Tire chat (nerds only)

aaronufl
Posts
48
Joined
3/7/2026
Location
Poulsbo, WA, USA
9/10/2026 9:37am
AndehM wrote:
I got my hands on a DHX and DHR2, both in the New DH casing, and have some first ride thoughts.  Two words:  holy shit!  The...

I got my hands on a DHX and DHR2, both in the New DH casing, and have some first ride thoughts.  Two words:  holy shit!  The gist of it is, the feel of this casing is what I wanted from radial but couldn't get.  I weigh ~150 lbs, and am on a ~49 lb ebike, riding totally dry and blown out trails about an hour north of Santa Cruz.  I started with lower pressure than what I run with DH, but kind of hedging a bit - 18 front, 20 rear.  With old Maxxis DH or Conti, I usually run about 19/22 locally, and add 1-2 psi if I'm riding somewhere really rocky.  Things felt decent but a bit pingy after first lap so I checked pressures, and they'd gone up 2 psi since I left my house due to it being 94* out.  Dropped back down to 18/20 - better, more compliance & grip but no squirm.  Dropped 0.5 psi next lap to 17.5/19.5 - still improving with no downside.  After that dropped to 17/19 (!!!) and had crazy good grip, nice damp feeling.  By the end of the ride at that pressure, I still wasn't getting the X marks on sidewalls, even after hitting some high speed, steep berms and big compressions.  Compliance over roots and rocks was excellent.  Traction on flat corners was on par with Gravity Radials, without any squirm.  There's one flat corner at the top of our hill that I can hit without braking when I trust grip - I get it about 20% of the time on regular tires, 80% of the time on radials, and was 4/4 yesterday on NDH.  And that's with conditions about as bad as they possibly can get.  The DHX up front rolls noticeably faster than the HR3 that it replaced, and still hooks up in steep loose chutes where an Assegai/Kryptotal Front tend to float.  Even at those silly low pressures, I was overshooting landings because I was carrying so much more speed into them.  As someone who never really gelled with the radials, this is the feel I was looking for.  Part of it is the incredible sidewall stability, but part of it is really good tread patterns and knobs.

Now, the downside is these are freaking heavy.  My 29x2.5 DHX clocked in at 1,534g.  My 27.5x2.5 DHR II (NDH) is 1,340g.  In the future when new casings become available, I'll consider dropping the DHX down to DD casing (depending on what the actual weight savings is) but keep the NDH in the rear (just with MaxxTerra v2 once that's available).  On my enduro bike, I definitely can't stomach pedaling a 1500g tire, so will probably stick with DD/DD or EXO+/DD.  I'll probably switch back to my stash of HR3s for the front once the rain starts in a month or two, but I plan on running DHX front for the majority of the year here.  Even if the DHX runs heavy in DD / EXO+, it's damn good and worth the penalty.

ntm95 wrote:
It'll be interesting to see if the dhx translates well to a dd or exo+.I suspect the magic there is 95% new dh casing. I've been...

It'll be interesting to see if the dhx translates well to a dd or exo+.

I suspect the magic there is 95% new dh casing. I've been running them on my dh bike and my e-dreadnought for half the summer, and agree that they are better than the other brand's radials. Feels like you have the sidewall support in corners of a cushcore insert, but with the traction of a radial. 

They were great in western canada's dry conditions this year. Kind of unique conditions in that there's the usual loose over hardpack, but certain corners were full on deep moon dust. So you wanted to run something like a magic mary or hr3, but it would get squirmy in high load corners on hardpack. The dhx's bridged those conditions nicely, and roll relatively quickly for what they are.

Yeah, seems like the casing is the secret sauce. My issue with the schwalbe radial trail casing is the lack of sidewall support and I don't want to switch to a gravity casing on my trail bike. 

I picked up continental Kryptotals in Enduro casing and have been pleasantly surprised. Better sidewall support and the grip is excellent and predictable. I think I'll stick with these until the depths of PNW winter arrive.

1
Evwan
Posts
154
Joined
11/18/2025
Location
Sunnyvale, CA, USA
Fantasy
9/10/2026 9:47am
Currently running through a tire a week so have a pretty good feel of Maxxis tires from new through clapped out. Finally got a batch of...

Currently running through a tire a week so have a pretty good feel of Maxxis tires from new through clapped out. Finally got a batch of 'New DH' casing tires in. Wowza. Alright, that was more noticeable of a change than I was expecting! BIG FAN

TEAMROBOT wrote:

Just out of curiosity, what did you like about the new casing?

The sidewall support is very apparent. The "new DH" casing is like a casing beyond the old DH. 

