Quantcast

Complete Guide to Downhill Rubber

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,580
2,005
Seattle
3
looks most excellent for skidz and earth based kickouts
Rolling fast while still cornering well is what I'm after. Rear only.

They spread out the side knobs as compared to a normal Minion, so they probably won't bite quite as hard. We'll see though. At least the side knobs are actually far enough up the side of the tire to do something before you're dragging a knee (hi Rock Razor).
 

rockofullr

confused
Jun 11, 2009
7,342
924
East Bay, Cali
OK, Schwalbe is no better for publishing durometer numbers but at least they never had the compound recommendations backwards on their web page for the particular tires I bought. Oh well, I am sure I will have forgotten all about this episode when I buy new tires again.
You're talking about a company that had the rotational arrow on their DH24's backwards essentially forever
 

wydopen

Turbo Monkey
Jan 16, 2005
1,229
60
805
3

Rolling fast while still cornering well is what I'm after. Rear only.

They spread out the side knobs as compared to a normal Minion, so they probably won't bite quite as hard. We'll see though. At least the side knobs are actually far enough up the side of the tire to do something before you're dragging a knee (hi Rock Razor).
I had one on the rear for the last month or so...think I prefer the slaughter...sidewall is super flimsy on the 27.5 minion ss....seems lighter than the 2.3 hr2's in exo...I think the new exo tires since they've released the double downs have been lighter...I got the 2.5 minion wt in exo and it was pretty flimsy...much more so than the 2.4 hr2's I usually run...the minion ss was the first exo tire ive poked a hole in the tread and sidewall in awhile...it was also on my after work ride on a rock section Ive hit literally 200 times in the last 2 years and ive never flatted in it...grid casing on the slaughter is much stiffer where as I didnt notice as much of a difference going between grid and exo hr2s I noticed a big difference with the minion ss....I guess if they dont offer the slaughter in 26" that doesn't help you...
 

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,580
2,005
Seattle
I had one on the rear for the last month or so...think I prefer the slaughter...sidewall is super flimsy on the 27.5 minion ss....seems lighter than the 2.3 hr2's in exo...I think the new exo tires since they've released the double downs have been lighter...I got the 2.5 minion wt in exo and it was pretty flimsy...much more so than the 2.4 hr2's I usually run...the minion ss was the first exo tire ive poked a hole in the tread and sidewall in awhile...it was also on my after work ride on a rock section Ive hit literally 200 times in the last 2 years and ive never flatted in it...grid casing on the slaughter is much stiffer where as I didnt notice as much of a difference going between grid and exo hr2s I noticed a big difference with the minion ss....I guess if they dont offer the slaughter in 26" that doesn't help you...
They do make a 26" Slaughter. I've been meaning to try those too.
 

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,580
2,005
Seattle
Got my Minion SS today. It's actually got tighter spaced side knobs than the 2.3 DHR 2 I have on the back of my MT now, despite looking like they were more spread out in pictures. They're slightly narrower than the knobs on the DHR 2, though still burlier than the ones on the HR2.

Probably won't mount it up until things dry out a little more, but it looks good.
 

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,580
2,005
Seattle
You talking about the Maxxis?

I wouldn't run them on a DH bike but they're fine for trail bike duty.
 

SylentK

Turbo Monkey
Feb 25, 2004
2,287
854
coloRADo
I recently got a pair of the aggressor in DD. 29er. My attempts to tubeless mount these tough tires while still having the freshly folded kinks failed miserably. Perhaps my pancake compressors now sucks more than it blows, idk. But I could not get them to inflate. So I set them up with a tube but still at kinda stupid low psi for me. 20f, 22r. I'm impressed. I don't normally feel several rocks go thru the tire and hit the rim. But when I do, I can expect a flat. I felt my rims hit rocks several times and no flats. I am pleasantly surprised. Mind you, this is with tubes. But yeah, can't wait to set them up tubeless and let go of the brakes!
 

