Nice one!
And according to the manufacturer’s page, it’s only 740g in 29"!
https://www.schwalbe.com/fr/offroad-reader/rock-razor.html
Anyone run the Vee Bulldozer 29 x 3.25?
Quick follow-up on the Rock Razor Review (After more rides on different trails):
This tire definitely slows faster in sandy sections and is more sensitive to turning in sand. There are few sandy wash crossings that I typically clear on the Hans Dampf, but bailed when I wasn’t careful with the Rock Razor to go straight through.
The tire seemed to have a slight but consistent improvement in grip on hardpack and loose-over-hard. I was able to clear a tough climb on loose-over-hard that I never cleared on the Hans Dampf.
Finally, if you get this tire be careful to look for the rotation arrow on the sidewall. The side knobs actually tilt out to the front when its setup correctly. This seemed backwards to me so I flipped the tire, but noticed some self-steer when I did this.
Follow-up 2 on the Rock Razor
After getting used to this tire a bit I feel like I’m doing almost as well with it in sandy areas as the Hans Dampf.
I noticed a little improvement switching form the Nimbus rim to the Surly Rabbit Hole. It widens the tire a tad, stabilizes the sidewalls a bit, and lightens things up.
The Super Gravity Hans Dampf (or Rock Razor ) / Surly Rabbit Hole rim combo gives a strong, light wheel that can run low psi and does not have much tire fold-over with side hops.
I’ve been very happy with the Surly Rabbit Hole rim (both 29 and 26). They are light, tubeless ready (they small platforms to seat a tubeless bead), and they are fairly strong (maybe due to the tall sidewall). I’ve taken plenty of 2 to 3 ft drops, tech sections, and wild UPDs on the 26 Rabbit Hole over the past 2 months and it hasn’t bent, flattened, or come grossly out-of-true.
After reading through this thread I decided to take the plunge and order this tyre. putting it on one of the original KH 29 rims, I had a big apple on the wheel for a number of years. I have a feeling I will like this one a little more.
-Philip
Maxxis Minion DHR II Plus 29x3.0 - Quick Review / Specs:
I just tried this tire for sand riding on a Surly Rabbit hole 50mm rim and a Nimbus Oracle 29 Frame. The tire rubs slightly when climbing - it would probably not rub on a narrower Nimbus rim, or with the wider KH29 frame.
It plows through sand as well as any non - fat bike tire I’ve tried. I rode through a wash (dry riverbed) that has deep loose sand (can’t feel hardpack under it - like beach sand). At about 8-10 psi (with a tube), this tire would float / plow through the sand for a hundred feet or so before I had to bail. Once the sand got shallower (4 inches deep or less) this tire was great - it steadily plowed and gripped along without stalling or slipping.
Better than any plus tire I’ve tried for sand. I was hoping for slightly better performance, but I think Ill have to get fat uni for that. Practice will help, but I think sand riding will still feel more “technical” than smooth.
On hardpack / rd of course it rides like a tractor with lots of buzz, but is not horribly unmanageable. Self steer and squishy-ness are workable for such low pressure (8-10 psi again - I weigh about 165lb).
Tire Version - DHR II Plus DC EXO TR
DHR II Width - 74mm
DHR II diameter - 768mm
Schwalbe magic Mary
Quick review:
Schwalbe sell this tire as 2.35" wide tire, but when I stratched it (I use for half year) it measures little bit over 2.5". It has very stiff sidewalls And it takes drops (about 1.5m) pretty well (compared to Bontrager chupacubra 3.0) I really like how this tire behaves in wet conditions. For me it has two disadvantages it Is really heavy (I have trailstar super Gravity one So about 1kg), And it has high rolling resistance.
Duro Crux 29x3.25
I just received this from JonesBikes.com. Mounted on a Surly Rabbit Hole rim it measures an honest 3 inches inside knobs, almost 3.2 outside knobs.
Weight on my scale: 1250 grams.
It’s going in my Flansberrium 29+ - yes there is plenty of clearance in the frame for this thing.
Will post more info/feedback after I ride a few times.
Very nice one.
I’ll measure the frame of my 2016 KH29", I wonder if it would fit under it.
