Lightweight, high-volume, and fast-rolling, Schwalbe's Nobby Nic tire has been a long-running fixture on mid-travel trailbikes. Bike makers loved them because spec'ing Nics as original equipment could drop the weight of their trailbikes by a pound. Fans swore by their Nics because of their big, round, flexible casings, supple ride, and for the grip that they managed to find with such small and widely spaced tread. Haters complained that the Nic's tread blocks - if they didn't shear off the first time a rider skidded down a rocky chute - would wear more quickly than pink pencil erasers in a kindergarten class. And, there was the problem that many large-volume tires have with slashes on their exposed sidewalls. Schwalbe recently released an all-new Nobby Nic that should make everybody happy.Riders who either wished that their Hans Dampf tires were a bit lighter and faster rolling, or those who wanted a grippier, more aggressive Nobby Nic, will be glad to discover the revised 2015 Nobby Nic is all of the above.
Meet the 2015 Nobby NicSchwalbe completely redesigned the tread pattern of the Nobby Nic for 2015 - to the point where it appears more like a lightweight version of the German tire maker's Hans Dampf. Retained, is the lightweight, 67-thread-per-inch, high-volume casing which gave the original Nic its fast and supple rolling qualities, but it has been reinforced with a tougher version of Schwalbe's "Snakeskin" anti-abrasion layer, made with a mono-filament polyamide cloth and a different rubber coating to address complaints about its predecessor's wimpy sidewalls.
The new Nic's tread blocks are about a half a millimeter
taller and spaced slightly farther apart, fore and aft. The
edging rows are wider and more reinforced than those
of its predecessor. | The new tire has far more substantial edging tread and Schwalbe added a staggered row of transition blocks to ensure that there are no more surprises when entering or exiting corners. |
Gone are the flexible and heavily siped "H-blocks, replaced by sturdier, wider tread features which are siped in a more conventional manner with thin slices instead of deep hollows. Previous Nic's had an empty space between the center-blocks and the side tread, which caused the tires to hunt for cornering grip on hard surfaces. The new tire has far more substantial edging tread and Schwalbe added a staggered row of transition blocks to ensure that there are no more surprises when entering or exiting corners.
From 2015 onwards, all Schwalbe MTB tires will be "Tubeless Easy" - which means they need some sort of sealant, but are designed to be easily mounted and run tubeless. Schwalbe claims in its literature that our test tires, the top-end Evo TLE TrailStar version of the Nobby Nic, in the 27.5-inch by 2.35-inch size, weigh only 685 grams each. Our tires averaged at 760 grams. Schwalbe sells the new Nobby Nic in a
number of configurations and the good news is that all three wheel-sizes are supported. North American pricing has not been set, but we expect that the new Nics will come in very close to its predecessors - around $80 USD for the high-end EVO TLE TrailStar versions.
TrailStar designs use a soft compound for edging blocks,
medium-soft for the center tread, and a resilient under-layer
to reduce rolling resistance.
Nobby Nic 27.5 Evo TLE TrailStar Details:
• Complete redesign for 2015
• Intended for trail and all-mountain use
• Size tested: 27.5" x 2.35"
• Sizes supported: 26", 27.5", 29"
• Actual measurements on 23mm ID rim: 27.75" x 2.3"
• TrailStar three-compound tread construction formulated for freeride and enduro.
• Mono-filament polyamide mesh anti-abrasion sidewalls
• 67 TPI casing
• "Tubeless Easy" tubeless compatible bead and carcass construction
• Weight: 685g-claimed (760g actual)
• MSRP: USD TBD
Ride ImpressionsWe mounted the new Nics using Stan's sealant to Reynolds Carbon AM rims with an industry standard width of 23-millimeters, and a set of Enve AM rims with similar dimensions. Working tire pressures ranged from 28psi front and 32 rear, to 35psi front and 37 rear. Unlike every Schwalbe tubeless-ready tire I had aired up to that point, the 2015 Nobby Nic tires did not seal well enough to mount up to the Reynolds rims without the aid of a compressor. I tried mounting the Nics to an American Classic AM rim and had slightly better luck, although the compressor was still required. "Tubeless Easy" were not words I would use to describe the process. The second tester said that his Enve rims accepted the new Nic with no problems - go figure. Once mounted, the tires sealed up with almost no weeping and held pressure. Measuring the width and height of the new Nics at 32psi revealed that the casing and tread were almost exactly the same width, at 2.3 inches
(58.4mm) and that the true diameter of the tire was 27.75 inches
(705mm). The tread may appear to be omnidirectional, but arrows on the sidewalls and angling in both the tread pattern and siping grooves indicate otherwise,
Pedaling and acceleration: The new tire is quick rolling, especially when compared to a High Roller II or a Minion. Keep it in the family and compare Nic to Nic - and the extra weight of the newer design can be felt while accelerating. The more robust tread pattern also feels a bit more draggy on paved surfaces. Like its cousin, the Hans Dampf, the Nubile Nic seems to pick up the pace when it hits the dirt, where it tends to ignore shallow patches of sand or sloppy soil. Where there is adequate traction, I noticed that the new tire lacks some of the punch of the old Nics when I made quick accelerations. When traction becomes iffy, though, the more aggressively shod 2015 Nic spanks its brothers hard. Not having to soft-pedal over shifting gravel or slippery boulders was a welcome energy saver that soon eclipsed any reservations we had about giving up a little rolling resistance.
