Tire Replacement Suggestions?

Tore through the sidewall on one of the tires, a wire bead Nobby Nic, 2.35 width, that came stock with the bike.

What are some suggestions for a replacement??? I ride Fight mostly, as it is 5 minutes from my house, but also Whopper, Spider as well as other trails in NS.

On my old bike I had a set of Trail Kings in a 2.2 width that were great in my opinion, but I had to order them, and I need a tire as mine is obviously un-rideable.

Any thoughts, suggestions or opinions would be greatly appreciated…

To find the perfect all round tire for all the conditions, usually damp rooty mixed with tire destroying rock, here in Halifax, has been somewhat of an obsession for me. I suppose it may be to compensate for what I lack in skill or strength but if you are slipping off stuff it you won’t matter either way. I didn’t like the Nobby Nic, I did like the Hans Damf, but only rode with it up front. I assume you took out your rear tire so I would suggest you try something with lower profiled knobs like the Specialized Slaughter or an X King. Are you riding a 26" tire? I have some older tires you can have until you figure this out.

Riding 27.5" wheels, so no 26" tires for me…

Thanks for the input, I will have a look…

I just bought my first 650b equipped bike and it has a combo of Slaughter on the back and Specialized butcher up front. It looks like a really good set up but I haven’t tried it out yet. I work for Michelin and get their tires at a discount. I’ve been riding their Race’r advanced for years here and ordered a 650b set. They are low profile tires and work well on everything but mud and sand. I’ve yet to take out a sidewall. Their Rock’r is a more aggressive tire, getting great reviews , but heavy. I also really liked the Hans Damf. I’m sure everyone who responds will have a different tire they like best. Good luck.

I’ve been happy with a Hans Dampf front and Nobby Nic rear, but you definitely need the Snakeskin version to avoid sidewall damage.

I’m running Kenda Nevegals. 2.1 Dual Tread in the rear. 2.35 Stick-E in front. Both tubeless. Working well for me.

The Hans Dempf is definitely a good tire. My latest bike has a specialized purgatory on front and a a ground control in back. Has worked great so far. I was using Ground Controls on my 29er as well with success.

I’m running Geax Gomas. 27.5 x 2.35. Tubeless and have no complaints.

I asked this same question in a past thread and determined that if you are riding the granite that is found at places like Fight and Whopper you are bound to see some quicker than average wear no matter what you ride

I run dual Nobby Nics in 2.35 x 26 Snakeskins. They’re pretty good on Fight/Whopper style rock, although you can expect them to last only about a month and a half. I do not run them tubeless because I find it remarkably unreliable with my wheelset.

My favourite tires are Maxxis 3C Maxterra Exxo High Roller IIs. They don’t last either, but they stick.

for what it’s worth (not much, btw) i bought a pair of hans dampfs, sight unseen, based on reputation alone. i usually ride conti mtn kings and have great success with them in everything from 100 milers on the bc coast, to exploratory rides in the desert; pavement, slick rock, hard pack, mud - it was all manageable. almost everyone says the schwalbes are almost an exact copy: i.e. they’re an all-around tire that works in every condition, but better, if not more grippy/less durable. i’ve yet to mount them, but i have high hopes. this probably doesn’t help at all, but i’m chiming in anyhow.

I had a set of Mountain Kings and hated them on granite. I think it was the compound I had, but I thought they were one of the better ones and they flat out sucked.

I’m on Minion DHF front and rear, folding bead, single ply casing and regular compound, traction and cornering galore. I don’t ride much granite so can’t comment on their performance or durability there.

small correction: i have the trail kings, rather than the mountain kings, so all i’ve said refers to the trail kings with the black chili compound.

so first ride in on my new schwalbes…

trail conditions were damp and tacky with a few mud puddles. typical south coast BC style trails; mostly well graded climbs and steep, rocky, rooty descents with a classic xc loop thrown in for good measure. mostly natural, some woodwork, no new school machine built runs. i also rode to and from the trails, about 70km altogether, 45 of that is a mix of pavement and gravel.

first thing i noticed about them as i fought them onto my rims was that the sidewalls are much burlier than the trail kings. which might make them sightly heavier, but i’ve been able to run them at lower pressures without fear of pinching them, which brings me to point #2: traction was noticeably improved in most aspects. i felt more confident leaning into corners - there was less squirm than i’ve had with the contis - and braking felt better. climbing felt better overall, too, but i still spun out on wet off camber roots, but that’s an every tire problem i bet.

and after pounding a lot of pavement with them, they seem to roll very well. i haven’t ridden any slab or other off camber rock, but the rock armouring along a couple trails failed to make the hans dampfs break loose in any panic-inducing way. overall, i give these tires two thumbs up. i don’t know if i’d pay full price for them at $90 a pop, but so far, i like.

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I find around here that lower profile tires work best, especially at fight trail, you get a lot less squirm, especially on off camber rock sections.
I have liked 2.4 Conti X-kings, but they are a bastard to get on tubeless, almost impossible.
Lately I have been using 2.35 Bontrager XR2 team issue, tubeless, and these are great tires, light, fast rolling and have awesome grip.
Priced well too, $72 each.
I hated Nobby nic’s, I found them useless, no grip, way too much tread squirm, and I destroyed the soft sidewalls at fight trail.

Just had my first ride on the slaughter/ butcher combo. My first impression is mixed. The Slaughter in the back was great. The Butcher, though great on everything else was a little skitterish on the rock at Whopper to Suzie. If I was relying on it sticking to rock that I was hitting with my side knobs, it had a tendency to slip off. other than that, it really ate up the roots. I have a set of WTB Vigilantes that came with the deal, but I can’t imagine using such a tire here in Halifax unless it is just used in the front. Great day for a ride, hope everybody got out.

hans dampfs continued:

another ride on the new rubber, another 70-ish kms, and further proof they’re a heavier, burlier tire and can roll over pretty much anything.

  • heavier: painful, painful climbs, and slow acceleration from trackstand starts, but;

  • burlier: low pressure is where these bad boys shine. tons of traction, stick to everything, and aside from the aforementioned rotational weight, climbs technical gnar like it’s velcro. no pinch flats, either, despite my considerable mass and a couple square shaped rocks i smashed;

  • rolls over everything: my buddy was training for a race so we were riding pretty hard, and i made some bad line choices trying to keep up - like out of control, accidental high speed rockgarden chutes, poorly executed nose first drops into rock armored transitions, and some frantic new-to-me slabs which stole some of my shorts, and most of my dignity. but the tires never flinched; i might of been riding like a total jackass, but i never lost traction unexpectedly. i was finally able to find the limit of the side knobs on a couple corners, but that was in loose-over-hard situations where the loose was marble-to-golf-ball-sized, and the hard was damp clay.

my bike is a xc-ish hardtail, for the record, but i tend to ride beyond its intended purpose with only minor consequences. my “home” trails are burnaby mountain and fromme, with many trips to squamish and the sunshine coast throughout the year. i also bikepack quite a bit which takes me all-over… these tires would be ideal on a 4-to-5 inch trail/all mountain slayer, but i can see their utility for my uses. if i could find a lighter, half-knob version of this tire for the rear and a non-burly version for the front, maybe save a pound, i’d be set! as for now, i’m pretty happy with them. they’re not xc race tires, but i’m only considering one xc race this season and i have a pair of ikons for that…

thanks for reading if you made it this far. i can get into rambling messes, as some of you may know.

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Awesome post, @bikegeek! Loved it.

you’re quite welcome, glad you enjoyed!