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,580
2,005
Seattle
Not me. Not impressed with the EXO thus far.
I've trashed a couple of them before the tread was totally worn out, but overall they've done pretty well for me. I imagine I ride less rocky shit than you do though. Lots of roots and loam here. If there was more sharp exposed rock I'd probably have more issues.
 

SkaredShtles

Michael Bolton
Sep 21, 2003
65,375
12,529
In a van.... down by the river
I've trashed a couple of them before the tread was totally worn out, but overall they've done pretty well for me. I imagine I ride less rocky shit than you do though. Lots of roots and loam here. If there was more sharp exposed rock I'd probably have more issues.
It's definitely the rocks. Well, that and my skilless hack riding.
 

marshalolson

Turbo Monkey
May 25, 2006
1,770
519
Got my Minion SS today. It's actually got tighter spaced side knobs than the 2.3 DHR 2 I have on the back of my MT now, despite looking like they were more spread out in pictures. They're slightly narrower than the knobs on the DHR 2, though still burlier than the ones on the HR2.

Probably won't mount it up until things dry out a little more, but it looks good.
Can you post a picture? The nearly worn out SS I have had knob spacing similar to a wet-scream. Pretty weird and squirmy for a hard pack tire.

Would love to give another shot if this somehow was updated!
 

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,580
2,005
Seattle
Can you post a picture? The nearly worn out SS I have had knob spacing similar to a wet-scream. Pretty weird and squirmy for a hard pack tire.

Would love to give another shot if this somehow was updated!
Mine's a 26", which they just released, so maybe they did those differently than the 27.5"s?

I'll try to remember to post a pic later.
 

squiby

Chimp
Jul 26, 2010
91
13
DHF 2.5 WT on a 35mm ID rim. Unrideabru but pretty good for my 5MPH adventures.

Is that EXO or DD? think I might throw one on the front but all this talk about flimsy sidewalls has me wondering which casing to go with. How do you like it?
 

MmmBones

Monkey
May 8, 2011
272
84
Porkland, OR
Mine's a 26", which they just released, so maybe they did those differently than the 27.5"s?

I'll try to remember to post a pic later.
can you post a pic of the 26" SS? I'm debating whether to get one or shave the center knobs down on a 2.5" 3C DHF I have laying around.
 

StiHacka

Compensating for something
Jan 4, 2013
21,560
12,504
In hell. Welcome!
Is that EXO or DD? think I might throw one on the front but all this talk about flimsy sidewalls has me wondering which casing to go with. How do you like it?
That's EXO. I like it, tons of grip, I have not destroyed it in rocks like some other tires, yet - but our dirt season is just getting started.
 

MmmBones

Monkey
May 8, 2011
272
84
Porkland, OR
so they did change it for 26". All of the "L" shaped intermediate knobs link up with the "7" shaped side knobs, which creates a cleaner channel between the center and side knobs. I would assume that it grips moar consistently in loose conditions because of this, and probably clears the center knobs better in sticky conditions.

that looks way better than this -
p5pb12835937.jpg
 
Last edited:

wydopen

Turbo Monkey
Jan 16, 2005
1,229
60
805
so they did change it for 26". All of the "L" shaped intermediate knobs link up with the "7" shaped side knobs, which creates a cleaner channel between the center and side knobs. I would assume that it grips moar consistently in loose conditions because of this, and probably clears the center knobs better in sticky conditions.

that looks way better than this - View attachment 122205
i cut off all the L shaped knobs...seemed to help a little
 

Dogboy

Turbo Monkey
Apr 12, 2004
3,208
581
Durham, NC
so they did change it for 26". All of the "L" shaped intermediate knobs link up with the "7" shaped side knobs, which creates a cleaner channel between the center and side knobs. I would assume that it grips moar consistently in loose conditions because of this, and probably clears the center knobs better in sticky conditions.

that looks way better than this - View attachment 122205
2 things. 1, I doubt the different spacing really makes much difference. It seems to me there's just too much variability in terrain for something like that to have a huge impact. 2, I doubt it was intentional on the part of Maxxis to line those knobs up. My guess is they kept the side and center knob spacing consistent across wheel sizes and that's just how they ended up.
 

