I’ve been using hans dampfs on the front since they first came out and pretty much found it the perfect tyre for me grips well and predictable. Had them on my previous 26 enduro and now on my current 29er stumpy.

I swap and change rear tyres throughout the year but the Dampf is fit and forget – perfect all year round imo.

I need to replace it and rather than getting another Dampf I’m thinking of going with a MM and pairing it with a spesh ground control which works well for me on the rear at the minute.

Anyone gone from a Dampf to a Mary and what do you think? Is the Mary that much more of a drag compared to the Dampf, not that this matters with me only fitting it on the front.

I want a fit and forget tyre that I can use all year round.

Thanks

I want a fit and forget tyre that I can use all year round.

I’m not sure that there is such a thing.

I went from HD to MM on the front of my quarterhorse, it doesn’t fill up and hold filth as much as the HD, the side knobs allow you to really crank it over and it holds its lines better.
Run one from mid summer till now and it’s great in rocks and roots as well as wet slop.
I ride mainly Mendip on glass like limestone when it’s wet, have used in Lakes, Cwmcarn, Dartmoor also.
Have a spare MM in the garage ready for when it wears out.
Don’t find it any more draggy, but grip is further advanced compared to HD
Run a 2.4 Onza Ibex on the back which is a great option too

I swapped from a hans dampf to a mary on the front of my chameleon and I’m very impressed it’s pretty much the perfect tyre for me in the current conditions where I ride. It has an amazing amount of grip and rarely when it lets go it’s very predictable. It seems to like being cornered hard where the big side treads really grip. I may go back to the hans dampf in the summer but I don’t find the mary too draggy even on the road.

I’m a wee bit of a broken record on this, I quite liked the Mary, it’s a decent tyre but I honestly think the Maxxis Shorty is just the same idea, done better- I couldn’t identify a single thing that the Mary does better. Almost a shame for schwalbe as it’s a good tyre, it’s just been made pointless imo

Both are definitely more soft conditions tyres but they do work pretty decently on hardpack. I don’t really believe in “one year round tyre” but if you had to, then this would be a contender

I swapped, only issue I had was the mud sticking to the sidewalls otherwise a great enduro/dh tyre.

^ put silicone around sidewalls, makes a huge difference