My brother just bought a Captiv8er 29 x 2.3 as a street tire. This is what the tread pattern looks like.
Rebranded, no, Duro has always been the mfg, the tire had a different new “Miner”, but I think the chance is in the casing, the Kevlar shield is new. I didn’t relaize it was a 2010 link, I thought the newer feedback was 2012…
I have heard that there are some new products coming down the pike, possibly even a new wheel size, so it’s good to watch some of these sites to get the early look.
Any idea on the actual volume or sidewall feel?
What do you think of the racing ralph 29x2.4? It looks to be the lowest weight of all offroad 29er tires, with a good wide width.
I don’t think he has mounted it yet. I can ask him to measure it flat from bead to bead.
Just got my Hans Dampf, 29x2.35, in Pacestar compound.
Spread flat, I measure 149 mm, edge to edge.
Sidewall thickness: 2.4mm.
“edge to edge”, as in the edge of the rubber on each side?
The Ardent 2.4 is 155mm edge to edge, 150mm bead center to bead center, so darn close to the same size.
The Raxing Ralph 2.4 has the same dimensions as the Ardent 2.4
It doesn’t have a very strong sidewall or casing, which is it is so lightweight. It is designed for racing, so not really that durable. Rode one for a while, liked it best second to the Ardent, but I also had to run it at higher pressures and it’s the only 29er tire that I had snake bite flat issues.
Anyone have a caliper to measure casing thickness on the Ardent, or do I really have to buy one? 
Ill measure my Ardent later today. I need to pick the calipers up from work though. Ill get back to you.
Yes, outer edge of the rubber to outer edge of the rubber.
I mounted it up this evening, but forgot to measure bead to bead first.
The tire went on the KH 29XC 38mm rim quite easily. Not so loose that I’m worried about it popping off, but should be no problem for in-the-field flat fixes.
The Pacestar rubber feels plenty sticky to me.
The tread looks very good. The blocks are closer together and more evenly spaced than on my Stout, so it likely will have lower rolling resistance than the Stout. At the same time, my highly scientific measuring method (hold one in each hand) does indicate that the Hans is lighter than the Stout.
I measure the max width of the tread and sidewall (which come out the same) as 58mm. This is with the new tire mounted on the KH 29XC 38mm rim, at 20 psi.
From just weighting the wheel (haven’t ridden it yet), I’m quite happy with the response of the sidewalls.
Every indication is that this is a very good 29er muni tire. I think the only way to determine whether the Hans Dampf or the Ardent is “better” will be for an experienced rider to try each of them back-to-back in varied conditions. From the numbers, it appears that the Ardent is slightly larger (consistent with the 2.4 vs 2.35 manufacturers’ listings). It will be interesting to see how the Ardent sidewall thickness measures out – if the Hans has better sidewalls, this could cancel out the advantage of the Ardent’s slightly greater size. Comparing the tread patterns will likely come down to personal preference. The Ardent might have an advantage on slippery roots from its stepped tread design, while the Hans might have an advantage on rock from its more even tread footprint.
OK, for what its worth here are some measurements I made tonight from my new Hans Dampf and a used (but still good condition) Ardent 2.4.
Ardent 29" 2.4
- bead to bead - 155mm
- tread width (spread flat) - 65.4mm
- sidewall thickness - 0.8-0.9mm (I took about 5 measurements)
Hans Dampf 29" 2.35 (Trailstar compound)
- bead to bead - 152.5mm
- tread width (spread flat) 60.9mm
- sidewall thickness - 1.2-1.3mm (again multiple measurements)
I agree with uniShark that it is a nice looking tire and feels solid. Ill be mounting it on my MTB for now though as I am really happy with the Ardent on the uni so Ill let UniShark report on its feel.
Schwalbe makes good tires, his one sounds like a winner, I might just have to get one 
Hmmmm, sounds like my sidewall measurement was off. It’s a new caliper with manual scale that I’m not used to for small measurements, so I trust your reading.
Captiv8er measurement
The Captiv8er 29 x 2.3 is 145 mm measured flat edge to edge.
Sorry to add yet another 29" tire to this thread but I thought this was pretty interesting: Vee Rubber (the company making the new 36" tire) has a 29" tire with the same tread that will be available in 2.3 and 2.4 widths. If (and it’s a big ‘if’) the sidewalls are the same as those used in the 36" prototype they could be somewhat decent.
Yup, and they also have some nice mid width 26er DH tires around 1000gm in widths up to 2.7
The Kevlar Shield on my Devast8er makes for a sweet sidewall/casing, kinda heavy though, but it’s to be seen how that tech transfers to the other tires. I’d take a 1000gm 29er tire if it was a better tire than the Ardent, but it has to be significantly better…
I ordered a Hans Dampf last night, should be riding it by this weekend, $81 shipped from Cambria, hope it’s worth it 
I’m glad you’re getting one, hard to find someone who has tried more tires than you! I think the Hans will be great here, where it’s mostly dry, and more rocks than roots. I’m curious how the Hans and Ardent will compare on more slippery conditions. You’ll probably also be riding it before me - I’m having a broken screw removed next week. . .
