How Schwalbe is pron ounced?
 

Hi,
Do you pronounce Schwalbe like this: shelbi ?
Tnx

I think it's "Sch" as in sh*t, "wal" as in Walmart and "be" as in bee.

So I need to pronounce the 'w' .
Opinions?

"w" in German is pronounced like "v" in English, the "e" at the end would be like the English short "e". So it should sound like "shvalbeh". Schwalbe is German for "swallow" (the bird, not the act of swallowing).

I usually pronounce it like Cream does. Then again, I say it about 0.001 times per month. I switched from pronouncing it with a "V" sound to saying it with a "W" sound though. Sometimes when I said it with a "V" sound, I would add "mein Fuhrer/freund/tochter," "Auchtung," "Sheiza," or something at the end (as I usually do when throwing in a touch of Deutsch; I like to couple things). I thought it might offend people, so I switched to the more Anglophone pronunciation. :)

I'm with Cream, as is my local bike shop. Those of you who go with V pronunciation presumable are of the timid form who pronounce Paris Pah ree, Warsaw Rackow, etc... English has always proudly pronounced names it's own way, but there aren't any rules these days.

markf has the correct phonetics!

How do you put a Canadian accent on that?

Yep!

Yes add an 'A' to the end with a hint of inflection towards the end... sort of like a exclamation type question. So phonetically it would be 'shu-Wal-be ey', or spelled out 'Schwalbe Ey?'.

:)

I wonder if they should just change the spelling to Schwalbeh?

Nope, cause then Germans would say "shvalbay".

The correct pronunciation, in German, is "shvalbeh"

Best regards

Just go with Continentals and you won't have to worry ; )

Zay are from Deustchland but zay have a name zat is eazy to pronounce. I am sure Schwalbe makes a nice tire but honestly I have used different Conti tires and love them all. So do many of my shop-mates as well. And of course their name doesn't require taking German lessons to figure out.

Click the speaker icon in the lower right corner of the box containing "schwalbe": https://translate.google.com/#auto/en/schwalbe

I would (and have) use Bell tires from Helmart before I use another Continental. They have failed me too many times including a blowout at 90 psi on a Continental Top Touring on top of Lolo Pass in Montana, a blown out sidewall of another Top Touring in my truck, 4 blowouts that left me stranded near Atlanta, Texas and a split tire from a small rock hit in Kentucky that left me riding the Bell tire.

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r...s/IMG_0119.jpg

The tire above had 200 miles on it. If Continentals come in shares you can have mine!

I actually wanted a pair of Schwalbe's when I bought the worthless Continentals in Cincinnati but the shop didn't have them in stock that day.

Your luck was worse than mine, but I had bad luck with a Continental too. I do not avoid Continentals, but if I have a choice between Schwalbe and others, I will buy the Schalbe first. I just bought another pair of Schwalbe tires about a month ago, they were a discontinued model that I like and got on a clearance sale.

I have also had good luck with Hutchinson Globetrotter tires (37mm), but that model is no longer listed on Hutchinson website. I used them for my Astoria to San Fransisco trip earlier this year. When they are finally worn out, I expect to switch to something in the Schwalbe Marathon family, but I expect that to be several years from now.

I pronounce it "Mar-A-Thon"

We have a winner.

In Australia, they pronounce it sh-wallaby.

Stick an "A" on the end.

How Schwalbe is pron ounced?
 

How the hell do you pronounce "Schlitz" at the bar when you've already had too many?

Audio pronunciations:

http://bildwoerterbuch.pons.com/sounds/all/28869.mp3

Schwalbe - Wiktionary (see audio button half-way down page)

Schwalbe pronunciation: How to pronounce Schwalbe in German (click on audio buttons on map)

https://translate.google.com/#auto/de/schwalbe (click on audio button in either box)

yes, we do indeed........but only in germany.

other parts of the world, ya gots to anglicize the name.

or are you a purist who drives a FolksVaaagin?

I drive a Nissan and a Jeep.

How do you pronounce Worchestire, Gloucester, or Leicester ?

Or Subaru ?

over here in the middle kingdom, those are pronounced "rechan, jeepoo, and sibaloo."

+1. Schwalbe=always my first choice.

I pronounce the British words as their locals would pronounce them since we have the same person as our respective Queens, and they sound ugly to my ears otherwise. I generally pronounce words in Anglicized form, and will continue to do so until the reality of the take over by other peoples hits home. I use the correct pronunciation of tomato, though one virtually can no longer find a Canadian who accepts it.

I haven't had those problems at all with any of my Contis or any problems really. Different things happen to different people for different reasons. I can only speak from my experiences with Conti's and those of my shop-mates since I know them and the general riding they do.

If I had a couple of problems with the Continentals, I wouldn't be that down on them. Stuff happens and I understand. But the straw that almost broke the camel's back was 4 blowouts at the rated pressure in less than 24 hours...3 of those blowouts were within 2 hours of each other...that left me stranded in east Texas.

The final straw was the wheel strike above. I've used lots and lots of tires over 30+ years of riding and have never had the problems with any brand like I have with Continentals. They are supposed to be a high quality tire with a premium price to match. In my experience, they are just have the price.