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Schwalbe Nobbly Nic mounted backwards
I've read on several different forums to mount the NN reverse. This forum included. Was it Hawkeye or Gazza who has mentioned it a few times?
So I thought I'd give it a try.
Most of my riding is around Manly Dam, Cascades, Duckhole & Centre track.
The tyre does indeed feel very stable down loose dirt Hills & roads. In particular down the Feeway down to the creek at Manly Dam. Or Frankles decent or the pipeline hill in reverse. hammering down any desent at the Cascades stable as anything. However rolling slowly down naked rock face like the 19th hole, something is odd. Almost as though is like tramlining. Ive noticed it a few times in a few parts of the cascades where it gets a little techincal. its like it wants to stear itself under brakes. its easyly corrected however i got a fright first time it happened where I got shocked......Fuck that rock on the righ side......
but then last night in the cascades near Acron oval is a few roll offs it happened there too as well as 19th hole, but this time I was ready for it. Its no big deal. but its there.
I CBF swapping it over unless something serious happens. But if someone has a reasonably fresh NN mounted on a 26" front wheel 6" disc. I'd be happy to swap for a lap around Manly Dam & get both points of view.
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yeah, it was me. I'm just about to put one back on my Rize.
Interesting comment, and it makes sense. It will be the centre knobs that are angled out slightly, every second knob.
I haven't noticed it myself, but I haven't ridden a NN since April, and the NN that was reversed was my race wheelset that was ridden on pine loam and tree roots, with little exposure to rocky technical stuff.
My main concern with the tyre was its propensity to unrecoverably and without warning let go on loose-over-hardpack, which didn't end well (collarbone on one occasion). Reversing seemed to fix, so a little tramlining slowly under brakes I can live probably with.
Will keep an eye out for it and let you know how I go.
Doesn't that make you go backwards?
I usually invert the fork as well - helps with the climbing...
I also mentioned that
I'd been running Nobby Nics the wrong way around for ages.
Highly recommended, far more predictable.
At speed it seems very re-assuring. Technical single track along the Golf Course Wiggle I couln't tell much difference. I'm hoping to get through there this arvo. I'll try to make another concious assesment. Slow rolling under brakes over naket rock face a little dodgy. But the Jetblack 24 on Mt Annan. I think I'll leave it reversed.
reduced my pressure a little from 30 psi to 28PSI last night
the tramlining (or tendancy to self steer) became more obvious on naked rock face under brakes going quite slow like walking pace. Since those surfaces are not presesnt at Mt Annan 24 hr in December I'll leave the tyre as is.
This tramlining is not presesnt when braking on tarmack while comuting between Manly Dam & Cascades.
as far as technical sigle track goes & rocky downhills like in the cascades or pipeline.....its steady as!
Noticed the tram-lining a little on the weekend. It only occured in a really obvious way a couple of times, when i hadn't picked my line properly and was trying to ride the wall of ruts or rocks with the tyre's shoulder. This may be more a function of front end geometry and having grip instead of sliding off the sideslope, rather than knob orientation. A bit hard to draw a conclusion on one or two instances, need more time.
I run mine at 25-26 psi at the front on a 2.25 width @85kg kitted riding weight.
It was nice to be back on some sticky tyres again.
What eas noticeable was knob squirm on the front on high grip surfaces like tarmac compared to the low knob height and firmer rubber of the Rubenas. To be expected i suppose.
are these Nobby Nics used in the front wheel ?
I just put on my Nobby Nic 2.25 snakeskin the normal way to replace my crossmarks 2.1 LUST. The nobby nic does have more grip no doubt about that, but I find it much slower compared to the crossmark. The NN is definitely heavier than the crossmarks.
I'm gonna leave it for a few weeks to see if it's indeed slower.
yea defenately the front. Its really for extra grip. For those of us who lack skill. grip makes up for part of it. At the end of the day its a compromise. I need the grip for hammering downhill or around corners. while yes it probably does slow be down along the straights or comuting stages between tracks. Along fast flowing single track.....I need ghe reassurance of above average grip. Because i possebly lack the skill others posess.
Anyone here ran one of these tyres in reverse around KC?
Thinking of changing the front only on my '13 trance, I'm finding with a lot of pea gravel up there atm my front likes to slide a fair bit and its not fun as I can't commit to the corners on the downhill sections with speed knowing I'll come out the other side upright.
Approx psi and riding weight would be a bonus.
On another note,
I plan to change the Tyres to 2.25 maxxis Ardent and a 2.1 Crossmark once these were out and change to tubeless also. Any feedback on this combo or recommend another?
Cheers,
-TJ.
1. Yes, all the time.
2. 85Kg I run Tubeless Nics on the front of two bikes 2.1 approx 28psi 2.25 a bit less but this depends on how they feel on the trail. I have gone down to just over 20psi before but they start getting a bit squashy.
Ardent/Crossmark. I also have these on another wheelset. The EXO casing will go tubeless without much effort. I like the Crossmark rear but am not so impressed with the Ardent up front. Compared to a 2.35 Ignitor it skates around a fair bit on the pea gravel however it does roll well and works brilliantly on more solid surfaces.
I blame the fat slabby centre knobs! Still early days so will experiment with the pressure.
T
After running a NN on the front again for a couple of months now, time to report back on the tramlining issue mentioned a little while back.
Apart from once or twice at the beginning, it really hasn't popped up since as an issue. This tends to make me think it's more of a line selection issue and core strngth/bike control, at least for me.
Have also noticed I'm moving around more on the bike instead of sitting in one spot on the saddle like a lump of wood, and I'm weighting the front a lot more, which helps with grip.
The core strength maintenance routine and riding Manly Dam more regularly seem to form a virtuous circle, but having a more trustworthy front tyre helps get the good bike handling habits started.
I find if i don't feel comfortable with the front tyre, it hurts my confidence and i tend to ride weight back, and that starts the circle turning the other way
Thanks Tony,
Do you run these NN's in reverse?
I'm about the same weight so I'll play around with the pressure for a bit and see how i go.
My Trance is a 29r so I cant get an Ignitor as I want a tyre wider than 2.1 on the front.
I run Ignitor's on my old 26 HT and love them, quite surprised they don't offer more sizes in the 29r range.
-TJ
Yes backwards but I haven't tried them on my 29er yet.
I have used then like this since 2008 after being disappointed with the way they would unexpectedly break free in the arrowed direction.
On my 29er I like the Rubena Kratos 2.25 at the moment. Better grip than the Rocket Ron or Ardent, tubeless compatible but not heavy.
If your bike is washing out too easily you should also consider your stem length/ weight distribution though
T