Hi. Really confusing buying a tyre. I run 2.35 Nobby Nic in a cheap soft sidewall lite skin version which is perfect for the South Downs, despite being not much bigger than 2.1 tyres for some reason.

Bike is a robust but XC HT with 120mm REBAs and MT66 wheels.

Going to BPW this summer so my assumption is that I will need something a little more sturdy and with far stiffer/resistant sidewalls, not too bothered about additional weight.

So I short listed 2 but unable to understand the difference:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/schwalbe-hans-dampf-evo-mtb-tyre-snakeskin/rp-prod83194

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/schwalbe-hans-dampf-performance-mtb-tyre/rp-prod83197

Which one would be OK for the purpose at the front ? What does trailstar / pacestar mean as a choice ?
Could I keep my cheapo but quick liteskin Nobby Nic at the rear or does that mean I’ll easily get punctures ?
I am not too bothered about ultimate grip or having to run low pressure, I just want something that minimises sidewall damage as I understand that’s easy to get at BPW.

Any alternatives welcome, a friend mentioned High Roller II evo

If sticking to blues at BPW I can’t see sidewalls being an issue.

If changing, I wouldn’t use a HD on the front… I’ve found them washy on hardpack trails.

Not sure on the sidewall difference but the Evo Snakeskin is the better tyre & is tubeless ready (though I know people have got performance versions up tubeless). Looking at the website, the Dual Performance is considred to have lower protection than the others.

Pacestar v Trailstar is rolling v grip respectively.

TrailStar and PaceStar are triple compounds. I only ever run TrailStar because it grips well in the wet (North Wales).

The reason your 2.35s might not look much bigger than 2.1s is internal rim width. I think the MT66s are narrow by today’s standards. 24.6 external… guessing 21mm internal?

Nobby Nic in TrailStar which is what I’ve ben running for months now both ends look very wide on 26mm internal rim wheels. I run 20F/25R PSI. All my 2.35 Schwalbe tyres look huge.

I rode Hans Dampf TrailStar front at BPW on the Saturday afternoon when it was dry. Then put a Magic Mary TrailStar on the front for the Sunday when it was lashing it down. I left the Maxxis Minion 2.3 DHR2 TR EXO on the rear. This was in August! No punctures but running them Tubeless. 140mm FS 26er. Loved it, had a great time.

All the Schwalbe’s were SnakeSkin Trail Star versions 2.35s. 2.3 for the Maxxis.

I’ve gone off the Hans Dampf altogether after a few ‘moments’ from the front end. It’s ok in the summer on the rear though. Clogs up with mud in winter. Nobby Nics have been much better. Same trails.

Trailstar front, Pacestar rear (usually).

I’ve run Hans Dampfs Evo Snakeskins at BPW and had one puncture, but that was my fault. They were grippy when they needed to be.

With Schwalbe, it is the super gravity or the DH casings that have the sturdier sidewalls.

FWIW I have managed to damage snakeskin and maxxis HR2 evo at BPW, but this was mainly down to too low pressures. I now run the super gravity hans dampf and have had no problems.

Regarding compound, vertstar is mega-grippy but slow rolling and wears quickly; trailstar is slightly harder therefore is a bit less grippy but rolls faster and is harder wearing; Pacestar is fairly hard, lasts a long time but grip is lower.

For your purposes I would recommend a trailstar compound super-gravity sidewall like these:
https://www.alpinetrek.co.uk/schwalbe-hans-dampf-275-evo-tl-easy-superg-folding-tire/?aid=f4b056a5675f858744688fa955d86df3&pid=10004&cpkey=JzHhZbe5GkuTyPDADhU_mJ5zwcgx0EMfnipJo-R5-NI&_$ja=tsid:60797|cid:254044867|agid:25884866587|tid:pla-147015910387|crid:104604046507|nw:g|rnd:8930973222744992222|dvc:c|adp:1o5&gclid=CjwKEAiAuc_FBRD7_JCM3NSY92wSJABbVoxB4GfawRYNrwRe3R8teezfDU23H47jO4U7ZD2xBlGkfBoCOlrw_wcB

Performance is schwalbe’s cheap crap line, OE spec basically, to be avoided.

