Hiya Chaps,

I’ve been running Maxxis DHR2s on the rear for what seems like ages now, the current one is nice and rounded off. I’m thinking of a change, does anyone run a Hans Dampf in Trailstar on the rear?

I’ve got a pacestar kicking around, but it’s just too sketchy.

Interested in how draggy it is compared to a dhr2 or DHF…

Cheers

Ricks

HD’s work well on the rear in my opinion. I use them all year round for everything’s by from trail centre, blast round the Peak District and enduros. They can get a bit up gummed up though in sticky mud. I use a pacestar the majority of the time and at the right pressure (c 27 psi for me) I don’t find them sketchy at all. I use a trailstar for the enduros for that extra bit of grip or if I know I’m going to be riding on lots of wet roots. You do notice the extra drag on harder surfaces, but not badly, however the main reason for not using one all the time on the rear is the wear rate of the trail star compound – you’ll get through them too quickly and Its pretty easy to damage the treads under hard breaking especially on rocks.

They work better on the rear than on the front, but are still distinctly average. No idea compared to a DHR2, but I’d say they’re about the same or slightly slower rolling than a DHF (Maxxpro 60a one), and the DHF is a better tyre imo.

Less draggy than an hr2 on the back, but they clogg up much worse in mud,
OK if you are just riding rocky stuff, but if that’s the case may as well stick an ardent on

Fairly rubbish on the back tbh. Absolutely rubbish on the front. Draggier than a DHR2 and worse at absolutely everything except from wearing out fast and clogging with mud, at which it is nigh godly.

What size? I’ve got a 29er one somewhere you can have for the price of postage if you really want to try it, I’d feel bad taking money for it.

650b, come on, we only rode together about 4 weeks ago. To be fair, you did say you’d forget who the hell I was.

My missus says the same every evening.

Must have got lucky with mine cause I’ve had them on the front of 2 bikes for about 18 months in every kind of condition and they’ve been great.

rickon – Member

650b, come on, we only rode together about 4 weeks ago.

It’s a gift I have. But be fair, it could have been a different bike! (no that is not the reason)

I’ve had HDs on the front and rear over the years and not had a problem with them, better than Nics for sure!

OP I like them but use them predominantly on dry trails and in the Alps – front and rear. I would second the clogging up comment above. My HR2’s are the dual ply and weight a ton so the HD’s definitely run better for normal trail use but them somwould anything probably

Most of my mates who drank the Schwalbe kool aid are back on maxxis, the hd’s have gone and the minion and hr have returned. Overrated was the common worse used.

Was on Hans Dampf last season and wore through 2 rear tires. Now got a DHF front and rear. Grip is much better; can’t comment on wear yet. Wondering how I can persuade to abandon her nics…..

YMMV but I hated the Hans Dampf and chucked them within a month of purchase following two incidents when the bike slid out from under me with no warning. After I nearly broke my ankle the second time this happened, they went in the bin and were replaced with Specialized Captain Controls, which are brilliant.

I was running a DHR2 in the rear, slashed it in practice at Cwmcarn so put a pacestar HD on for race day. A tad draggier but worth it for the extra volume on the rough stuff, I really could not tell any difference in grip. Stages were dry rocky hardpack to dry loamy stuff.

I ran that same HD on the rear of the HT all winter and found it fine

Captain Control be wytchcraft tbh, nothing so fast should grip like that. Wish they made a 2.3 29er version… (there’s a 2.2 but it seems to be impossible to buy in Europe)

I’d swap my Granny for a 26″ Captain.

I think the HD’s are OK…no better and no worse. I found the Trailstar compound to be really draggy on the rear.

My biggest issue I had with mine is that the knobs tear and the performance drops off big time. The last one I had ripped quite easily too.

I’m back on Maxxis now and much prefer my Minion DHF / DHR II combo.

In what way was the Pacestar sketchy for you?

I’ve used that and the Trailstar compound on the rear and can’t really say one had much better grip than the other.

The Pacestar is much faster rolling and a bit harder wearing though.

I really like the HD on the rear for gnarly riding, the only downside seems to be it can fill up in sticky mud.

Hmmm, I really pleased i’ve just put a HD trailstar on the front of my Meta AM. I’ve been on Maxxis for years and thought i’d try something new 🙄 Had a minion DHF on the front and a Nobby Nic on the back so thought a Hand Dampf might be less draggy and lighter. Maybe not the best £30 i’ve ever spent then.
See how it goes in the peaks this weekend………

I have a hans dampf on the rear at the moment, its the trail star compound and is wearing well.

