Schwalbe Eddy Current: A tire for E‑Mountainbikes only!
The Schwalbe Eddy Current is said to be a revolution in the eMTB world. The tire has been entirely redesigned and is a specific eMTB model. Its chunky lugs make it look a bit like a MX tire and wouldn’t even work on a normal mountain bike.
The Eddy Current started with a blank canvas. Developers wanted to create a tire that can efficiently transfer the power of an electric motor to the ground without compromising performance and grip. To achieve this Schwalbe used different tread-pattern for the front and rear versions, and lugs that are about 20% chunkier than found in mountain bike tires. Combined with a softer compound this results in a very special tire indeed.
The profile of the Schwalbe Eddy Current
With eMTBs the front and rear tires have entirely different requirements, and you can choose between two Eddy Current versions. The Front and Rear versions look very much like motocross tires. However if you take a closer look you’ll will find quite a number of differences.
Thanks to their elongated edges the massive lugs of the Schwalbe Eddy Current Rear should transfer the power of an electric motor efficiently into the ground — even in slippery conditions. An alternating pattern of two and three blocks forms the aggressive tread. The row with two blocks is designed to help the tire shed mud in mucky conditions. The wide central row with three lugs reach far out and facilitate the transition from the central lugs to the shoulder knobs. This allows you to lean your eMTB in turns and offers lots of traction.
The lugs of the Schwalbe Eddy Current Front are slightly smaller than the ones on the rear model. The narrower side lugs are designed to dig well into lose terrain and provide lots of cornering grip. The central knobs are also significantly narrower. If you ride corners without leaning over too much the elongated lug-edges will guide you like you were on rails. The transition from central to shoulder lugs is designed to give even inexperienced riders more control — the inward-facing side lugs are partly responsible for this.
All the versions of the Schwalbe’s Eddy Current
With eMTBs weight is a relative issue. More important than counting grams on a scale is ensuring that e-MTB tires deliver lots of traction and be puncture-proof. That’s why with the Eddy Current Schwalbe relies exclusively on their solid Super Gravity carcass and combines it with the soft Addix Soft rubber compound. The Eddy Current will be available in stores soon and retail for around € 65.
The Schwalbe Eddy Current rear is available in a 27.5″ x 2.8″ and 29″ x 2.6″ version. The front-tire Eddy Current Front is available in the same sizes and also sports a 29″ x 2.4″ version
First impression
The Eddy Current is Schwalbe’s first eMTB-specific tire. With huge solid knobs, soft compound rubber and puncture-proof carcass it’s already very promising even on paper. The tire will be also available in 27.5+ size. We can’t wait to test the Eddy Current on the trail.
For more information check out ter schwalbe.com
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