Which Schwalbe tyre?

Fudgie

My Canyon came with 2.25 Nobby Nic evos front and rear. On my hardtails I use a Kenda Nevegal 2.35 Stick-e on the front running at 30 psi which sticks to anything but sacrifices a bit of speed. Riding the Nobby Nics over the same trails I find them very fast but more skittish than the Nevegals and I don't feel so confident with the front end when it's slippery.

The obvious solution is to put a stick-e on the front of the Canyon. It would slow it down a bit but I don't race so I'd rather have grip. Thing is the Schwalbe tyres look really good on the Canyon and I might just live with the front Nic for aesthetic reasons - and because it's a bloody good all-round tyre.

Question - is there a soft compound tyre in the Schwalbe range that would give me more grip than a Nobby Nic but still match the looks of the Nic on the back? Slower is OK.

.blitz

The only Nic I've used that's any good is the 2.4. It's an animal compared to the smaller versions and is most excellent on the front. Massive grip in everything from winter clag to summer dust bowls although it is quite heavy.

weeksy59

i find the NIC 'wanders' a lot for me...

I've had 2 Ralphs explode on me now, they won't be bieng used again.

I'm debating a Black Jack pair this week.

andrewjoseph

You want to keep a tyre on the bike 'cos it looks good, despite it feeling skittish and makes you worried?

Will you have the same feelings about the Nic's after you have crashed?

You like the nevegals because they have good grip. Do you really need to think hard about it?


I prefer grip to speed (most of the time) i put schwalbe black jacks on my bike last summer and they were great. Broke my arm in september and not been allowed to ride until last week. Took the bike out a few days ago and found the jacks terrible on wet loose stones. Put the advantages back on PDQ!

Fudgie

Thanks guys. Seems like my first impression of the Nics being skittish is correct. The tyre clearance on the Canyon is a bit tight at the back so limits what I can do there.

I'd like to try a 2.4 Nobby Nic in the front but they're a bit expensive to experiment with so I'll pop a 2.35 Nevegal in and leave the existing 2.25 NN in the back and see how it goes.

Thanks for the advice.

Beardface

I'm running 2.25 Fat Alberts (F&R), and they've been superb. Grippier than the NN's, but still roll nice enough for me!

Fudgie

I was put off the Fat Albert by this review: BikeRadar Review

andrewjoseph is right. As I know that the Nevegals suit my riding/routes and give me confidence, it makes sense to use them instead of the Nics. Especially as I've got a pair in the garage doing nothing! I've just put them on and I'll see how the Canyon gets on with them tomorrow.

Thanks again for the advice.

robertpb

Nobby Nics are very pressure sensitive to body weight, I've found there is only a 4psi frame for top grip.

I run 23psi on the front, if I raise it to 27 the grip just goes.

Schwalbe recommend 28psi for a 75kg rider, you can take another 2psi off that for a front tyre.

trail jacker

Rocket Rons are fantastic, cant rate them enough.

Check this out too; http://www.on-one.co.uk/news/products/q ... albe-tyres