Schwalbe Nobby Nic (First Generation) Tire

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Schwalbe's Nobby Nic tires came stock on my Giant Trance, and I decided to try them out before going back to my preferred brand of tires (WTB, for reference). Although the Nobby Nic rolled surprisingly well and made my trailbike feel lighter than its true weight, the rear started to wear out sooner than I would have expected. When I rotated the front tire to the back and put on a WTB Bronson in front, I realized what I'd been missing in cornering traction. The Nobby Nics are fine for trail riding that leans more toward the cross-country end of the spectrum, but for more aggressive trails I'll be sticking with a tire that can hook up more confidently in the turns.

Here is what I like.

1. Predictable throughout all angles of the tire

2. rolls quick

4. Grippy on all surfaces so far

5. Light

6. Stiffish sidewall for such a light tire

Here is hat I don't like

1. Flats, I get a lot of flats with these tires, probably because of how light they are

2. Knobs wear very quick

3. Wobbly! It's a bitch to get these things on straight. My buddy has the same issue.

I wanted something light for my trail bike as I was keen to shed some weight on a lovely light new build, and also wanted to run faster than my trusty Minions and run tubeless. So I read that Nobby Nic was light, grippy, fast, and tubeless ready so I bought these in 26x2.25, and weighed in super light at 560 grams. At 57-559 erto I thought they'd be fairly wide at least, like my Schwalbe Table Tops which have the same rating on my 4x bike, yet somehow they measured up narrow mostly because the knobs are inside the carcass footprint and do not protrude over the edge like a regular tire. They blew up tubeless on my Spank Oozy rims very easily with two wraps of tape and one cap of Stans.

I'm addicted the speed of these tires, I can keep up with local hard-tail riders on semi-slicks, but the first few runs in some really rocky and thorny places showed the limitations at 30psi front and 35psi rear the bike was bouncing all over the place and the rear got very worn and I half ripped some knobs off the rear, also thorns were constantly lowering the tire pressures when they got stuck in the tire, when I pulled them out Stans would then seal the hole properly. On the front the tire was very easily overwhelmed and pretty scary in rocky and loose terrain, that was until the pressure dropped to around 17.5psi (digital gauge) due to constantly losing pressure due to thorns, and the tire then conformed to the trail and was pretty good, although slow like a Supertacky Maxxis or Nevegal. At a safer for my rims 25psi the tire was OK, but I was missing my Minion on the front on this kind of terrain, as a Minion can grip at even 30-35psi.

For me at least I'd consider buying this tire as a rear only in the double defense version, as my local trails are mostly too abusive, but with the climbing ability and speed it might be worth it, or might switch to the tougher Smart Sam. On the front I think I'll go for something tougher and grippier like a Hans Dampf or a Minion when it's properly tubeless ready.

Overall, seems to be a good, gripping tire that holds the corners & slings some dirt. So far it's all I expected. Would like to add one to the rear to see what that changes. Recommended.

This review is for a Schwalbe Nobby Nic, 29x2.25 Performance Folding tire, non snakeskin

Came OEM on my TranceX29er, Used only once and did not like it.

I am not using it as a front tire anymore, getting a beefier tire for my front (as I ride DH bikes and am used to burly but heavy tires). Maybe the nobs are to small for So Cal dry and loose.

I am keeping the rear since its ok in the back. Good for the rear since it rolls good with 30-35 PSI. I wouldnt use it as a front if you like to pin it

Super sketchy as a front in mud, loose dirt, rocks, gravel. Steering is poor, breaking is subpar

Narrow profile makes it fast which is a plus, but that same narrow digs in to easy and feels unnerving

Looses grip easy

Rode in some light mud today and had to unclip as I didn't want to eat a mud sandwich. Im gonna keep the rear to give it a chance, but the front is bye bye

The spacing between the tread knobs helps this tire hook up well in loose conditions, yet it seems to roll quite well on hardpack too.
The rubber compound on this tire helps give you good grip but I did find the rear tire knobs were getting "raw" on the leading edge after a dozen rides or so. While the tire isn't exactly designed to run the tread the opposite way, I did flip it in the rear to extend the life a bit without any adverse effects. The variety of terrain that this tire works on is what makes this a keeper.