“Great, affordable all-around XC tire”
The Good: Fast rolling, predictable cornering in loose, dry and wet conditions, impressive life-span
The Bad: Not the greatest cornering on dry hard-pack.
The Maxxis Monorail is a perfect multi-use XC tire. The "micro-ramped center knobs" definitely work as advertised in reducing rolling resistance. The side knobs are more aggressive and provide plenty of confidence in the corners. I've put 1700 miles on them over the last year on all sorts of terrain and conditions, and they still ride predictably. It is certainly time for a replacement but I think it says a lot that they are still riding well after that much use. They come tubeless ready, with sturdy sidewalls, they have withstood jagged loose rock sections on all day rides on multipleoccasions with little sign of damage to the sidewalls.
They are average weight at 535-700g each depending on the TPI and compound options. But at ~$40 a piece you can't go wrong. I'm planning on trying out a different tire when I buy my next set just to explore a few more options, but I will always keep a pair of these on hand as my go to tire.
