Has anyone tried any of the Continental 29er tyres yet?
I’m after something that’ll roll well on the road but still be grippy enough for the odd trail, nothing overly muddy or extreme downhills just some light XC.
I’m no expert, but I like them for dirt trails, light XC.
I’ve been using the X-King 29x 2.4 which has a square profile, a good grip (although I never ride on wet root-gardens), no flats after recent 10 miler on sharp rocky railbed trail, and is pretty darn quiet on the pavement, for a knobby.
But if you’re hoping for a really wide tire, be warned that it is undersized – it has the same width as my Trail King 2.2, which is another tire I like a lot on my 26. The Trail King is knobbier and a less squarish. Oops, I mean Rubber Queen (???), love that name, as it’s called in your neighborhood.
Anyone here tried Specialized tyres?
I was having a look in BikeScene today and it looks like Specialized have really got the 29er bug. The good thing is, their tyres have nice sturdy sidewalls which should make them pretty good muni tyres.
First up is the Storm: http://www.specialized.com/gb/gb/ftb/mtb-tires/competitive-xc-tires/sw-storm
Little bit low on volume (2.0) but looks really, really grippy - not an XC tyre for sure.
There’s also the Fast Trak: http://www.specialized.com/gb/gb/ftb/mtb-tires/competitive-xc-tires/sw-fast-trak
Looks like it could be quite a good tyre for XC on smoother ground (looks cool too)
And somewhere in the middle there’s the Ground Control (2.1) and the Purgatory (2.3!!):
http://www.specialized.com/gb/gb/ftb/mtb-tires/xc-trail-tires/sw-ground-control http://www.specialized.com/gb/gb/ftb/mtb-tires/all-mountain-tires/purgatory-control
The first two sure look interesting - the other two should be good too mind but I doubt they’re anything special (not a Hans killer). 
I just got the 2.35 pacestar Hans Dampf and put it on my old 29" Nimbus road Uni with the 38mm single wall rim. The intent was to up my muni game from the do everything 3.0 Duro on my kh26 to a faster lighter set-up for light duty Muni and XC. No big drops but lots of roots and loose/muddy trails.
The installation was weird… I’m used to fighting to get the tire on the rim. The HD needed to be held in place to stop it from falling off. I even thought it was too big to begin with.
As is to be expected it rides a lot different than a 3.0 Duro. I ended up running about 17 pdi after being a little too bounce for my taste- but i only weigh 135#'s right now so YMMV.
First noted difference was how quiet it was- on road and off. Much more stealthy than the Duro and my WTB Stout. Almost as quiet as the 2.0 Marathon Supreme that came off the road rim.
Being used to the big volume of a 3.0 tire there was a learning curve for the HD. No more ploughing through root gardens and letting the tire do all the work. A little more finesse was required on bigger roots and weighting the rider and using more legs to get through those sections. Although I must say the 2.35 still had the ability to ride over/through some good sized downed branches and vines. Even at 17 psi I was not aware of hitting the rim at all. Good thing since this was the nimbus single wall.
Once I started to find my groove I was seeing how the significantly lighter weight was helping my climbing despite being 29" and not 26".
After reading all the reviews in this thread I decided on the firmer pacestar rather than trailstar compound. The pacestar felt plenty soft to the touch. Grip seemed more than adequate. I did witness a few stones getting picked up in the tread and pinging off the frame.
I am a spoiled Uni rider with too many choices in my fleet. With a Todd shod 36-er I have the fast XC already addressed. However I must say that the 29 with Hans Dampf had the feel of the bigger wheel but the maneuverability of the smaller sizes. I was impressed how I could weave through tight corners and pinpoint my line.
A great first 9 mile outing on the Hans Dampf. I need to get out again tomorrow AM.
pax
Applause Woohoo another Hans user!
I’m also running a Nimbus road uni with a single wall rim for muni - though as mentioned above with the On-One Smorgasbord tyre. I’m still not convinced I’d be able to tell the difference between that and a HD - not even if I had the two to try back to back. Since my last report I’ve now ridden that combo on a couple of my standard muni rides - routes I’ve done 10s of times on my 26er with a Schwalbe Fat Albert tyre (as mentioned previously, my understanding is that the casing of that is very similar to a HD). The Smorgasbord was fine - felt very little different to the FA, apart from that the bigger wheel was rolling over everything - a couple of tricky step ups were handled with far greater ease than usual. I’m running 20psi in that - tried a little less, but it felt very squishy at 18psi, though I am ~165lbs at the moment.
Hi Jacob,
I have a pair of Specialized Fast Trak on my bike in 26in and they are having a very light tread pattern that is nice for rolling on the road while still being grippy under rain and on grass/ground. Not really suitable for aggressive muni.
However, I have a Purgatory UST in 26x2.4 and it is a very nice tire: lightweight (right under 800g), very nice sidewalls and a decent volume even on a Large Marge 
YMMV but modern tires tend to be grippy and the tubeless readiness helps to have stiffer sidewalls (sometimes) making them really nice with a tube 
Good to hear! I might get one some day (when I have more money or when the Hans dies).
