Best Schwalbe front tyre?

gunga73

Can anyone recommend a good schwalbe front tyre for trails etc, currently got a fat albert on

The Rookie

What sort of trails, what surface, do you ride all weathers or just dry?

gunga73

I ride mainly in the lakes all weathers

pilch

Hans Dampf

gunga73

That's what I was thinking, got a fat albert 2.25 on rear

Tom Barton

Another vote for Hans Dampf here. Good alround grip but particularly good in wet conditions - Go for the trailstar compound - its grippier for the front (I use a pacestar on the rear)

lawman

Not been for a proper ride yet but first impressions of the hans dampf seem good, not as heavy feeling as I thought they would and they roll pretty well too, I think a Trailstar front combined with Gatestar Nobby Nic on the back could be my perfect setup.

jonny2773

lawman wrote:

Not been for a proper ride yet but first impressions of the hans dampf seem good, not as heavy feeling as I thought they would and they roll pretty well too, I think a Trailstar front combined with Gatestar Nobby Nic on the back could be my perfect setup.

+1 on that

Hanns Dampf 2.35 trailstar snakeskin front, and pacestar 2.2 Nobby Nic double defence rear.........running tubeless and never and an issue, grip when i need it and loose when i dont, no fear of the bike washing out from underneath me.......just about the perfect tyre combo for the trail centres i ride........hamsterley, glentress, keilder

swod1

does any one have a front on view of a hans dampf trye ?

i'm wondering how wide the 2.35 and whether i would have enough room for one on my bike.

lawman

They've very wide, more like a 2.5 maxxis, they came up a good cm wider than my 2.25 nobby nics. What's the frame?

Tom Barton

I don't have a picture handy but it comes up just short of a 2.5 maxxis minion and is the closest comparison out of the tyres I've used, look a touch bigger than a 2.2 rubber queen (which are BIG volume tires for the quoted size) and reasonably less than the garganutan 2.4 RQs. (They look significantly bigger than 2.35 maxxis minions/HRs)

They have the appearance of 'pleasingly meaty' without looking like full blown downhill tank tracks (if that makes some sort of sense!).

swod1

lawman wrote:

They've very wide, more like a 2.5 maxxis, they came up a good cm wider than my 2.25 nobby nics. What's the frame?

it's for the front on my trek, I've got suntour xcm v3 forks till I fit some rebas on it.

I thought the Bontrager xr4 2.2 I've got on the front was massive but these hans dampf sound even bigger.

lawman

Might be tight then, even on a reba. There's plenty of space in fox 32's but I imagine judging from the size difference between my old nobby nics in my revelations it'd be tight on a reba

swod1

I've been looking at the fat albert instead in 2.25 size for the front, are these better than nooby nic as an all rounder tyre ?

I ride local and it can be muddy, a few gravely bits and otherwise hard soil if i go for a blast along the canal towpaths

rockmonkeysc

2.35" Hans Dampf's just barely fit in a Reba and they do rub as they deform. Go for a 2.25" at the most if sticking with Schwalbe. Nobby Nic's are a very good all round tyre.

Thewaylander

RockmonkeySC wrote:

2.35" Hans Dampf's just barely fit in a Reba and they do rub as they deform. Go for a 2.25" at the most if sticking with Schwalbe. Nobby Nic's are a very good all round tyre.

Matter of opinion, NN are terrible in a bit of damp, witha with any roots or rocks in the way.

mcnultycop

swod1 wrote:

I've been looking at the fat albert instead in 2.25 size for the front, are these better than nooby nic as an all rounder tyre ?

I ride local and it can be muddy, a few gravely bits and otherwise hard soil if i go for a blast along the canal towpaths

I've got Fat Albert's on both my bikes. I find them really draggy on the smoother stuff, but find this is worth it because of the confidence they inspire. The Albert will be coming off the cross country bike in summer if it dries out a bit, though.

swod1

mcnultycop wrote:

I've got Fat Albert's on both my bikes. I find them really draggy on the smoother stuff, but find this is worth it because of the confidence they inspire. The Albert will be coming off the cross country bike in summer if it dries out a bit, though.

