I've spent a LOT of time the last three seasons on that exact tire (front/rear, front w/Wicked Will in back, rear w/Magic Mary or WTB Vigilante up front). While it's a huge step up in grip and casing support from the previous evolutions of the Nobby Nic, it still fundamentally rides a lot like an overgrown XC tread. The profile remains fairly rounded even on 30mm+ internal rims and the side-knob support is more marginal than you'd expect just from looking at the tread. Maybe more importantly, as a rear tire, the "grab" of the Nobby Nic center-knobs under hard pedaling, braking, or straight-line riding isn't super strong – it tends to do better when you feather the brakes / slip-clutch the pedals a bit, á la XC riding technique of yore before we all got on massive 4-pot brakes and super low gearing.
That said, I still have a Nobby Nic SuperTrail/Soft on the back of my hardtail, primarily because the siping on top of the knobs is unbelievable for wet roots – I'd say it rivals Maxxis Maxxgrip rubber in that regard, not because the compound is super tacky but because the sipes work so well to hold traction.
For bikes where I'm trying to keep the tires under (or not much over) 1000g front and rear, I think my top pick is still the Specialized Eliminator Grid Trail T9, which is more frequently specc'ed as a rear but functions great as a front (definitely a cut above a Forekaster). In the past I've also spent a bunch of time on the Vittoria Agarro, which shares some siping traits with the Nobby Nic but lacks the casing support of the SuperTrail carcass inserts.
Aug. 29, 2023, 1:36 p.m. - gubbinalia
I've spent a LOT of time the last three seasons on that exact tire (front/rear, front w/Wicked Will in back, rear w/Magic Mary or WTB Vigilante up front). While it's a huge step up in grip and casing support from the previous evolutions of the Nobby Nic, it still fundamentally rides a lot like an overgrown XC tread. The profile remains fairly rounded even on 30mm+ internal rims and the side-knob support is more marginal than you'd expect just from looking at the tread. Maybe more importantly, as a rear tire, the "grab" of the Nobby Nic center-knobs under hard pedaling, braking, or straight-line riding isn't super strong – it tends to do better when you feather the brakes / slip-clutch the pedals a bit, á la XC riding technique of yore before we all got on massive 4-pot brakes and super low gearing. That said, I still have a Nobby Nic SuperTrail/Soft on the back of my hardtail, primarily because the siping on top of the knobs is unbelievable for wet roots – I'd say it rivals Maxxis Maxxgrip rubber in that regard, not because the compound is super tacky but because the sipes work so well to hold traction. For bikes where I'm trying to keep the tires under (or not much over) 1000g front and rear, I think my top pick is still the Specialized Eliminator Grid Trail T9, which is more frequently specc'ed as a rear but functions great as a front (definitely a cut above a Forekaster). In the past I've also spent a bunch of time on the Vittoria Agarro, which shares some siping traits with the Nobby Nic but lacks the casing support of the SuperTrail carcass inserts.