EUROBIKE - Schwalbe Procore Gets Manageable

Schwalbe revealed the Procore system that they developed in partnership with Syntace earlier this year (Read it HERE) but on 26th August, they revealed a new development at Euro Bike, the international trade show.

Although the image of two valves in the rim had become highly recognisable, Schwalbe knew it was a tripping point in riders accepting the product and realising the performance benefits. Instead, their designer developed a two stage valve and an air guide to move the air beyond the tight fitting inner tyre and the outer chamber.

The valve is longer, and unscrews in the midsection. In one position, you fill the inner chamber, up to about 80psi. This is the small tube that runs in the rim bed, preventing damage to the rim and tyre from big impacts, and also holding the bead on tight.

In the second position, you fill the outer chamber, maybe to as little as 16psi. So this is where the ride quality comes from. Low pressure, with no chance of rolling a tyre or damaging a rim.

While it has been optimised for use with the Syntace wheels that use wide rims (30mm and more) Schwalbe have developed a Procore kit for aftermarket users. As long as the rim is wider than 23mm (to fit what is essentialy two tyre beads) it will be compatible. Obviously this will be most favourable for riders in gravity disciplines, where wider rims have been the norm for longer, and the extra weight (which isn’t too much at about 100g for the inner ‘tyre’) isn’t an issue. But just about any mountain biker will benefit.

Team Bulls pro racer Stefan Sahm was at the launch. They use Schwalbe tyres, and I quizzed hom on whether it is something they had trialled. He said that until there was a saving in rolling resistance or similar efficiency that adds up over a race of four hours or more, they wouldn’t use it. But he admitted that he had been using the Thunder Burt tyre in 2.25” with Snake Skin for quite some time now, and loves it. It has also just been released.

Will Procore be a good upgrade for your wheels? We’re trying to get our hands on a kit to fit to some wheels, and we’ll let you know how it goes.

Words : Mike Blewitt Photos: Schwalbe Press