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I have just changed out my rear tyre from a Racing Ralph (29x2.25), to a Nobby Nic (29x2.25). I was surprised that there was not much weight difference, the Ralph being 700gms, the Nic being 840gms. Most reviews mention how "fast" the Nic rolls, would you agree that it's a fast rolling tyre ? seems quite a chunky tyre, I'm expecting it to be noticeably slower than the Ralph.
I've had the more basic Nobby and they do roll quite well, better than the Minions I've got now, but I swapped to Minions as I didn't like the way Nobbies handled off camber - they'd just slip out. I'd see it as an XC tyre.
Whether its fast rolling would depend on your point of view.
I would say yes, however i just switched form a magic mary front/hans dampf rear, to a dampf front and nobby nic rear for the summer, so its noticeably quckier rolling, however a couple of my more hardcore xc mates run racing ralphs and compared to those it'll likely be slower as depicted on the schwalbe website.
What was the reason for the change, as id consider the racing ralph to be an all out xc tyre and nobby to be more trail rated.
I found the Ralph would squirm quite easily, it had to be run at >30PSI tubeless to stop it squirming on corners (87kgs on a hardtail).
Yes it's a fast trail tyre but for me noticeable slower than the Ralph, but not so much that it feels like an anchor. NN front RR rear is a good all round combination for just riding around summer use.
I found the Ralph would squirm quite easily, it had to be run at >30PSI tubeless to stop it squirming on corners (87kgs on a hardtail).
Thats fair, i have had any issues with mine so far, albeit only 2 runs old, im 95kgs but it is on a full squish.
Never used racing ralphs so cant compare, but i did notice i was running into corners a lot quicker than i normally would with the nobby's.
That's a fairly big weight difference? IME, NN is much slower rolling on the back than a RR
It’s not quite what you asked OP, but I run Nobby Nics 27.5” x 3” on my rigid Stooge. I find them a competent all rounder.
They roll well enough, not draggy enough that I worry about it, grip OK, fairly predictable when they get to their limits, they give you a bit of a warning that you might be pushing your luck rather than just dumping you on your arse.
I have the 2.4 speed on the back of my HT paired with a Mary 2.6 up front. Rolls pretty well and holds speed. Used to run Maxxis tyres and fancied a change. Impressed so far but do find the NN loses grip quicker in the wet.
I've been using NN as my go to, can't be bothered changing my tyres for summer/winter tyres for years and various iterations.
When I got my first set, I was moving from some dual compound maxxis XC orientated tyres, looking for something with a bit more grip I think. I was really surprised at the NN. seemed to maintain speed much better than the old tyres, whilst being chunkier and grippier in corners. This was the triple compound pacestar, with a trailstar up front for added grippage. perfect.
then they changed the tread a bit and they didn't roll quite as well, not a massive difference, and it may be because they increased the thickness of rubber on the sidewalls as one of the main complainst was fragile sidewalls. so weight went up, TPI went down and they lost a bit of suppleness. There was very little difference between the performance compound and pacestar too.
Addix compounds didn't make a lot of difference, so IME just a rebranding.
Not tried the newest versions, but on paper the weight has increased quite a bit, which has got me looking at alternatives, which is a shame.
Not sure about the 2.25's but the newer 2.35's solved the sketchy washout issue on the older Nic tread. They're great front tyres.
I ran Nobby Nic front / Racing Ralph rear for many years and it's my favourite general xc / light trail combo. Fit and forget for most of the year if you want speed over grip.
And the answer is... very fast! Just back from an 8km spin and am really impressed with how fast and agile it is on all terrain, but mostly on the road. It's very very close to the rolling resistance of the RR. Hardly any "humming" from the tyre on the tarmac, very happy with my purchase.