[Closed] Maxxis DHR 2 as front tyre

My new Santa Cruz Bronson Cc came spec'd with a DHR front and back. Even in the wet it works really well. I usually run minions all year round anyway.

do it. i run a DHR2 following advice on here and its great, so much grip and cornering confidence. The only think i dont like is the R, it upsets my chi.

It was pretty popular a while back when there wasn't much 650b tyre choice- a bunch of maxxis pros ended up doing it at the first tweedlove ews. But it seems to have pretty much stopped now there's purpose built tyres out there.

I gave it a go but didn't think it came close to the shorty in the mud, and when it's too dry for a shorty I reckon a dhf is better. But maybe it's a happy medium? I do like the irony, after years of DHFs on the rear.

Northwind - Member
I gave it a go but didn't think it came close to the shorty in the mud, and when it's too dry for a shorty I reckon a dhf is better. But maybe it's a happy medium? I do like the irony, after years of DHFs on the rear.

They do brake better than a DHF. DHF is better for flowier trails and the best trail centre front tyre. 2.4 HR2 is still the killer (spring-autumn) all round front tyre though. My braking points were all messed up when I put a DHF on for a race on mainly trail centre.

Back to the OP. The DHR2 brakes better and rolls slower and the DHF vice versa. If you ride lots of steep stuff then the DHR2 or 2.4 HR2 are the ones.

Don't do it. Awful. Way better on the rear. One of the sketchiest rides I've ever had with it on the front and it was a 3C DHR2 as well. Put it straight on the rear and a Mary on the front (or any other trail star Schwalbe).

Running a magic mary on the front at the moment which is amazing and a DHR 2 on the rear of my Evil Following

Just thought i may need something that rolls better for the summer?

Perhaps DHF front and DHR 2 rear

Never tried a High Roller

What about suggestions for a good Spring - Autumn rear tyre

Or just keep the DHR 2

I had a Minion DHR2 on the front and rear for most of last year. 3c front and dual rear. This included holidays to Basque, riding in Scotland and all the variable weather conditions that can throw at you 🙂 and doing the Trans Provence. Not once did i ever feel it was the wrong tyre choice. It gripped well and predictably, rolled well and didn't destroy itself at inopportune moments 🙂

For the winter i have been running a shorty which is absolutely amazing in mixed / wet conditions. As soon as it gets a bit dryer the DHR2 is going back on again.

I'm trying the new Nobby Nic TrailStar up front paired with the DHR2 rear. I've got the Hans Dampf too. Basically any Schwalbe TrailStar works well up front paired with the DHR2 rear. I have a few front choices. I'm testing a Nic on a rear too but it punctured on it's first ride but tonight's test went better so I'll put it down to a bad install tubeless for now. Impressed with the new Nic up front. Feels like a mini Mary. Muddy as hell tonight too. It may be a step too low reliability wise but it's worth a try. Have ridden the Mary a lot. Still my go to DH or Enduro race tyre. Maxxis on rear though mostly. Seem stronger but always less grippy than Schwalbe. So ok on rear.

Minion SS for an all year round rear tyre. Fast as hell and grips where it matters. Been running one with a Shorty up front through the winter on the steep, Tweed valley slop fest trails. All good.

Interesting. Id agree. The Magic Mary has been grippy as anything

How does a Magic Mary run in the dry?

How does the new nobby nic compare to a hans dampf?

Have you run a DHR 2 on the rear in the summer. How draggy is it?

Yeh, it was my go to rear tyre before we got some Minion SSs. Haven't used a DHR2 since. Might chuck one on again for racing but we'll see. Bit more drag on the climbs, like you'd expect. The SS actually corners better as well... Sideknobs are slightly bigger and wider spaced. Stupid grip.

Stupid grip in a good way?

Yeah.

How does the minion ss compare 2 the ardent race

And how is the breaking on the SS compared to the DHR 2?

DHR2 front and back is a perfect trail centre combo. At this time of year that's what I mostly ride.

If the Minion SS is anything like a Rock Razor then the braking won't be as good as a fully treaded tyre, I was running a Mary front and Minion DHF (back) for the DH stuff I did last year....i entered a race in high summer on a freshly cut in track in the South East and thought it would be perfect to try a semi slick on the back....how wrong I was!, at one point I nearly ran off track into spectators....it was awful.

