All Mountain Tyres

[harmonix1234]

I nabbed a nobby nic and RR in the 'performance' compound today and will be hitting the local trails this week on them. Will update on the cheaper compound as I am used to the more expensive softer ones. They look great and feel pretty sticky for a cheaper tyre.
Excited

 

[floody]

Really ? What was so wrong with it ?

What sort of conditions are you riding in ?

Sorry for the questions....... just interested.. Maybe nobby nics would be better. I thought Scwalbe's were the shizz !

Their XC tyres are really good.
The big bettys however were just sluggish, enormously heavy for their size - over 1200g each for a 2.4!- squirmy, not very predictable on the limit cornering (which was FAR lower than, say, a 2.35 minion), pretty average in the rain, just all around a fairly average tyre. I will say in their defence their puncture protection was very good, something I cannot say for the 2.5 exo Minions I have on now.

In terms of conditions the trails I ride tend to go from rocky and often slick up top down through loamy to hardpacked and loose closer to sea level.

 

[mimps]

Their XC tyres are really good.
The big bettys however were just sluggish, enormously heavy for their size - over 1200g each for a 2.4!- squirmy, not very predictable on the limit cornering (which was FAR lower than, say, a 2.35 minion), pretty average in the rain, just all around a fairly average tyre. I will say in their defence their puncture protection was very good, something I cannot say for the 2.5 exo Minions I have on now.

In terms of conditions the trails I ride tend to go from rocky and often slick up top down through loamy to hardpacked and loose closer to sea level.

They do 2 different version of the betty's. FR or DH. They vary between 800g and 1200g

 

[Wiffle]

They do 2 different version of the betty's. FR or DH. They vary between 800g and 1200g

Also 2 compounds, the triple compound and soft "Gooey Gluey" version.

 

[floody]

DH triple compound, IIRC. The ONLY thing they did well was resist punctures.

Comparing apples and apples, i.e. to a 3C DH casing minion, they are absolute rubbish at considerably greater expense.

 

[digitalhippie]

I wouldn't mind giving the new Conti X-King tires a go, maybe a 2.4 on the front, 2.2 on the back, both with 'Protection'... what do you reckon?

 

[Ivan]

I wouldn't mind giving the new Conti X-King tires a go, maybe a 2.4 on the front, 2.2 on the back, both with 'Protection'... what do you reckon?

I have had one ride with a X-king Protection 2.4 and was impressed with the cornering grip, but thought rolling resistance could be better. Its an improvement of over the Mountain King though.

If you plan on running tubeless, buy the tubeless version.

 

[Wiffle]

I wouldn't mind giving the new Conti X-King tires a go, maybe a 2.4 on the front, 2.2 on the back, both with 'Protection'... what do you reckon?

I was thinking the exact same thing; Rubber queens for when I want traction, X Kings for speed without losing all the grip.

 

[retroenduro]

Right after spending 2 hard weeks riding NZ from north to south AM style i have come up with the perfect combination. High Roller on the front and Larsen or Crossmark on the back.

so much grip in berms its scary!

(and yes i know that a load of you already run this, it just took me a few sketchy runs down little red riding huck to finally believe!)

 

[Beej1]

Just recently mounted a pair of 2.5 Minion DHF's on my Nomad. Both with the new Exo Protection casings, and a 3C on the front, MaxxPro 60a on the rear.

850g a piece. Don't know how that fits in with other tyres, but I'm not a gram counter so I don't really care either. At 95kg a few hundred gm here or there on the bike, rotating or not, makes little difference to me.

I just wanted a tyre that was grippy in the largest range of conditions and surfaces, and not get pinch flats or tears, since I pretty much just run the one type of tyre year round.

So far, they're the best handling tyres I've ever run. Going to convert them to tubeless with Stans Rim Strips sometime soon, and run a slightly lower pressure which I'm told will really bring them alive.

 

[Dales Cannon]

The rear Larsen wore out from too much riding on the road. And the front was about 50%. Given it is still pretty soggy around my place I decided to go for something a bit more aggressive and ended up putting 2.25 Ardent UST front and rear. So far so good, good grip and roll nicely. Easy tubeless fit up on STs with 3 or 4 caps of 'Stans' in each tyre. Much more grip in the heavy stuff and still ride fine on the hard pack. Price not too bad either for UST tyres. Be interesting to see how they cope when worn. Re-reading this thread I probably should have trialled the MKs but the Ardents appear to do what I want. At the moment anyway.

 

[The_NUT]

I just put a set of Kenda Small Block 8's on front and rear as recommended by some of the local pinners for Townsville trails (super rocky) and they are amazing!