Braking grip: Straight-line braking traction is not quite as impressive as Schwalbe's Hans Dampf, but it is darn close. Oddly, where there is a lot of grip, such as when braking hard down slick-rock, the rear tire occasionally will chatter. The phenomena is most likely to occur on a fresh tire, and I've had the same thing happen with the Hans Dampf. Unlike the previous Nics, the new tire can handle late braking without pushing the front tire or losing the tail end of the bike when entering a corner at pace. The old Nics did not forgive riders who were sloppy around the turns.
Turning grip: The fun begins in the twisty stuff. Schwalbe's designers must have been working furiously on DH tread patterns before they returned to do justice to the Nobby Nic, because the new design sticks like glue to a wide variety of surfaces. I had a chance to compare the Nic with the more aggressive looking Hans Dampf and it was better at any speed at holding a tight line. You could choose to drift, but it took a good hard push to break the rear end loose. Take the pressure off and the bike will come right back and start gripping again. When the tires do break traction, they don't let go like the older tread did. Instead, the break is softer and it comes with a good margin of control.
Technical points: Perhaps the number one question from those who have experience with the earlier Nobby Nic is: "Will the new Nic last longer than a cheap fireworks show?" And the second question might be about its performance in wet conditions, considering that it is always winter somewhere in Europe and weather should be arriving soon in the rest of the Northern Hemisphere. To the first question: the new tires seem to be far tougher than both the Hans Dampf and the previous Nobby Nic, with no broken tread blocks and no ravaged sidewalls to date. To the second question: with only one ride in moderately wet conditions, all I can report is that the 2015 Nics were grippy on wet rocks and heroes on tacky dirt - but roots and slop were not on the menu. Schwalbe posted a video of Brendan Fairclough and his buddies
ripping it up in the rain on the new Nics, which is a good watch. When I do get the Nobby Nics in the slop, I'll add those impressions here.
(added Oct. 23)Wet and mud: Pinkbike's Mike Kazimer had the opportunity to ride the new Nics in the rain in the rooted and mossy trails of the Pacific Northwest. Kazimer says that it is not his favorite tire in the wet. In semi-muddy conditions it was not bad, and the same went for traveling in a straight line, but things got really interesting when the trail had any off-camber roots or rocks. The culprit seems to be that the staggered edging blocks, which give it good grip in dry and loamy conditions, do not provide a defined edge to grip on greasy surfaces. Everything seems fine and dandy, and the all of a sudden: "Oh sh*t, I've got no grip!" That quick slide out is what makes them tricky to ride in the wet.
The 2015 Nobby Nic (left) has a completely different tread pattern than the 2014 version shown here for comparison. Last year's Nics were best appreciated by finesse riders, but the new design can be pushed much harder - especially in the turns.
Pinkbike's Take: | Schwalbe took its time to answer the pleading masses and upgrade its most popular trail tire, but the wait seems to be over. While the new Nobby Nic is similar to its 2014 brother in name only, it fills the gap between Schwalbe's host of lightweight XC/trail offerings and the burly Hans Dampf, which has never been fast enough to be considered an efficient trail option. I have always wanted a more robust version of the Nobby Nic, or a lighter, faster-rolling Hans Dampf, and the new Nic sits squarely between the two. As it stands, the new Nobby Nic is set to make a lot of trail riders happy. Apparently, it is also going to live much longer and that will help take the sting out of the premium price that fans pay to roll on Schwalbe rubber. If Schwalbe can reach its stated goal and pare the 27.5 Evo TLE TrailStar from 760 grams down to 685 - well, that would really be something to shout about. - RC |
For more high-res images of this review, visit the Nobby Nic gallery.
