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Agreed.
The DH casing HR3 has a different sidewall from the other Maxxis DH tires. The sidewall has a thicker layer of rubber near the bead that can be easily felt by hand when the tire is deflated. I haven't seen any marketing or info from Maxxis about the differences though which makes me think they're cooking up a different/better option (radial?)
I know this is old but I can’t afford to run lighter than DH casing on the rear. I bent and broke too many rear rims on trail tires. Even riding blueish trails I was denting rims. Gotta remember that there are big boys and girls who really reef on their back wheels haha
On rumors thread- pic of Tacky Chan radial...
Schwalbe, please make it in a trail casing with both soft and super soft rubber options in addition to the gravity options!
Mid January
Looking forward to test the Conti Kryptotal tires because first impressions are good. Gone are the wobbly conti tires, because these were pretty damn straight thankfully. I also feel that the Enduro casing lands right in the middle of EXO+ and DD which will be interesting to test given I'm very familiar with EXO+ so far. The supersoft compound feels more than enough sticky so time will tell how that feels after you've worned through that new tire outer layer.
I have to also say I'm glad I chose this tread design because I like it even more now once I see them in the flesh. Definitely potential of becoming new favorite combo for loose over hardpack + mixed. I know you got to actually test things, but it does go a long way if you got faith in that pattern just looking at it.
With the rumors of Tachy Chan coming in radial next year and radial curious here… does anyone with experience on a tacky chan and DHR like the tacky Chan more? And any specific reason why?
I also get the feeling from people’s feedback that heavier riders might not get along with radials due to the “soft squirmy” feel they have. Thoughts on this?
had both in as a rear tyre, DHR rolls slower but has a tad more braking traction, on loose, mud, soft terrain the Tacky chan feels better to me, i prefer the side knobs on the tacky too, wouldn't run it as sa front but as a rear tyre it's awesome
Does it pair well with a magic mary front?
Yes, Maxxis was supposed to launch the PR on that casing a year ago, but Radial came out a few months before their planned launch. So they put the brakes on it. Presumably, to either improve it or double down on it and roll it out on more tires for launch. Their World Cup athletes were all on new casings last season. Melamed and Remi said (in a podcast) that they tried the new casing (Jesse raced and won on it) in '23(?) and it was a 'game changer'. Sounds like if the sidewall is thicker, it's allowing lower pressures to be run so the top of the casing can deform more, without hitting the rim/pinch flatting. Which sort of simulates running an insert without having to. We'll see, though. Maxxis went dark on this casing for a long time, so they may have decided to do a bigger overhaul than just a stouter rubber sidewall.
100%
Lets hope for a trail pro supersoft in 27.5 then, the 29er guys always have all the luck, at least right now, we MX riders, have to compromise with either a soft compound or a supergravity casing if we want a tacky chan rear tyre. I understand that most mullet bikes are quite aggro, but there are shorter travel mixed wheel trail bikes too, and places where is not very common to cut a tyre yet, because the terrain remain wet most of the year, a softer compound is beneficial. Maybe the radial casings are squirmy after all, as some riders say, and a I'm asking for a worhtless tire...
No such great luck for rear 29" tires... MM radial and current TC are missing with soft/gravity options.
Really? I see, that's a bummer. Way to many SKUs and eveybody ends up not having what they want. Lets hope fora better 2026
The other thing i noticed is that the DHR2 is more prone to slide sideways along roots across the trail, the Tack Chan doesn't do this nearly as badly.
I've run TC on both front and rear but only run the DHR2 as a rear.
Cant say Im a fan of the Kryptotal Fr on the rear. It’s breaking consistency leaves a bit to be desired and it has too much traction in corners. I like it when my rear tire is slidey. This is very “precise” feeling.
I've been running the Schwalbe Shredda rear up front. That tire is absolutely amazing. Kind of like a cheat code!
It has very high rolling resistance and is a bitch to pedal. When I'm coasting downhill I can see how much faster the people i'm riding with can coast purely due to rolling resistance.
One big thing I've noticed is the insane braking power the shredda gives on the front. I'm fairly certain it's the huge center blocks that give it that braking power but also contribute to it rolling so slowly.
I think what I'd really like is to have that same or similar braking power but in a tire that rolls a bit faster. Would the High Roller III fit that? I've never tried it.
I've tried most other tires (kryptotal, argotal, assegai, mary, albert) Never really felt anything like this one! Maybe just have to suck it up and get used to pedaling this thing to the top.
I'd love to hear other people's takes. I'm riding here in Washington State in I-90 corridor so everything is pretty wet and sloppy. Shredda is amazing!