...i wouldn't rule it out completely, somewhere hard packed like BPW might be better but in the earthy loose South East I needed more tread on the rear, once I switched back to a normal Minion out back predictable braking returned!

In looser conditions the fastest rolling I'd go for now is a HR or HR2 on the back, the significant center knobs are just too important during braking in my opinion, they act like a paddle and dig in if you like....with tyres like the SS or Rock Razor the paddle-like effect is missing and you're relying on the ground being hard enough to interact with the rubber compound to provide traction as opposed to the tread simply digging in.

So much of this is subjective too, from years of riding motorcycles it was apparent that some people preferred a certain brand over others, I loved Dunlop and would happily push a Dunlop front tyre way beyond the point I'd push a Bridgestone for example....even though my riding mates might have all been on Bridgestone and there was no objective difference in performance!

Despite that rambling post I forgot to recommend a combination, I use some of the below depending on conditions and surface etc....

Mary front, Minion DHR2 back.
Minion DHF, Minion DHR2 back.
Minion DHF, HR or HR2 back.
HR or HR2 front, HR or HR2 back.

Muddy:

Magic Mary front and rear.

Avoid:

Maxxis Ardent....god awful tyre in my opinion, the times I've used one on the rear have always resulted in unpredictable slides and poor braking performance.

Pretty similar but slightly less braking and climbing traction than an Ardent Race but so much more in the corners.

I don't know why more people aren't using semi slicks. Great fun.

Deviant. If you had one Spring-Summer set up which would it be out of the ones you have listed

I was thinking of going DHF front and DHR2. Just been so impressed with the breaking on the DHR 2 on the rear

Deviant. If you had one Spring-Summer set up which would it be out of the ones you have listed

I was thinking of going DHF front and DHR2. Just been so impressed with the breaking on the DHR 2 on the rear

Last trip to BPW was damp and I ran a 2.4" ST DHR2 on the front, ST Griffin on the rear. Oodles of grip and rolled really well.
Patiently waiting for the Minion SS to arrive in 26" for spring/summer. Looking to try that with a Aggressor on the front at some point.

I ran a pair of HRII's for a bit but found them super draggy. They gripped really, really well but have now swapped back to a DHF for the front and am happier.

I'll be sticking a Minion SS on the rear for the summer because I was a big fan of the Rock Razor that I ran for a bit (although it was a bit sketchy on steep loose stuff).

I've not tried an HRII but I was a big fan of the original. Do they roll faster than a DHRII? A lot of what I have read says otherwise.

Spring summer set-up for hardpack/trail centres:

HR or HR2 front and back.

Taking into account more natural exposed riding, looser ground, woods/forest stuff i'd simply chuck a Minion DHF on the front instead.

I only bring the Minion DHR2 out as things get wetter and i slip on the Marys once autumn comes, initially on the front only (with the aforementioned DHR2 out back) and then in the winter i swap to Marys F&R...which is what i'm currently running on my HT.

Interesting thread though, i've always thought of Minions as more draggy but quite a few on here rate the HR and HR2 as more draggy tyres.

Interesting. Id agree. The Magic Mary has been grippy as anything.
How does a Magic Mary run in the dry?

It runs surprisingly well up front in the dry. Not draggy at all and cuts through a top dust layer really nice. It is a really confidence inspiring front tyre.

How does the new nobby nic compare to a hans dampf?

I'd say if it proves to be as reliable as a Hans Dampf (never had a puncture on one of those) then it totally replaces it. I only run Trail Star compound versions of all Schwalbe. The Nic feels very much more like a mini Mary than a Hans Dampf and that can only be a good thing up front. I loved the front end with it. I'm going to put that Nic front wheel on the big bike next time I go on an all day epic.

I think the Nic is dragging a little bit more on the rear than the DHRII does though but it's close and if I'm being picky it didn't climb quite as well as the DHR2 out back or clear mud as well but the Nic is doing miles better than a Dampf out back for mud clearing.

I've got a perfect mix and match setup now. I can sling a Mary / Nic or Dampf up front all setup ready to roll.

One bike is keeping the DHR II out back. I'm convinced that's the right thing to do on the bigger bike.

