rubber left over so tire life will be short. The sidewalls are very thin as well with a thickness of 0.5 mm. The sidewall thickness of 0.5 mm is in line with the other Schwalbe LiteSkin tires.

Rolling Resistance Test Results

Rolling Resistance Test Results
Inner Tube	None (40 ml sealant) (current protocol)	Conti MTB 29 (225 gr butyl) (test protocol)
Rolling Resistance 55 PSI / 3.8 Bar	Members Only	Members Only
Rolling Resistance 45 PSI / 3.1 Bar	Members Only	Members Only
Rolling Resistance 35 PSI / 2.4 Bar	10.1 Watts CRR: 0.00303	13.6 Watts CRR: 0.00408
Rolling Resistance 25 PSI / 1.7 Bar	11.3 Watts CRR: 0.00339	15.8 Watts CRR: 0.00474
All numbers are for a single tire at a speed of 29 km/h / 18 mph and a load of 42.5 kg / 94 lbs. Use the formula: RR (Watts) = CRR * speed (m/s) * load (N) to calculate rolling resistance at a given speed and load.

Rolling resistance is extremely low. At the low air pressure of 25 psi, the Big One dethrones the Continental Speed King II by 3.3 watts (15.8 Vs 19.1 Watts). What's even more surprising is that at the high air pressure of 55 psi, the Big One with a 225 grams butyl inner tube has less rolling resistance than a Schwalbe One V-Guard or Continental Grand Prix 4000S II road bike tire at 120 psi!

What about Schwalbe's claim of the Big One being their fastest tire ever produced? I didn't test the Big One in a tubeless configuration, but when taking the numbers from my Tubeless Vs Latex Vs Butyl article, rolling resistance at 55 psi should be close to 9.3 watts. Even at the much lower air pressure of 25 psi, rolling resistance should be close to 10.8 watts when used in a tubeless configuration. This really is an insanely fast tire.

Puncture Resistance Test Results

Puncture Resistance Test Results (higher is better)
Total Puncture Score Tread	20 Points
Total Puncture Score Sidewall	Members Only
Tread Puncture Force Sharp Needle	6 Points
Tread Puncture Force Blunt Needle	No Data
Tread Total Tire Thickness	1.1 mm
Sidewall Puncture Force Sharp Needle	Members Only
Sidewall Puncture Force Blunt Needle	No Data
Sidewall Total Tire Thickness	Members Only

While the Big One has an extremely low rolling resistance, puncture resistance isn't that good. With a tread score of 6 points, it's one of the lowest scoring MTB tires. Sidewall puncture resistance is similar to other Schwalbe LiteSkin tires at 4 points. When used tubeless, the low puncture resistance shouldn't be that big of a problem as the sealant should seal most small holes.

Hard Surface Static Grip Test Results

Static Grip Test Results
Wet Grip Average	No Data
Wet Grip Center	No Data
Wet Grip Edge	No Data
Measured Knob Height Center	0.5 mm
Measured Knob Height Edge	0.5 mm
Grip in points = coefficient of friction * 100 MTB grip test rim width = 30.0 mm
Wet Grip Test and Off-Road Tires (info)

Conclusion

If you're into beach racing, getting a pair of Schwalbe Big Ones should be a no-brainer as these will make you fly on the beach. Even when you're into more all-round mountain biking, the Big One can be an option if you want ultimate performance and the conditions suit this tire. Puncture resistance and tread thickness are very low so be prepared for short tire life when used on anything other than clean sand.

When using the Big One in a tubeless configuration, rolling resistance will be another 2.5 - 5 watts lower when compared to the results with a 225 grams butyl tube (Read Tubeless Vs Latex Vs Butyl Article). If you want a trouble-free tubeless operation, grab the Tubeless-Easy. If you want to push those last 1-2 watts of performance out of your tires, grab the LiteSkins.

RATING: 5.0 / 5
TEST VERDICT: Highly Recommended

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