Mentions: @schwalbe
Bukkake Belinda
(has four D's in it)
All will be available in ribbed casings and with new 50 shades of puncture protection. Certain models will be offered in the new Porn-Star compound which is said to offer unrealistic performance. Schwalbe have also announced that their website will no longer show up in the browser history of their customers.
ClimbMax
Magnum BK
Gee Sport (They would need to sign Gee just for this one!)
www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Snurging
Which tires do you prefer over Hans Dampfs? Which tires do you consider to be great and why?
Swamp Donkeys
But well if you freewillingly attempt to use it in larger mountains, particularly sliding in dry conditions then you simply... have no clue how tyres work? That's not a bad thing, no shame, no one should consider it in such categories, you don't have to know everything, many pros have no clue what they are on, yet they will rip the sht out of world's best engineer - just don't pretend that you are a pro ripper and engineer at the same time!
Hugs and kisses
Then I put it on the back and it was awesome, I'd go so far as to say my favourite tyre out back, fast, grippy, could get some mean slides going at speed but you knew what it was doing.... if it didn't fall apart in a few rides I would have bought another one...
once bitten twice shy x 2. And an expensive tyre that falls apart quickly...?
They are not the perfect do it all tires but they are and have been a tire that can handle almost any condition remarkably well. Maybe people hate on them because they are super expensive and don't last as long? Maybe they just hate Schwalbe because of their unusual names? Who knows. All I know is they kick ass.
Aside from super muddy and wet conditions these tires are my go to choice. They grip well, they roll fast and they are light weight for how aggressive they are.
I plan on getting these tires.
Same with the HD. Significanty heavier than than advertised.
Coupled with them as quoted above, burning out quicker than a cheap firework display, I went back to Maxxis and Specialized tyres.
And that's the lightest by FAR i've seen of a Magic Mary 650b in snakeskin.
Every Schwalbe i've had has been significantly heavier than advertised. Oh, and they all fall apart. Really quickly.
The new NN is of no interest anyway, Schwalbe need to do some serious work on keeping knobs on tyres for a while yet
Alternatives shall we? (for trail riding maybe) Contintental - heavy and hard compounds - get on UK muddy steeps or Vancouver slick rock on them - fasten your seat belt and good luck! Maxxis? Minion DHF, eventually HR2 - fan-freaking-tastic... but that's all folks because everything else from them has patterns preferring dry surfaces, cloggin in mud and spinning out on wet roots. Wait... those are DH tyres, were we comparing them to Nobby Nics?! WTB? - Fine inside dry US territory, useless elsewhere. Kenda? Buahahaahahahahah oh I died laughing - Geax, Huthcinson - never tried.
(Front / Rear)
Hans Dampf / Rock Razor
Majic Mary / Nobby Nic (2015)
Majic Mary / Hans Dampf
I would assume that, in GENERAL, these COMBOS would match up the best :
(Front / Rear)
Majic Mary / Rock Razor
Hans Dampf / Rock Razor
Majic Mary / Nobby Nic (2015)
Majic Mary / Hans Dampf
That was the combo I immediately thought of when I read this review.
(Front / Rear)
Majic Mary / Rock Razor
Hans Dampf / Rock Razor
Majic Mary / Nobby Nic (2015)
Hans Dampf /Nobby Nic (2015)
Majic Mary / Hans Dampf
Oh and I've had crappy luck with any of their Snake skins stuff, had to bump up to the Super Gravity.
This new NN is looking good for the rear but I think the ultimate combo would be a Snakeskin MM on front and Super Gravity NN on the rear, hopefully Schwalbe makes that happen as there's no mention yet of an SG NN.
Quite curious about these Maxxis Shories..
And for a 2.5 HR2 would be way overkill, The 2.3's are plenty large volume enough for the 27.5. The HR2 are so square of a tire it performs really well in the smaller 2.3's. And the HD, to me, felt faster rolling tire than HR2 btw
Cheers, I'll do the HD/NN 2015 combo, sounds rad. If Maxxis had a 27.5 x 2.4 Minion DHF, I would have considered. My buddy has been running the 27.5 x 2.4 HR2's and says he likes them but he's biased towards Maxxis. He has never tried Schwalbes but he has ridden the DHF's...
What do you think of MM front, NN (2015) rear combo on a 150mm 27.5 trail bike? Like I said, I'd try something else if it was similar, fatter, lighter, better...than our local standard of Minion DHF front/back. But if it ain't broke....
