I know that these roll fast and grip well, but I have a question for those of you that ride them: Do you find that the narrow width causes instability or otherwise hampers your confidence on the downhill sections? That has been my complaint about other skinny tires that I've run. I know this tire has been discussed up and down on this forum, but this point has skipped past me, and I'm considering the purchase of a set. Thanks.
I mainly ride 1.95 tires so to me the tires felt right at home. In terms of the downhill I did not feel them to be bad at all. I would highly highly recommend these tires with Stans or Eclipse. I wouldnt run these tires with tubes if you paid me.
Just dont consider this tire a 2.0 consider it a 1.9 if you mainly ride 2.1 or greater you might have an issue with these tires at first till you get the traction down.
Whith that epic you own you shouldnt have any issues with these tires. But if you are tall (which you are) and heavy (I dont know) I would find another tire. If you are tall and skinny like me then these fit well.
DaFireMedic said:
I know that these roll fast and grip well, but I have a question for those of you that ride them: Do you find that the narrow width causes instability or otherwise hampers your confidence on the downhill sections? That has been my complaint about other skinny tires that I've run. I know this tire has been discussed up and down on this forum, but this point has skipped past me, and I'm considering the purchase of a set. Thanks.
In the rough terrain these tires have weak walls. So if your doing some rocky stuff get another set.
I use these tires and my rocksters tires as my primary ones. If I need more traction I use Nokians. If I need more speed I use the rocksters (over all terrain types these feel better/faster to me). I just started using Rocksters and Stans and wow its a hole new tire now. I am all smiles. I used to like the nokians better but now they are the same! I have used rocksters for a year and just got stans a few weeks ago.
I am 6'0 157 lbs. I use the following tires of choice.
Both of the below are super fast for me:
Rocksters - When the track is more straight and fast with moderate climbs.
Nokians - When the trail is twisty and more technical in terms of turns and climbs.
Dirtboy is sending me some Kenda Blue Grooves so I can use them as my all day and long rides.
Hope my opinion helps. I am sure others will have some views on what they like to ride.
?
4??51lbs, Expert 30-34.
Bike= RacerX, Stan's wheelset, Nokian NBX lite2.0 rear (37psi), Conti Explorer front (34psi).
The bike feels awesome with these tires. As Nino mentioned, you need to run the Nokian at the lowest possible pressure. At 45 psi, they had a disconcerting vague feel in high speed cornering. At 35-38psi, they are perfect.
Concerning the volume: I hated the Python in the rear on the FS, the Conti explorer in the rear was good but the Nokian has superior traction (climbing and cornering).
I rode some fast rocky sections and the tire has survived so far.
They are fine on a hardtail and match excellent. Again the weight is the biggest issue almost any 1.9 tire.
A full suspension would help becuase it would soften the blow. So if you are a bit larger and own a Fully you should be ok.
If you are a Clyde and run these 1.9 and on a hardtail, please dont ride in front of me.
Now if you are over 165. Stay away from TUBES!! Otherwise you will have to run at 43+ PSI in order to not pinch flat and then the tires just wont hookup.
With my light 157 lbs and when I used tubes on these tires I had the pressure set to 43PSI. I pinch flatted 2 times! When this happened both times I was going about 20-24 MPH. It would have been fine at slower speeds.
Slower speeds is not an option!!!
MaxXx said:
?
4??51lbs, Expert 30-34.
Bike= RacerX, Stan's wheelset, Nokian NBX lite2.0 rear (37psi), Conti Explorer front (34psi).
The bike feels awesome with these tires. As Nino mentioned, you need to run the Nokian at the lowest possible pressure. At 45 psi, they had a disconcerting vague feel in high speed cornering. At 35-38psi, they are perfect.
Concerning the volume: I hated the Python in the rear on the FS, the Conti explorer in the rear was good but the Nokian has superior traction (climbing and cornering).
I rode some fast rocky sections and the tire has survived so far.
-use them with sealant! they have weak sidewalls so tubes won't hold up because you need them to run at low pressures (35 - max.43psi)
-they are perfect on a FS. i like them on my HT too but that's a matter of taste and on how rough the terrain is.they really ride "bigger" as they really are.i'd say they compare to a real 2.1" in how they ride. on a FS these are definitely no problem.
-they are perfect if you are not too heavy (seems the heavier guys inflate them too much which causes them to ride on the soft sideknobs which make for strange behaviour).i'd say also bigger guys will like them when they don't use too much pressure. the skinny size makes you inflate them more than they actually need...
-my downhill speeds went up because of the awesome traction.especially around loose berms (gravel) they would follow a line like you were on rails.these tires stick incredibly well and you hardly can make them slide.
They are fine on a hardtail and match excellent. Again the weight is the biggest issue almost any 1.9 tire.
A full suspension would help becuase it would soften the blow. So if you are a bit larger and own a Fully you should be ok.
If you are a Clyde and run these 1.9 and on a hardtail, please dont ride in front of me.
Now if you are over 165. Stay away from TUBES!! Otherwise you will have to run at 43+ PSI in order to not pinch flat and then the tires just wont hookup.
With my light 157 lbs and when I used tubes on these tires I had the pressure set to 43PSI. I pinch flatted 2 times! When this happened both times I was going about 20-24 MPH. It would have been fine at slower speeds.
I am 170 lbs on a hardtail and run the NBX Lite 2.0 with light tubes at 35 psi front, 38 rear. Good traction, no flats, fast, track and corner very well. Very predictable and forgiving. They ride "bigger" than their volume.
I've been using the NBX's with Eclipse on my Epic for a few weeks now, although it's more loamy and sandy I run between 35 and 38psi and they are fine, feel good at speed and as Nino says, they feel bigger than they are.
I have a few rides on mine (Trek Fuel) and the tires have been great. I run them at 39-40 psi. Even though they are on the narrow side I have no "confidance" problems with them. In fact @ Sundays race there were a few very fast down hill sections that I was absolutely bombing down. I was even thinking to myself I could not believe how fast and controlled I was going down these sections (they were not really rocky though, some water type bars, hills and dips where you had to really take control to keep from spending too much time in the air).
Shiggy posted that they are supposed to be comming out with a 2.25 "lite" version under 550 grams. I will get a set just to try and possibly just use as everyday tires.
KMan
DaFireMedic said:
I know that these roll fast and grip well, but I have a question for those of you that ride them: Do you find that the narrow width causes instability or otherwise hampers your confidence on the downhill sections? That has been my complaint about other skinny tires that I've run. I know this tire has been discussed up and down on this forum, but this point has skipped past me, and I'm considering the purchase of a set. Thanks.
Skinny was not a problem for me at all. They hold and indeed roll fast. Really weak sidewalls were a problem. Also - very sensitive to pressure setting. At 200lb+ - not good at all.
Recently, for the type of conditions NBX lites are good for I do run Racing Ralph's in the rear instead and either Blackjack or Conti Explorers front. RR not very good in the front. Works nice at any pressure, not finicky at all, unlike NBX, hold and roll just as good or better. Work with Yes-tubes well.
But if you really like to muck around with pressure and sealant - you may get the NBX.
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