An old name for a totally new tyre and a casing that looks ready to take on Maxxis' EXO+
Leaked on certain 2021 bikes’ spec sheets, there appears to be a new Schwalbe mountain bike tyre on the way. And there’s maybe a Super Trail casing too…
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Although these sneaky pics are from the RAAW bikes website, it’s not hte first time we’ve seen the new Schwalbe Big Betty. It also features on the 2021 Commencal Meta AM 29. It’s worth noting that Commencal list the Big Betty (and Magic Mary) as coming in 2.4in size. As far as we’re aware, the German brand haven’t released Schwalbe mountain bike tyres in 2.4in before. It could be a typo. Or it could be something to do with the new Super Trail casing. More about that later.
In both the RAAW and the Commencal, the Big Betty has been specced as a rear tyre (paired with the brilliant Schwalbe Magic Mary up front). And indeed, the new Big Betty looks very much like a tyre predominantly designed for use on the rear; the ‘paddle’ central knobs with clear ramped leading edge. The single siped knobs are also only mainly found on Schwalbe’s rear-centric tyres
This new Big Betty fills a glaring gap in Schwalbe’s existing line-up. They’ve needed something to sit between the motocross-style Magic Mary and the faster rolling, rounder-profiled Schwalbe Hans Dampf II. Not to mention that Schwalbe must have the excellent Maxxis DHR II in its sights with the new Big Betty.
‘Grab from Commencal’s website
The other thing of note is the mention of something called ‘Super Trail’. This no doubt refers to the casing type of the new tyre(s). Currently Schwalbe have casings called Downhill, Super Gravity and TLE. This new Super Trail may refer to a totally new casing, possibly comparable to Maxxis’ EXO+ (if we think of Schwalbe Super Gravity as like Maxxis Double Down).