Hans Dampfs aren’t great at the best of times so if you must use them, get good rubber- vertstar or trailstar on the front.

Their rubber names are supposed to be self-explanataory- gatestar is a very soft race only (ie startgate), vertstar is their supertacky (ie vertical), trailstar is an allrounder (actually fairly hard) and pacestar is for speed, and not very grippy.

And for carcasses, snakeskin means puncture resistant (but still not very tough), super gravity means pretty tough, downhill maens tough. Anything schwalbe without at least one of these words will puncture if you give it a sharp glare. Super gravity would be a pretty good option for uplifts like antur, it’s tough without being a downhill dualply.

I don’t think OP is gunna be doing full DH runs at BPW… sounds more like Blues/Red to me. I may be wrong?!

SuperGravity Schwalbe’s are a must have for (mincy like me) DH runs. I wouldn’t be without my Mary SG / Hans Dampf SG setup for low pressure grip everything uplift days in any weather.

But for a nice riding day at BPW the normal trail Snakeskin Schwalbe’s are as good as anything if you’re not too clumsy.

I’m hoping to get to BPW for a ride up no uplift day this year on the 140 bike again and it’ll be Nobby Nics SS up front and maybe rear too. I might have put the DHR2 back on the rear if I’ve worn the Nic out by then and I’d take a spare set of Mary’s just in case.

Thx for the feedback – gelert is quite right : it will be gentle blues and red, the long Terry’s Belly for instance sounds right up my trail.

So after all I might be OK with current 2.35 liteskin NN ?

In retrospect I realise I should have gone for SS version though.

I’d take a couple of spare tubes and pump up the tyres fairly firm. You’ll be fine.

Hi. Just get a schwalbe Magic Mary snakeskin evo trailstar, stick it on your front. Like others said snakeskin thicker puncture resistant side walls, trailstar is a harder compound, but not that hard. Of the higher spec magic Mary’s the trailstar is the best all rounder, the super soft has so much grip but won’t last long. I heard of a bloke wearing a set out in a day. And they aren’t cheap. But the trailstar is the fastest version according to their website.grip is really good , their suitable for tubeless and you don’t need all stuff they say. Just tape if. rim needs it and the fluid and valve. I use it all year round, it gets a bit twitchy if it’s really dusty , but even if a little damp it comes into its own.I use magic Mary evo trailstar on front and maxxis high roller 2 on back, it has its own version of snakeskin , it’s a very good combination , logs, roots , rocks not a problem.hope this helps

Let me get this straight.

You are going to BPW for a day and want to buy tyres for that one day?

You ride an xc hardtail with Nobby Nics on it, normally on the South Downs.

Are you intending several trips to rocky areas?

If not, why not just run your Nics? If you are worried about pinch flats pop a little more air in them.

No doubt some will say this is certain death waiting to happen but I suspect you will be enjoying the flow rather than hucking the pro lines.

Then you’ll have plenty of money left for a burger at lunch and one of those lovely local ales they sell at the end of the day.

Just saying like.

Thanks again – I’ll try the current tyres then, sounds sensible – the idea was not to buy a set just for BPW but to carry on with them but I’ll just see what happens and will indeed increase pressure and have spare tubes and probably spare (old) tyres just in case.

Your tyre shortlist found cheap Schwalbe options from CRC. Consider other manufacturers apart from Schwalbe and the choices open up and price points can be much more palatable for top-notch rubber.

My own choices are Specialized Butcher Grid (front) Purgatory Grid (R) at list price of £35. I ride these as aggressively as I know how and they hold up which means they might be more tyre than you describe needing, but a ruined trip to BPW with Litewall tyres might not be a good value excursion IYSWIM.