"I had a chance compare the Nic with the more aggressive looking Hans Dampf and it was better at any speed at holding a tight line",
Is there any reason to use the Hans Dampf over the new Nobby Nic, then, for individuals only concerned with straight line and cornering traction?
www.maxxis.com/catalog/tire-468-121-minion-dhf
The HD is in the same ball park, 795g?
www.schwalbe.com/en/offroad-reader/hans-dampf.html
Meet the jack of all trades banner... And are easy to fit, dont give me snake bites... And roll fast as f*ck for AM ridin... Just saying... I'm using tubes btw.. a light dependable worth the cost tyre for UK type up hill and down dale riding... You know... What we spend most of our time dong.. Accelerate like f*ck on dry singletack an all BTW.. !!
Need:
Minion in 2.4 or 2.5 exo
Crossmark in 2.3 exo
Rerelease the Bling Bling in 27.5exo or put larsen tt center knobs on HR2 sideknobs
And make everything available in 60a...a 3c DHR2 lasts me 3 weeks in the rear
This summer I caved in and went for a magic Mary with the mindset of "if it sucks, I can throw it on the back". Lets just say, Minions are dead to me now. Utterly dead to me.
I can't speak for any other of their models though.
Not that it matters now, but I like my NN's however they do have a Jekyll (dry) and Hyde (wet) personality. I find them predictable and durable on most rough trails (i.e. Lago di Garda) when I run at 18 psi on 29mm inner width rims - yes I occasionally get light rim strikes. I've never been caught out in the dry. I've been put down in a hurry however on some wet rocks and roots, but I'm not sure how much traction can be expected there anyway. I'll also say the steep climbing traction has let me down forcing me to weight the rear tire more than I like.
My Tallboy LT, which serves double-duty as my trailbike and my race-day steed for the local XC series, is shod with HD front and NN rear, and I still have excellent tread left after 18 months of riding. No torn knobs, slashed sidewalls, etc. Admittedly, I don't ride it on pavement very often, and most of the time I'm on dirt or mud (not tons and tons of rocks). But the point is, for the right conditions, it's a great tire.
I'm interested, @RichardCunningham , how the new version clears mud. The old one did a really nice job at that. Much better than the HD.
The previous Nobby Nics are super critical for tire pressure. As you probably discovered, too high and they won't grip off-camber rocks and hardpack. Too low and they feel mushy while cornering. I learned always to check tire pressure before I jumped on bikes that came with Nobby Nics.
I am looking forward to the Galbraith testing reports as they are a good mix of XC & AM riding.
Where were you running them when you say same region? WA state presents several different riding conditions that can all be within 2-3 hour drive. I'm just east of Seattle with my home trails at Tokul.
I, for one, support this change to Schwalbe's naming conventions. I'd much rather have a Nubile Nic than a Nobby Nic.
Do you know if Schwalbe will be releasing the new, tougher "Snakeskin" (anti-abrasion layer, made with a mono-filament polyamide cloth and a different rubber coating to address complaints about its predecessor's wimpy sidewalls) on their other tires anytime soon? More specifically interested in Majic Mary and Hans Dampf.
What are your thoughts on the MM/HD combo? Coming off DHF front/rear. The riding here is steep, rocky, rooty, loamy and quite damp and wet spring and fall, Enduro Kootenays riding. Will be setup tubeless on 25mm internal rims, 150mm AM bike.
PlanB is to either to stick to the DHFs or try DHF/DHR2 combo. 27.5 wheels.
/armchairquarterbacking
As for other comments about RoRas; race day only, and only if someone else is paying for them.
Nobby Nics were frightening on the front, even on hero dirt.
Much preferred the Rocket Ron. Smaller knobs but they seemed to hold up better and not give way as easily. Taking switchbacks at a moderate pace was much improved. Didn't feel my a**hole pucker nearly as often.
I'll let a few guinea pigs get some ride time on them before I put one on the front of my new bike. I'm not trying to die.
You are probably getting tired of people referencing that article. Get it? Tired? I'm here all week...
TEMPLE
There are no high performance tyres which last particularly long, the Maxxis Minnion 3C have longer lasting cornering knobs than the Schwalbe & Continental offerings, but come with a > 25% weight penalty.
Does your summary apply for running NN both front and rear? The prerequisites for front and rear differ quite remarkably, I think...?
Conti Trail Kings or GTFO.
The Rapid Rob uses a different compound, and a different casing than their higher end XC tires. There's a reason it costs significantly less, and is spec'd on low- to middle-end bikes. There's a reason the Racing Ralph and Rocket Ron are the stock tires on high end bikes.
Oh wait, what's that? I can't?
Screw Subaru...they put their name and badge on their car they should be able to do everything. Doesn't brand reputation mean nothing???