[Closed] Hans dampf fr/ nobby nic r

Nobby Nics are sh**e. Wouldn't touch with barge pole.

I ran NN for a year and found them a great mix of grip, light weight and tubeless compatibility. I changed in the end as I seemed to keep puncturing in rockier places- although i didn't have the snakeskin ones. Just changed to HD f+r.

theroadwarrior how do you find the HD's fr and r?

Had Nobby Nics on the rear, now have Hans Dampf f+r.

The Nics are too lightweight for me. I used to pinch them despite tubeless and decent pressures. On the plus side, they're pretty light and the TR versions inflate (tubeless) really easily. I'm sure they'd make a perfect tyre for some people, not for me though.

The Hans Dampfs are nice, pretty grippy and large volume. Nice predictable slide. Main problem is that they're pretty heavy, plus they're very draggy on roads. This is much less of a problem as a front tyre.

Ideally I'd want something in between - a bit lighter than the HansDampfs and not so draggy, but decent pinch protection. Conti MK/RQ sound like they might be OK, but I hear they're a PITA to seal tubeless.

EDIT: The Hans Dampfs are definitely not a mud tyre. They don't shed mud well at all.

Agreed ^

The HD is really like an armoured NN, similar tread pattern and characteristics, just 'more'

HD are approx 200g per tyre heavier than the NN pacestar NON snakeskin which is what I was running. I think its a good compromise overall as they're still only ~750g per tyre. I will possibly change them out to NN for longer days or perhaps invest in some bonty mud x or similar for the winters

I'd say it'll depend on you a bit... Nobby Nic standard versions aren't up to surviving the sort of use that a HD is, so if you're using the HD hard then the NN will wave a little white flag. But you won't neccesarily be doing that. Snakeskin would help a lot with this.

I found the wear rate of my rear NN Evo absolutely awful, the knobs rounded off and broke up very quickly and a lot of the grip went away once that'd happened- they had a lot of tread left but it seems to depend on the square blocks for its grip. Though they were good for a while.

Personally, I won't go there again. Too expensive for too short a lifespan of not sufficiently amazing performance.

So NW what are you using now?

I wouldn't go for any of those, try the Conti Baron 2.3 (non DH version), awesome damp/ wet weather tyre...!

How does one pinch flat a tubeless tyre? Does he mean burp?

@bruneep. I really like the Specialized Eskar for a rear- a little slower, but grippier and much more durable. But discontinued I think, so.

Right now one bike has a deknobbled 2.1 Nevegal, which I really rate but which GW will explode into homicidal rage if I recommend it. Turns it into something a bit like a very knobbly, lighter Ardent. Some folks find the sidewalls delicate though.

Oh and I'm going to see how long I can get away with a Slant 6 on the other bike- surprisingly good in mud, considering it's a slick with acne. But I think that'll have to come off sooner or later.

There's bound to be better options but these work for me so I stopped looking.

How does one pinch flat a tubeless tyre? Does he mean burp?

Nope. If you ding it hard enough, you'll make a hole in the tyre sidewall. This happened to me 2-3 times with Nics (and never with the HDs). I was able to seal it once with the bacon strips, the other times I wasn't as lucky. Pain in the arse.

(I've only ever 'burped' when I was using 20 psi. At higher pressures it's never been a problem for me (Stans Flow rims may have something to do with this).

Have run hd front n nick
rear on the cove hummer
the hans dampf is a great
front tyre.
Currently running hd front
r ralph 4 cross snakeskin
on the rear of my r mountain
element 70 msl great tyres
great bike 😀

Have run hd front n nick
rear on the cove hummer
the hans dampf is a great
front tyre.
Currently running hd front
r ralph 4 cross snakeskin
on the rear of my r mountain
element 70 msl great tyres
great bike

The style of your post
Presents the illusion of
Some sort of haiku?

Looks like HD's front and rear set up tubeless on my Stans Flow rims willing to sacrife speed for grip as in Ireland we have a lot of natural singletrack as opposed to the kitty litter of trail centres 😀

So you want to go slower and in more control? Sounds rubbish to me.

Tioga Psycho's all the way.

The Nobby Nic is a pretty impressive all-rounder tire that transitions from gravel, to dirt, to pavement, etc... quite easily. I really rate it, in the 29er format which I have been using it.

Have just had delivery of HD which I will fit up soon, so can't compare just now

Tioga Psycho's all the way.

I'm tempted, you know? Most of the fun in riding is when you're on the edge of traction / sliding just a bit out of control. Much easier with rubbish tyres! If you're not racing, there's surely no downside?

Are your RQ & MK black chili versions? There's a big difference in grip between them and non-BC! The one trail centre I've ridden with my RQ/XK pairing I found them almost too grippy, weird not drifting the back at all. Lots of grip on the natural singletrack and DH runs I ride.

High Rollers, although even in the 2.35 format they are a bitch to pedal compared to my previous Mountain King MK2's. I used to use 2.5's for downhillings, in combo with minions, wet screams, swampies depending on the conditions. I have no idea why I ever decided to use anything else.

Waaaiiii better grip than the conti's - to the point I wonder how I didn't veer off the track and crash in a ball of flames.

I'm running HD's on both my bikes (tubeless on Stans Flows). I have never had a problem with them, they grip in just about all conditions (they aren't a mud tyre but it has to be pretty crap before they lose grip) and corner very nicely.

If they are draggy on roads then I haven't noticed, but then I only ride on the road inbetween the off road bits...

Recommended.

Using a HD up front with a racing Ralph on the back of my SS 29er, plenty of grip both ends for me.

I have a HD front with a nobby nic on the rear, I used to have a fat Albert on the front and I would notice that my front wheel would wash out from time to time, since changing to the HD I haven't notice it happen at all.

I'd only echo what others have said about the nobby nics. At face value they're light and look suitably trail worthy, but I found them fragile, they had squirrelly edge grip and wore far too quickly. I've no Idea why people rate them so highly, I was expecting so much more.

The new style fat Albert front is my new favourite tye, it's still pretty light and grips really nicely, even in mud, but, like has been mentioned above, the knobs have rounded off and part torn off on the tyres edges. It disappointing to have a lifespan of only about 9 months, but it is the softer trailstar compound.

The Hans Dampf on my 29er seems to give similar levels of grip to the fat Albert, but it's somewhat heavier. It's also younger, so I can't really comment on its durability, although being pace star compound, it's hArder, so in theory should last longer.

9 months? That sounds pretty good to me! The pacestar Hans Dampf on the back of my bike is on its last legs after 3 months - it's lost most of its knobbles but I'll eke a few more rides out of it. The trailstar front one is faring better though.

New HD Trailstar Front and HD Pacestar rear 26"

Very Impressed!

I run the HD front NN rear compound and find it a superb mix ,the NN are crappy on the front but excellent onn the rear and the HD gives grip of biblical proportions even in wet welsh forests .
The HD is a very large 2.35 too its closer to most 2.5's .

9 months? That sounds pretty good to me!

Considering that its the front and not meant to wear as hard, plus the crap summer and a new job meaning I'm riding about half as much as I was, I think its pretty poor!

I thought Maxxis were releasing a Minion 29er that would solve all my tyre issues but I can only find rumours and a prototype of it last year and nothing more... know anything about it?