My tyre shortlist

Garett

Surely I'm not the only one who spends hours combing reviews and the manufacturers sites trying to find the right tyre, ok maybe I am. Sad I know! :oops:

I'm after a new front for my Hardrock, currently on Nobby Nics 'performance' compound which are adequate and can't really grumble too much about.

I'll moving the good Nobby to the back and ditching the well worn rear.

So shortlist is as follows:

Schwalbe Hans Dampf trailstar.
Bontrager XR4 team issue.
Continental Rubber Queen black chili.

What would you choose?

felix.london

Just put a Conti BC RQ on my Rockhopper (with an BC MK2 on the back)...amazing tyres. That's all

Buddha1584

I've been running XR4's front and rear for a while now. Just gone tubeless with XR1 rear and keeping XR4 up front, good tyres for the money.

Garett

The XR4s do definitely win on VFM, they can be had for around £20 with a bit of shopping around. The other 2 are around £45 so are they really £15 better?!

benpinnick

I have both the Schwalbe and the XR4, and I am currently running the XR4s while the Hans Dampf gather dust....

andymc06

Jus put a Hans Dampf 2.35 Trailstar on the front of my Trance. Replaced a High Roller. The Hans is Higher volume, better grip and rolls just as well. 100g lighter too. Can be had far cheaper than £45 from Bike24.de or bike discount.de depending on offers. Recommended.

The Rookie

Garett wrote:

The XR4s do definitely win on VFM, they can be had for around £20 with a bit of shopping around. The other 2 are around £45 so are they really £15 better?!

Maths.......

lawman

Bike-discount.de do a hans dampf trailstar/pacestar set for about £50, I know you're looking for a single tyre, but at that price they are a steal! Just bought some 4cross gatestar nobby nics from them actually, basically they're a standard 2.25 snakeskin nobby nic with a supersoft shoulder compound for grip whilst keeping a fast rolling centre, should be an excellent tyre and I look forward to reporting back on them, very excited as the few grumbles I have with the standard pacestar compound nics (thin sidewalls and a small lack of grip if really leaned over) should be a thing of the past with the gatestars!! Hey if tbey work for Jared Graves they must be good enough for me!

rockmonkeysc

I have used the hans Damps & XR4's. The Hans Dampf is huge and drags a lot but I can't fault the XR4.
I will fit XR4's to my xc bike before winter and use them in all conditions until they are dead. It's worth paying the extra to get the Team Issue XR4, they are a good amount lighter than the cheap ones.

Rushmore

Racing Ralphs - for racing ( 90% of the time )

High Rollers for everything else...

andymc06

The XR4's get a lot of good reviews but many report them as wearing much quicker than Hans Dampfs. Food for thought.

Garett

Thanks for the input everyone. Just to throw it into the mix I'm also considering the Nobby Nics in Evo compound as I've been pretty pleased with the cheaper Performance compound.

When people say tyres wear quickly how long on average do they last? I've had my Nobby Nics coming up to a year now and the rear is pretty low on tread now, although it would probably still be ok for a dry day on something harder.

I'm beginning to move away from the Hans as they sound a bit draggy for me and their large volume might be overkill on my XC orientated Hardrock. Also the price of both the Hans and Rubber Queen are off putting. However I'm going to be in Germany next month so maybe I could pop into a LBS in Stuttgart and see if they're cheaper there.

lawman

Garett wrote:

Thanks for the input everyone. Just to throw it into the mix I'm also considering the Nobby Nics in Evo compound as I've been pretty pleased with the cheaper Performance compound.

When people say tyres wear quickly how long on average do they last? I've had my Nobby Nics coming up to a year now and the rear is pretty low on tread now, although it would probably still be ok for a dry day on something harder.

I'm beginning to move away from the Hans as they sound a bit draggy for me and their large volume might be overkill on my XC orientated Hardrock. Also the price of both the Hans and Rubber Queen are off putting. However I'm going to be in Germany next month so maybe I could pop into a LBS in Stuttgart and see if they're cheaper there.

Tbh other than weight and slightly longer life, there isn't much difference between performance and evo Nobby nics, grip is very similar, evo's perhaps edge it. The gatestar compound seems from first impressions much softer whilst still keeping a relatively hard centre tread for good rolling. I'm a big fan of the Nics and the gatestars seem to be the holy grail tyre for me.

Currently on sale on bike-discount.de which is about £26 each

http://www.bike-discount.de/shop/k371/a ... lding.html

felix.london

Garett wrote:

Also the price of both the Hans and Rubber Queen are off putting. However I'm going to be in Germany next month so maybe I could pop into a LBS in Stuttgart and see if they're cheaper there.

They are cheaper there...I got my RQ & MK2 (both BC, 2.2") from Bike-Discount for £28 each

Scion1

Get bontrager xr4 team issue tyres. I've just put a pair on my trek and so far their superb. Very light and fast rolling with loads of grip.

tarbot18

I use nn s in 2.25 evo all year round in ice mud rivers and very very occasionally dry dusty conditions and i love them have no probs and merlin are doing them for £32 at the min

robertpb

Merlin are £27.90 for NN's at the moment

lawman

Bike-discount have gatestar nics for under £27 and boy do I recommend them, without doubt the best trail tyre I've ever used, mega grip and they still roll well.