Hans Dampf v Maxxis Minion

Sharker69

Yes another tyre question.... :?

I'll be changing tyres soon from the standard Mountain King 2.2 my bike came with. I'm looking for as much grip as possible without resorting to swamp thing super sticky/tractor tyres! I understand there will be a bit of drag in places but can cope with that.

So anyone here have experience/advice with the dampf or minion riding year round? Looking for 2.35 both front and rear I think...

Cheers!

rockmonkeysc

I have only used the DH Minnion but it's a really great tyre. Works well in the dry, on loamy trails & when really wet, useless in damp conditions though.
I have used Hans Dampf's,really good all condition tyre but huge for a 2.35 (wider than a 2.5" minion) and has quite a lot of rolling resistance.

Sharker69

Wow, so the Schwalbe would be fine for the front but may need a smaller alternative on the rear you think?

porton

Hans Dampf provide amazing grip on the downhill, but I found too much rolling resistance on the uphills. Changed rear to advantage 2.25 last week and felt easier on small blast round Llandegla yesterday.

Sharker69

Cheers Porton, just the advice I was after. Will look in to an alternative rear tyre to keep me moving!

rockmonkeysc

Another tyre similar to the Hans Dampf which I have tried & liked is Bontrager XR4. Grips in all conditions and doesn't drag half as much as the Hans Dampf. The 2.2" version is pretty large, I wouldn't go any bigger.

lawman

from what I've heard the hans is a bit draggy, but I reckon a trailstar teamed with a nobby nic 4cross on the rear it could be an insanely good combo

Sharker69

Thanks for the suggestions guys!!

Think I will try out the dampf/nobby Nic combo and see how I get on...

Mccraque

A friend of mine is running the Dampf's and loves them - although maybe front and rear would be a bit draggy. Why not just stick one on the front?

Myself - as a variation of a them...run a Conti Rubber Queen Black Chilli 2.2. Superb tyre. Confidence inspiring grip and rolls ok too.

Sharker69

Cheers Mccraque, will do. Gonna try a dampf on the front and nobby Nic on the rear I'm hoping it will suit my style of riding...fingers crossed anyway.

.blitz

I like Minions but just a word of caution they are the Rock Shox of the tyre world there's one for every day of the week and all they have in common is the word 'Minion'

The 2.35s are (imo) some kind of mistake at the Maxxis factory they have a Minion-shaped tread made out of a plasticky compound on a skinny little XC carcass I couldn't get them to work front or rear on three different bikes

The 2.5s are the 'real' Minions but again there are a million different sidewall & tread combos choose carefully

Nobody buys the DHRs

specialeyes

lawman wrote:

from what I've heard the hans is a bit draggy, but I reckon a trailstar teamed with a nobby nic 4cross on the rear it could be an insanely good combo

Anyone used the gatestar compound? Was looking to pull the trigger on some hd's myself, pacestar on the back (would this be less draggy?) On the nic side of things, does the double defense stop the tyre collapsing in on itself when pushed hard into corners?

.blitz

specialeyes wrote:

...pacestar on the back (would this be less draggy?)

The Pacestar compound is hard like 70a. Fast but not grippy

specialeyes wrote:

... On the nic side of things, does the double defense stop the tyre collapsing in on itself when pushed hard into corners?

The Snakeskin sidewalls make the biggest difference - more supportive and more tolerant of variations in pressure.

lawman

I havent tried the gatestars yet, but will be getting a pair as soon as I get my student loan I can live without booze for a few weeks

milko9000

I have HD, Trailstar up front and Pacestar on the back. Compared to my old Nobby Nic combo I love it.

Sharker69

With the Hans on both front and rear, how do you find the climbs and the drag?

Does the Pacestar really lower rolling resistance?

bails87

I've got the HD pace/trailstar combo and think they're fine drag-wise.

I'm probably quicker with them than the Nobby Nics or Maxxis Advantages I had before because I'm much more confident chucking the bike into corners at speed. I'm really happy with them.

That's on a Carbon 456 riding mostly standard trail centre stuff.

milko9000

Sharker69 wrote:

With the Hans on both front and rear, how do you find the climbs and the drag?

