• Why do tires leave marks on floors, and how to prevent it.

  Those black marks on a garage floor or against a wall are usually just the rubber compound doing what rubber compounds do: transferring a thin layer of material (and sometimes plasticizers or oils within the compound) onto a hard, smooth surface under pressure or friction, especially if the tire is warm, new, or leaned against something for a long time. A few things make it more likely: Leaning a bike against a wall or laying a tire against flooring for extended periods — sustained contacFew readers

• Should I deflate my tires for air travel?

  Generally, no — you don't need to fully deflate your tires to fly with a bike, and there's good reason to keep some air in them. The core concern people worry about is that the pressure drop inside an unpressurized cargo hold could cause a tire to burst. In practice, this isn't much of a risk: airline cargo holds are pressurized to roughly the equivalent of 8,000-10,000 feet of altitude, which works out to a modest pressure differential — nowhere near enough to threaten a properly inflatedFew readers

• Who invented the bicycle tire?

  The story of the bicycle tire starts in the 19th century with two names: Charles Goodyear, whose vulcanization process made rubber practical and durable enough to use on a wheel in the first place, and John Boyd Dunlop, credited with developing the practical pneumatic (air-filled) tire that made bicycles genuinely comfortable and fast to ride. Schwalbe's own history starts much later, in 1973, whenFew readers

• Where does the name "Schwalbe" come from?

  The tires Ralf Bohle first imported from Korea in 1973 were originally called "Swallow." Since Germany was the biggest market for the brand at the time, "Swallow" was translated into German — "Schwalbe" — and the name stuck. There's a nice bit of symbolism in it, too: in Korea, the swallow is a traditional symbol of good luck. For Schwalbe, it's come to represent cycling itself — fast, light-hearted, confident, and free. ![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/-/c/f/f/5/cff55f3699Few readers

• Considerations for Figure-8 folding a wire bead tire

  Some wire-bead tires may arrive folded into a compact "figure-8" shape to facilitate the use of a smaller box for shipping. This can leave the tire looking wrinkled or kinked when you first take it out of the box. Where possible Schwalbe North America does not ship tires folded into a figure-8 shape from our own facility primarily for appearance and not for any technical or safety concerns. We encourage resellers to also avoid folding tires if possible, but in the event they choose to do soFew readers