MmmBones

Monkey
May 8, 2011
272
84
Porkland, OR
2 things. 1, I doubt the different spacing really makes much difference. It seems to me there's just too much variability in terrain for something like that to have a huge impact. 2, I doubt it was intentional on the part of Maxxis to line those knobs up. My guess is they kept the side and center knob spacing consistent across wheel sizes and that's just how they ended up.
I disagree. looking at the two pictures side by side, it's clear that the 26" version has closer spaced side knobs and the channel between them goes all the way to the center knobs because the intermediate knobs are aligned with the side knobs. This could very well be an intentional running change in tread similar to what happened with the HR2 as the result of rider feedback.
 
Last edited:

canadmos

Cake Tease
May 29, 2011
20,188
19,155
Canaderp
Been using these DHR II's in 27.5 x 2.35 for a bit now.

Today they sketched me the hell out a few times. Granted, the trails here are dry as hell and a little marbly, but I had my front tire sliding a few times. Unnerving...

But the traction on them going up is amazing.
 

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
Been using these DHR II's in 27.5 x 2.35 for a bit now.

Today they sketched me the hell out a few times. Granted, the trails here are dry as hell and a little marbly, but I had my front tire sliding a few times. Unnerving...

But the traction on them going up is amazing.

Counter steer and ride that shit out till you hit something and redirect.


You know.......'turning'
 
Been using these DHR II's in 27.5 x 2.35 for a bit now.

Today they sketched me the hell out a few times. Granted, the trails here are dry as hell and a little marbly, but I had my front tire sliding a few times. Unnerving...

But the traction on them going up is amazing.
As I have accumulated more riding hours I have gotten used to sliding front tires. It's part of getting from point A to point B.
 

6thElement

Schrodinger's Immigrant
Jul 29, 2008
15,825
13,054
I recently got a pair of the aggressor in DD. 29er.
How are you liking them?

Trying to decide what I want to mount as a new rear tyre, currently Rock Razor, was going to go Minion SS, but half thinking about having some more tread and I liked the look of an Aggressor I was looking at last night on the back of a bike.
 

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,580
2,005
Seattle
Trying to decide what I want to mount as a new rear tyre, currently Rock Razor, was going to go Minion SS, but half thinking about having some more tread and I liked the look of an Aggressor I was looking at last night on the back of a bike.
The Minion SS is about a shitload better tire than the Rock Razor. I know they look pretty similar, but the Rock Razor has the side knobs so far down the sidewall that unless you're running a 75mm internal width rim to square the profile off, they don't do anything.
 
Last edited:

Flo33

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2015
2,057
1,298
Styria
I finally managed to get a Slaughter in 26, which is only possible via UK over here in Yrup. I only have two rides on it yet, but one was serious business and I'm impressed. Deeply impressed to be honest. Loads of rooty off camber sections and steep turns, no problem.

Tire has a nice shape even on my 2008 Crossmax SX wit unrideabru 23 mm inner width. Lateral traction was always there, side knobs doing a good job.

Got the GRID casing, only sensible choice immo.
 

slyfink

Turbo Monkey
Sep 16, 2008
9,288
5,028
Ottawa, Canada
I finally managed to get a Slaughter in 26, which is only possible via UK over here in Yrup. I only have two rides on it yet, but one was serious business and I'm impressed. Deeply impressed to be honest. Loads of rooty off camber sections and steep turns, no problem.

Tire has a nice shape even on my 2008 Crossmax SX wit unrideabru 23 mm inner width. Lateral traction was always there, side knobs doing a good job.

Got the GRID casing, only sensible choice immo.
This is very interesting to know... I'm very curious about the tire. Question about casing: is Grid like Maxxis EXO, or is more heavy duty? I'd like to give this tire a try, and would like to go lighter than the DH casing, but my past experience with Grid was about 5 years ago, and back then, it wasn't much heavier duty than Control casing - it was just lighter.

The problem here is that shops don't carry the tires, you have to special order them, so you can't pick them up and compare and contrast in person...