I am just looking at new tyres for Spring to go on my new 819 UST rims. Its my first foray into proper tubeless after running Joes No Flats and Ghetto so i thought i should invest in some proper UST tyres.

I have narrowed it down to Nobby Nic / Racing Ralph 2.25 EVO UST or High Roller 2.35 / Crossmark 2.25 combo.

I will mainly be using the bike for trail centre loops and uplifts at Inners and the odd “gravity Enduro”. I am thinking of getting a 3rd bigger Nobby Nic or High Roller to add in to the mix for uplifts swapping the front to the back and putting the bigger on the front.

Anyone had any experience with the combos above or any glaring reasons why they wont work? The High Roller / Crossmark combo is heavier in UST so i am swaying towards the Schwalbe.

They are going on a Foes FXR 2.1.

I only have one set of tyres for all year round, but then maybe I’m going wrong some where…

Anyhow, I have Nobby Nic 2.25’s front and rear and find that they work as well as other tyres I’ve had in the past. However I think they really drag on grass as though the tread eats in to it.

I thought about the 2.4 Nobbys but the weight is something like 640g as opposed to 520g for the 2.25’s

I run that Maxxis combo on my hardtail and love them. The crossmark gives a surprising amount of grip even in the mud.

Be careful to get the 2.25″ version in 60a duromer. They do a harder tyre in 2.1″ which is simply shocking in terms of performance.

The Crossmark is quite a high volume tyre. In fact, once inflated it’s not too far off the same size as the high roller!

I would maybe suggest an Advantage rather than a High Roller on the front unless you’re going for super tacky if you’re looking at reducing weight.

I run 2.25″ Nobby Nic up front all year on my FS and then either a 2.1″ Nobby Nic DD or a 2.1″ Racing Ralph depending on how wet it is.

The RR’s have a surprising amount if grip in mud & on rock for such a shallow tyre

I’m not a fan of the Advantage, i found it ok on the back but really tram lined on the front. I think the Nobby Nic / RR is looking about the best combo at the moment with maybe a Big Betty for uplifts.

I recently swapped a nevegal 2.35 dtc front and 2.35 advantage rear for a 2.25 Nic & 2.25 Ralph combo and although the increase in speed uphill is amazing, they are comparatively terrifying on the way back down!

I found with the Nev/Ad combo, I can really lay the bike down into turns but attempting to ride the same with the Nic/Ralph just leads to washing out, meaning I have to ride (even) slower. The back isn’t so much a problem as you can control it easily, but when the Nic upfront lets go, you’re over before you know whats happening.

Ralphs front and rear for me

Ralphs both end, don’t bother with USTs, normal Evos work fine, 2011 tubeless ready ones more so on UST rims, but less well on Stans rims as they’re bastard tight.

Pretty impressed with the NN 2.25 so far, they’re not as fast as they look but then, they’re grippier than they look so it balances out. Really quite poor in mud though but I think I’ll be getting a 2.4 to try on the front.

If you like big yellow brand names, how about the Ardent for the front instead? Crossmark has an amazing amount of grip for its speed and even does OK in the wet but I really didn’t like it on the front at all, it never really did anything bad but it always felt like it was about to, constant tiny wee slides and twitches that really got under my skin. Might seem unfair but I reckon a tyre has to feel good, just working well isn’t always enough since confidence is such a big deal.

Cheers for all the input people, to be honest im more in two minds than ever! No way would i go RR front and rear for my riding, im not an xc racer. Nobby Nic always seems to get good feedback from your average weekend xc / trail centre rider but seems to get a bit slated by the more gravity orientated. Thats why i looked at the High Roller / Crossmark combo instead as im used to Minion DHF and DHF reversed on DH stuff. I’m wondering now if the NN/RR might be too much of a sacrifice in grip for the sake of half a pound in weight over the High Roller / Crossmark combo. Especially with a super tacky UST on the front.

Just as an aside – njee20 – why wouldnt you use proper UST tyres on UST rims?? Whats the point of using non tubeless tyres and having to add sealant?

I hve a normal crossmark ghetto tubelss on the back no problem and I’ve run single and dual ply high rollers ghetto tubeless without any issue. That includes super tacky and exception compounds.

allmountain76 – Member

Whats the point of using non tubeless tyres and having to add sealant?

Usually conventional or Tubeless Ready tyres are much lighter than UST tyres. Also gives you a lot more choice and availability, and sometimes comes out cheaper to boot. Since practically everyone uses sealant even in UST tyres for the puncture protection, it’s no loss really.

For spring?