Ive only just gotten back into riding after about 4 years and bought a new Giant Reign 1 fitted standard with Nevegals front and rear. The difference the Small Block 8's made was amazing! It feels like a different bike!

So much easier up and no compromise on grip coming down. They may prove to be a bit cloggy in mud but for all other purposes i think they are great!

 

[floody]

Just recently mounted a pair of 2.5 Minion DHF's on my Nomad. Both with the new Exo Protection casings, and a 3C on the front, MaxxPro 60a on the rear.

850g a piece. Don't know how that fits in with other tyres, but I'm not a gram counter so I don't really care either. At 95kg a few hundred gm here or there on the bike, rotating or not, makes little difference to me.

Don't try and ride rock gardens fast is all I will say.

 

[Beej1]

Don't try and ride rock gardens fast is all I will say.

I already have without issue.

 

[floody]

The day I put my EXOs on I had 3 flats within about 3 kms. Rear flat, front flat, rear flat...Used up all my tubes and emergency sealant and walked out.
This is riding fast and rocky stuff. Plenty of pressure, good rim tapes, deliberate line choice to try and avoid the worst of the rocks.

Carcass holds up well for cornering, grip is akin to a DH minion, but start ploughing bigger rock sections at pace and they fall to pieces. I threw one out, after one ride, because it was full of holes,like hold-it-up-to-daylight-and-look-through-it pinholes.

Great trail tyre, just be cautious in extended, fast, gnarly rock sections I think.
To be honest my LUST casing High Rollers were a more reliable tyre.

 

[3viltoast3r]

2.25" Schwalbe Nobby Nic's - So much grip! And roll fairly well.. Shame they are a tad expensive. Triple compound and 'snakeskin' marketing - Havent had any trouble with excess flatting, even ridden DH on a HT with them..

 

[harmonix1234]

I nabbed a nobby nic and RR in the 'performance' compound today and will be hitting the local trails this week on them. Will update on the cheaper compound as I am used to the more expensive softer ones. They look great and feel pretty sticky for a cheaper tyre.
Excited

Very happy with these, but doing a bit more reading it seems you all know about this combo and not really any light I can shed on the matter.

Only thing I will say is the Nobby Nic is very impressive in the performance compound.
I thought it would feel a bit lifeless and dull but they feel really good.
And not just for a cheaper tyre, they feel really good as a tyre overall.
Ridden in hardpack, loam, wet leafy and light sand.

Mind you, I have only taken them on the hills and trails around Nowra so no 'real' AM riding yet.

As they say on Yo Gabba Gabba 'Try it, you'll like it'.

 

[BLKFOZ]

First ride on new tyres today - very happy with choices;

Front - 2.35 Kenda Blue Groove, dual compound with harder centre treads and stickE side according to the marketing BS. Nice big tyre (at 95kg I like a big tyre to run lower pressure - roughly 30psi today but I might drop it slightly). Not the best ride for testing a front but it did fine - no negatives anyway. 695g claimed weight.

Rear - 2.35 Kenda Nevegal, again dual compound. Definately not as big as the Blue Groove in the same size but still decent volume. Grip on rocks was incredible - the noise they made gave me the impression that I need a little more pressure but I'm reluctant to go up to 35psi with this size tyre. Loose over hardpack cornering was good. 700g claimed weight.

Very happy with the combo - and at around $31 each through Wiggle, they cant be beat with free delivery over $80 something.

 

[muvro]

I really liked the Big Betty's in 2.4. I used the original EVO version, then went to the Freeride version. The EVO was a lot harder compound compared to the Freeride version. Both a foldable bead. I also have a set of DH gooey glueys in a wire bead that would be real grippy. But it depends on the terrain, I found the FR version's grip on sandstone was miles ahead of Highrollers, Nevagales, and Crossmarks. They rolled rediculously better than High rollers, the high roller felt like I had a flat tyre, even running a much higher pressure compared to the BB's. I run the BB's between 26-28psi in the front and 32-34 in the rear depending on the track I'm riding.

I've since moved from a 6" bike for AM to a 5" and am currently running the stock Ignitors. They will soon be ditched for a set of Racing Ralphs in 2.25, or possibly a Nobby Nic for the front in a 2.25. RR's are the ducks guts! They roll so fast on my XC bike and even at low pressures around the 26-30psi mark, grip anywhere at any time is phenominal and on most surfaces.

 

[Beauges]

2.4 Nobbly Nic front and rear for me. Works good with pea gravel on local trails.