Im running nobby nic 29×2.25 evo pace star3 on my Orange Gyro. I like their grip and feel, but im finding the treaded area(not the sidewalls) really vulnerable to damage and punctures when im on rocky trails here in N Wales.
I picked them as they are lightweight, and i took off my Conti Trail Kings 2.2. I didnt have any issues with the Contis.
Given that the Schwalbe is about 350g lighter than the Conti, is there a better protected nobby nic or similar that anyone could recommend?

are the ones you have snakeskin versions ? they are quite tough IMO. I just replaced a set of Liteskins with them for extra protection

They dont say snakeskin on the carcass. They say evo and pacestar 3. And tlr. If they were snakeskin, would they say?

Evo is snakeskin apparently: “Tubeless Easy SnakeSkin technology –
This is the new standard for Schwalbe’s Evo tyres”

Evos are either liteskin or snakeskin. Liteskin as the name suggests is light. And not so pinch resistant.
http://www.schwalbe.com/gb/offroad-reader/nobby-nic.html

Snakeskin is only a sidewall thing though (and 2015’s seem worse than 2014’s on this anyway). The Double-Defence ones add more in the centre under the tread to prevent punctures.

Double defence is what you need for ‘under the tread’ protection.

I run a DD Ralph on the rear after being plagued by punctures. None so far but only done 50 miles on it. Mind you I was getting a puncture about every 50-60 on the non-DD one!

Aye, snakeskin won’t help for this. It’s just how lighter duty contis are tbh, the tread face is very easy to cut even on nonrocky trails. Is there not a specialized copy? Ground Control maybe?

Specialized Purgatory Grid? Light(ish), strong and rolls well enough..

Ok, i shall look out for the DD in the Schwalbes and the other recommends too.

thanks

Schwalbe don’t claim that DD helps with snakebites though. Their pinch flat rating (see above) is the same with/without DD, though snakeskin sees an improvement over liteskin. So OP do check your tires aren’t liteskin, that would explain a lot.

It all depends what kind of punctures plague you of course. From ‘rocky trails’ I was assuming pinch flats.

For more burliness there is the schwalbe super gravity casing, in between single ply and downhill. They weight about a kilo. The rock razor might be a promising alternative to nobby nic though I have never tried it?

…or hans dampf super gravity for that matter. Of course schwalbe seems to wear out fast 🙁 I’m currently on specialized clutch sx which is a similar 1.5 ply option, it gets the weight/puncture proofing balance right for me but alas is too slow rolling for my taste.

The other classic some people seem to swear by are the wired single ply high rollers which weigh about 1kg.

Specialized Purgatory Grid? Light(ish), strong and rolls well enough…

+1

And cheaper too.

Dampf super gravity’s are probably more than twice the weight of the Nics, and aren’t protected in the tread area, they’re doubleskinned on the walls. The WTB Teams might be worth a look but are similar weight.

Not sure you’re going to get light and strong in this application tbh…

Light and strong, maybe not but I’m not sure he’s looking for strong, just tougher than a sausage skin