Nobby Nic vs XR4 review

shindig

Ive been riding Nobby Nics Evo pacestars all year and been pretty happy with them. However with the onset of winter I've found they don't handle mud well. I bought some XR4 team issues for my hard tail and they were pretty good. so I then bough a set for my Full sus to replace the NNs. Here's my findings :-

Fitting : XR4 went on very easy. No problems. (stan's Arch EX rims and also Mavic 719 stans tubeless conversion). NN went on ok but not so easy.

Dimensions: NN is taller that the XR4. NN carcas width 58mm, tread with 55mm. XR4 carcas width 50mm, tread width 55mm. The NN definitely has more volume and offers a more cushioned ride.

Rolling resistance: XR rolls much quicker on roads and hardpack. NN much draggier.

Mud: NN does not handle mud well. Ok on shallow mud where it can dig down to solid ground, but on any other type of mud it floats all over the place. XR4 slip out a little, but its predicable and seems to work in any type of mud.

Wet roots, rocks and leaves: NN is really good. No problems here. XR4 is bad. Braking on wet leaves the bike speeds up. No grip on these at all. On Wet roots it's lethal. On one of my local trails, the front slid out on a rooty section several times. To be fair it gripped again as soon as it got onto normal single track. But it does slide out big time.

Loose, loamy single track: Both about the same. Very good grip.

Cornering : NN washes out a little on loose over hardpack. other than that the NN is great. XR4 has definitely got more cornering grip.

Wear: NN rear was worn out in 300 miles. I have not had the XR4s long enough to comment.

Price: NN £50. XR4 £25 (sale price)

Conclusion: Tyre choice is very much a personal thing. NNs are a great tyre, but their downside is mud, wear rate and price. XR4s are a great all round tyre as long as you don't ride wet roots / rocky trails. They are a half the price of the NN.

I have decided to run the NN's this winter and may put the XR4s back on in spring. Most of my local trails are wooded singletrack. Then again I may sell them on ebay ....

cooldad

Did you do a back to back test on the same wet roots and leaves with both tyres?

If not your test is a bit pointless.

Nothing grips on wet roots.

shindig

Yip, I did exactly the same route so that I could do a direct comparison. One day of difference . I know that nothing grips wet roots well, but the NNs did not wash out the roots or wet leaves. And I I said, tyre choice is a very personal thing.

Somebody else may prefer the XR4's. I'll be keepin them on the hardtail but not the full sus.

rockmonkeysc

I have had xr4s and nobby nics. XR4 s were loads better for me. Using Continental Rubber Queens now and they are even better.

coulddobetter

Xr4 team issue no problem on wet roots at all

benpinnick

Ive had both. I wouldn't use Nics on any bike I own again, for a tyre with such a deep tread (and hence fairly poor dry capabilities) they completely suck in the mud. I think they have an operational window where they actually work well too small for a human to perceive. XR4s on the other hand are great all round tyres. Half the price (well often half the price) and twice as good.

Twelly

cooldad wrote:

Nothing grips on wet roots.

Fo sho

MonkFunk

benpinnick wrote:

Ive had both. I wouldn't use Nics on any bike I own again, for a tyre with such a deep tread (and hence fairly poor dry capabilities) they completely suck in the mud. I think they have an operational window where they actually work well too small for a human to perceive. XR4s on the other hand are great all round tyres. Half the price (well often half the price) and twice as good.

Agree. I've had both and wouldn't go back to NN's. XR4's much the better tyre for me.

BloggingFit

Find XR4's excellent but they do wear pretty quick. I've found they like a lower pressure as well.

Would use XR Muds for extreme winter weather and XR4's for how things are now and wet spring. They're not bad for Summer riding once they've had a bit of wear in them otherwise they can be a touch too aggressive when fresh.

XR3 up front and XR2 on the rear during the Summer tends to work well if you like a bit of rear wheel drift bias.

adamfo

For winter I've got a Hans Dampf Trailstar compound on the front and a Continental Mountain King II Protection, Chilli compound on rear. Lots of grip in all conditions except deep mud.

