Industry insider: Schwalbe

SCHWALBE’S MAN ON THE ROAD

If you’ve ever attended a national or World Cup, there’s a good chance you’ll have seen Diego in the pits, running about frantically with tyres in his hands. As a UK sales promoter for Schwalbe, he spends a lot of time on the road, looking after dealers and team riders and making sure everyone knows their Magic Mary from their Rocket Ron. Tyre technology Riders have always been on a quest to go lighter, but you end up sacrificing durability and puncture resistance. Now they’re starting to understand the difference that different compounds make to the feel of the bike. The new focus will be on reduced pressures combined with faster rolling – we’re working on some exciting things! The Procore system Look at the Fort William World Cup this year, where Rachel Atherton, Manon Carpenter and Tahnée Seagrave all punctured. Emmeline Ragot would also have punctured had she not been using Procore [Schwalbe’s new dualchamber anti-puncture system – ed]. The system came into play and secured her the podium, as it did for Nico Lau too, who used it at the Scottish Enduro World Series round, taking the win. Product development We listen to our Elite riders and make changes to our tyres so that everyone gets the benefits. It still amazes me that you can buy the same tyre Stevie Smith and Sam Hill use on the World Cup circuit for not much more than a pair of Nike trainers – it’s like using F1 tyres for your drive home! Race fan The Hafjell World Cup in 2013 has to be my favourite. The weather was insane – cold, foggy and windy – and the track had changed so much since the first rider left the start hut. Stevie Smith laid down an awesome run and won. He was the only rider using intermediate tyres – Magic Marys – when everyone else was using cut-down spikes. Fort Bill buzz cut While having breakfast with my European and American colleagues at the 2013 Fort William World Cup I flippantly said: “I bet Danny Hart is going to win today.” Needless to say, it didn’t pay off. A bet is a bet, and Tahnée Seagrave ended up taking chunks out of my long, flowing Samson locks. Danny managed to take a few chunks out as well. His remark was: “Well, you shouldn’t bet, should you!” The greatest One racer stands out from the rest – Shaun Palmer. He took the sport away from being too serious and smothered in Lycra and into what it is today. He made a lot of us who grew up riding in the 90s want to go out and just have fun. Never again My worst job was picking mushrooms to save up for a GT RTS. It was horrific. Needless to say, I didn’t turn up as soon as I’d saved enough money! The future Mountain biking will never get the same coverage as road, where the hysteria is insane. But I do think World Cup downhill should be a real challenge and also a step up from enduro, otherwise what’s the point of having a DH bike? The tracks need wet roots and rocks, with massive 50ft tables for DH and contrasting stunning alpine ascents and descents for enduro.