Have a one of those new 2.1 Racing Ralphists for the front, and I’m considering a 2.1 Nobby Nic for the front. Riding mainly XC and Scottish trail centres.

All the mags seem to have wet dreams over NN’s, but I’ve heard mixed reports from ‘real folk’. Paper thin tyre walls seemsto be the main issue…

What gives?

I thought my NN was shite on the front.

Then one day I noticed the direction of rotation is different for the front 😳

It’s much better the right way round 🙂

Get a 2.3 NN for the front if you’re doing 7 stanes. I did and it was perfect IMO.

RR is OK as a rear but wears fast and is no good for loose climbs as I discovered on the Carn Ban Mor track.

I don’t really see all that much point in the NN any more, if it’s wet/muddy I use Mud-Xs, if its not, go straight to the Ralph, it’s lighter and has exactly the same cornering lugs. I’ve never had a problem on loose climbs either.

i’ve run ralphs all winter and only had my first puncture on the front on wednesday, straight through the middle of the tread on a really loose descent. should have run higher pressures i think, but as above, i run medusas or ralphs and nothing in between

Nics are a good all round tyre. They come up skinny: 2.25 is like a 2.1 from other brands; 2.4 isn’t massive.

Get the snakeskin sidewalls, much better than the standard ones, but a bit heavier, about 650g for a 2.25.

For a light weight all-round tyre, I think the Conti Mountain King supersonic (2.4) has surpassed them now. After a few years of Nics on both bikes, I’ve now moved over to the MKs which are beter at almost everything. Tougher, lighter, more grip, a tiny bit slower rolling on tarmac but not noticeable off-road.

Pleased to see I’m not the only one running RRs front and rear – thought most people used a NN front instead, but like njee I’ve never found a problem with a RR front when a RR rear works. OTOH I do switch to NNs front and rear in messier conditions, as I find they do help a bit when the RRs stop working without slowing me down much (bearing in mind with a lot of the riding I do, speed on fireroads and tarmac is more important than having to slow down a tiny bit on tricky stuff).

What’s the deal with all the Schwalbe groupies? Got 2 pals who ride on NN. One’s off his bike just now because of a front wheel wash out on what I thougt was a standard turn. The other was miles behind in the descents at Inshriach yesterday because he had no grip at all. I also remember one of the guys on NN being completely unable to get up a snowy/icy fireroad when the rest of us were having very few problems. Is it just the light weight and low rolling resistance that attracts people?

Not sure devs – mates of mine have reported similar issues with them. I used to run schwalbe alberts which were great but have been converted to the way of the high roller now 😉

Apart from having to make sure you have at least 30psi in a NN, I have never had any issues with them and haven’t felt the need to move on to anything else since fitting them to my bike. I am always amazed to hear stories of people having difficulty with them.

nobby knickers are a great tyre for trail centres, had no sidewall issues with mine, not brill in gloopy mud though, only drawback is price!

I have NN on the front of my superlight. Great tyre, very sure footed on both trail centre trails and the natural stuff here in Mid Wales. I’ve never had a problem with the sidewalls, but I do have the snakeskin walled version.

I had a RR on the back, but that’s come off for the winter and was replaced by a Mountain king.

“Is it just the light weight and low rolling resistance that attracts people?”

No, they are very grippy if you have the pressure right. Lots of people put far too much pressure in and complain that they have no grip. Some put too little in and complain that they roll about.

They’re a good tyre but are very pressure sensitive.

I’m a very recent convert to the NN’s and put a post up last weekend about them. I was using NN’s front and rear, tyre pressures seem to make a difference. 30 psi front,35 psi rear worked well, but I still thought the NN on the front lacked a little bite (have been used to the grip levels from a Super Tacky Maxxis Minion).

I tried an Albert on the front at 30 psi with the NN on the rear this weekend – thats seems to suit me fine – rolls really well with a good amount of confident grip – not like the Minion at all, less ultimate grip, but acceptable and it rolls so much better.

No, they are very grippy if you have the pressure right

Absolutely. Mate has them on his Heckler. Washed out on the Black run on Whites yesterday, let some pressure out…grips just fine. NN are grand tyres, pretty much a true all rounder, very grippy, very fast, not too much weight…But: they wear out quicker than any tyre I know, the regular ones are paper thin, and the price!?!…If you can justify the high price/short life, then go for it.

Got NN’s front and rear on the Full sus. Had them two years, no punctures no problems.