The other trail bike is testing the Nic both ends... but because it punctured the rear it needs to earn my trust again. It did well last night though. Sloshed in some extra sealant to be sure.

I think the DHR2 3C is a stunningly good rear tyre all year. Extremely reliable.
I have a feeling the Nic will not work out on the rear for me. I'm too agro but it might be a great front when a Mary isn't needed.

Do you think the new nobby nic in trailstar is grippier than a hans dampf or a DHF?

Does the Nic have a greater volume than a DHF?

Does anyone know if the DHR2 rolls faster than a HR2?

Does anyone know if the DHR2 rolls faster than a HR2?

I found the HR2 was slightly faster rolling but nowhere near as grippy, especially under braking. I'd rather have more grip for a little bit of extra drag.

Do you think the new nobby nic in trailstar is grippier than a hans dampf or a DHF?

As good as if not better than the Hans Dampf TrailStar - this new Nic is very grippy. I'm liking it more to the Mary for grip - it's been solid grip wise so far and considering the conditions ATM that's good going. Only demoed a DHF in the dry once. The rear Nic already has two sealed up puncture holes in it though from the first ride (putting that down to bad luck). Second ride over sharp rocks proved fine (not inspected it yet but still up when I kicked it this morning). Verdict is out. I trust a DHR2 rear 100% so will switch back if I can't ride a rear Nic reliably. We'll see.

Does the Nic have a greater volume than a DHF?

It's looking slightly larger than a DHR2 and slightly less than a Mary. All 2.35 on 26. I can't fit Hans Dampf as rear tyres on my Five but the Nic has gone in fine so has to be close to the DHR2 as that fits fine too. The Dampf just has sticky out side knobs that make it wider than any other tyre I have.

Does anyone know if the DHR2 rolls faster than a HR2?

DHR2 is faster rolling than a HR2 for me. DHR2 is also a lot lighter in 3C form than a similar HR2.

My last (first) trip to BPW was also quite damp and I ran my Whyte T-130 Works with a DHF on the rear and a HR2 on the front which one of my riding buddies ridiculed me for. The thing is over the last 25+ years of riding off road I've often found running a back tyre on the front or vice versa sometimes works for me, I'm a great believer in trying stuff out and forming your own opinion.

Tyres are such a personal thing, I love the combo of a Ardent Race on the rear with a DHF on the front in the summer but oddly I also love the DHF on the rear with a Shorty on the front in winter.

The problem is modern tyres are excellent but expensive so trying out different combos starts to get expensive at £35 - £55 a tyre.

I can give a better account of the new 2015 Nobby Nics after Sunday's AM ride. I also rode Magic Mary / DHR II on Saturday at Llangollen's DH track.

The Nics are the TrailStar SnakeSkin version in 2.35 x 26 inch running tubeless on Flow EX rims with an extra 40ml of Sealant on top of initial setup amount after my 1st ride disaster just to be sure. They've now done almost 50 miles.

The natural trails dried up considerably for the weekend so I rode right up over the boggy bits and down the rockiest singletrack in the area. I smashed them into everything and they survived. In the thick sticky bits of mud they did clog a little bit but not too bad (even the Magic Mary on Saturday did the same) and the traction on the rear was very good going up. My only tiny negative is that I had a hint of the "I've got a flat" feeling at the rear on loose gravel / rocks going down which I rarely get on the Maxxis DHRII and they growl and vibrate a bit on tarmac.

I have to say I'm impressed and beginning to trust the Nics a bit more now. I'm especially impressed with it on the front. I'd happily put a DHR II back on the rear and leave the Nic up front.

The Magic Mary TS and DHR II 3C got tested pretty well in the claggy drying out soil at Llangollen DH too. I wondered how they'd grip at all with the tread almost completely filled up at some points but they did. Would I take the Nics there during winter? No but I'm still very much a beginner DH rider so I'll cling onto my Magic Mary safety blanket for that stuff if you don't mind 🙂

Next test might be to swap front wheels over and try Mary/Nic and Nic/DHRII.

I picked up a HR2 on Sunday in a sale, it's wire bead but I can't see what compound it is it just has a small (dh) on the tyre.
What should I pair it with and what end should I put it.
Cheers