The Schwalbe One Plus is a great urban or commuter tyre but its wire bead construction contributes to a pretty hefty weight, which impacts on road feel and performance, and it also lacks tubeless compatibility.
I tested the One Plus in its 28mm version with a Reflex sidewall and wire bead. The tyres were relatively easy to fit with a little bit of persuasion, but I did need to use a tyre lever to get the last few centimetres of the bead over the rim.
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As these are designed to work with inner tubes, I was slightly concerned that I’d pinch the tube during installation – but after double-checking the tube was fully inside the two wire beads I inflated the tyres to about 80psi without issue.
I would have loved to run the tyres at a slightly lower pressure, but felt 80psi was about as low as I’d feel comfortable running inner tubes on south-west England’s pothole-strewn roads. If they’d been tubeless compatible I’d have played around with pressures a little more and gone as low as 60psi – but with inner tubes this would have been a recipe for pinch flats.
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On a set of Roval rims with a 21mm internal width the 28mm tyres were pretty much true to size, with a smooth transition between tyre and rim. I really appreciated the Reflex reflective sidewalls, which boost side-on visibility, especially at junctions when pulling out of a side road and in heavy traffic.
And I feel this reflectivity is an indicator of the Schwalbe One Plus tyre’s true calling: urban riding and commuting. While Schwalbe’s website lists the tyres as part of its Performance Line, I think this is actually a bit of a mis-categorisation.
Look a little closer, and you’ll see the One Plus is the descendant of the Schwalbe Durano – a commuter classic famed for its puncture-resistance. I tested the tyres on the mean streets of Bristol, which – probably in common with most British roads at this time of year – aren’t known for their smoothness. Over the course of a month’s testing not only did I suffer no punctures, but the tyres were still looking pretty much brand new afterwards.
I did tackle a few longer training rides on them but on these occasions I found their weight – over a kilo a pair without tubes – was a little too much to be enjoyable. They felt sluggish and slow to accelerate, which deadened any sort of road feel and reduced my enjoyment.
But if you’re looking for a hard-wearing winter tyre for toughness and durability – and to keep punctures at bay – these would be an excellent choice. If you’re looking for more responsiveness and a lower weight I’d suggest looking elsewhere.
Value
I think the Schwalbe One Plus represents relatively good value even at its full RRP.
Coming in around £20 dearer than the Schwalbe is the Pirelli Cinturato Velo TLR, though your extra money does give you tubeless compatibility.
The £26.95 Continental Ride Tour is similar in weight, features a reflective strip and a puncture-reducing construction. It’s a successor to the tough-but-hard-to fit Touring Plus Tyre we tested a fair while back.
If you’re looking for a tough tubeless option, the Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons is a grippy and durable option that holds its pressure well, and while its RRP is £64.99, in practice you should be able to get it at a similar price to the Schwalbe.
Our best road bike tyres buyer’s guide rounds up our favourite tyres for all sorts of riding at a wide range of prices. Our best winter tyres guide concentrates on tough tyres for year-round riding.
Conclusion
On the whole, the Schwalbe One Plus is a very good tyre for day-to-day commuting or urban riding – or any situation where you value puncture-resistance over low weight and all-out performance. But I’d suggest exploring wider sizes if you can, as the 28mm Schwalbe is quite unforgiving. I’d love to see the Reflex version offered in tubeless, but the regular One Plus is available in tubeless and with a folding bead – albeit without reflective sidewalls.
Verdict
A good value, high-quality urban tyre that’s virtually immune to punctures – but heavy and the ride could be more comfy
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road.cc test report
Make and model: Schwalbe One Plus
Size tested: 700×28
Tell us what the product is for and who it’s aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?
Schwalbe describes the One Plus as ‘The flat-less road bike tire for carefree road bike tire for training, commuting and urban areas’. Not only did I suffer from no flats during testing but they looked pretty much as good as new afterwards, so I think Schwalbe’s assessment is fair.
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
The tyre is the ‘Successor to the Durano Plus’ and features SmartGuard puncture protection, a Reflex sidewall for added side on visibility and an Addix rubber compound for maximum grip.
I didn’t have any issues with the construction of the tyre, except for the slightly off centre placement of the reflex strip – though in practice this didn’t caused any issues.
The tyres felt robust and hard wearing, but their wire bead construction and thick rubber meant I could sense the rotational mass of the tyres during use. They deadened the road feel quite significantly and, owing to the lack of tubeless functionality, I found I had to run the tyres at quite a high pressure to avoid pinch flats.
No punctures or marks on the tyres during the test period.
Mainly thanks to the use of a wire bead, rather than lower-weight kevlar beading, the tyres were really quite weighty. Although Schwalbe markets it as a training/commuting tyre, their 570g weight feels pretty excessive – and that’s before you add an inner tube.
Again, the wire bead, stiff sidewall and lack of tubeless compatibility meant the tyres were quite firm and dead, so they didn’t offer any tangible comfort benefits when out on the road.
The £43.99 is pretty good value given the tyre’s hard-wearing nature and resistance to punctures.
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
The tyres were great for urban riding and commuting, but their weight and lack of responsiveness made them a bit of a chore on longer training rides.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
I love the reflective sidewall for added visibility in low light/dark riding – particularly in built-up or traffic-heavy areas.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
The wire bead adds weight and tubeless compatibility would have been a welcome addition.
How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?
The Schwalbe One Plus is pretty good value. The Pirelli Cinturato Velo TLR is about £20 dearer though they have the benefit of tubeless compatibility.
The £26.95 Continental Ride Tour is similar to the Schwalbe and a successor to the tough-but-hard-to fit Touring Plus Tyre we tested a fair while back.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes
Would you consider buying the product? Yes
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes – with the caveat that it’s more a commuter/urban tyre than a road training tyre.
