You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Looking for some tires to go tubeless on my new hardtail. Choice comes down to these, but not sure which to go with.
Riding is (or will be when it opens again) Woburn (so sandy trails), Cannock Chase occasionally and then local rides so a mix of road, fields and gravel.
The Barzos seem like a good match for the local riding I'll be doing (light, fast-is rolling and enough grip), but the Hans-Dampf are probably an all together better tire for trail riding where I won't really care about overall speed but will want the extra grip.
Any experience with either of these (or mixing them)?
Not tried the Barzo. But I love the Hans Dampf for a rear tyre. I ride either at Afan or FOD mostly and they're great there. Paired up with a Magic Mary on the front.
Been running barzo 2.4's for two seasons. Love em.
No experience with hans dammf.
Two very different tyres....Barzo very XC, Hans Dampf trail/enduro
If you're a wheels on the ground kind of rider rather than lots of jumps, maybe the Barzo will be better. Hans Dampf might get a bit draggy for that kind of riding.
What are you running on the front?
The only issues I've ever had with Barzo's - for XC - is them sliding on loose dust over hard. To qualify I'm not a leaner so they may be better once on the edge.
I'd be putting the HD or a more suitable Vittoria tyre on the front and Barzo on the rear TBH and make sure its the TNT version on a hardtail as its a bit more robust.
As an aside, I'd love someone to try the new Syerra, which purports to be better in the wet than the Barzo and I'm wondering is a Maxxis Forecaster rival.
I usually run a Hans Dampf on the front and a Racing Ralph on the back for an XC trailbike. A Magic Mary will obviously give more grip up front if you want to hammer the descents, but I like the HD as a trailbike tyre.
Kryton:
As an aside, I’d love someone to try the new Syerra, which purports to be better in the wet than the Barzo and I’m wondering is a Maxxis Forecaster rival.
Not ridden Barzo but a friend swears by them for everything but for most conditions except slipperiest fall season.
I have ridden Syerra and both sizes of Forekaster and neither is my favourite tyre. Syerra rolls superbly but is similarly lacking grip on rocks as FK. Depends on local conditions a lot.
Last barzo I had on the rear sliced it’s sidewall very easily on its second ride, might be a tan wall thing as Vitoria have always been quite good for me. Moved to Hutchinson toro.
Only ever used a HD as a front, they’ve been fine but quite a tough tyre for pure xc (no air or big drops for me)
Bontrager XR4 is a good tyre for what you want, one of them on the front with a Hans on the rear is a great downcountry combo.
mmanerr - thanks for the feedback, I'm a Barzo user and my experience is the same, as is my experience with a ForeKaster. I'll not bother buying a Syerra then.
Barzo/Barzo = good XC all-round set-up. It's my default "race" option. When I'm less bothered about overall speed I use Mazza front/ Agarro rear, for better control, but they are a bit draggy in comparison.
Hans Dampf is one I've only ever used as a winter rear, combined with a Magic mary up front, for general trail riding.
Two very different tyres….Barzo very XC, Hans Dampf trail/enduro
This. I like my Barzo when the riding get closer to gravel riding - great for long gravelling bikepacking etc. However they are truly dire in the wet on rock or mud - grip is shocking and I’ve binned it a few times as a result of mid ride rain. I only use mine if I know it’s definitely dry or little chance of rain and not technical. As a result I don’t think they make good fit and forget tyres. Hans Damf by comparison offer a lot more grip, but also more drag. For my general riding I’ve moved to Wolfpack combinations.
I'm running the Hans on front and rear...work well for me (but I'm happy to be told I'm not a decent rider!).
Latest pair seem to collect more stones in the side tread than the last 2 pairs...but otherwise, I really like them.
Use to run a Hans Dampf on the front. It's good in mixed conditions but not great at anything. Wouldn't want it on the rear though. Much too draggy.
Not overly keen on the Hans Dampf's that came on my Hello Dave. They're pretty slow rolling, not the lightest, could do with better shoulder tread and I managed to destroy my rear one (side wall tear).
I'd not bother getting them again.
I've been pretty impressed with my Pirelli Scorpion Trail I replaced my rear Hans Dampf with. It seems tougher, rolls way faster and has a nice shape on the rear where the side knobs do a good job in the corners. Not tested it in the winter yet but I think it'll be fine when ran at lower pressures.
I also run a Hans Dampf upfront with a Racing Ralph out back - both ran tubeless. I have a 100mm Carbon Hardtail and do strictly XC.
The HD can be a bit draggy on the gravel but it'll be hard for me to move away from this combo as I've ridiculous amounts of grip 😀
As a result I don’t think they make good fit and forget tyres
with respect, that’s a sweeping statement and isn’t always correct. It’s condition dependant and I agree a Barzo isn’t great on wet rocks, but down here in the South East, the Barzo only came off my bike once since 2019 and that was due to a mid race wheel swap due to a valve core failure.
Hand dampf up front and nobby nic rear. In summer I change the nobby nick ta o rock razor which is a brilliant spring/summer tyre.
If winter gets really bad I go double dampf but not fir long as its so draggy.
Another vote here for Hans Dampf front / Rock Razor rear, great combination for trail riding.
I bought a Barzo for the front but soon took it off, it seemed to slide too easily.
Replaced it with a Wolfpack which is excellent but now seem hard to get hold of.