They appear to be pretty similar tyres in terms of the weight, use etc. Can anybody explain the difference and whether the HD (which appears to be flavour of the month) is significantly better than the FA, which doesn’t seem to have many fans – and also how it compares to a Rubber Queen which people do seem to like more.

I have a Fat Albert, but feel I’d prefer something with slightly stiffer sidewalls which squirms a bit less at low pressure (I run it at ~20psi on a uni – hence I’m also interested in getting something as wide as possible, reportedly the RQ are very wide for their sizing).

I’m interested to see the outcome of this one too.. see my posts earlier.

I might just stick to Nobby Nics as its what I know…

Not tried the Hans Dampf yet (heard it’s not bad but not amazing), but the only thing the Fat Albert has going for it over a Rubber Queen is it’s a bit faster rolling. The Rubber Queen absolutely slays it everywhere else. In fact, I’ve been quite vocal quite number of times just how poor I think the FA is on here, and I think if you’re paying so much for a tyre then it’s not unreasonable to expect it to work somewhat well. At least the RQ’s though hideously expensive, actually go some way to justifying their cost they’re so good.

Mboy have you used Nobby Nics at all, do you know how they compare?

The HD’s will squirm a lot at that pressure, they stiffen up around 30psi and under that they have a lot of sidewall movement.

FunkyDunc, will be able to let you know soon. Have just acquired a Nobby Nic to try out.

OH yeah, and as for pressure, less than 20psi is very low but then you know that already. If you want some sidewall stifness, the UST version of the RQ’s are much stiffer, but I still run a 2.2″ at about 35psi on the rear and about 30psi on the front otherwise I’ll still ding my rims or roll the tyre too easily.

The HD’s will squirm a lot at that pressure, they stiffen up around 30psi and under that they have a lot of sidewall movement.

Very similar to the FAs then, I was surprised how much pressure I needed in the 2.4″ tubeless to get stable grip.

UST Fat Albert 2.25″‘s are very fitting for most of the riding in my neighbourhood but HD’s are step above in terms of grip on rocks and roots.

What I like about the HD’s most is that they are very predictable in most conditions (not in mud) – FA’s have flexy multi part knobs which sometimes do strange things.
This year I have kept FA’s on one wheelset and HD’s on other set, I’ll use the latter for more rockier trails.

Got some 2.4 Fat Alberts, they are Ok, though not as good as my 2.35 minions – does that help?

I have a pair of HD’s on 5.1s and some UST RQs on flows. The RQs are marginally faster rolling once up to speed, but they are heavier (the back wheel of my HD/5.1 is the same as the front 2.4 RQ (the rims are similar weight), so the RQs take a bit more to get up to speed.

The RQs are definitely a trail hero tyre, they wrap and stick to anything so give fantastic grip, I must say though, for the weight and value of the HD’s, they’re just as good in my opinion, if I were buying new tyres I get HDs. Time will tell which ones are more robust, the RQs definitely feel tougher but it all comes at a cost.

I’ve used all three of these tyres.

Rubber Queen with black chilli 2.2 – bigger that a Fat Albert 2.25. Not quite as much grip as a FA but a bit quicker generally. Not quite as much edge grip as an FA either. Weak sidewalls for tubeless, even in ‘Protection’ version, and too thin to run low pressure without squirming.

Fat Albert 2.25 Trailstar, snakeskin sidewalls – This is the ‘New’ tread design and my current favourite front tyre. Great grip generally, ok rolling and good edge bite. Better sidewall stiffness and durability than the Rubber queen by some margin – kind of like a ‘UST-lite’ which is where I want my sidewalls to be. Very light for its size, which may present issues if you use inner tubes and don’t like punctures – but I don’t.

Hans Dampf 29er 2.35 Trailstar, snakeskin sidewalls. Reminds me a little of a Minion in terms of how it behaves. Reasonably quick for what it is, good edge grip (on a par with the Albert). Predictable pretty much everywhere. Theres more tread on the carcass, and that makes it heavier, and arguably more puncture resistant than the Albert, although, again, I’m running tubeless, so can really comment about that.

I’ll probably try a 26er Hans Dampf when I’ve worn out the Fat Albert, but even in 26er mode its still a bit heavier.

I found all of these tyres superior to Nobby Nics – I found them fragile, they filled with mud easily and they had twitchy edge grip.

I think if you’re paying so much for a tyre then it’s not unreasonable to expect it to work somewhat well.

I got mine from On-One, so that’s not so much of an issue 😉

For those asking about Nobby Nics – I use them in 2.1 version on my bike and find them fine for that, but then I don’t run very low pressures, and appreciate the low rolling resistance for what I use the bike for (now I’m into riding a unicycle off-road, the bike is even more predominantly a race machine). I also have a 2.4 which I’ve used on the uni, and it definitely doesn’t work so well at lower pressures, doesn’t have such good grip, and I’m sure is a bit more fragile compared to a Fat Albert 2.4. I suspect I’ll actually sell it on whilst it still has very little use, as I’m struggling to think of a situation where I’d choose to use it on the uni rather than the FA (and I don’t have clearance for it on the bike). Good if you want something with decent volume which is very fast rolling and does have decent grip – I’m just after something a bit more rugged for uni use (even racing whippets like me need fairly sturdy tyres for that).

Oh, and thanks for the comments from everybody else. Might stick with the FA for now, as it’s not all that bad.

I’m running an HD up front and RQ at rear, having run RQs front and rear previously. IMHO the HDs are far superior as a front tyre. They grip far better but still have a predictable release. The harder you lean them, the better they are. Best ridden aggressively. The snakeskin trailstars have a very stiff sidewall; on par with UST RQs so can be run loooooow. Best just under 25 psi and little squirming on a wide rim. Roll on par or slightly better than RQ at 25 psi. RQs wash out sooner when tipped on edge but they are a very solid and confidence building tyre.