Think of the difference going from double down to DH, and then apply that to old DH and new DH. 

I like it a lot for bike park, but it is very heavy. I probably won't be putting maxxis new dh on my pedal bike, like I would with schwalbe or conti DH. 

2
Evwan
Posts
154
Joined
11/18/2025
Location
Sunnyvale, CA, USA
Fantasy
9/10/2026 9:50am
AndehM wrote:
I got my hands on a DHX and DHR2, both in the New DH casing, and have some first ride thoughts.  Two words:  holy shit!  The...

I got my hands on a DHX and DHR2, both in the New DH casing, and have some first ride thoughts.  Two words:  holy shit!  The gist of it is, the feel of this casing is what I wanted from radial but couldn't get.  I weigh ~150 lbs, and am on a ~49 lb ebike, riding totally dry and blown out trails about an hour north of Santa Cruz.  I started with lower pressure than what I run with DH, but kind of hedging a bit - 18 front, 20 rear.  With old Maxxis DH or Conti, I usually run about 19/22 locally, and add 1-2 psi if I'm riding somewhere really rocky.  Things felt decent but a bit pingy after first lap so I checked pressures, and they'd gone up 2 psi since I left my house due to it being 94* out.  Dropped back down to 18/20 - better, more compliance & grip but no squirm.  Dropped 0.5 psi next lap to 17.5/19.5 - still improving with no downside.  After that dropped to 17/19 (!!!) and had crazy good grip, nice damp feeling.  By the end of the ride at that pressure, I still wasn't getting the X marks on sidewalls, even after hitting some high speed, steep berms and big compressions.  Compliance over roots and rocks was excellent.  Traction on flat corners was on par with Gravity Radials, without any squirm.  There's one flat corner at the top of our hill that I can hit without braking when I trust grip - I get it about 20% of the time on regular tires, 80% of the time on radials, and was 4/4 yesterday on NDH.  And that's with conditions about as bad as they possibly can get.  The DHX up front rolls noticeably faster than the HR3 that it replaced, and still hooks up in steep loose chutes where an Assegai/Kryptotal Front tend to float.  Even at those silly low pressures, I was overshooting landings because I was carrying so much more speed into them.  As someone who never really gelled with the radials, this is the feel I was looking for.  Part of it is the incredible sidewall stability, but part of it is really good tread patterns and knobs.

Now, the downside is these are freaking heavy.  My 29x2.5 DHX clocked in at 1,534g.  My 27.5x2.5 DHR II (NDH) is 1,340g.  In the future when new casings become available, I'll consider dropping the DHX down to DD casing (depending on what the actual weight savings is) but keep the NDH in the rear (just with MaxxTerra v2 once that's available).  On my enduro bike, I definitely can't stomach pedaling a 1500g tire, so will probably stick with DD/DD or EXO+/DD.  I'll probably switch back to my stash of HR3s for the front once the rain starts in a month or two, but I plan on running DHX front for the majority of the year here.  Even if the DHX runs heavy in DD / EXO+, it's damn good and worth the penalty.

ntm95 wrote:
It'll be interesting to see if the dhx translates well to a dd or exo+.I suspect the magic there is 95% new dh casing. I've been...

It'll be interesting to see if the dhx translates well to a dd or exo+.

I suspect the magic there is 95% new dh casing. I've been running them on my dh bike and my e-dreadnought for half the summer, and agree that they are better than the other brand's radials. Feels like you have the sidewall support in corners of a cushcore insert, but with the traction of a radial. 

They were great in western canada's dry conditions this year. Kind of unique conditions in that there's the usual loose over hardpack, but certain corners were full on deep moon dust. So you wanted to run something like a magic mary or hr3, but it would get squirmy in high load corners on hardpack. The dhx's bridged those conditions nicely, and roll relatively quickly for what they are.

aaronufl wrote:
Yeah, seems like the casing is the secret sauce. My issue with the schwalbe radial trail casing is the lack of sidewall support and I don't...

Yeah, seems like the casing is the secret sauce. My issue with the schwalbe radial trail casing is the lack of sidewall support and I don't want to switch to a gravity casing on my trail bike. 

I picked up continental Kryptotals in Enduro casing and have been pleasantly surprised. Better sidewall support and the grip is excellent and predictable. I think I'll stick with these until the depths of PNW winter arrive.

If you like the schwalbe tires, but find they lack sidewall support, I have found that a tannus pro insert can add a substantial amount of sidewall support for not very much weight penalty. 

