Complete Guide to Downhill Rubber
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83kg these days and I have the line choices of a Rhesus Monkey cable tied to an open throttle two stroke motocross bike.
The casing on my Rubber Queen/Trail King did end up warping but I thought it was due to age (the compound is durable and I had the tire on and off based on living/riding locations). If this is a common issue then there are better options.
Question for tire nerds - I am running a Magic Mary 2.35 Addix Soft up front on my Titan, and last wet ride it was pretty scary. I'm used to Schwalbe tires having massive undercutting on the knobs when they're worn out, so I'm having a hard time telling if the tire is smoked and needs to be replaced. Regardless, I have an Assegai EXO MaxxTerra chilling in my workshop, and given the record-setting moisture this winter in the PNW, I'm thinking about throwing the Magic Mary on the back and going to the Assegai up front.
I've seen some reviews of the Assegai which indicate that the MaxxTerra compound is too hard on the Assegai on wet roots and rocks - aka, the majority of what our trails are made of. I've never had issues with other MaxxTerra tires, but perhaps the Assegai is a bit different than the DHF/DHR2 in this regard? Trying to figure out if I buy another wet conditions tire in a gooey compound to get me through the winter and save the Assegai for summer, or if I run the Assegai now.
I've seen some reviews of the Assegai which indicate that the MaxxTerra compound is too hard on the Assegai on wet roots and rocks - aka, the majority of what our trails are made of. I've never had issues with other MaxxTerra tires, but perhaps the Assegai is a bit different than the DHF/DHR2 in this regard? Trying to figure out if I buy another wet conditions tire in a gooey compound to get me through the winter and save the Assegai for summer, or if I run the Assegai now.
Ya got it, ya may as well try it before throwing more shekels when you may not have to. A half hour of your time to swap and change back if you no likey.
Like @mykel said, give it a run and see.
FWIW, the Ultra Soft Mary is the one you want. The difference between the Purple and Orange (Soft) isn't minor in my experience. If you're already running the Ultra Soft and its giving you trouble then geez...
What he said.
I'm running the orange (soft). I should have gone Ultra Soft, but Schwalbe's old VertStar compound died so damn fast I was too scared to go all in on the Ultra Soft
Yeah, I have a NOS MM TrailStar 3 SuperGravity as a wet winter tire in the front and wet roots are a challenge.
I would not ride the Assegai maxxterra in wet it good in dry soft and of camber, Maxxgripp is almost a different tire. Pretty long lasting for a soft compound.
I got really decent mileage on my purple Mary as a front tire. It starts to show signs of wear but I think it will last the next one or two months until trails here are really dry again. No undercut tread blocks. For comparison the DHR2 MaxxTerra out back is pretty worn down, on half of the side blocks a good chunk is missing.
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Counter-intuitive, but I swear the purples last longer than the Orange. Or at least they're useful far longer.
Interesting. I've got an orange one laying around in my bike hole I only briefly installed at the rear but took it off pretty quickly again, too much rolling resistance.
IMHO tire pressure is critical, a bit too much and its grip is way lower than its best. The casing is sturdy enough to run 20 psi for me, but I'm rather light. @Udi how much do you run in them?
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I've always run my tyres softer than is sensible. 19-20psi front with the Mary and 24-25 rear.
@Udi runs toobs like some kind of Luddite so he's probably got like 40psi in them.
Can confirm. They are more prone to tearing. The purples have a more even wear pattern.
Glad I'm not the only Luddite here! I have schrader type rims as well. Sometimes I wonder how I can even ride my bike.
Me too, but I run Stan's Schrader valves and tubeless tires. Best of both worlds, they never clog up with sealant and I don't decapitate them as I used to do with those flimsy Presta ones.
I know he hates sealant but I also remember him being a sucker for low tire pressure. The SG casing is pretty sturdy so I guess it will work with tooooobs as well. Or maybe he is running it in the DH casing variant, as I think to remember that he has them on his Gambler and not on the Reign.
Anyways, the purple SG Mary works best at pressures you describe for me as well, had a crash last week with a front wheel wash out in a turn that was no problem in worse conditions the two rides prior and needed some time figuring out what was wrong, when I remembered that I had pumped up both wheels pretty good - front tire showed more than 25 psi after the ride... stupid me.
