Article series: What do the numbers on the bicycle tire mean?

Bike tread specification

Last updated: 2023-08-11

Tire label example

Example of a tread specification

The HS484 in the above example tire designates the tread of the tire. In this case, it stands for the profile of the product Road Cruiser of the tire manufacturer Schwalbe.

Schwalbe tread designations

All tread designations at Schwalbe begin with HS, followed by a three-digit number. Occasionally, the letter A is added. Below is a list of all the tread designations currently in use and the associated tire products.

Tread designationTire products
HS127HS 127
HS269CX Pro
HS326Space
HS369CX Comp
HS371Little Joe
HS371ALittle Joe
HS375Fat Frank
HS376Insider
HS377Road Cruiser
HS379Ice Spiker Pro
HS385Insider, Kojak
HS392Delta Cruiser, Delta Cruiser Plus
HS396Marathon Winter Plus, Winter
HS404Marathon Plus Tour
HS407Black Jack
HS413Kid Plus
HS417Dirty Dan
HS418Tracer
HS420Marathon
HS421Silento
HS425Rapid Rob
HS428Marathon Mondial
HS429Marathon Racer
HS430Big Apple
HS431Delta Cruiser, Delta Cruiser Plus
HS438Rocket Ron
HS439Big Ben
HS439Big Ben Plus
HS439Little Big Ben, Super Moto-X
HS440Marathon Plus
HS442Spicer Plus
HS447Magic Mary
HS450Land Cruiser, Land Cruiser Plus
HS451Thunder Burt
HS452Rock Razor
HS462One, Pro One
HS462AOne
HS463Nobby Nic, Tough Tom
HS464Durano DD, Durano Plus, One
HS464AE-One
HS466Jumbo Jim
HS467X-One Allround
HS467AX-One Allround
HS468Marathon Plus MTB
HS469Marathon Supreme
HS471Lugano II, Lugano II Endurance
HS472G-One Speed
HS473G-One Allround
HS475Marathon GT 365
HS476Smart Sam, Smart Sam Plus
HS481X-One Bite
HS483X-One Speed
HS484Road Cruiser, Road Cruiser Plus
HS485Energizer Plus Tour
HS487G-One Bite
HS489Racing Ray
HS490Racing Ralph
HS491Hans Dampf
HS492Energizer Plus
HS493Pro One, Pro One TT
HS493APro One
HS496Eddy Current Front
HS497Eddy Current Rear
HS498Marathon E-Plus
HS499Hurricane
HS600Billy Bonkers
HS601G-One Ultrabite
HS602Nobby Nic
HS603Marathon Almotion
HS604Johnny Watts
HS605Super Moto
HS608Big Betty
HS609Pick-Up
HS610G-One R
HS611Al Grounder
HS614Wicked Will

Why are there different tire treads?

Bicycles are used for very different purposes. Road bike riders want to go fast and are mostly on dry asphalt. For them, narrow tires with little tread and high tire pressure are ideal, because they have a lower bicycle tire rolling resistance.

Tires on city and trekking bikes must cope with firm as well as slightly loose and uneven surfaces and usually have a more distinct bicycle tire tread.

For off-road use, mountain bike riders like to use particularly wide MTB tires with high tread lugs at larger gaps. These find more grip on gravel and natural trails, as well as on muddy surfaces, and have good self-cleaning properties.

Tires with studs can provide more grip in winter on icy surfaces.

What do the other indications on the bicycle tire mean?

This article is part of a series of articles. For the other information on the bicycle tire see:

  1. ETRTO size of a bicycle tire
  2. Tire inch size and English designation
  3. Tire French size
  4. Bike tread specification (this article)

References