Does the Pacestar really lower rolling resistance?

Pacestar is a harder compound so it presumably makes some difference, but probably a subtle one. I don't particularly notice them being especially draggy to be honest, but I'm a bit of a lightweight and when it comes to Strava I seem to compete higher up the leaderboard on climbs than descents (despite riding a bike perhaps more suited to the opposite). My BKB climb time personal best was set on the hans dampfs, about five seconds faster than I did it on nobby nics. Since there'll be lots of other factors involved (like how fit I was feeling, how long I'd been riding beforehand, how motivated I was, etc) I can only say they can't make that much of a difference in drag!

ThePriory1978

I’m also riding Dampfs front and rear. Pacestar/Trailstar combo.
I used to ride a front/rear Minion F/Ardent combo.

I havent noticed any drag on the Dampfs, the grip levels are much better than the Minions, imo the Dampf is a much better tyre.

I have noticed that the 2.35” Dampfs are noticeable heavier than my old tyre.
The 26” 2.35” Dampfs are 765g

For example a 2.25” Snakeskin Nobby Nic is 580g and a 2.35” Nobby Nic without Snakeskin is 595g .

So 2x 2.25” Snakeskin Nobbys would save you 370g over 2x 2.35” Snakeskin Dampfs. That’s quite a considerable weight saving.
Maybe that’s what folks are referring to when they say Dampfs are draggy. They just make you feel like you’ve been eating too many pies.

When my rear Dampf dies I’m definately switching to a Snakeskin Nobby Nic. Don’t think on the front I’ll be switching out the Dampf for quite some time as its ace.

specialeyes

Well i went for the dampfs trailstar/pacestar combo. Hopefully get them tomorrow and set the up tubeless.

lawman

yep, that 370g is a lot of weight to save, and as much as I reckon I would love the extra grip of a hans dampf, I just can't get over that I'll be adding nearly a pound to my bike, in my brain that doesn't compute The only things heavier that I've ever added to my bike were a haven stem and my reverb, usually its as light as I dare/can afford Still very tempted by a trailstar dampf/ gatestar nic combo, sounds like it could be ace!

bails87

Thing is, I honestly didn't notice the weight when I changed from NNs to HDs. I did notice the grip though.

Can you genuinely say that you notice the extra weight of your stem and reverb? I know what you mean about not wanting to add weight, but I think we get too hung up on a few grams here and there, especially when (for me anyway) we're not racing and we'd rather have stuff we can trust than stuff that's light but not as good.

lawman

Thing is 85% of the time, I know what the nics are going to do, admittedly the set I have atm are non-snakeskin ones so at low pressure they just roll all over the place, but set up higher they are pretty good. the reverb and haven I didnt notice, but going from intense system 4's (a tyre very similar in size, weight tread to the hans) to nics I noticed a huge difference in rolling resistance and general effort needed to get them rolling, a hans/nic combo like I said could well be the answer, but until my loan comes in I can't justify new tyres for the sake of it

ThePriory1978

If you ride aggresively the Hans Dampf are a superb tyre.

If i was Schwalbe (listen up Schwalbe) they should add a non snakeskin Hans Dampf to the line up so people have the choice of the Hans Dampf grip with a bit of a lighter tyre.
You dont really need a snakesin sidewall on a front tyre for UK riding conditions unless your Downhilling. The Snakeskin sidewall does make them feel nice and solid though when running tubeless so maybe that’s why...

lawman

My tubeless ready pacestar nics are shite at lower pressures, anything below 30psi and they are terrible, grip well, but the roll in the sidewalls is just awful. I can see why they gave the hans the snakeskin wall, its an aggressive tyre for aggressive riders, and they often need the support of a tougher sidewall.

rsilvers

rockmoneySC wrote:

"I have used Hans Dampf's,really good all condition tyre but huge for a 2.35 (wider than a 2.5" minion) and has quite a lot of rolling resistance.

Actually is is 59mm wide, so it is 2.35 inches. What one should say is that most tyres are not true to size but the HD is.

The Rookie

May not have been the same tyre 4 years ago - epic thread resurection!

rockmonkeysc

Holy crap! A four year old thread resurrection for that?