Hans is mounted and ready to go, 16psi feels about the same as 18psi on my well loved Ardent 2.4, I was tempted to ride tonight, but I’m a bit worn out from two good rides over the weekend.
The Hans rubber is suprisingly sticky, even in the Pacestar compound, weight was 878gm in contrast to my used Ardent 2.4 at 803gm, sidewall is obviously stiffer, same for the tread/casing.
My non scientific measuring, read as I have no caliper: 62mm x 55 mm at 16psi. When stretched out flat the Hans was slightly wider than my lightly used 26 x 2.4 and slightly narrower than my well used 29 x 2.4
The Hans is at least as big as the Ardent 2.4 and might be a tad fatter once it stretches out.
I’ll post a review after a few rides.
Is 62mm the width and 55mm the height?
Yup.
It is very close to the size of my Arrow Racing 26 x 2.6, may even be a tad wider on the tread; the Arrow side knobbies are alternating design whereas the Hans side knobbies are a solid edge like the Intense DH.
Knobbies appear to be deeper than the Ardent and a bit harder, though sticker, so it’ll be interesting to see how they handle on hardpack. If this tire is as sticky as it seems, there is no reason to get the sticker tread unless you like your tires to wear out quicker
Side wall is somewhere between the Ardent and the Duro/Arrow, not stiff like the Ardent DH, more rubbery, not sure if this is the Snakeskin sidewall effect, but it feels good bouncing around.
Eight hours to ride time…
Not that it necessarily translates to uni’s but I rode my 29er MTB yesterday with the Hans Dampf on the front and it rocks! I am used to having a 2.4 Ardent on this bk but I took it off and put it on my uni. On tacky to wet trails with lots of rocks and wet roots the grip of the Hans was amazing (Trailstar compound). Definitely better than the Ardent (which I thought was good too). It probably rolls a bit slower though on hardback and on the road to the trailhead though.
I ran it at lower pressure than I felt comfortable running the Ardent too so all adds up to a nice looking uni tire. Ill be keeping it on the MTB for now though as I love the Ardent on my uni and since I ended up getting the softer compound on the Hans I don’t want to wear it down to quick on the uni.
So, I did a nice big loop last night, suffering though the beginning heat and humidity of early summer, but I just had to get Hans on thr trails 
Pre set up: KH 29, KH FR 47mm rim, Ardent 2.4 @ 16-18psi
Post set up: KH 29, KH FR 47mm rim, Hans Dampf @ 14-16psi
First off, I really like the Ardent 2.4, it has been a great tire for me, wet or dry, I have ridden this tire may miles over the past year + and my only complaint in that time is that the Ardent could use a slightly sturdier casing and sidewall, BUT taken a complete tire it is a very balanced design.
Last night my ride with Hans @ 16psi started with a 100yds of asphalt, so the first thing I looked at was crowning issues; the Hans does not crown hadly as much as the Ardent. So then I headed into some firm up/down flowing single track, I found the Hans to be a bit firmer than the Ardent, “fewer hard hits” as I went over roots and landing off smal drops was more secure/stable.
Then I headed into some technical, rocky ledges, steady climbing for 1/4 mile, Hans handled quite well, stuck to the rock at least as good as the Ardent, fewer hard hits as expected. The climbing felt good, the Hans seems to hold a line better than the Ardent and was easier to transition across rough terrain.
From there I headed into a technical downhill, mostly firm dirt and some root drops, a little firm mud, Hans did as well or better than the Ardent. I was getting zapped by the humidity at this point, so I missed a couple lines and had to go back and do them again, otherwise Hans was working well.
After a break I headed into a mixed single track section along the water, a little firm mud, lots of roots, some rock, Hans was feeling a bit too firm probably cuz I was getting tired, so I dropped the pressure to 14psi. Things were very different, tire was noticeabley slower and I struggled a bitto stay on my line, but I chalk some of that up to being fatigued. After a little bit I get back in the swing, my riding felt better and I was able to clean a series of “climbing” root stairs that usually gives me trouble. I also noticed that even at 14psi I was still not getting much in terms of hard hits, so the casing was very supportive even at low psi.
The last technical section is an easy downhill into a wood bridge leading to a rooty/rocky/eroded hill climb that I have never cleaned; came cloase last week on my 26er. Well, I cleaned it, smoothly and without much strain, suprising considering my fatigue. Was it the tire?
So, after one ride, Hans 1, Ardent 0, but with some caveats: The Hans rides firm, even at 14psi, so for light folks this might not be comfortable, though maybe at 12psi it would be fine. In terms of ride quality the Ardent is more comfortable and maybe faster, though I wouldn’t say that Hans is slow, because it’s not. Hans is a firmer casing and lands drops far better than the Ardent, more like a light DH tire such as my Arrow 26 x 2.6, so for folks whouse their 29er for tech muni, the Hans would be a better choice than the Ardent.
In conclusion, noting that I have only taken one ride; though it was a good test ride, I would say that the Ardent is a great tire for XC and light Freeride, but for Freeeride and light DH the Hans is a far better choice. Now the price, wow, $80 delivered is not cheap, but tires seem to last for a while…
My question now is whether a 26 x 2.4 Hans would be a nice 26er tire 