The one where Schwalbe have finally sorted those big gaps in the side knobs. Are they worth the upgrade from the previous gen?

I’ve been running the previous gen Nobby up front on my do it all xc / light trail bike for a while now and the grip to speed / rolling resistance balance is perfect for the riding that I do but would love a bit more confidence when cornering hard. Hans Damf / Magic Marys are complete overkill for the riding that I do before anyone suggests them.

I moved to Minions. Did like the older Nobby for fast rolling,but the off camber grip was really bad. The Minions are slower, but make up for it with grip. I’m mainly XC, but I can’t be bothered to change them, and they are great on rough descents and off camber.

I’ve tried enduro tyres up front for XC before (Spesh Butcher one winter and a DHF for a few months) and found them incredibly confidence inspiring on techy steep stuff but far too draggy for the other 95% of the ride.

Always seem to go back to the Nobby Nic front Racing Ralph rear as that combo is absolutely perfect for most of the riding that I do. Its just that really unpredictable off camber grip with the Nic that spoils things sometimes. Its like rolling a dice every time you commit hard to a corner.

Not Nobby Nic, but vaguely related – just got a Magic Mary and Big Betty in the new ‘super trail’ casing and they’re heavier than I expected – just shy of 1.3kg each (29 x 2.4). Going to need to get stronger legs / an e bike.

That’s a big bump.up from the old mm at 850g.
I’m very interested to know how you find the big betty.
Also is the new magic mary any bigger than the old 2.35?

@Blake

After reading your post about the MM weight increase I’ve just had a look at the weights for the new Nic on the Schwalbe website.

The previous gen Nic which I am currently running (with Snakeskin sidewalls, Addix Speedgrip and in 27.5 X 2.35 guise) weighed 730g before fitting. The 2.25 Trailstar Snakeskin which I ran before was only around 650g.

According to the Schwalbe website, the new version in 27.5 x 2.35 weights are as follows;

Super Ground / Addix Speedgrip = 850g
Super Trail / Addix Speedgrip – 950g
Super Trail / Addix Soft = 980g

Pretty hefty increases across the board.

To be fair the snakeskin nobby nics had sidewalls made of paper. The superground casing looks more in line with a maxxis exo and should be much more puncture resistant and less squirmy.

I’m also intrigued to give the supertrail marys a go, though they are hefty and I’d maybe wish they had a superground variant for use on my trail bike over winter. However the supertrail casing should be spot on for use on enduro bikes!

Haven’t got the tyres mounted yet but the tread is definitely bigger on the new 2.4 Mary compared to the old 2.35.

Big Betty looks a little bit like a DHR, very chunky, should be good in the mud (hopefully).

@devash yep the new range seems much more burley. I thought the ‘super trail’ would be roughly comparable to exo+ but at that weight it’s more like DH casing! Should never of weighed them, but the 90’s weight weenie in me never goes away.

just got a Magic Mary and Big Betty in the new ‘super trail’ casing and they’re heavier than I expected – just shy of 1.3kg each (29 x 2.4). Going to need to get stronger legs / an e bike.

@blake

what casings are you running at the moment? and how does the super trail compare in your opinion for stiffness?

@oikeith

Normally have a Maxxis Double Down DHR on the rear and the ‘non super gravity’ casing (snakeskin?) MM on the front (with a Rimpact insert).

I’d say the new super trail casing is similar to the DD. It’s definitely a big step up from the Snakeskin / whatever the previous casing was MM. Don’t plan on using inserts with the new tyres, should be more than sturdy enough.