Hans Dampf!

Ok, So while the Handlebar is "under remodel"... Its more time to ride! I have been riding on high volume mountain bike tires for a long while now. I love them. Mostly its been Kenda Bluegroves and Nevegals. The 2.35 sized tires gave me more grip on the sketchy tech stuff. The difference between the 2.1 and the 2.35's was like adding another inch of suspension. Well now I received a gift from a friend of two new Schwalbe Hans Dampf tires. As much as I have heard how good they where, I wasn't in a hurry to remove my beloved Nevegals. They still had alot  of meat on them so I thought I would just wait until they where worn out. We after getting a good amount of  goat heads stuck in my rear tire I though it was a good time to switch. I only switched the rear to start with. I liked the way the "snake bite" sidewalls felt. A little stronger than the thin sidewalls on the Nevegals. They looked good with a slightly rounder profile than the Nevegals.

They mounted up fine. I pumped them up

to 36psi. Ready to hit Connector trail and Forest Hill Divide Loop the next morning.  Off on the trail I go, the trail was in great shape, slightly loose in spots, but overall good. On the first climb I noticed a noise that made me look down as if I had a flat, It was that "grippy" sound. No flat ... just grip, Nice.  Next a nice little downhill section,Hmmmm... feeling pretty good.. "pong!"the side knobs brush off a boulder but the rear end stayed true to the line, Very nice. almost no deflection. My old tires would bounce off those things. High speed corner and accel out,.... Again, very nice. Its like going from the old single pawl rear hubs to multi pawl hubs, I just seems to "hook up" faster. I swear the whole rear end just felt stiffer but the suspension was working better than ever! I set several PR's on the trail that day and I wasn't even trying to push. I was the most comfortable I have been on the bike ever sense I got it.  I give these tires two thumbs up!

Thanks Tom!