Highrollers on both bikes all year = ace.
Nobby Nics = utter guff.

There you go, sorted.

Northwind – why do you need sealant in a UST tyre on a UST rim? – Excuse my ignorance but ive never run full UST andi thought stupidly that full UST meant no sealant??

If thats the case then like you say the options are far easier as i can get a HR super tacky and a crossmark dual compound in non UST.

coogan – by spring i meant spring through summer – in the winter i run swampies and nothing else.

You can, but then you get no puncture protection.

Just as an aside – njee20 – why wouldnt you use proper UST tyres on UST rims?? Whats the point of using non tubeless tyres and having to add sealant?

What Northwind said, UST tyres are heavy, and seeing as normal Schwalbes work so well tubeless it’s just pointless extra weight. You can run USTs without sealant, but you get less puncture protection than using a lighter tyre with a bit of sealant. Add sealant and you’re making a heavy tyre even heavier…

Cheers for all the input people, to be honest im more in two minds than ever! No way would i go RR front and rear for my riding, im not an xc racer

Why? They have exactly the same tread on the shoudlers, just a bit less in the middle, so they roll faster, and corner the same. Nics are still crap in the wet (as people have said), but Ralphs are better in the dry.

allmountain76 – Member

Northwind – why do you need sealant in a UST tyre on a UST rim? – Excuse my ignorance but ive never run full UST andi thought stupidly that full UST meant no sealant??

In theory you don’t need it (though in practice sometimes a UST tyre still won’t have a perfect seal). But, no puncture resistance. So while you may not need it, most people still use it.

I’ve used UST tyres in the past but there was no advantage to it at all for my own riding, so I stuck with lighter standard tyres plus sealant, which is still lighter than most UST options. I think this is what’s causing the move to tubeless ready.

so let me get this right – tubeless ready tyres – just air tight and non porous? UST tyres same as but stronger side walls? If thats the case i might as well go for former unless they are liable to burping and rolling off compared to proper UST tyres?

Basically a tubeless ready tyre has a UST-style bead so locks onto the rim in the same way, but isn’t guaranteed airtight- needs the sealant for that. Some have thicker sidewalls I’m told, mine all feel and act exactly like normal tyres other than being a wee bit easier to seal up.

Even with standard tyres i’ve only ever managed one full-on burp and one smaller one, and the bigger one which flatted the tyre completely also left a big ding in the rim so I can’t blame it for that, it was a big thump

I guess what I’d say is, use tubeless ready if there’s a tlr tyre that suits you. Ie, if you want a skinny mud tyre, then there’s no reason not to get a TLR Mud X. But, don’t get TLR if it means choosing a tyre you wouldn’t- I’d sooner use the normal tyre than I want, than a TLR tyre that isn’t exactly what I want.

And I won’t be using UST tyres again unless there’s no weight or cost impact, which doesn’t seem likely.

Have a look at the Continental Mountain king MK2 , i’ve used them for a couple of rides and carn’t believe how fast they roll for the amount of grip they give , i’d say they beat the Nic’s in every way and are almost as fast as Ralph’s

A 2.4 NN is a bit big for an 819.

Also take a look at a Larsen 2.35 for a rear, especially on a HT – they fit well on an 819, but do squirm a bit once below 30psi.

I always run Stans latex.

ive used 2.35 minions on 719 rims and they seem ok size wise. I understand the NN comes up small for its size hence looking at 2.4 for front use for uplifts. At the moment i am looking at tubeless ready thanks to Northwinds advice. There arent that many about but Schwalbe do NN and RR in TLR and they are a fair chunk (1lb over the pair) lighter than UST equivalents. Add in a bit of sealant and they still offer a big saving. The other option is Kevlar HR and Crossmarks with sealant but i would have concerns over them rolling off in standard non UST guise.

I noticed my front 2.25 NN slipping out on me twice on tonights run, in nice dry almostly dusty single track. Maybe it’s because they are a year or so old now

Both RRalphs I’ve run on the suspension bike and the xc Ht have suffered from nasty sidewall cuts. One of them only 3 rides old and had to be binned, other stitched up with dental floss and going ok.

I think they are fragile and overpriced when my current lot wear down (or tear…) I’ll be heading back to maxxis I think, certainly for the susser anyway

The other option is Kevlar HR and Crossmarks with sealant but i would have concerns over them rolling off in standard non UST guise.

I’ve never had this problem with either of these tyres in ghetto tubeless.