Anyone else riding Specialized gear?
I am running the Maxxis Crossmark, and it is exactly this. Definitely not a mud tyre, but no road buzz and fast-rolling.
I read in this thread that this is a good cheap tire for dual on road/light trails.
I will be going on a 15-20mile trip to the beach on paved path.
I am ordering the drak, which will come with ardent 2.4 or wtb dissent 2.5
would the cst critter 2.1 be okay, or would it be eaten up by the pavement?
My 2nd choice would be the schwalbe big apple 2.0
if your hitting the roads and some light xc i suggest looking at WTB Nano.
light and grippy and a very flat tread pattern.
+1 for Hans Dampf Muniing
Love schwalbe
Been on my HD for a couple months now. Had to up my psi to 35 to keep from burping too much. If I stick to tamer trails, I can get away with 25-30, but anything with big rock has to be 35. The tire is great though, plenty of grip on rock, LIGHT, seems to do alright in loose sand/dust, and the volume is about all you need.
Of course, the fact that I went tubeless would have made any tire waaaaaay better…
Even though you have to run high PSI to avoid burping? It seems like you could be using lower pressures with tubes. I’m running my HD under 20 PSI and like the tire at that pressure. Obviously weight, trails, etc change things but it still seems like a big difference to me.
I gave up on tubes, due to the large amount of goatheads around here. It wasn’t practical, cause I couldn’t go an a ride without getting a flat.
I have my 36er TODD tire and my 29er Hans Dampf set up as tubeless.
I luv the TODD as tubeless, it allows me to run a variety of tire pressures as low as 18-20psi without too many “squirts”. Over a year without tubes and I’ll never go back on the big wheel!
The Hans Dampf on the otherhand, it doesn’t seem to be as forgiving at low pressures since I went to tubeless. I have to run higher pressures to prevent overcompressing the tire AND it seems softer and more prone to sidewall collapse when carving. Granted, I’m running it on a P35 (35mm) whereas before it was on a D2 (40mm).
To make the HD rideable at speed I am running quite a bit more pressure than I did with tubes and I’m finding that the ride is harder and my control is sacrificed.
Tonight I will probably pull the HD, clean out the fluid, and reinstall a tube. If it rides better; like I remember, then I’ll chalk that one up to having “an experience”.
To be contd…
In defense of the Hans, I still like it tubeless. 
I ran my tires at higher psi even with tubes (it’s a habit: truck tires, motorcycle tires, uni tires, etc.) So this really isn’t anything new to me. I’m willing to deal with a little bounce if I can ride off of big rocks and not need to worry about goat heads out on antelope island. I haven’t had to hardly add air since going tubeless (noticed for the first time today that my 36 is a bit down)! It’s loads lighter than the Dissent I was running and has really made a difference in how I climb.
Looking forward to seeing your findings, Ben. My guess would be the reduced rim width has a lot to do with it (I’m using a KH 47mm rim) but the tube was probably giving some support as well. I’d also guess that a tube would be more prone to pinching on the narrower P35 rim than it was on the D2 so you’d have to still be more careful about running too low.
Still loving the Hans Dampf 29" tire but as previously noted it does pick up trail debris in the treads and throw it around. Lots of stones and rocks have been ejected over ten feet up and out as well as short sticks…
Yesterday a stick got picked up and ended up stuck in my thigh! Just a small puncture wound but quite a surprise.
I’m running an inner tube and 17 psi which seems to be working for my weight and rooty trails. I don’t see the advantage of a tubeless set up if you need to run another 10 psi. Maybe the inner tube gives a boost to side wall strength or because I’m not an aggressive rider do not have collapse issues or excess compression- rim strikes which would be burbs if tubeless I guess.
pax
Specialized Fast Track Tyre
This is my second tyre review. My first was on the Big Apple and you know how smooth they are 
I put the fast Trak on my uni this morning and I’ve done about a mile and a half. Downhill grass, road and loose grit, so you probably say more cross country than muni.
First impressions were that it was easier to freemount as the tyre didn’t wiggle as much as I did my static mount. It felt slower riding on the grass and the road, cos of the tread I guess. On the loose gravel it was good, no pebbles pinging off to the sides like you get with a smooth tyre. Good grip made me more confident to try and stay on for longer. I had a high tyre pressure as mainly on road. With low pressure there will be far more grip from the tread on the side of the tyre. That’s gonna be fun when I get to do that.
Don’t forget I’m comparing this to a big apple. If I could compare it to a 26’’ tyre like the duro leopard I have on my 26’’ Oracle I’d say to save your money and buy something with more tread if it’s muni you want to be doing. But if you’re just bimbling along on your ride with the possibility of grass and dirt off road then then is a good tyre.
Downside: I can ride straight ahead on a big apple. Put me on a uni with tread and my posture is all over the place 
What tube are you guys running with the Hans Dampf?