From Tire To Tire

Bicycle manufacturer Schwalbe reveals first bike tire made from recycled tires

Schwalbe’s project to produce the first recycled bicycle tire made from used tires has come to fruition with the Green Marathon.

The Green Marathon is produced with 100 percent fairly traded natural rubber and consists of 70 percent recycled and renewable materials.  It is the result of years of research work that Schwalbe  carried out together with  Frank Bohle, CEO of Ralf Bohle GmbH, the company behind Schwalbe, said: “The Green Marathon combines innovation and environmental friendliness on a new level. It is the result of years of research work that we have carried out together with our production partner Hung-A. Most importantly, the Green Marathon doesn’t compromise on performance in any way and continues to lead the way in puncture protection and mileage, he said.

Schwalbe’s goal to develop the most environmentally friendly bicycle tire ever launched in Summer 2022 with the Schwalbe Recycling System, developed with recycling specialist Pyrum Innovations AG, the world’s first and to date only holistic process for recycling used bicycle tires. Now, the Green Marathon is the first product on the market that uses 100 percent recycled carbon black (rCB).

The rCB is a direct product of the recycling process and replaces fossil-derived industrial carbon black. The ADDIX ECO rubber compound not only consists of 100 percent rCB, but also of a particularly high proportion of natural rubber, as well as recycled rubber and silica from rice husk ash.

In addition, the tire relies entirely on Fair Rubber. The fairly traded natural rubber comes from certified tappers. Through Fair Rubber e.V., Schwalbe pays all small farmers at the beginning of the supply chain an additional premium of euro 0.50 per kilo of natural rubber.

Schwalbe has implemented a more modern and sporty tread design for this environmental benchmark product, which the company says is ideally suited for daily use and for all everyday situations for urban and touring riders.

© Scrap Tire News, July 2023