I was wondering this as its mostly xc i do and when its dry i wouldnt want anything too slow.

In the summer if we ever get a decent one, what will you run on your xc bike nobby nic and racing ralph or rocket ron combo ?

tarbot18

Thewaylander wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

2.35" Hans Dampf's just barely fit in a Reba and they do rub as they deform. Go for a 2.25" at the most if sticking with Schwalbe. Nobby Nic's are a very good all round tyre.

Matter of opinion, NN are terrible in a bit of damp, witha with any roots or rocks in the way.

Rubbish, i use NN over roots , wet rocks etc all the time and have no trouble with them although i use the grippier evo compound tryres with a snakeskin one on the back.

rockmonkeysc

tarbot18 wrote:

Thewaylander wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

2.35" Hans Dampf's just barely fit in a Reba and they do rub as they deform. Go for a 2.25" at the most if sticking with Schwalbe. Nobby Nic's are a very good all round tyre.

Matter of opinion, NN are terrible in a bit of damp, witha with any roots or rocks in the way.

Rubbish, i use NN over roots , wet rocks etc all the time and have no trouble with them although i use the grippier evo compound tryres with a snakeskin one on the back.

I find them fine over wet rocks and roots, I actually prefer them to Hans Dampfs in wet conditions

fat_homer

jonny2773 wrote:

lawman wrote:

Not been for a proper ride yet but first impressions of the hans dampf seem good, not as heavy feeling as I thought they would and they roll pretty well too, I think a Trailstar front combined with Gatestar Nobby Nic on the back could be my perfect setup.

+1 on that

Hanns Dampf 2.35 trailstar snakeskin front, and pacestar 2.2 Nobby Nic double defence rear.........running tubeless and never and an issue, grip when i need it and loose when i dont, no fear of the bike washing out from underneath me.......just about the perfect tyre combo for the trail centres i ride........hamsterley, glentress, keilder

Pretty sure I'm going to go for the same on my new build but probably a pacestar snakeskin Hans Dampf on the front and a Nobby Nic in the same flavour out back.

Anyone know if you can get a Hans Dampf in a Rockshox Rev with a MuckyNutz bender fender?

lawman

The nobby nic is reasonably grippy to a point, but then it just stops and starts sliding. I've had the front end wash on me a fair few times on all the bikes I've had them fitted although the fact they roll so well has meant they've been my go to tyre for the last 3 years. But they do have a tendency to suddenly let go on certain surfaces and they are truly hopeless in mud, even a brand spanking new one was seriously out of its depth on certain trails I have at uni. The Hans Dampf might not have much more grip but first impressions and reading reviews seem to point it being much more predictable and better in muddy and wet conditions. The extra volume is welcome as well IMO over rocks, I've also found I have to pump the nics up hard when run tubeless otherwise the sidewalks just flop all over the place.

pilch

The Dampf is a killer front tyre, good in all situations and the grip is massive, I run it pretty soft though... the chunky profile & carcass can take the hits and give you that bit more suspension, its excellent for aggressive trail riding.

I've used Nics a fair bit too, IMO they are pretty good in sketchy conditions, more xc type stuff though in my experience.

At the moment I have a Dampf trailstar on the front & an ardent on the back, this combo seems to work well

rockmonkeysc

Hans Dampf's grip well enough but they do really drag, mainly because they are so massive.

pilch

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Hans Dampf's grip well enough but they do really drag, mainly because they are so massive.

Better on the front then...

lawman

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Hans Dampf's grip well enough but they do really drag, mainly because they are so massive.

Not noticed so far tbh, used mine to commute on the HD to work and they roll really well.

bragawd

Hans dampf... does what it says on the BOX i trust mine 101% whatever surface and the nobby nick is a good all ounder with less rolling resistance.