Yeah my experience with the Mary has been strange...been riding it for about a season and it really doesn't show much wear in the ways that I normally destroy tires (e.g., the DHR2 undercutting/chunking), but the last wet ride on that Mary was very scary. I'm wondering if the rubber has either lost its tack from being mounted for so long, or if I wore off the top layer of truly sticky rubber. It has all worn so evenly though its really hard to tell.
Oh sweet. I might have to pick up another one.
They don't roll very well, so I wouldn't run one on the rear of anything you're trying to pedal very far, but up front they're great.
Have you tried ghetto tubeless? A friend said to use bmx tubes for that.
Yup, started that way about 10 years ago. Then, upon suggestions of a few fellow monkeys switched to Kapton tape and never looked back.
That's an interesting point. My Mary is also about a year old and has only been used in the winter season, so not that big mileage. I'll give it a try today again and report.
Here are some pics of the Mary and the DHR2 MaxxTerra instaleld at the end of August 19.
Reporting back - now riding the Mary on the back of my bike, which is proving a questionable decision due to the drag. The Assegai up front is awesome though - rode in icy/wet conditions a bit today on some north-facing slopes and it did much better than expected, worlds better than the worn Mary.
Ha, strange. I installed a MaxxTerra Exo+ Assegai out front and rode it in similar conditions to compare it to the purple SG Mary on a well known trail. Assegai had noticeable less grip for me, even lost the frint wheel two times in unspectecular corners, but it might be a bit of an unfair competition, MaxxTerra vs Addix Ultra soft. And it was bone dry.
I've done i slight trim job to a Maxxterra Assegai as I've been underwhelmed with a previous maxxgrip Assegai that I've used. On my tight local tracks it can be tough to get over on to the side knobs and I think the small intermediate knobs can squirm around making things feel vague and stopping the big side knobs digging in. Could any of the more experienced tyre people here tell me why this may or may not work? I've only done one really short ride on it so far and it felt ok.
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Looking for some advice here from the Aussies/NZLs.
I'm looking for an online source for heavy duty casing DHFs in a 26x2.35. They need to be dual ply ( which I guess is 2 x 60TPI?), ideally with a tubeless ready bead. Everything upcoming in 2020 (below) seems to indicate single ply or exo in 26, which is kind of worrying, since I've buckled them on my front wheel on pretty moderate terrain. If I find a good source I'll grab a few.
If Maxxis is not a goer, is there an equivalent heavy duty tyre that another brand offers?
Edit: this would be for loose over hard/gravel/rocky trails.
Cheers for any help.
I'm looking for an online source for heavy duty casing DHFs in a 26x2.35. They need to be dual ply ( which I guess is 2 x 60TPI?), ideally with a tubeless ready bead. Everything upcoming in 2020 (below) seems to indicate single ply or exo in 26, which is kind of worrying, since I've buckled them on my front wheel on pretty moderate terrain. If I find a good source I'll grab a few.
If Maxxis is not a goer, is there an equivalent heavy duty tyre that another brand offers?
Edit: this would be for loose over hard/gravel/rocky trails.
Cheers for any help.
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Are you sure you selected 'Downhill'? This looks like you selected 'Mountain'? Maxxis International lists all these as downhill options:
| TB74262000 | 26X2.50 | 55-559 | 27 | FOLDABLE | 1,180 | SUPER TACKY | 55 | UST/ST | Black | DOWNHILL |
| TB74265000 | 26X2.50WT | 55-559 | 60 | WIRE | 1,200 | SUPER TACKY | 65 | ST | Black | DOWNHILL |
| TB74265500 | 26X2.50WT | 55-559 | 60 | WIRE | 1,265 | 3C MAXX GRIP | 65 | 3C | Black | DOWNHILL |
| TB74265700 | 26X2.50 | 55-559 | 60 | WIRE | 1,180 | SINGLE | 65 | NA | Black | DOWNHILL |
...and none of them are in the requested 2.35" size.
Methinks that is the issue at hand.
Methinks that is the issue at hand.
Wouldn't be surprised if they are killing off production of dinosaur size rubber.
These are Maxxis tires we are talking about. The 2.5s are as wide as 2.35 Schwalbes.
You're right, I did have the wrong page. Ooops!
Holy shiznitz, the purple SG Dirty Dan is a velcro tire in the slop. Prob the most grippy tire I have ever ridden. I don't think it will last long but it is pretty rad while the majic lasts.
I only have a few seasons experience out here but the MaxxTerra Assegai is my go to wet tire. It just works, lets you know when you are being stupid but never lets go.