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Anyone have ideas what all the Maxxis Test Pilot tires this wknd were testing? I was kind of surprised to see new proto High Rollers already. New casing?
I do believe that Maxxis has been testing a new casing, both radial and non-radial for a while now. Could be compounds as well. Schwalbe is supposed to have a special cold weather compound that comes out for select riders and for the appropriate conditions.
Dammit I just tariff panic bought another HR so hopefully a new one doesn’t come out soon 😂
Maxxis did a new casing construction with the DH High Roller 3 when it launched. But I don't think it was this full on next-gen casing. Just a new construction with the sidewall. They were supposed to 'talk more about" the HR3 casing in November. But I think the release of the Radials changed that plan. Neko has mentioned Maxxis working on new casings but that it was taking too long (so they went to Conti). Also, Jesse Melamed won on a prototype casing 1.5 years ago that he and Remi Matellier (sp) both said was a game changer. Let's hope they can bring it out soon.
So stoked to see this and see that Schwable engineers have read my emails.
FINALLY have a modern 2:2:2 tire to compete with the likes of High Roller 3, Argotal, Hillbilly. The Magic Mary is an OK design but dated and ''weak" by modern standards. This, in a Radial casing would be my dream tire year-round in the PNW.
could be what Texi was mentioning on MoiMoiTv, a Softer than ultrasoft for the shite conditions they had
dated and weak? what are you on about 🤣 i'd love to see some better side knobs but it's one of the best front tyres out there, especially now with the radial chasing
Wdym weak?
This is correct.
Everything is on the table!
What do you guys consider the best loose rocks on top of hard pack tires at the moment?
I've been pretty pleased with my Radials, but just wondering if I can increase the grip a bit more. Bike is a Relay.
Thanks
I’ve never found anything that does that as well as a MaxxGrip DH Casing Assegai running as little pressure as I can get away with. Haven’t tried any of the radial tires yet though.
I was an early proponent of the radials, but even though I've increased the pressure notably, they sometimes seem to move when I least expect it. My front is a non-DH tire, and I wouldn't try that again on the big bike, although the trail one is amazing on my little trail bike.
Anyways, I ordered the Vee Attack tire (good price too!) and a 2.5 DHR2.
Depends how loose but I like magic Mary front and back on loose stuff and racers seem to like it too...
I'm currently running a Spesh Purgatory Grid T9 on the front of my Epic Evo, and have now washed out and crashed three times, and I'm over it. All three crashes are while cornering, leaned over significantly, and the cornering knobs fail to bite into the soil and slide/float across the top of the surface. Other than the cornering knobs not having enough bite when I need it most, I actually rather like the tire for it's intended purpose, but I can't keep eating shit every time I really commit to the lean.
So, what tires should I be looking at, in the same general weight(~965g) and rolling resistance class, but with a bit more aggressive side knobs? I'm mostly riding in NE Oregon, with soil conditions ranging from high organic matter content loam to blown out moon dust, packed silt and clay, with roots and rocks sprinkled around but not super prominent like coastal PNW riding. No loose-over-hard kitty litter around these parts, and no sand.
Forekaster/rekon combo?
I’m looking at those as they both come in Exo+. Wanting fast rolling trail setup for rocky/dry conditions.
My Smuggler had the new gen Purg T9 up front last time and I was pretty stoked on it honestly, but then I switched to the new Albert up front and liked it a bit more.
I'd try the 2.6 Albert Ultrasoft up front if weight is that important.
Otherwise, sounds like a DHF 3c would be great based on your description.
It's tough to keep a bike fast and light and have great front traction.
Dhf 2.3 is really good
Yeah I actually liked the Purgatory quite a bit in SLC where the riding was generally on rock in various states of decomposition, but now that I'm in the inland PNW, I'm finding my old go-to tires aren't cutting it. For example, on the front of my enduro and emtbs, I'm finding the move here is an Argotal or High Roller, instead of old reliable, a MaxxGrip DH Assguy.
Hadn't even considered the skinny DHF, despite having run them for years back when you were foolish to run anything else. If only they made a 2.4 EXO+ MaxxGrip variant...
Suns' succinctly summarizing the dilemma of the modern trail bike, especially at high altitude: tough to keep a bike fast and light and have great front traction. He is a true tire nerd and a wealth of tire info.
For years I have been on a quest for this holy grail of fast, light, and big hook up!
In the last few months I've ridden on the front the DHF exo+ 2.5 3c Maxxterra (my personal fav for years), the Tioga Edge 22, and now the Albert radial in soft. I consider the Assguy the benchmark for outright cornering and braking traction, but its heavy and a slow roller.
The Edge 22 high grip is a fascinating tire that has excellent cornering grip (yes, it really hooks up well), good braking grip, rolls fast, and is light (980gms), but the casing is pretty thin and has unusual dampening characteristics and rides best when pressures are quite low, at which point the sidewall will sometimes unexpectedly collapse when leaning on it hard on off camber terrain. Additionally, the center of the tire where there are no knobs seems to slap the dirt when coming back to the ground in a weird way. But overall, it is a pretty good tire in a world of compromises. I may even give it a try again. If they made this tread in an exo+ casing, it'd be killer.
