Hans Dampf's v Maxxis High Roller IIs

[Rick Draper]

Looking to buy some tyres for my Bronson.

I currently run Hans Dampf's on my 26" bike but I have been tempted to look at the Maxxis High Roller IIs, I will be going for 2.35's. Has anyone got any experience of both? I where I ride its rocky and can be muddy when wet.

[brankulo]

also interested, as well as in size/volume comparison.

[smmokan]

Have you looked into the Vee Trail Taker? Fast rolling, good grip, and pretty light for a beefy 2.4" 120tpi tire.

[brankulo]

i am on trail taker right now (front), good tire, bit too round. just wanted to try something new.

[Hill-Pumper]

Have you looked into the Vee Trail Taker? Fast rolling, good grip, and pretty light for a beefy 2.4" 120tpi tire.

Also look at the Vee Rubber Fluid and Flow. I have not tried these myself, but they look worth considering.

[StiHacka]

Also look at the Vee Rubber Fluid and Flow. I have not tried these myself, but they look worth considering.

I plan to mount the Fluid (or Flow? one of those two, I forgot which one I have, seriously bad name choices) on the Derby rim. Should be interesting!

[Gman086]

Out West the HR2's no question. They have beefy side knobs so you can really push them in high speed corners. I despise the HD's because of their round profile and weaksauce sidewalls = dangerous high speed tires. Guys back East love them tho for slower, more technical riding. Depends on where you ride. FWIW I rode a Bronson with the beefy 2.4 HR2's and fell in love with the bike (will be getting one soon).

Have FUN!

G MAN

[pastajet]

Try the WTB's Vigilante's, my current tire of late.

If you want the HD's make sure to get the Super Gravity versions.

[techfersure]

Hans Damph,liked a lot but two months of East Coast ripped all of the side knobs to much money for so little time.High Roller II's just as good in traction but really superior overall for longevity and roll a tad better.

[WilliamK]

I went from a HR I to the Hans. I went through 3 sets of Hans on the front. Rolling is good, weight is good and the grip was okay, definitely better than average.

What I felt was, the grip was better when new and for some reason, the compound or something changes with use and the grip reduces slightly but maintains at that slightly lesser level. I was alerted to this when I had a fresh front tyre fitted for a few shuttle days. Used it, took it off and put it back on again for a few more shuttle days later.

All 3 sets tore at the lugs - the faster or harder you go, the more or bigger the tears. The side lugs start to get micro tears and as a result get even softer on the sides IMO.

In slightly sandy surfaces or hard surfaces with a film over it, they didn't seem to bite through as well. In hard pack, no problems.

On my 4th front HD, near new, I changed to a HRII - back to the first love. First ride I was blown away. One other trait I hadn't noticed I lost was directional stability. My bike was back to being a missile. Holding a line, change line was done with noticeably more command. That centre and two side main grooves really enhance direction. It really stood out for me, a very stark difference.

Penetrating film over hard, better. Loose or muddy, better. Leaning harder over, better. The Hans is better with the weight and maybe is better at rolling (but not by much). But for me and my trail areas, the HR II is way better for the speed work and general misbehaving. The choice is a balance of compromises and what surface you ride.

HRII have it in the grip department, but for all that grip, there is a small weight penalty.

[AllMountin']

If you want an all out traction tire, perhaps consider the On One Chunky Monkey in 2.4. Dual compound or single compound. Built on the Ardent casing by Maxxis and sold for 30 dollars with free shipping. I've only been on mine for a short spell, but it seems legit.

[Hill-Pumper]

For those using the HR II's, which compound are you using? I've never used Maxxis tires before, so I'm not familiar whats the best. Looking at their website, seems like the C3 might be the way to go.

[shredjekyll]

For those using the HR II's, which compound are you using? I've never used Maxxis tires before, so I'm not familiar whats the best. Looking at their website, seems like the C3 might be the way to go.

I have the HRII 2.4 with 3C and DH casing and no exo protection as my front tire and the HRII 2.4 with 3c and exo protection as my rear. Works extremely well for rocky new england riding as long as quality tubes (in my case) are used.

[horsey24]

The super gravity hans dampfs are a major improvement over the standard version. The stiffer sidewall not only stops them puncturing, but it really makes the profile of the tire better - and you get much more corner edge.

If you ride in mud a lot though the HR2's will be a better option.

And agreed with some of the others on here... WTB Vigilantes are a great all around tire!

