I am new to downhill, and I do not know much about tires. My Cannondale Claymore came with Schwalbe Hans Dampfs (Performance Series). I have searched for info on them and all the reviews discuss their All Mountain abilities, but don't say much about downhill. I ride at Mountain Creek and would like the best downhill performance I can get. Should I run right out and pick up some 2.5" Maxxis Minions or should I just use these until they wear out?
The HD's are awesome tires, but if you intend to ride downhill trails, you'll need something with a stronger sidewall or some type of DH casing. The snakeskin sidewalls on the HD's are pretty strong, but not intended for dh riding. Use the search function, you'll find a ton of threads on dh tires.
I've DH'd whith the Hans, it's a good tire but you will rip them up in no time, need a burlier tire, also somehting with a stronger sidewall. Minions are the way to go.
You mentioned you are new to DH, you are not going to have the skills to hammer through a rock garden at 30mph, so you do not need a tyre that can handle it yet.
Stick with what you got until it dies then stick on the minion.
Don't forget that the Hans Dampf that the WC riders are using are 2 ply DH versions that are not yet available to the average punter like us.
The current tire is a great trail tire - I use them in Trailstar compound.
But for actual gravity riding, then I break out the dual ply Big Betty or Muddy Mary.
The sidewall of the HD is just not enough for gravity, the tire rolls and squirms when you really start hauling the mail down the gnar, it also has too much rebound, as well the outer knobs are not open enough for a good hook, a little too close spaced and the profile is a bit too round. IMO of course.
But like I said for general trail riding - awesome.
Since the OP is new to DH, I'm sure thats exactly what he was asking about doing. Who knows, maybe he's the next Arron Gwin and you just saved his life
Or maybe DH means a lot of different things and a HansD would be a good choice for some of them, just not for hardcore, world class DH or rockgardens.
Meanwhile, I'll keep riding my not real DH tire going down not real DH dirt on a not real DH mountain :thumbsup:
No need to point out I ride a not real DH bike, shhhhh!!!, I'd rather IT not find out it's a wanna be trail bike:nono:
i have them on my chromag stylus and hate them,,, there is no grip, they slip and spin and the side walls are like paper, had a few pinch flats,
saying this though i have to admit in the tyres defence i did get the cheapo one with the crappest rubber compound, so the more expensive ones would probably have better grip, and i do mainly ride lee quarry which is mostly granite rock and hardpack trails, hence my grip issue and pinch flat problems,
The Vertstar compound HD has excellent grip but, yeah, the sidewalls are the problem for fast cornering. What I found interesting is that the Muddy Mary, while being only 100-150 grams heavier, has significantly less sidewall roll at speed and is a great choice for park riding (I use single ply BB rear, MM front for my park bike). The single ply MM and BB are classified as "freeride" tires by Schwalbe and work very well for that and light to medium duty DH. For racing I'd still go to the dual ply versions for running really low air pressures.
Have FUN!
G MAN
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