Rocket Ron or Nobby Nic upfront

[Lukep]

Hi

 

I am currently running Racing Ralphs front and rear, I am looking for something with a bit more grip upfront.

I do mostly marathon riding in and around Stellenbosch so mostly loose over hard, Hardpack and occasionally muddy conditions.

 

Cheers

[mtbride]

I've got a Ron on the front with RR on the back, thought the RON would work better, but it's much the same as the RR in front for me. Looking at putting on a Onza Ibex 2.25 soon on the front. It's heavier (approx 120g) but I think it will be much more confidence inspiring with those big side knobs. Probably depends on how aggressive one rides in the corners. Think the new Nobby Nic would be a good choice also.

Edited October 15, 2015 by Kraggie

[Andrew_ew]

I use a Nobby Nic upfront for mud occasionally - usually just run a Racing Ralph.

 

The old style Nobby Nic can be a bit dodgy  - it  holds really, really, well, and then all of sudden with no warning it lets go and washes out. By that I mean there's no gradual sliding or feeling of losing traction - one minute its there, next minute you are sitting on your ass going "wtf"?

 

It does feel a bit like a tractor tyre compared to a Racing Ralph but until it lets go without warning it does grip in the mud really well.

 

I have read that Schwalbe have redesigned the new Nobby Nic to stop this happening.

[CarbonKid]

Wow, that's quite coincidental. I was running RR Snakeskins back and front and have got tired of losing the front end and crashing....they are just useless for cornering (29er). I have just put on a set o less known ONDA's and IBEX 2.25 on the front and a CANNIS on the back 2.25 and man what a different ride. much better grip so I can really recommend the OPNZA tyres. I did my first ride on them yesterday and beat the RR hands down.....a bit heavy though

[V12man]

I used to run (a)raceing ralph front and rear, then swapped to (b)rocket rons on the front and ralphs on the rear after a few front washouts

 

Now I have swapped to Rocket Rons front and rear © and am considering  using a Nobby nick on the front (d) to see how that is.

 

I definately have more grip with the RoRo's - and I can't feel that they are any slower at all - but I feel safer

 

So far © has been the best combination, followed by (b), then (a) as the worst.

 

So - if anyone wants to swap a brand new Racing Ralph (Snakeskin) for a snakeskin Knobby Nick, I will  continue to (d) and see if thats a still further improvement.

[georges]

I run RR snakeskin 1.5 front & 1.6 rear and suggest you play around with tire pressures before you change - It will make a positive difference. 

[Donovan Le Cok]

I am glad this thread has come up, I have been wanting to ask. The schwalbe combo, is it Rocket Ron up front and Racing Ralph at the rear? I currently run the Vittoria Barzo and we run the rear the wrong way round for better traction, is it the same with the rear on the Schwalbe? Do you run it the wrong way round?

[droenn]

I had 2.2 Ralph on the back, 2.2 Ron on the front for a while. Nice light tyre combo, and was fast, but didn't give me the confidence I want (had nasty washout with it once and then was getting leaks now and then).

 

I'll put the Ralph on the back again, but not so sure about the front tyre. Currently got a 2.4 Mountain King there and thats superb (although, nor sure how it goes in mid summer yet).

[BigToe]

Personal experience - I have run Nobby Nic and Maxis Ardent up front. Both are great but I slightly prefer the Ardent, its a bit more resilient than the Nic.

 

That said - its not only the tyre to consider - your front end consists of a number of critical components to get you through a corner. The wheel and wheel size (lateral flex), handlebar, tyre (pressure) and the fork (proper set up)...dont think changing the tyre will cure everything.

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

New nobby is apparently what Hans Dampf was supposed to be. Far gripper and not as pressure sensitive ad the old HD and NN.

 

Donovan - the ron and Ralph are not rear specific, they just work better at the back as they're not the grippiest at the front. The way it is designed is to rotate a particular direction so I reckon you should follow that. Maybe try flip it if you put it on the back, but it's directionality shouldn't change. Blocks are shaped to favour braking in one side and rolling resistance on the other, so if you flip it it would be the wrong direction for that to work nicely.

 

Edit: I totally got the wrong end of that, Don. You want the braking surface (square edge) to face rearwards instead of forwards when on the ground so that it gives you more traction under power, but at the expense of straight line braking because the chamfered side will now be facing forwards and offer less resistance to the dirt when under braking.

 

In that case, yeah that's what you could do. Not sure how that would affect cornering performance though

Edited October 15, 2015 by Myles Mayhew

[Pusher]

I'm running Racing Ralph rear and Knobby Nick front and it's a combination that works really well for me.

[Odinson]

The new Tough Tom will also become quite popular when it becomes available. Similar type of tyre to the Ron and Ralph. It's also OEM on a lot of 2016 XC bikes.

[leaboy]

running RR front and rear, have experienced the frontend washing out before.
i'm due new rubber so liking the above feedback

Edited October 15, 2015 by leaboy

[Sidmouth]

Best grip for a front tyre was a nobby Nic upfront, love it, use Maxxis or similar on the back as Schwalbe just wear to fast 

[droenn]

best rear is Saguaro, run in traction direction. Mines been on and off the bike a few times over the last 2 years, still going strong.

 

Its much heavier than the Schwalbes though, so I get why people prefer them for racing etc.

[Naas Vermaak]

Most guys are correct in what they say, however, and it was said by Georges, the correct tyrepressure is way more important than the tyre itself. In the K2C for example you don't need a lot of grip, maybe 5% of the ride but you need the least amount of rolling resistance so a harder inflated tyre will work well there. But in Grabouw or other technical rides you need  a"pap" tyre to conform to the terrain to ensure maximum grip which will feel safer and thus make you go faster. You can't get the best of both worlds and should consider the characteristic of the ride beforehand. My advice will be to play around with softer inflated tyres before you make any changes. I use RRon in front and RRalph at the back.