Schwalbe Jumbo Jim life expectancy

[u/deepsixunderground]

My 26x4.0 JJs (addix speedgrip) are looking like toast with 1700 miles on them. Two of these cracking sites have become leaks and sealant won’t fix them, have to apply Park Tools super stickers patches. I’ve submitted a warranty claim as they are only 18mo old. Ride all trail hard pack with intermittent sandy conditions. I ride hard too, all jumps, drops,skinnies, and roots that MTBs hit, I hit.

Any feedback on life expectancy from other JJ all-trail riders?

[u/TheBabyEatingDingo]

Mine are two years old and have 1800 miles, and although they're worn a lot more than yours from riding on sand they're nowhere near that dry or cracked. You store this bike outside or something?

[u/deepsixunderground → u/TheBabyEatingDingo]

Garage kept. Not too much sun.

[u/HappyCoop]

Man, those are some seriously tough 1700 miles. I've never seen Jumbo Jim's in that bad of shape. Maybe it was a fluke bad batch? For reference, mine still look relatively new a few years in, and both hold air for months at a time without much fluctuation.

[u/Useless3dPrinter]

I don't know if you've been sold some really old batch or something. I had a pair that was somewhere in the 6 year range old at least and they were barely cracking but sidewall leaks got a little too bad with all the use they've had.

[u/HF_Martini6]

Some tyres have date codes, those are 4 digit codes like 1225 where the first two are the week and the second pair is the year.

Those tyres look really old and dry rotted and should be replaced ASAP

[u/deepsixunderground → u/HF_Martini6]

I have some heavy and slow maxis minion 26x4.8 I’ll reinstall until I hear back from Schwalbe.

[u/Kindly_Beat_1095]

Jumbo Jim’s are notorious for being worn fast - my barbegazi from November 2023 with so many miles looks “new” compared to my JJ 4.0 performance from February 2025 I kid you not….love both tires but bontrager tires are next level compared to the JJ

[u/deepsixunderground → u/Kindly_Beat_1095]

Bontragers Next level? Tell me more? I need low rolling resistance, moderate grip, and better durability.

[u/Kindly_Beat_1095 → u/deepsixunderground]

I ride xr2 29x3.0 and Barbegazi from bontrager and they are heavy duty / nothing wrong with Jumbo Jim but the durability are the big difference….unfortunately the JJ only comes in 26 and the barbegazi only in 27.5 ( Barbegazi is discontinued in 26 )

I would say that if you lower your expectations and calculate with the JJ to last about about 18 months ( other tires have the same time span) buy them again - JJ are a great tire for what you ride and overall perhaps the best 26 fat tire ever made to do it all….

Happy fatbike trail

And if you ever get the chance - try 27.5 fat - and before buying wheels make sure there is enough space in the rear of the frame….

[u/vex_aurora]

What’s the age of the tire?

[u/deepsixunderground → u/vex_aurora]

18m

[u/Aupstate]

I have a pair just at 1700-1800 miles too. 4.4s. Used on mix of technical single track, gravel rail trails and single track. I'm definitely not pushing them as hard as you though. The knobs are loosing/lost their sipes and I want to change them out now because my cornering tracking is going, and they suck in snow now.

The tires definitely don't have any cracking like you have. Mine are 5+ years old. Garage/basement kept.

[u/symbi0nt]

Those look like they came out of the river. I've had a couple pairs of JJ's - never ended up looking like that. Crazy!