Complete Guide to Downhill Rubber
- Thread starter zdubyadubya
- Start date
-
Two more days to enter the Secret Santa!
Entries must be in by midnight on November 29th. We're kicking off the 2024 Secret Santa! Exchange gifts with other monkeys - from beer and snacks, to bike gear, to custom machined holiday decorations and tools by our more talented members, there's something for everyone.
What in the actual fuck?
Perhaps marketing will refer to the centers as "pre-worn"?
all you need is a sharpie then you'll have MAXXIS ASS
https://www.vitalmtb.com/features/We-Ride-Greg-Minnaars-Maxxis-Tire-The-Assegai,2301
'i've used it in the mud...it's worked really well'
'i've used it in the mud...it's worked really well'
Aw hell... dammit Vee... STOP looking over Schwalbe's shoulder and EYES on your OWN paper...
Side knobs angled the wrong fu@king way to facilitate "Front End Tuck" and washing out at the limit whilst cornering:
Side knobs angled the wrong fu@king way to facilitate "Front End Tuck" and washing out at the limit whilst cornering:
Aw hell... dammit Vee... STOP looking over Schwalbe's shoulder and EYES on your OWN paper...
Side knobs angled the wrong fu@king way to facilitate "Front End Tuck" and washing out at the limit whilst cornering:
Gotta look at the bright side. The sides are so small, the angle is probably irrelevant.
Flow snap? Cheap yet not worth the money.Aw hell... dammit Vee... STOP looking over Schwalbe's shoulder and EYES on your OWN paper...
Side knobs angled the wrong fu@king way to facilitate "Front End Tuck" and washing out at the limit whilst cornering:
Max Ass Guy looks interesting. I don’t think I’ve ever ridden a good tire with those inter knobs.
Not sure if I care enough to switch it up from DHRII and DHF, though.
Not sure if I care enough to switch it up from DHRII and DHF, though.
Got to fondle the ass guy tires in the vital test. Those are the softest tire maxxis has ever made. They're unreal squishy. They might not be bad with that transition pecker cut off, the sides are pretty thick. They've gotta be so slow on the back though.
From what the reviews have mentioned, if you're not pedalling you'll stop. Even down Champery.
Woo, doesn't Minnaar know what he's doing?
Is minnaar building the tires?
Your question reminds me how well marketing with pro names actually works. I forget that sometimes.
Molds are expensive. Personally I've never seen a tire make it to the prototype stage and not go into production, from any company (except for maybe the michelin WR2 DH tire but that's not a new tread).The only quick revisions I've ever seen were when maxxis thickened up the sidenobs on the highroller 2s, and then changed the mold on their minion SS 27.5s to make the sideknobs closer like on the 26" versions. But even those took over a year before you could find them. Tire companies will improve things but they certainly seem to get their money out of the molds first.
My point being: even if something isn't that good or could easily be made better, it still goes to market, regardless of the 'prototype' moniker. From what I can tell from maxxis in the short time I was on their testing program, they're looking for catastrophic failures that would make releasing it a problem, and buzzwords to use in marketing once they go on sale. I mean christ, look at the griffon. You think they got a single positive response from anyone fast on their testing program? And they still made them.
GM supposedly said he wanted a tire that cornered on rails like the original high roller. Do you see anything on this ass guy that would do that? I know why the original HRs worked like that. They didn't duplicate it.
Brook macdonald just qualified fastest on ass guys. They're sticky as shit and the softness/dampness has to be a benefit on that lozenge course. But that's not tread, that's compound. That also doesn't mean they couldn't be better to perform well in a wider range of conditions without giving up what does work with them. They're so ungodly soft, they're pretty much like a gummy trials tire for moto. I'm not even sure the tread design matters they deform so much.
Although you can tell where greg started using them last year
https://www.rootsandrain.com/rider926/greg-minnaar/results/filters/years2017/
Last edited:
I have one here. it's also a michelin. based on the old comp25 but doesn't have the knobs everyone cut out. is in a 2.1 size with a full DH casing and DH compound. It was pro issue only and used for duel and 4X. I got mine from Mr W when he ran Global Racing.
Come to think of it. Now you mention the moulding costs. The mould could well have been from a 2.1 HotS Xc tyre. those things were pretty similar but the carcus and compounds were unusabru for DH.
Correction: Don't know of a prototype tire made in the last 200 years that hasn't made it to production.
You're right though, it used to happen. But that was back when dh equipment truly was limited. They had to make some one-offs just to function.
You're right though, it used to happen. But that was back when dh equipment truly was limited. They had to make some one-offs just to function.
Seriously, though - there's no such thing as a bad tire design. Just poor marketing.
That was an honest question and thanks for the detailed opinion. My knowledge on these things is limited and I thought that since Greg associated his name with it and helped develop it, and him being pretty meticulous, that it had to be good. It bears a name he chose after all.
yes. assuming it hasn't rotted sitting in a hot garage somewhere.Just bought a spesh Clutch DH in supertacky for a tenner. They any good?
They're ok rear tyres . good sidewalls and good compounds but nothing special trad patern wise. The chunder was a better tyre from that spesh era tho. kinda OG Highrollery
Haha - indeed. But those center knobs gave me some hope...
This was touched on before I think somewhere...but can't see it.
I'm looking to buy a 2.5 DHF in EXO casing and will be purchasing from Jenson's (as they also have some 26" 2.7 DHF's that I needz). Trouble is that it looks like they don't have any normal 2.5 DHF in 27.5, only the WideTrail ones. Has anyone ridden these on a 26mm wide rim? Will my face explode?
I'm looking to buy a 2.5 DHF in EXO casing and will be purchasing from Jenson's (as they also have some 26" 2.7 DHF's that I needz). Trouble is that it looks like they don't have any normal 2.5 DHF in 27.5, only the WideTrail ones. Has anyone ridden these on a 26mm wide rim? Will my face explode?
A tricky question for all the G5 riders - how do you like them G5s in the wet and slop? I always feel these are after me. They get packed with sticky mud in no time and just won't shed it, which makes all rocky&rooty off-camber or steep braking spots extra awesome.
The one condition a Minion sucks at? I think the G5 is probably better to be honest.
Run a Magic Mary if its greasy and damp I reckon. I've been super impressed with how versatile those things are. The Minion is still a better dusty/gravelly tyre though.
Shorty FTW in that stuff.
I'm probably really late on this, but just noticed my new Mich Wild ROckr2 GumX Reinforced says made in France on the packaging.
I got bit hard (literally) by the garbage hard compound DH tires they relaunched 6 years ago - those were made in Thailand, IIRC.
I got bit hard (literally) by the garbage hard compound DH tires they relaunched 6 years ago - those were made in Thailand, IIRC.
Which country are we currently making tariffs great again with?
Never mind lol! The packaging says France, but the tire sidewall says Thailand... that’s a classic move.
We are making CEOs even richer again, obvs.
We are making CEOs even richer again, obvs.
Anyone tried the Michelin Wild Enduro Magi-X (soffest compaund) on the front for DH? How does it ride on wet roots?
It's burly for a trail bike casing, but it's not a real DH tire.
They're pretty good on wet roots, but not as good as a 2.5 sticky rubber DHF. They brake better though.
For those who can parse tread patterns, are Michelin back in the game?
EDIT: trolled by VitalMTB. Correct prototype tire now.
View attachment 129685
Last edited:
Not with that piece of shit.
Way too few side knobs with too much room between them, and not enough of a channel between the center knobs and the side ones for them to bite in properly. That may be a band-aid to stop the side knobs from getting overwhelmed, but at that point refer back to point #1.