Only one ride on the Albert radials so far. Normal/prior setup was: front DHF 2.5 exo+ maxxterra at 19 psi, rear Spec Eliminator T7 (last gen, $40) grid trail 2.35 woth cushcore XC at 20psi. This is on the common old school single track loose over hard trails around Durango, not park or grippy Norcal dirt and few berms where those pressures won't provide enough support. Our dirt here has good grip for a few hours after a good rain, then its mostly a pretty low grip place to ride compared to East Coast black dirt or winter time Santa Cruz loam.
First ride on the Albert Radials, 2.5, trail, soft last night, front 23psi, rear 25psi. 1170gms on my scale, about the same as the DHF. Nice shape- tall profile, not that wide. Fast rolling at these pressures, which I was very happy to feel- looks like a good rolling tread and these suckers are so tall they probably add 1/4-1/2" of diameter to the rolling size of the wheel. Smooth with great dampening. Traction seemed pretty good, no mid corner leaned over surprises although the front did scrub without letting go completely a few times where I think the DHF or the Edge woulda held firm. The Albert side knobs are a bit soft and bendable- like a Dissector vs a DHF/DHR.
More experimentation with pressures next. Hoping 1-2psi less in front will yield a larger contact patch and hopefully a tad bit more hook up without getting squirmy.
I've also read some people with some time on the radials saying they needed 2-3 rides for the casing to break in.
Amazing how smooth and calm these radials roll over small bumps and little stuff that makes a tire try to bounce. That is a big plus for these tires.
I can imagine that a rider who really loads the bike hard in corners would love these tires as they put down a big contact patch.
Keep up the chatter, tire nerds, it is great to be in like company.
Man, thanks for sharing all that info! It's interesting to hear the different feedback on the radials. We are hearing that for heavier riders in hard terrain, the casing can squirm in those high load cornering situations you refer to, even at increased pressure. In softer or mixed terrain where average speeds are lower, they seem to perform well.
Yes, there is a break-in period. I mounted a lightly used and new radials this weekend and it's amazing how different the casing is.
If mid corner support lacks try MM's. I stayed away from MM's bc input for non-radials was they're not great for SoCal, I didn't find that to be true at all. I like the MM front and Albert rear combo for conditions similar to yours.
MM is the do it all tire for all but the most extreme conditions (hard pack or mud party) if you can stand the slight drifting on more compact surfaces. You get used to it tho. I only noticed it the first few rides after coming back from a butcher/eliminator combo.
The Radial casings are amazing (I'm only 150lbs) but as I've said many times there are still holes in their lineup. The Albert is a great 'trail' tire but not a summer high-speed shred tire. Just not aggressive enough. An Assegai, by comparison, looks like a beast with teeth. They need to roll out the Big Betty in Radial asap. The Betty could benefit from a bit more 'breathing room' between the knobs as it packs up quick with mud given how tight the knobs are. Also, they need to release that new 2:2:2 Argotal/High Roller 3 tire ASAP. Once those two are Radial, that will be the 'shred' setup. Magic Mary + Albert is OK, but the new tire + Betty would be more appropriate for high speed summer riding in mixed terrain.
Don't they have the new Shredda radial as a Argotal/HR3 competitor?
Lol, well, technically the Shredda Front is a 2:2:2 pattern, but it's not a competitor against Argotal, HIllbilly and High Roller 3. All three of those tires can be ridden on hardpack/flow trails, etc. The Shredda Front is a soft conditions-only tire. Sketchy on hard pack, super hard to pedal with 8mm tall knobs, etc. Ebike soft conditions tire.
This new un-released Schwable (which I posted above), but will post here again, is an all-arounder, exactly like the HR3, Hillbilly, Argotal. Obviously a bias to loose conditions but enough knob surface area and stout enough knobs for bike park/hard conditions. Photo from PB.
Shredda is way spikier than Argotal or especially HR3. It's more like Shorty / Hillbilly. I was kinda interested in it (at least the rear version) until I saw photos of it and noped out.
What's your problem with the magic mary? I mean its not the greatest tire for hardpack but if it was that bad the worldcup riders like Pierron wouldn't win races constantly on it on bike parky tracks. If you want maxx grip in most conditions get MM front and back. For hardpack you might have to wait. I want to try the Albert against the MM but I didn't find the time. Did you ride the Alber radial vs the Mary radial?
I don't see how the Assegai has much bigger knobs than the Albert. Left is Albert 2.5 mounted and in the middle is Assegai 2.6 not mounted on a rim.
Saw a bunch of bikes on Pit Bits and Tech Randoms with Tacky Chan radials but no Big Betty. Those are similar tires no? (I'm new to Schwalbe's lineup becuz radials) Either way they need a DHR-II/Krypto-R clone in radial soon! Very intrigued to try radials in the rear as someone who ditched inserts years ago for running a DH casing tire at 30psi. Going up to 35psi rear with a radial should protect the rim more since the air will have more ramp up during a big hit right?
All I can find in Magic Mary radial casing is trail pro super soft and gravity pro soft. I'd like a trail pro soft, but it doesn't seem to exist. Planning to see if I can get what I need outa the Alberts with 5-10 rides (to be sure they're broken in and doing their proper radial casing ground slurp and with some pressure tweaks). If I can't get enough front traction and I'm liking the radials, I'll probably try the MM Trail Pro super soft if I can find one.
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