Use this box to explain your overall score
I liked the Schwalbes on the whole – they were durable and hard wearing, add visibility and are quite good value. However, they are pretty heavy and I’m not sure they live up to Schwalbe’s ‘performance’ label.
About the tester
Age: 28 Height: 175cm Weight: 67kg
I usually ride: Road (Tarmac SL7) My best bike is:
I’ve been riding for: 10-20 years I ride: Every day I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, time trialling, cyclo cross, commuting, mtb, Occasional Ultra Racing
17 thoughts on “Schwalbe One Plus”
Why not just go the whole hog
Why not just go the whole hog and get Marathons for half the price? Their infamous inability to get onto a rim without breaking a lever not withstanding.
It’s the Marathon Plus’s and
It’s the Marathon Plus’s and their sidewalls so stiff they don’t stay on the hooks which gets my goat!
Just wondering why this tyre isn’t just called a Marathon?
Because they have more than
Because they have more than one “Marathon” tyre?
Listing “not tubeless” as a
Listing “not tubeless” as a bad point for a non-tubeless tyre is a bit peculiar, it’s not for people who want a tubeless tyre. It seems rather like listing “doesn’t take SPD-SL cleats” as a bad point for an SPD shoe or “isn’t carbon fibre” as a bad point for an aluminium bike.
Rendel Harris wrote:
Not quite the same thing as a tubeless compatible tyre can be used both with and without a tube, but yes it does seem like a pointless point to make as people don’t usually pay the extra for a tubeless tyre if they plan on running it with tubes.
It’s the Marathon Plus’s and
It’s the Marathon Plus’s and their sidewalls so stiff they don’t stay on the hooks which gets my goat!
Their infamous inability to get onto a rim without breaking a lever
I’ve been riding on these for several years in all conditions, and have experienced virtually no punctures, or any of these other problems. I think they are fairly hard riding, though, even at 35mm
Have moved away from them –
Have moved away from them – while I have only ever had one puncture (from metal debris which was effectively a caltrop, but somehow got in from the side) they get sketchy in greasy conditions or when cornering at speed (well – as much speed as you’re going to get on them). I suspect just because they’re so hard and inflexible? May be in my head but I feel I’ve gone over on them more than on other tyres (not much either so again perhaps it’s just noticing this more?)
Also while they’re not the hardest tyre I’ve had to change they are not fun.
Agree with Ollie, found a bit
Agree with Ollie, found a bit dead to ride but put it on the turbo. No side to side movement so the heavy side walls are no issue. 2 years later it is showing little wear
road.cc wrote:
While the ‘One’ may have started life as a single-minded race tyre, it’s no longer billed as performance. As is the way of these things it has lost its focus and suffered model proliferation, and most of Schwalbe’s road slicks / near slicks now seem to come under the ‘One’ name. I believe the ‘Pro One’ is now the halo performance line, ‘One’ is the allrounder, ‘One 365’ is the all seasons trainer, ‘One Plus’ is the commuter, and Marathon Plus is still the one that doesn’t puncture.
Both of you actually
Both of you actually misunderstand what the “performance line” is. It’s always been a misnomer. Schwalbe labels their budget cheapy made tyres as performance, and the nicer higher end as evolution. It’s just how it’s always been. Sometimes even the same model gets made in performance and evolution variants, and the folding evolution one gets put on shelves while the rigid bead performance gets put on oem bikes.
Are we reallt at a point
Are we really at a point where £44 for a single tyre is “budget cheapy”?
Unfortunately for an rrp it
Unfortunately for an rrp it sounds about right. Schwalbes latest high end tyres have an rrp of £75.
Ah yes, just spotted where
Ah yes, just spotted where “performance line” is quoted on the website. Couldn’t see any that fall into both ‘evolution’ and ‘performance’ line though – looks like the ‘one’ moniker is performance line, and the ‘pro one’ is evolution line. (Lugano are the entry level option – they’re ‘active’ line)
It seems that virtually all
It seems that virtually all of their road tyres are now prefixed ‘One’, which I think is counterproductive.
One 365 was previously the Durano DD, one step down in protection from One Plus fka Durano Plus. One Performance Addix is the standard Durano while the various Pro / TLE / TLR are generally lighter, faster rolling tyres.
I think Schwalbe’s tube-type are generally cheaper than tubeless, though haven’t compared them properly (my bikes still use inner tubes). I settled on the DD for my winter/wet/runabout bike. Sidewalls aren’t quite as stiff as the Plus but both are a bit ‘dead’ and harsh on rougher surfaces. P-word resistance is pretty good, which is what matters most on a cold, wet evening commute.
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We’re in a big mess with
We’re in a big mess with tyres when a reviewer starts a sentence with “The tyres were relatively easy to fit with a little bit of persuasion” but ends the sentence with “but I did need to use a tyre lever to get the last few centimetres of the bead over the rim.” If you needed a tyre lever then they were obviously NOT easy to fit, and they have totally failed on this criterion. Why have we gone so far backwards in this simple task, tyres and rims from 10 years ago were almost never a problem; modern stuff is SO much worse. Having to resort to a tyre lever even when it’s not tubeless is now considered “relatively easy to fit” !!!! This is not progress.
Being easy to fit isn’t the
Being easy to fit isn’t the sole criterion for a good tyre. Easy to fit tyres also tend to be easy to remove tyres, which is fine if you’re trying to remove the tyre, but a major hazard if the tyre removes itself whilst you’re riding (e.g. a blow-off, or falling off the rim if you have a puncture).
Being a little bit of faff to install is a price very much worth paying for a tyre that stays properly attached whilst riding.
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