I don’t find it too draggy, but to be honest its not a tyre I like. It was on the front and I hated it even more so, had no confidence with grip at all.

Will be back to maxxis at some point I think.

It seems hans dampfs polarise opinion.

I used to run them in trailstar evo compound front and rear all year round, and had no real complaints , but found it a bit draggy on the rear, so swapped to a specialized slaughter grid on the rear, which is substantially heavier (and tougher as a result) , but does roll a bit better. I still have the HD on the front, I quite like it, I feel no need to change for a different tyre. I’ve never tried the DHF/DHR, so may give them a try next. I did try the high roller II’s a few years ago and hated them (the only tyre I actually hated), it felt like there was no grip unless the bike was either stood up or laid right down on its side,there was nothing in between.

in between running the HD and the slaughter on the rear, I tried a maxxis ardent race, but found them far too fragile on rocky trails, they just ripped when you bounced them off rocks at speed. They rolled well and were light though.

it felt like there was no grip unless the bike was either stood up or laid right down on its side,there was nothing in between.

Exactly as it was designed, you had to throw it over to get it going.
Just gone for a 2.4 ardent on the rear, faster than a minion but still looks aggressive and tough enough in exo

Exactly as it was designed, you had to throw it over to get it going.

oh well, shows my built in tyre gripometer is correctly calibrated then. Though I have no idea why you’d want to deliberately design a tyre with that characteristic.

I’ve got a SG HD trailstar on the back and I’m not that impressed. The SG Magic Mary on the back of the other bike is a better all rounder IMHO.

To be honest, I’d rather run a dual ply Maxxis but my rims don’t seem to play nicely with them running tubeless.

Though I have no idea why you’d want to deliberately design a tyre with that characteristic.

It rolls well/fast and really bites on the edges when you treat it aggressively, the original would have some slip/go to it but bite when you got it stuck in. Plenty loved it, I preferred the minion but I seem to remember the HR being great in loam etc. when you got stuck into it.

The HR2 has fixed that TBH and is a terrific front tyre IMO.

Hmmm, I really pleased i’ve just put a HD trailstar on the front of my Meta AM. I’ve been on Maxxis for years and thought i’d try something new Had a minion DHF on the front and a Nobby Nic on the back so thought a Hand Dampf might be less draggy and lighter. Maybe not the best £30 i’ve ever spent then.
See how it goes in the peaks this weekend………

Give it a go and make your own mind up, heard really good feedback as a front tyre for rocky riding (though I’ve only used it as a rear myself).

I’d take some of the super-negative reviews on here with a pinch of salt.

Though I have no idea why you’d want to deliberately design a tyre with that characteristic.

It rolls well/fast and really bites on the edges when you treat it aggressively, the original would have some slip/go to it but bite when you got it stuck in

thats the problem i had with the original high roller, the transference from the center to to the side lugs. there was too big a dead spot in between meaning you really had to get the bike over to get side grip, not always possible / appropriate. to be fair, 9 times out of 10 they would always catch, but often felt a little sketchier than they needed to.

how does the HR2 compare?

HR2 is much better, but I still prefer minions

I’d take some of the super-negative reviews on here with a pinch of salt.

Having seen the side knobs looking toasted on some nearly new ones it will take more than a pinch of salt to fix them 😉

Now a leftfield suggestion would be the tomahawk, looking for one at the moment

I run HD’s front and rear, Trial and Pacestar, very happy with them. Good tyres in the Peak when pushed hard on rock and work well in Wharncliffe. We never really get claggy mud though, slop or grit, but not much clag. I find them progressive and confidence giving – as an ex-DH racer used to the slip/grip when ragging a set of High Rollers.

I’ve heard about side knobs tearing, but my old one wore like this after 1000 miles, some of which was sideways!

My only complaint is the sidewalls are a bit thin. My new bike with have some Maxxis on, not sure what yet, I’ve asked for recommendations.

As an aside Hans Dampf is the German for “jack of all trades” so its supposed to be an all round tyre

I’ve got 4 HD’s hanging up I’ll probably never use or I’ll take them to Antur and burn them up in a few runs for a giggle. Knobs come off so easily.

I used Trail Star HD’s front and rear for a season and it’s very draggy on the rear – noticeably more than any other tyre I’ve tried out back. It also wiggles around on it’s tread making you think you have a flat. Up front it was good in either fully dry or fully wet conditions but not mud at all – cloggy as hell. They are good on Ice though. Not snow – clog again. When it was mixed conditions dry / wet it washed out at the front when it hit the wet coming from dry. At that point (June last year) I put a Magic Mary up front and never looked back. I then replaced the rear HD Trail Star with a Minion DHR II EXO TR 3C which was my favourite rear until yesterday… I just had a nightmare with that at CyB Enduro at the weekend so I’m looking for the next rear tyre now.