A couple of extra PSI in your tyres will help at BPW, I wouldn’t be changing tyres just for the day but 50p says you puncture

😆

LOl, that’s what I am trying to avoid ! What about a pair of these in 2.25 at £24 (for 2) : http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/schwalbe-rapid-rob-mtb-tyre-k-guard/rp-prod83180

Very fast rolling, low grip. Not necessarily bad, but terrible for this job. What wheel size do you need?

26′

Do they have to be schawble? I’d be looking at High Rollers or minions

No it doesn’t have to be Schwalbe but I seem to invariably come accross them, like this one :

http://www.on-one.co.uk/i/q/TYSCRRZF/schwalbe-rock-razor-tubless-ready-folding-tyre

Hr2 or dhr2 rear, mary or shorty front. Tubeless, unless you want to puncture.

26 inch, you’re spoiled for choice for a harder use tyre. It’d be worth looking used- I just sold most of mine but loads of folks have downhill rubber knocking around.

If you want to make it simple, get a pair of dualply minion dhfs. A 2.5 or 2.35, supertacky or 3c front and the biggest you think will fit in the back, in dual or maxxpro. Slow, bombproof, not the best at anything but alright at everything. And incredibly commonplace and easy to find.

(that on one sh rockrazor could make a good back tyre for you- it’s fast, and pretty tough. Not massively grippy, it’s a fast rolling middle/grip in the corners deal which is kind of weird to get to grips with- not much straightline braking grip! But it’s a good buy if you can live with that and you might find it useful for more than uplifts.

Most sidewall damage is a result of either super low pressures or ploughing through rock gardens, doesn’t sound like you are likely to be doing either of those, so just crack on with what you have.

Just next time you buy tyres get snakeskin/protection/exo/control casing, they go tubeless easier and give some extra sidewall protection for very little loss in speed.

I could do you a deal on hans dampf’s vertstar or the next stickier one and a chunky monkey if you need 26″

Mail if interested

Out interest whats Maxxis/WTB/specialized etc equivalent of Schwalbes trailstar ?

I’m looking for a set of 29er tyres for general riding at Cannock Chase, F.o.D and BPW but confused by the choices and versions of each tyre . I was just gonna go straight for the chunky monkey / smorgasbord combo due to price .

dubber – Member

Out interest whats Maxxis/WTB/specialized etc equivalent of Schwalbes trailstar ?

Maxxis 3C Maxxterra is very like Trailstar.

WTB are all over the shop frankly, they have their Dual DNA which is quite trailstarry, and Gravity DNA which is stickier, but they also have their TCS High Grip which is just a little stickier than trailstar but pretty equivalent. Doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to theirs.

Specialized don’t really do it the same way, they only really distinguish on carcass, which isn’t so good- and confusingly it doesn’t always mean the same thing either, frinstance a Butcher Control carcass is way tougher than a Captain Control carcass even though it’s the same name… So you need to look at the numbers on the tyre, old-school. The lower the number, the stickier. 42a is sticky, like an oldschool maxxis supertacky 50-55a is trailstarrish, 60a is pacestarish. Specialized do a lot of dual compound- hard in the middle, soft on the edge. And tbh I think every last one of their #enduro/trail tyres could do with being stickier rubber, for the front.

I’ll be honest, i don’t think you can really tell how a tyre will work til you ride it- compound’s important but it’s only one part, and frankly there’s so much going on with a modern tyre I think it’s just beyond a layman. I’m a total tyre nerd but there’s limits!

Since it’s the done thing to read the op then answer a different question.

If it’s tyres for a day (for the xc hardtail) why not just hire a fancy (fs designed for throwing down hills) bike for similar money at BPW?* Save taking the bike with you, cleaning, worrying about tyres etc. and might** be more fun.

*or use what you have and spend the money in the cafe/on beer/C&H (I imagine they’re cheap in Merthyr)
**xc hardtail could be just as much fun.