Well, after much deliberation just ordered 2011 Nobby Nic 2.25 Evolution Tubeless ready and Rocket Ron 2.25 2011 Evolution Tubeless ready as well as some Stans fluid. Lets hope they are worth the £75 plus sealant.

allmountain76 – Member

ive used 2.35 minions on 719 rims and they seem ok size wise. I understand the NN comes up small for its size hence looking at 2.4 for front use for uplifts. <snip> The other option is Kevlar HR and Crossmarks with sealant but i would have concerns over them rolling off in standard non UST guise.

Worth mentioning probably that the 2.35 Minion comes up ridiculously small (if you actually want a 2.35 Minion you have to buy the 2.5, if you want a 2.5 you buy the 2.7, they’re all exactly one size smaller than claimed). Not used a 2.4 NN but my 2.25 is fairly accurately sized.

I’m not at all worried about using standard bead tyres btw, as long as it’s not a badly made loose tyre anyway but if you stick to quality brands with decent QC that’s rarely an issue.

Both RRalphs I’ve run on the suspension bike and the xc Ht have suffered from nasty sidewall cuts. One of them only 3 rides old and had to be binned, other stitched up with dental floss and going ok.

I think they are fragile and overpriced when my current lot wear down (or tear…) I’ll be heading back to maxxis I think, certainly for the susser anyway
‘Ello Darren !

I found UST nobby nicks to be shit in the new forest – just cut to bits on the flint very quickly. Surprised yours are still intact.

Specialized Fast Tracks are, er, pretty fast and have decent levels of grip. I used to ride Nobby Nics but now prefer these. I have also tried a Fat Albert/Smart Sam combination and that worked very well and was very hardwearing at about half the price of the NN’s.

Hello sp 🙂 I’m back riding now so we should go for a NF blast

Both Ralphs were sliced up on Farly Mount flints, started referring to them as ‘Careful Colins’ and ‘Fragile Franks’ etc….

Just an update on the nn / rocket Ron combo. I bought 2.25 in both 2011 tlr versions. What a mistake. Ok they roll well and are light, however……. The rr on the rear now has 2 sidewall cuts about 10mm and 2 tread cut about 5mm. It’s also almost bald after 1 run round ae, an uplift at a bone dry inners and a run round inners xc. It was pumped up to 35 psi at minimum at all time and constantly felt pingy, sketchy and fragile. On my xc bike I run 2.1 advantage exception tubeless ghetto and it has more grip and is tougher. The nn has 1 sidewall cut and also let me down after a heavy landing off the bottom drop on matador. I was hoping the combo would be a good gravity enduro set up. It’s not. I’m going to go back to my old faithful of blue groove / nevegal or minion set up in proper ust. Forget about the weight, IMO tlr on a 5.5 inch plus bike doesn’t cut it. They are way too weak. Or maybe it’s a schwalbe thing.

I had the same choice as you and i went for LUST Ardent 2.25 on the back and a Advantage 2.4 EXO on the front (or another Ardent if its rock hard). I’m a big (ish) lad at around 15st on a Blur LTc and I run them at around 30psi with zero issues.

If you’re a lighter guy/rider then i’m sure they RR/NN’s are great, in fact a few of my mates use them here in the NW but for me i’d rather pay a little weight penalty and have true reliability.

ADvantage front / Crossmark rear. Spot-on for me at the moment.
I never got on with Highrollers, but if you like ’em, HR front Crossmark rear sounds ideal to me.

Yip, I’m bigish at 13 stone and I ride the big (6 inch) bike on what it was designed for (lakes, trail centres, enduro and full on dh uplifts). I can accept the rr isn’t really for that but the nn should eat stuff like that all day long. If I was 10 stone wet through it might have coped, likewise the rr with general trail use but they show their fragility too easily for me. A bad waste of £80. Especially when I can get the kenda ust combo at nearly half that. Lesson learned, stick to tried and tested and stop worrying about weight saving on a 30lb long travel bike.

I’ve had a similar problem today with my NN washing out on some loose gravel. The RR on the back was fine but the front was terrifying!

Careful Colins and Fragile Franks

I have both those set-ups (well Larsen instead of a Crossmark) and TBH I much prefer the Maxxis combo. They are slightly heavier, but they are so much more robust. I end up running the NN/RR combo on such low pressures to stop them feeling like athey are piging off stuff that I end up dinging rims.

The maxxi combo works very well on both my Soul and 5 spot

i’ll recommend maxxis monorails again. more durable rubber than ralph, slightly more grippy and almost as fast, work excellent tubeless.
I have tried ralphs and have a couple of different sizes in the garage but until these die i’ll not swap back