Rubena Scylla Tyres

Think of the Czech Republic and your mind may well drift to postcard-perfect images of Prague, the smell of warm soup with dumplings, or the moreish bitter taste of Pilsner beer on a warm afternoon. Mmmm, beer… Anyway, I digress; it’s also the home of rubber and tyre manufacturer Rubena, who are well established and highly regarded in central Europe despite being a newcomer to our shores.

The Scylla (pronounced ‘sill-a’ – go check your Greek mythology) is designed as a fast but grippy XC and trail tyre for mostly dry conditions, and on first inspection our 2.25-inch samples certainly looked the goods. The low-ish height centre blocks are fairly closely packed to improve rolling, there’s reasonable looking edge tread and the sidewalls, whilst feeling very supple, have a raised, file-like pattern to help increase resistance to cuts and tears. The manufacturing quality of our two Scyllas was amongst the best we’ve ever come across—they certainly aren’t a slap together job.

We landed two different tread compounds to test; the lightweight racing compound and a dual compound variant with softer edge knobs for better cornering traction on wet surfaces. Both of our test tyres use the ‘Tubeless Supra’ (tubeless compatible) casing, although it can also be had in a slightly cheaper tube-only version. There’s a 29-inch version available for big wheel fans and a 27.5-inch model on the way. Weights are respectably low and exactly as claimed for the two versions (540g and 570g respectively in 26-inch sizing), and you can expect to pay around $75 each. Given their European manufacturing, quality and features this price seems entirely reasonable, if not a bit of a bargain.

Time to get the main gripe out of the way; the Scyllas are definitely undersized—they’re actually more of a 2.1-inch tyre, not a 2.25-inch as claimed. This makes the weight figures less impressive and is simply annoying; when a manufacturer advertises mid-volume rubber it’s fair to expect that they’ll supply it, not some late nineties style pizza cutter (although this could be handy if you fund your riding by delivering for Dominos). All our thoughts on the Scylla need to be interpreted in the context of the narrower than claimed casing.

Now, moving right along to some more positive points. Firstly, both tyres were easy to seat when run as tubeless and worked reliably for the duration of our test, even when run at pressures in the mid 20s. Secondly, the edging blocks on the dual compound version are noticeably softer, so it’s a great front tyre option if you’re after better cornering security without changing tread design. Thirdly, both tyres held up well to general trail use and the wear rate seems to be better than many other options currently on the market—a tyre that lasts longer ultimately costs you less.

Speed Czech

Climbing traction on the Scylla is surprisingly good. Although it’s no tractor tread it nonetheless managed to scramble its way up sections of trail where many similar-looking tyres usually fail. Even when choked with mud (and the shallow tread does fill up easily) it still wasn’t a total loss, which is surprising given its dry terrain intentions. Braking traction is equally surprising; it pulls up swiftly and straight, which allows you to carry speed deeper into corners before hitting the skids. It seems likely that the lack of significant ramping on the tread is a contributor to the above average straight line grip. Despite this, it certainly doesn’t feel like a slow tyre when you’re under power; in fact it feels sprightly and responsive to pedal input, and once up to speed it holds its pace easily.

Many XC tyres use harder rubber compounds to improve overall speed and durability at the expense of grip on damp, hard surfaces; the Scylla, not so much. Rubena have managed to strike an excellent balance here, because despite being a fast and relatively durable tyre it still has more grip than most on exposed rocks and tree roots.

Cornering performance is also a strong point for the Scylla, both in terms of predictability and overall traction. The evenly spaced tread and rounded profile offers a very consistent transition from centre to edge. For a tyre of its size and style it holds some pretty demanding lean angles before starting to drift, which it also does predictably and smoothly. The dual compound’s softer edges not only provide a whitewall effect for the retro/fixie style meisters, but also add a small, but noticeable improvement to the already very commendable traction.

In case your idea of subtlety involves a sledgehammer, let’s be crystal clear; the Scylla is a very good tyre for its intended use. The only thing holding it back from being an absolutely cracking trail tyre is the small volume; if Rubena can make a bigger casing for it (and throw in a free beer for good measure), they’d have one of the best fast rolling, grippy, dry weather tyres currently on the market. We’re well impressed by this Czech-made Greek monster, and suspect those of you who buy them will be too. Pilsner not included.

Rubena Australia 0409 079 147 / www.rubena.com.au