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

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

lawman

I used nobby nics for years, super light, pretty fast rolling and in certain conditions they do grip reasonably well but the biggest problem is how unpredictable they are. They can snap on you very quickly and I gradually lost confidence in them. I tried numerous compounds including the super soft Gatestar 4x versions and they still weren't great, so I think it's an inherent problem with the tread design. I've switched to Hans Dampfs, trail star front pace star rear and they're superb, very predictable, mega grippy and they roll really well too

poah

cooldad wrote:

Did you do a back to back test on the same wet roots and leaves with both tyres?

Nothing grips on wet roots.

I've found the NN (rear 2.1 pacestar) to be pretty awful on roots and anything other than thin mud - The mountain king 2.2 protection black chilli I have on the front is a lot better on roots than the NN but still scares the shit out of me lol

Kowalski675

TwellySmat wrote:

cooldad wrote:

Nothing grips on wet roots.

Fo sho

Nothing grips on wet leaves either - they have roughly the same coefficient of friction as ice.

I've been running XR3s front and rear through summer, and found them a great all rounder, but I fancy trying an XR4.

rockmonkeysc

XR4's are loads better than XR3's.
The XR3 is more of a summer tyre.

Kowalski675

RockmonkeySC wrote:

XR4's are loads better than XR3's.

Depends what you want them for. Different, not better. For me the XR3s were better - all the grip I need, and faster rolling.

The XR3 is more of a summer tyre.

Which is why I fitted them for summer...

BigAl

shindig wrote:

Braking on wet leaves the bike speeds up.

Sorry, no, that's not true

benpinnick

TwellySmat wrote:

cooldad wrote:

Nothing grips on wet roots.

Fo sho

WTB Vigilantes are immense on wet roots. Unfortunately they suck on pretty much everything else (other than rocks wet or dry).

cooldad

Just do an F1 style tyre change for the rooty bits. Couple of seconds and you're good to go.

mcnultycop

I don't really "get" swapping tyres for the seasons. I've found tyres I like (Hans Dampfs) on the FS and I pretty much know how they'll react in a given situation, whatever the weather. I may have tyres that don't perform as well on summer hardpack/wet slop as other tyres may but I know this when I set off and have tyres that will always handle most situations.

shindig

mcnultycop wrote:

I don't really "get" swapping tyres for the seasons. I've found tyres I like (Hans Dampfs) on the FS and I pretty much know how they'll react in a given situation, whatever the weather. I may have tyres that don't perform as well on summer hardpack/wet slop as other tyres may but I know this when I set off and have tyres that will always handle most situations.

I think I have kinda reached that conclusion after reading all often comments. If i run with one set of tyres , i can get used to them in all conditions, know their strength and weaknesses and predict how they will handle.

Kowalski675

D'oh! Just remembered that I meant to order an XR4 from JE James before the 10% discount code expired at midnight. Stupid boy.

97th choice

mcnultycop wrote:

I don't really "get" swapping tyres for the seasons. I've found tyres I like (Hans Dampfs) on the FS and I pretty much know how they'll react in a given situation, whatever the weather. I may have tyres that don't perform as well on summer hardpack/wet slop as other tyres may but I know this when I set off and have tyres that will always handle most situations.

My Hans dampfs were pretty expensive, I'd rather use cheaper, lighter, faster rolling tyres for trail centres and dry rocky trails where grip isn't going to be an issue.

benpinnick

mcnultycop wrote:

I don't really "get" swapping tyres for the seasons. I've found tyres I like (Hans Dampfs) on the FS and I pretty much know how they'll react in a given situation, whatever the weather. I may have tyres that don't perform as well on summer hardpack/wet slop as other tyres may but I know this when I set off and have tyres that will always handle most situations.

I don't get why people don't change their tyres for different seasons or even conditions. There's no reason unless you are lazy/run tubeless and don't have a compressor. It only takes a couple of minutes per wheel, need only be done every few rides tops, and means your bike is the best it can be for those conditions. If you lost few gears would you just ignore it for half a year or replace the cable? It also makes financial sense; two sets of tyres means you get two times the life span, so you get the exact same money's worth, and maybe even more if running too nobbly tyres in the summer wears them out really quick.