As Schwalbe writes in the latest issue of its dealer magazine "Profil", all folding tires, the downhill tires and the high-quality touring tires of the "Marathon" family will now be provided with an individual EAN code. This is vulcanized onto the inside of the tire and is used to check when the tire was produced and to whom Schwalbe delivered it.

Preventing dumping offers
Schwalbe wants to be able to track the service life of a tire in the event of complaints and replace defective tires more easily. However, the barcode is even more useful in the fight against the gray market. Thanks to the individual code, Schwalbe can trace to whom the tire was delivered. For example, it should be possible to trace the channel through which discounters received their goods. Bike manufacturers who, for example, do not use Schwalbe tires in the initial assembly of bikes as intended, but instead sell them at knock-down prices on the spare parts market, should be able to be identified.

No warranty for unidentifiable tires
According to Schwalbe, it will be a while before the code is introduced across the entire high-quality range, as existing stocks must first be used up. However, the first identifiable tires are already being delivered to bike manufacturers. For bikers and bike dealers, the labeling will not normally result in any changes. Schwalbe only intends to no longer accept the warranty for tires where the code has been destroyed or made unrecognizable.