On my trail bike I’ve been having success with the new Nic up front in Trail Star. I’ve got the Nic Trail Star out back on that bike too and it’s as good as the DHR 2 for grip but it’s far too puncture prone in the tread and I’m worrying about taking my normal lines all the time. Up front a new Nic is a mini Mary. Very nice.

I’m happy with the Mary and Nic up front in Trail Star… both have amazing grip and have been very reliable.

Looking at WTB Vigilante or Trail Boss for the rear now in the Tough Enduro casing. I’m fed up of having sealant piss all over the place and not seal on the rear. I managed to finish the race and get a result but I definitely would have been faster had I had my confidence in a tyre that didn’t go from 35 PSI to 15 PSI on each damn stage. Damn DHR 2. Thought you were my friend. Best rear I’d tried up to now 🙁

Either that or Stans sealant is just crap. It was filled up with 60ml at lunch before the race runs, it sealed then as soon as I hit the rocks on the race run it blew out the seal. It still hasn’t properly sealed today. Touch that spot (not a big hole either) and it just explodes sealant everywhere again.

It’s coming off tonight… might patch it up inside but I’ll not race Enduro on DHR 2 again now unless I can find a sealant that actually does seal. Seen that Orange seal looks quite promising.

Fresh Stans bottle too. One of those things maybe? Bad luck? Maybe? Loved the race though. Just need stronger rear tyres.

For whatever it’s worth, my DHR2 has sealed as well as any other maxxis tyre- mine actually isn’t even the TR version, but they could just label it as such and I’d believe them.

Did you give the Stan’s a really good shake? I had a new bottle, put it straight in and couldn’t get a seal. The sealant has particles in, a really good shake and re-application sealed my tyre straight up.

I had one on the covert. Turned out the side knobs didn’t want to stay attached so it has been replaced with a hr2.
Feels way better in my experience, but that might just be due to being used to them

Sliced the tread wide open on my HD rear at Revolution Bike Park, was running it OK up to that point, though I did had issues going tubeless. Would try again if they were cheap enough.
DHR2 next.

I did hear about warranty issues on side knobs, a mate had one replaced – it doesn’t happen to all of them as you can see from my photo above.

I’m going Maxxis for a change though, just don’t know the range well any more so interested in feedback.

Running magic Mary front and rear on both the AM and DH bikes. Not really sure how draggy they may or may not be, but the grip is excellent; copes well with mud and roots and doesn’t seem to be an issue on rock.

HD aren’t bad, until it gets muddy IMHO, at which point you will struggle for traction on climbs. Nobby Nics are same but even more fairweather.

Schwables do generally seem a bit flimsier on the sidewalls than equivalent Maxxis, but then also tend to be a bit lighter. that said, flimsiest tyre I have tried in recent years was a Maxxis Aspen that I managed to snakebite (tubeless but went through sidewall) on a relatively smooth but jumpy trail.

I’ve run HDs for a few years, usually F+R, no real complaints. The sidewalls do seem to cut easily, more so than other tyres I’ve used. Not had any issues with the side knobs ripping off, perhaps Im not skidding enough?

No need to skid to take side knobs off HDs – even did it on the front for me after a few months. Just have the wrong compound. Apparently it’s the solid outline with lighter fill on the Schwalbe and Hans Dampf logos and all the newer silver shaded no solid outline writing ones are not meant to rip as easily. Read that somewhere then checked mine and indeed I had two different kinds of logo prints. Hadn’t noticed until I looked for the solid outline.

Personally I think the new 2015/2016 Nics are better than the HD in every way. They will suffer punctures and tears the same but grip / mud / tearing / wear / weight is all improved over the HD for the same use.

The only exception is you can get a Super Gravity HD but can’t get a Super Gravity Nic. I’d like to see a Double Defence Trail Star Nic come out to stop the easy tread punctures. They do a Pace Star DD but I never got on with Pace Star.

Super Gravity Trail Star Nobby Nic 2016 would be a good tyre for me in 26 please. If it came in around 800-850g with Super Gravity I’d put them on the rear all year. Normal TSC SS Nic is 760g and I’d put that up front and switch to a Mary when needed. I don’t seem to have front issues, just rear.