Nothing is going to compete in the braking department with a Shredda Rear (in soft soils). The knobs are just so tall (and wide enough). You are correct, the thing that makes it roll slowly is also what's providing the braking
The High Roller III bites hard in similar conditions, but definitely not more than an Argotal--so if you like the braking on the Shredda Rear vs. the Argotal, I don't think you're going to notice an upgrade going to a High Roller 3.
Anyone able to narrow down a bit more for the release date for the radial tacky chan? Will they be doing a big betty radial too?
Would love to have either of these as a rear tyre to help with rolling and braking compared to a radial magic mary on the rear.
Going to try the shredda rear on front and rear wheels for the eeb this winter, expecting lots of grip and slow rolling
Thanks for the response. What about a Maxxis Shorty maybe in DD? Anyone have feedback on that tire?
Maxxis Shorty will have less braking power than the High Roller 3 in almost all conditions. High Roller 3 can be used for everything, especially soft soils. Shorty is a bit better at clearing mud, but otherwise not as good of a tire.
I've got a little conversation piece for everyone—I've been riding a Maxxis' High Roller a lot the past year and a half, and was curious how Continental's Argotal would compare since it's pretty similar. I rode them back to back the past few months as a front tire to see what the deal was. And to try and better understand why I've shifted to really liking these mixed-conditions, open tread designs so much as a front tire over the popular Assegai-esque designs. Here is the article - https://www.vitalmtb.com/features/argument-against-transition-knobs-continental-argotal-vs-maxxis-high-roller-comparison
The TLDR is that they both are great tires for a wider range of conditions than I originally assumed just looking at the knobs/layout. They squirm a tad more on hardpack than say an Assegai or Kryptotal Fr, but it's manageable and not terrible. They more than make up for it in their ability to cut through loose soil and sink into the ground when conditions are dicey. They've both given me a lot more cornering confidence and trust in my front wheel when pushing a lot of energy into the front of my bike, and I think others could experience similar benefits.
I was an assegai person since release. That tire was/is so awesome! Finally made the swap and tried HR3 this summer. WOWZA, yeah it's sooooo good. I was a little skeptical about it but it proved way better than I was expecting. Big fan now. More HR3's for me!
Jason my riding crew (socal based) has come to the same conclusion after messing around with the hr(3) this last year. I need to read your article tonight because I never really considered the argotol in this equation. I digress...
We all have come to the conclusion that what the HR3 gives up in hardpack and rock slab grip, is no where near as dramatic as what you gain in loose/loose over hard/rut and rubble grip and confidence. I think another thing that I didn't consider when I first put the HR on, was that the slightly narrower profile (then an assegai) also helps to cut through loose over hard (to the hard part) and also seems to make the tire easier to manage in ruts (not crawling up the side). Bonus points... the HR is amazing in wet/muddy conditions in the rare occasion we end up stuck in that socal.
Stoked to see and read your article. I'll pop back in for comment and/or yes and's if there are any.
Thats good to know. I’m in Colorado where our conditions are rocks and dust so I’ve written off the HR III but I may give it a try after reading this.
I found the HR3 (and the Argotal) to be pretty good on the Front Range kitty litter/baked clay/random boulder terrain. It’s stellar on blown-out corners, but for me it felt a little unpredictable in rock gardens. I’m back to an Assegai for the moment, and it feels like a better fit for the trails but not by a huge margin. It’s worth a try, for sure.
@Jason_Schroeder You're going to love the new DHF2, as will many, many others. A High Roller 3 with just a bit more transition and better braking.
I put a hillbilly on last year and never wanted to take it off. These spikier tires look like they would not be good all arounders but I love that style of tire on everything besides buffed machine made flow trails. The assegai I’m running now just can’t get through the blown and loose stuff that accumulates in turns and at the bottom of chutes.
The way I describe it is that I want a tire to perform well in those do-or-die make or break spots where traction is crucial and control is the difference between flying down the side of the hill vs shredding the next corner. Assegai is better in a lot of ways but those OH SHIT moments are where the spikier intermediate tires shine!
Exactly. Assegai-esque tires are better when conditions are better, but that's not where I need more confidence from my tires. Its the sketchy deep loose, or unpredictable pockets of loose over hard, where I'll take whatever edge I can get from the tires. And lack of transition knobs means you can feel when you've got those big side knobs locked in where you know what the tire is doing.
That tire was in the back of my mind a lot during the HR3 vs. Argotal test. Could be the best of a lot of worlds. Reminds a bit of a Specialized Cannibal which I loved for mixed and moderately deep conditions. Surely we will see the new Maxxis tire in production this year @ARonBurgundy ??
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