What’s new?
Schwalbe consolidates the large number of tyre sizes and specifications into a clear, unified system. From now on, each tube designation will consist of four parts: size, width, version and valve type.
Size
Some tubes will receive new numbers for better classification. For example, tube No. 21 (for 27.5") becomes No. 14. Extralight tubes, which previously had their own numbers, will be integrated into the base number—for example, No. 18 becomes 17-El, and No. 20 becomes 15-EL.
Width
The letter after the number indicates the tyre width: M is the standard and is not shown, S for narrower tyres, L for wider tyres.
Version
An optional specification code follows after a hyphen: EL stands for Extralight, AE for Aerothan, AP for Air Plus.
Find an overview of all tubes here
Valve type
SCV for Schwalbe Clik Valve, SV for Sclaverand (Presta) valve, DV for Dunlop valve, AV for car (Schrader) valve. The colour codings remain as well — since many butyl tubes are now also available with the Schwalbe ClikValve, these receive the blue colour code.
If you want to learn more about the different valve types, click here:
How does it work in practice?
15 = 23–30 mm
15L = 28–34 mm
Back to the roots
As core categories, the numbers remain 15 for narrow tyres as found on road bikes, 17 for many touring, all-round or gravel bikes, and 19 for wider tyres as found on MTBs and increasingly also on touring or gravel bikes. They continue to represent the most common rim diameters and use cases.
Because there is now a very wide range of tyre widths within the numbers — for example ITEM 15 — an S for Small or an L for Large describes whether the tube within that category is for narrower or wider tyres. Thus, alongside ITEM 15, which is suitable for tyres from 23 to 30 mm, there is also an ITEM 15L (Large) for wider tyres from 28 to 34 mm.
The width designation ensures that despite the greater variety of tyres, clear orientation remains. For the retailer, 15, 17 and 19 remain familiar sizes, but within these groups.
A look back
At the end of the 1980s, company head Ralf Bohle developed the group-tube system together with Schwalbe’s long-standing production partner Hung A (Korea). A genuine pioneering achievement: Schwalbe tubes were far ahead of other tubes in terms of quality and elasticity. Their extremely high air retention when expanding meant that a single tube could cover many tyre dimensions. For retailers this meant: less storage space, simpler logistics and easier product selection.