[LyNx]

No personal experience with the HD, tested the HR2 in 29" and it worked absolutely fantastic, great all around tyre, really shines in the wet, good rolling for the amount of grip, no issues with knobs rolling under or tearing off. Friend came down with his bike sporting NN R/HD F and when I took him on a little sea cliff rock crawl knobs started to get tears, glad I didn't waste my money on them. Have had the HR2s for coming up on 2 years now, mine were the single compound, the 3C should offer even more grip. I have loads of tyres and despite the HD being so old and having so many miles on it, if I want confidence, back on it goes.

On the On-One Chunky Monkey, I have 1 (was sposed to be 2 order got shipped wrong) price can't be beat, yes it is produced on the 2.4" Ardent casing, yes the rubber is nice and soft (right now have the TE, dual compound), not much time on it yet though, but what I have done I like, Will be running a set on my rigid expect to be riding that bike a lot when that 2nd tyre comes in. Also got the Smorgasbord in TE compound and on slow, rocky, mostly dry trail I liked it, but on the slick, steep, wet, muddy, grassy DH the edge knobs were too short, otherwise it would be a real nice tyre, well at least to me comparing to the HR2.

[Rick Draper]

Ordered a pair of HR II's, 3C TR tyres. Sometimes its good to try something different. I have to say the NN on the back of my new hardtail gives the same feeling the HD did on my full suspension, that feeling is one of the wheel or triangle been loose. Feels sketchy at speed.

[airwreck]

on my 27.5 I've used a nevegal front and wtb wolverine rear. Then HD 2.35's and now HRII's. On the 26 I've been running minions and HR's for years. I'm not riding the 27.5 in rocks much, just dirt, hard and soft, wet and dry. I need a tire like the HR2 to shed mud and corner reliably. They are slow rollers, which I can accept, but I remain curious about better rolling in hard packed. I may have liked the HD better with the SG casing, I'm used to DH tires and won't buy another single ply maxxis again either though.

I will keep a set of light fast rolling tires on hand in case I get in a race mode. So my long winded answer to your question is two sets of tires minimum and experiment or just ride and forget about it. I've been doing the latter on HRII EXO single compound (whatever that means) single ply tubeless, not labeled TR. Could roll better, could be stiffer sidewall, keeping my eyes on all the new ones.

Still blown away by Stevie Smith air dh race the HD's, I just couldn't ride fast on mine.

[airwreck]

also interested, as well as in size/volume comparison.

I posted some photos a while back and put calipers on mine and would say the HD 2.35 likely does have slightly more volume, but the size is very similar due to larger knobs on the HRII 2.4. Now if there was a way to see and measure the contact area with g's and lean applied that would be interesting.

[Rick Draper]

Well I thought I had ordered some, twice in fact! It turns out places that say they have the 27.5x2.3 3c TR ready tyres in stock in Europe are in fact fibbing! Not looking like any will be arriving until about October either!

[airwreck]

I should have clarified that I am comparing HD 2.35 and HRII 2.4

For the 2.3 HRII they are available now from the Maxxis e-store.
https://www.shopmaxxis.com/b2c/

[Ride-Aid]

I have been running the 650b High Roller IIs on my Bronson since June and really like the tires. That being said, I wanted to try something else so I went with the 650b Michelin Wild Grip'R2 in the front about 1.5 months ago and those tires GRIP, I mean REALLY GRIP. You do take about a 100g weight penalty and the some increased rolling resistance but I'd say its worth it.

I know the Hans Dampfs are tried and true amongst many friends and have even demoed a pair, but the main complaint I have heard is that they wear very quickly for the price that you are paying.

I ride mainly loose over hard :/ and rocky terrain.

My $0.02

[Rick Draper]

I should have clarified that I am comparing HD 2.35 and HRII 2.4

For the 2.3 HRII they are available now from the Maxxis e-store.
https://www.shopmaxxis.com/b2c/

Thanks but they don't ship to the UK.

[Hill-Pumper]

We had over an inch of rain here today, so it is forcing me to consider new tires sooner then later. Right now my top two choices are the WTB Vigilante, and Maxxis HR II. I'm leaning towards the Vigilante because its tread design comes closer to matching my favored IRD Fire XC Pro tires that I ran on my 29er. Plus, they are tubeless ready, and I get a good price on them. IRD makes a 650B/27.5 tire, but only in 2.1 width. If they were 2.3 or bigger, I would order them.

[shredjekyll]

Vigilante will have lower rolling resistance but high roller II takes the cake in terms of overall grip by a significant margin.