My latest tire choice has me running a Ralph in the back, and Nobby Nic on the front. Tires are hard to come by with COVID shortages, so I’m running whatever I can easily get my hands on.
So far, the Nobby Nic feels similar to the XR4 it replaced.
The Ralph feels quite different than the XR3 and the (Conti Cross King before that) it replaced. It rides more harshly (I think it’s that the sidewall is more stiff, and doesn’t deflect as much under impacts), and slides out more easily in corners. All-in, I want a rear tire that has more grip than the Ralph.
I’d like to see how the Wicked Will performs as a rear.
@DaveWh You might want to try a Nobby Nic front and rear. I switch to that here locally in the fall when the leaves start to come down from trees. The NN rolls surprisingly well on the rear. I’ve been surprised that on local trails I wasn’t much slower on them compared to the Raclng Ray/Racing Ralph summer combo.
I’ll be making a switch for sure from the Ralph on the rear for some of my riding later this year - Pyrenees in August, Fruita/Moab desert riding season in the fall. For now, the Ralph works OK on the majority of my local trail system - although may start to get outmatched as the trails dry and turn dusty.
I would guess you were unlucky and it was a defective tire. I have ran race kings on and off for 3 years (including on 1-2 week bike packing races) and never had leaks or significant pressure loss. Overall I think they are very good, although not quite as fast as Thunder Burts and still drift a bit on loose over hard.
I’m curious to know what’s peoples’ take on the new tread pattern nobby nic that Schwalbe rolled out a year or so back. I used to run the old Nobby Nic in the winter because i really liked the upright traction for climbing but the transition off the side nobs was sometimes terrifying. As i got better at carving turns it started to matter more, so i switched away.
some people like the Ikons, other people up thread have said that they really don’t. What do you think the difference is?
I’ve got some carbon wheels (Mercury X1 Enduro) re-dished for the Ai offset, and as soon as I get my XD driver converter and cassette, those are going on the Scalpel SE, so i will have exactly that, 2.35 Ikons on a decently wide rim. I’ll make up my own mind but definitely curious where people are coming from on the opinions.
Depends on the grain of soil in various locations I think.
The closer the soil turns to mud, the worse the Ikon performs.
In SoCal, it is pretty versatile as long as you don’t mind a bit of drift here and there and with low pressure/wide rim, you get good traction with lower rolling resistance in the rear.
That being said, I’d never consider it as a front tire.
I didn’t know they’d changed to be honest, I’ll have a look at some photos for reference but I also have a new gen NN enroute to match my SuperRace Ray and Ralph combo so will compare it to my current NIC when it arrives.
I only ever run a Nic as a front tyre though.
@Jason_Kennedy might have his new Nobby Nic already, but I don’t know if he’s ridden it yet.
I just installed a Barzo/Mezcal combo (in 2.6") for a bit of wet weather grip before I put my race wheels back on.
I wish I hadn’t gone for the 2.6 to be honest as it’s pretty massive and the clearance is not as much as I’d prefer.
I’m really intrigued by the Mezcal in 2.35 now though. The tread pattern of the Mezcal is really appealing. You can really see the side knobs when looking straight on at the tyre. I think I’ll get some to compare against my Racing Ray and Ralph combo.
I have 2.5 Assegai and DHF on my bike park/enduro/party rig and I can’t imagine ever wanting to go that large on my xc race bike. I had run 2.4 ardents in the front in the past and that was ok. Running 2.35 Fast Trak now which at first I wasn’t too keen on, but now after a few weeks, I’m into it. Have a really narrow Barzo on the rear that is just there until I find something else. Might go Mezcals front and rear for some late summer racing.
I like the performance of the XR3 in the rear, but it doesn’t last long. So I’ve moved away from the XR3 for the rear. Good as a front tire for XC, but I prefer the more chunky XR4 as a front tire for trail riding.
My current rear tire (Schwalbe Racing Ralph) is something I settled for based on availability. But not ideal for the riding I do.
I certainly would never choose to race on the 2.6 tyres. They are noticeably heavy compared to my Schwalbe’s. I’ve just installed them on the stock (heavy) Syncros rims with an SLX cassette and CushCore, purely as a trail/winter set up.
I’m thinking I might even try a Mezcal 2.35 rear with the 2.6 front. I have no idea really how the Vittoria’s will perform, the Mezcal looks more promising in person than I realised (the Barzo less so, more mud specific than I thought maybe).
I lucked out getting two of them from my buddy’s top fuel for $30 . Also a trek fanboy so would probably run them over Vitoria or Schwalbe just because
Just a comment on the Barzo -it is terrible in mud (doesn’t seem to shed it very much) & in wet roots/rocks, the tire is terrifying. As long as it’s dry, I love it, though.
. Also a trek fanboy so would probably run them over Vitoria or Schwalbe just because