The 27.5x3.25 Duro Crux fits the 2016 KH27.5 frame, but the 2016 KH29 frame is not quite tall enough. However, the KH29 fits the 3.0" version of the tire.
I also widened the KH27.5 and KH29 frames very slightly for 2017 (only by 2 mm), to make absolutely sure that there was no rubbing when cranking hard side to side up climbs and slightly increased the vertical clearance.
Here is the vertical clearance from hub centerline to underside of crown, and horizontal clearance at the position of the widest part of the tire:
2016 KH27.5: 380.5 mm (vertical) and 94 mm (horizontal)
2017 KH27.5: 383.5 mm (vertical) and 96 mm (horizontal)
2016 KH29: 391.5 mm (vertical) and 94 mm (horizontal)
2017 KH29: 401.5 mm (vertical) and 96 mm (horizontal)
RE: Duro Crux 29x3.25
I’ve been on only two 7 mile rides and initial impression is this is a good/great tire. I experienced no negative aspects like auto-steer on off-camber terrain.
Positive aspect is the very beefy tread resulting in great traction. Some may perceive this as a negative as it makes it more difficult to initiate a rapid twisting turn at slow speed. For me, the traction is confidence inspiring.
Oh, and I should mention the tire I was riding previously was a Gravity Vidar which I also like a lot.
I’d echo that with the Crux - was really surprised at how well it corners, even on pavement, given the deep tread and volume. No feeling of auto steer at all, in my experience.
Klaas did you get the Hookworm? How did you like it?
Ah thanks for reminding me.
Yes I did get it, a little over a year ago. I have ridden it quite a bit when I just had it: training for the standard marathon at Unicon in Spain, and the actual race in early August last year. Since then I haven’t used it though.
I found a note to myself from the first time riding: “first impression: runs nicely”. No later notes. That’s also what I remember: it rolls very light at the high pressure I kept it at. I don’t remember anything about road crown sensitivity (an issue I’m quite sensitive too), so probably it wasn’t too bad, but no definite statement here. I can add that in the race, I improved my PR on the standard marathon from 2:12 to 2:08, which I attribute partly to the bigger diameter compared to the Schwalbe Marathon 2.0 that I used before.
All in all, I would certainly recommend the tyre for road use. Within the 29" league it’s the fastest tyre I know of.
There is also this thread with recommendations for 29 inch pavement tyres.
My own preference is for lightweight tyres and I have a Maxxis Torch 29 x 2.10 on a 38 mm rim. Exceptionally low rolling resistance, good ride, handling and traction. I reviewed it in that thread.
My 26 came with a Hookworm and it left me cold. Riders who like extra the rotating mass might like them I guess. However they are badly affected by camber (apparently unless they are at maximum pressure). Not good in the wet. The tread grooves are more decorative than hydrodynamic.
However I do have a Hookworm on my 20 and love it. The extra mass is good on a small wheel and the circular profile is good for tight turning. No camber problems at all regardless of how low the pressure goes.
Both Unidreamer and myself tried the Hookworm in 29" and we both… disliked it. Mainly for the road camber, and the weight.
UniD went for the Knard 3.0, choosing the knobby way, and I went for the Schwalbe Big One which I like a lot. It’s good on road camber (as long as it’s not on a wide rim, important detail), and the best part is how light it is.
Thanks guys. I might try the Big One because I like lightweight tires. Pierrox does it wear well?
I’m looking for a slightly bigger racing tire. I see that a standard 29" road wheel can be up to 778mm.
That should allow about 3.00 but the rolling resistance at that width would work against the gains in diameter.
The Torch 2.10 is about 740mm diameter on a 38 mm rim. It is very light and I highly recommend it as a race tyre but I wouldn’t expect really high mileage.
So far so good, it looks very flimsy with its tiny “dot-knobs” but they’re still as new after several months.
So it is a lot better than the Schwalbe Big Apple then? I had a Big Apple 2.35 and the road camber sensitivity was much too high for my taste. High pressure did not help enough. The Hookworm is definitely better on road camber, in my experience. Both on a medium wide rim, don’t remember which. Perhaps the Big Apple on the KH XC, and the current Hookworm on the Dominator II.