Yeah man, I got 26X2.0 Big Apples to replace the 26X2.125 Kenda Flames, that replaced a set of knobbies. Well the flames were inverted sculpture tires kinda like the Continental Town and Country tires, that have a good reputation for rolling resistance and being reasonably good in the muck, so I figured the flames would be comparable. Well turns out the flames were pretty bad on both accounts. Thick, heavy tires that somehow manages to give a knobby squirm feeling while cornering. Also, despite being thick they got fairly regular visits from the flat fairy... So, after about 500kms I removed them in disgust and on with the Big Apples.
Virtually no rolling resistance, it's really impressive. No need to pump them brick hard to get it, either. Also they're indeed pretty good at soaking up small stuff like cracks in the pavement - better then suspension, but going down stairs they're insufficient. I see on the schwalbe website there's a pic of a dude going downstairs on a Big Apple equipped commuting bike, but he's riding the 2.35's. The 2.0's are narrow compared to the 1.95 MTB tires that were originally on the bike. Dunno but I'd think a size bigger would be preferable all-round.
I've purposefully rolled over broken glass when I got them and it yielded... no flat? Actually I've yet to have a flat with 'em. Guess the magick Kevlar thingie actually does work.
The white sidewall thing is a reflector, and they works surprisingly well, too. I suppose it could replace wheel reflectors, except that the both of them are white so cars wouldn't be able to know at a glance if you're going to the left or to the right... I ran a white and colored reflector in each wheel en plus of theese reflective strips, also white and coloured reflective tape in my rims. But then my bikes are not toys but vehicles proper, so being seen is mission critical.
Guess what wheel has the Big Apple in this pic?
They sound kinda like a proper road bike that's being pushed pretty fast. It's a sort of resonating sound, so they sound fast even when you're going slow, that's kinda particular. It's not offensive, rather quiet compared to knobby tires really, but they were louder then I expected. I think I've read that the marathon is quieter?
I dunno what they're made of, I see the website talks about silica compound thing? But they definitely stick better then cheap chineese rubber, especially in the wet.
They have a kinda egg shape when they're pumped up, so they seem taller then wide. I think this is why it makes them roll fast and act as suspension compared to other tires.
Overall I liked the 26X2.0 Big Apples, if they weren't too narrow I would probably actually have left them on until they wore out. Still, they would be just about perfect for a 26inch Hybrid bike, or for retrofitting a mtb for road use. But they make going down stairs really hard on my bike, and I'd like to keep that one as long as possible since it's really sweet. Also, I'm not as comfortable keeping speed in street corners then I was with the 2.125 Kenda Flames tires they replaced, but then the flames seemed about 1.5 - 2X wider.
I'm willing to trade off a bit of cruising speed for comfort, especially since I plan to add a my1018 to the said bike, so any rolling resistance difference is likely to become negligible. Over the coming summer it's likely I'm going to try the fatter version of these tires, 26X2.35