[Closed] Magic Mary/Nobby Nic combo?

Not that exact combo but I tried a pacestar 29er nobby nic on the back just recently, behind a minion and a shorty. It was rubbish, basically. Poor grip, no edge treads, not very tough and not even especially fast or light to balance all that out. Maybe it has a place for something but IMO it's definitely not behind a Mary, in that combo one of the tyres is always going to be wrong.

Was also wondering this, but everything I love about the Rock Razor is absent with the Nobby Nic!

Racing Ralph is surprisingly good on the rear in fairness, albeit with a snakeskin casing.

Try a Minion SS maybe?

@Northwind, yep, clearly a terrible rear tyre that doesn't work 😛

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Put a Ron on the back?

I have found to my expense that ralphs are quite fragile, even as a back tyre, but to be fair they are marketed as light weight race day tyres. As are rons to be fair, but rons seem to hold up better.

Ron's are even more fragile than ralphs.

Yes run that combo
It's been fine for all
Don't get this about Schwalbe tyres being weak and having no grip, I've never had any issues including going the Mega last year on a Hans/Nic combo, rate them more than the Maxxis and Continental I've ran before

As a rear tyre maybe, but ron on front is ok, relatively speaking.

I'm just going to get two nics next time, can't be arsed!

My Norco came with this combo and I've not had any problems, I'm far from a serial tyre swapper though so not much to compare them to.

It was rubbish, basically. Poor grip, no edge treads, not very tough and not even especially fast or light to balance all that out.

NN Snakeskin Pacestar rear, Trailstar front. Both under 800g, both offering lots of grip and both tougher than the Maxxis heavyweights I replaced them with.

fifeandy - Member

@Northwind, yep, clearly a terrible rear tyre that doesn't work

He uses procore and still had recurring issues with punctures, so...

I've got a MM Trailstar front, HD Super Gravity rear. Both tubeless. More grip than one could need.

OK thanks - basically I need something that's narrower than a 2.35" Rock Razor

OK thanks - basically I need something that's narrower than a 2.35" Rock Razor

I'll say it again...

Maxxis Minion SS

OK thanks - basically I need something that's narrower than a 2.35" Rock Razor

I had a Nobby Nic 2 2.25 on the rear for a while. It was nice and light, fast and cornered fine. But it was stupidly fragile. And wore out in about a week. I've now got a Minion SS in which is tougher, faster and corners better. It's also surprisingly good in mud. Bit heavier mind, but it reminded my why Maxxis (and usually a Minion of some sort) has always been my default choice. Same width, so narrower than a Rock Razor.

mboy - Member

Maxxis Minion SS

Yup. I haven't tried the rockrazor but the minion is very good, and a little bit skinnier than it ought to be, because maxxis.

I ran it for a bit last year - kinda liked it but went back to the Mary / Dampf combo as I find it's a bit more year round. The Nic was definitely faster rolling than the Dampf but won't be anywhere near as fast as the Razor.

Interesting - I've got a Hans Dampf 2.35 somewhere - might try it to see if it comes up smaller than the RR

Is the Silkworm version of Minion worth getting?

Interesting - I've got a Hans Dampf 2.35 somewhere - might try it to see if it comes up smaller than the RR

Same carcass... So you'll be wasting your time.

@james, i'll save you the effort as i've got them both mounted on my spectral. HD comes up just a fraction bigger than the RR.

Cheers both - sounds like Minion it is - although perhaps not as we get into autumn?

Interestingly no one has mentioned the type of riding they do.

XC for me - not racing just Peak District stuff

Maxxis crossmark rear very very fast rolling and grippy too + MM up front

Interestingly no one has mentioned the type of riding they do.

Given the tyres we're discussing, I'd imagine most are doing similar stuff. As we're coming out of a wettish summer, you can guess the trail conditions.

Personally, I just go riding. Might be a big XC loop in the Peak, might be playing on a DH track in the woods, might be an enduro race, might be a trail centre. Only got one bike, and I can't be arsed changing tyres, so it's the same for everything and everywhere. Minion SS has been good for the lot. That said, I doubt I'll still have them on in the middle of January, but that's probably fairly obvious.

For what its worth, yes i have run MM/NN combo for the same reason as you. It has been fine but the NN is fragile even in Double Defense mode for mostly Forest of Dean and Welsh trail centres. Since my frame is a few years old, i've now decided to put up with a bit of tyre buzz, tape the frame and go 2.35 Super Gravity. RR was great till it started raining again and now got HD to mount. So to answer your question, the 2.25 NN rear is not too outlandish with a MM on the front, but the 2.35 tyre is, so far so much better.

Interestingly no one has mentioned the type of riding they do.

mainly Peaks XC loops, but local part of the Peaks is very rocky
Also done the Mega as said above
trail centres
BPW and Antur a few times
Only issue Ive had with Schwalbe was a small split in the tyre at Antur but Stans just about sealed it so I could carry on
My tyres after a week in the Alps where about ready for replacement, knobs where shearing off but then any make of tyre would have suffered the same I suspect (they weren't new when I went)