I am a fan of Schwalbe Ultremo tires, as I’ve mentioned in other posts. I use Michelin Krylion for everyday riding, and have used various high or low end Vitoria and Bontrager brands. Switching from these to Ultremos has felt like a more significant bike upgrade than my new wheels, especially where cornering and ride quality is concerned.

I owned a pair of Ultremo R.1s, but the durability wasn’t great (lasted about 1100 miles on mostly smooth roads… about par for race tires, I think). Schwalbe represented the ZX version as a more durable upgrade, so I bought a pair of those.

After 600 miles on the ZX’s, the front tire looks like new, but the rear tire was showing some loose threads on the sidewall. I contacted Schwalbe, and its North American rep emailed me a warranty form. I sent in a partially completed form (Schwalbe needed a couple more pics of production numbers for its records), and before I even provided the rest of the information, it mailed me a new tire. The rep just asked me to please remember to provide the additional information soon, under the honor system.

I suspect that all tires that push the edge of weight and performance will occasionally have issues (as do many low-end tires, for that matter). What places a company at the head of the pack is its level of warranty service. Schwalbe stood behind its product in a manner that was quick, efficient and painless for the customer. I feel that this company deserves some recognition on BF, and also want to pass this along to others who may be considering high-end tire brands.

P.S.: I’m not affiliated with Schwalbe in any way.