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Fight! 😉
I'm looking to replace my battered HR2 on the back of my bike and looking at the above 2 tyres. Which is closest to the Hr2? It'll be paired with a magic mary on the front, and will stay on until it gets wet enough for a proper mud tyre so needs to be able to deal with a bit of off camber wet stuff in the woods
I'd take an Ardent over the Nobby.
HD have excellent grip, but if you are riding rocky terrain on a regular basis you may find the side knobs start to come off the carcass, leading to the tyre splitting...
Another hr2 id say....
personal opinion is that both of the tyres youre looking at are terrible.
Ive just put a mary on the rear..coming from a hd
NN rolls faster than the HD but HD has far more grip and is much more durable, rolls well enough in Pacestar compound on the back too. My NN didn't last long before it was trashed. I have an Ardent 2.4 on the back and a HD 2.35 on the front at the moment, I like(d) the Ardent but holed it badly twice at BPW last week, got a tube in it now as I think its tubeless days are over and it's not had much use. All 29er tyres
I've had both as rear tyres (albeit the old style NN). NN rolled quicker but less grippy and more flimsy (holed one badly on piece of flint), HDs also seem to blow up bigger. Have HDs front and rear now (Trailstar F, Pacestar R), I run tubes and pressures of 25-30psi and not found wanting for grip unless really loose/dusty where most/all tyres will struggle.
It's on a trail bike, mm front and rear would be excellent training but probably a bit slow. I like the HR2 but was wondering if either of these could replace it, especially with the prices from Europe at the moment. I like the idea of the nn for more speed, but the couple of reviews I found didn't rate it in the wet and I don't want to have to keep swapping
I found HR loads less drag compared to NN
skellnonch - Member
HD have excellent grip, but if you are riding rocky terrain on a regular basis you may find the side knobs start to come off the carcass, leading to the tyre splitting.
That's a warranty issue according to Schwalbe
I had the side knobs tear off a 3c high roller 2, which is partly why I'm looking at alternatives. Good to hear it's warranty if the same happens on a schwable tyre
I hated the Hans Damphs. Loathed, them, in fact. Heavy and draggy. I ran them tubeless and on a cambered slope they had a frightening tendency to slip out without warning. After the second time (when I nearly broke my leg) I ditched them for Specialized The Captains.
Happy now.
I tried a HD again as it came on a bike, thinking maybe I'd judged them too harshly. Nope, still bad- not enough grip for the drag, excessively round profile, and cloggy in mild mud.
How are you on sidewalls? Specialized's Butcher's a wee bit slower than a HR2 and has pretty lightweight walls, but provided you're not a tyre-tearer is a fantastic rear tyre in 26. Not so hot in 29 for some reason.
See, it's funny, Hans Dampfs have become my go to tyre year round. They tubeless well, they're reasonably durable for their weight (talking about 29er versions) roll ok on the back if it's a Pacestar, and grip pretty well too IMO. They certainly don't slide out on their edge like NNs do.
They do clag up in heavy mud, but these days I pick my battles in the winter, so that's less of an issue for me. I'm also running them on wide carbon rims, at pretty low pressure, so perhaps those are factors too.
Just goes to show how widely tyre preferences vary.
I run a 2.25 Nobby Nic rear and 2.25 Hans Dampf front and love them. Pace star rear and Trail star front. Not used them in much mud yet but great so far.
Maxxis DHR2. Better rear tyre than all listed so far. Dual compound, and will last for ages.