Lots of good info here, but I had a specific question about widths.
I have a UDC 29 road uni with Big Apple 2.15, and I want to switch it out for a good all-around muni tire with comparable width. The BA is about 2 3/8" wide and has nice clearance in forks (about 1/4" sides and top.)
This fork won’t hold a wider tire, so can someone suggest the beefiest muni tire they’ve used on this or similar non-muni design?
Or would a 2.2 or bigger in one specific brand – Maxxis, WTB, GEAX, etc – be more likely to fit than others? (I suspect some brands run large, and some small…right?)
Thanks a lot!
Thanks, aarons, but mine is not Nimbus; it is a UDC “Trainer”. I’m assuming the forks are narrower because came with 1.75 tire, has different hub than Nimbus, and the Nimbus comes with BA 2.35 stock.
Plus the BA 2.15 is already the max width my frame can handle with proper clearance for mud and sticks.
A narowish 29" tire I was very happy with was a WTB Prowler SL. A couple others have had good experiences with the Prowler as well but it get drowned a bit in the hype of the bigger wider tires.
According to Schwalbe’s charts the Hans Dampf has better sidewalls, which seems important for the riding you intend to do. The Hans Dampf is expensive; Nobby Nic can be found a bit cheaper but is about the same price as a Maxxis Ardent 2.4 (which has a lot of fans).
Its a great tire, I use them tubeless on my mtb and have slammed the rim to the sidewalls several times to the point that it dug in, but held up under crazy load. At 24 psi on my bike they are one of the more grippy tires I have ever run. The sidewalls are pretty thin, but uper durable, cant speak for uni use though.
I know the Hans has been causing a bit of a stir here (being fat and knobbly and the likes) but what’s it like for XC? All the times I’ve rode XC on a Duro the agressive tread has done more harm than good - how does the Hans roll in comparison?
Compared to the Duro, the HD is just as durable, much faster, much lighter, a little more twitchy, just about as sticky, so not anything different from what you’d expect from a narrower tire.
The HD is my primary muni tire, rocks and roots, drops 1-2’, mud to firm.
Two weeks ago I rode an Ardent for three days, this past week I rode the HD for three days, prior to that I was on the Knard for two months.
I’m going to work up a review comparing the three tires.
If you have never ridden a narrower tire, so all you know is the Duro, you would have some adjusting to do, but once you got beyond that I think you’d be kicking yourself for never having tried a narrower tire.
You have no idea how much extra work goes into push a 3" DH tire vs a 2.5" XC tire.
Well I have rode a Halo Ception 2.6 on my 24, but it was still really ‘hummy’ and slow. The reason I ask is because I’m after a 29er, but I don’t want to have to push on the climbs due to having a big ol’ tyre.
I can get the hans for £33 shipped (normally £47 + shipping) so I can afford it - I just don’t want it to weigh me down. The kind of trails I usually ride are fairly solid (not very muddy) but all the lightly treaded XC tyres are wimpy and wont take a drop well (correct me if I’m wrong). I know I’l probably need to train a bit harder to get the strength to turn a bigger wheel but I don’t want to be banished to the flat just because my tyre’s a drag.
It sounds like you want a tire that has decent sidewall strength without weighing a ton and that rolls fairly well - that pretty much sums up the Hans Dampf. It’s a big tire, with big knobs, but the weight is very reasonable (mine weighs 845g, about 10g heavier than the Ardent on my bike). The sidewalls are decent enough to run reasonable pressures for muni, it won’t feel like a 3" tire on drops but it’ll handle them fine. There are heavier, burlier tires for technical downhill but the Hans is a really good balance for all around muni.
What 29er are you considering and what tire does it come with stock? If you spend some time riding that, you might get a better idea of what it’s lacking (if anything) for your riding.
Great! I’m in the awkward minority who don’t need/want a big nobbly tire, but find ultralight tyres too harsh.
Custom Nimbus (Nimbus wheel + cranks, KH frame + saddle). The uni comes standard with a Dissent which is far too heavy to even consider. So far, I’ve been basing my presumtions on what I’ve experienced on my 24 (Duro and Ception) so I have no idea what the Hans/29er will ride like.
Yup I have, I’ve used the 2.7 high roller super tacky compound and the high roller 2 2.4 3c compound both on my 26’’ muni. Both are great tyres with great grip, not bad rolling either considering the amount of grip. If the high roller II had was bigger volume I’d be very happy with it. If it had more volume it would proberly be a near perfect muni tyre for my riding I think the High roller 2 would make a great 29er tyre! The grip is really good.
UDC should give you an Ardent instead of the Dissent if you ask nice (they did for my son’s new uni). The Ardent seems fine for the terrain you’re describing; I think if anything the Ardent is a little faster than the Hans on hardpack.
UDC UK doesn’t stock the Ardent in 29", but they’re ok with selling me a uni without a tyre (I live near UDC so I can always lend a hand with assembly). TBH though, with all this talk of how great the Hans is, I’m tempted to get one just to see what the fuss is about - if I don’t like it, I can just sell it on or keep it for when I get fitter.
I think the High roller 2 would make a great 29er tyre! The grip is really good.