2
9/10/2026 12:31pm Edited Date/Time 9/10/2026 12:32pm
AndehM wrote:
I got my hands on a DHX and DHR2, both in the New DH casing, and have some first ride thoughts.  Two words:  holy shit!  The...

I got my hands on a DHX and DHR2, both in the New DH casing, and have some first ride thoughts.  Two words:  holy shit!  The gist of it is, the feel of this casing is what I wanted from radial but couldn't get.  I weigh ~150 lbs, and am on a ~49 lb ebike, riding totally dry and blown out trails about an hour north of Santa Cruz.  I started with lower pressure than what I run with DH, but kind of hedging a bit - 18 front, 20 rear.  With old Maxxis DH or Conti, I usually run about 19/22 locally, and add 1-2 psi if I'm riding somewhere really rocky.  Things felt decent but a bit pingy after first lap so I checked pressures, and they'd gone up 2 psi since I left my house due to it being 94* out.  Dropped back down to 18/20 - better, more compliance & grip but no squirm.  Dropped 0.5 psi next lap to 17.5/19.5 - still improving with no downside.  After that dropped to 17/19 (!!!) and had crazy good grip, nice damp feeling.  By the end of the ride at that pressure, I still wasn't getting the X marks on sidewalls, even after hitting some high speed, steep berms and big compressions.  Compliance over roots and rocks was excellent.  Traction on flat corners was on par with Gravity Radials, without any squirm.  There's one flat corner at the top of our hill that I can hit without braking when I trust grip - I get it about 20% of the time on regular tires, 80% of the time on radials, and was 4/4 yesterday on NDH.  And that's with conditions about as bad as they possibly can get.  The DHX up front rolls noticeably faster than the HR3 that it replaced, and still hooks up in steep loose chutes where an Assegai/Kryptotal Front tend to float.  Even at those silly low pressures, I was overshooting landings because I was carrying so much more speed into them.  As someone who never really gelled with the radials, this is the feel I was looking for.  Part of it is the incredible sidewall stability, but part of it is really good tread patterns and knobs.

Now, the downside is these are freaking heavy.  My 29x2.5 DHX clocked in at 1,534g.  My 27.5x2.5 DHR II (NDH) is 1,340g.  In the future when new casings become available, I'll consider dropping the DHX down to DD casing (depending on what the actual weight savings is) but keep the NDH in the rear (just with MaxxTerra v2 once that's available).  On my enduro bike, I definitely can't stomach pedaling a 1500g tire, so will probably stick with DD/DD or EXO+/DD.  I'll probably switch back to my stash of HR3s for the front once the rain starts in a month or two, but I plan on running DHX front for the majority of the year here.  Even if the DHX runs heavy in DD / EXO+, it's damn good and worth the penalty.

To be fair the Schwalbe Gravity Pro is also quite heavy at 1400g. I'd say a 130g increase for what basically amounts to the equivalent of an insert seems like a fair trade off.

It's also not apples to apples given the DHX is quite knobby so some of the weight likely comes from the tread design as well.

5
aaronufl
Posts
48
Joined
3/7/2026
Location
Poulsbo, WA, USA
9/10/2026 8:27pm
ntm95 wrote:
It'll be interesting to see if the dhx translates well to a dd or exo+.I suspect the magic there is 95% new dh casing. I've been...

It'll be interesting to see if the dhx translates well to a dd or exo+.

I suspect the magic there is 95% new dh casing. I've been running them on my dh bike and my e-dreadnought for half the summer, and agree that they are better than the other brand's radials. Feels like you have the sidewall support in corners of a cushcore insert, but with the traction of a radial. 

They were great in western canada's dry conditions this year. Kind of unique conditions in that there's the usual loose over hardpack, but certain corners were full on deep moon dust. So you wanted to run something like a magic mary or hr3, but it would get squirmy in high load corners on hardpack. The dhx's bridged those conditions nicely, and roll relatively quickly for what they are.

aaronufl wrote:
Yeah, seems like the casing is the secret sauce. My issue with the schwalbe radial trail casing is the lack of sidewall support and I don't...

Yeah, seems like the casing is the secret sauce. My issue with the schwalbe radial trail casing is the lack of sidewall support and I don't want to switch to a gravity casing on my trail bike. 

I picked up continental Kryptotals in Enduro casing and have been pleasantly surprised. Better sidewall support and the grip is excellent and predictable. I think I'll stick with these until the depths of PNW winter arrive.

Evwan wrote:
If you like the schwalbe tires, but find they lack sidewall support, I have found that a tannus pro insert can add a substantial amount of...

If you like the schwalbe tires, but find they lack sidewall support, I have found that a tannus pro insert can add a substantial amount of sidewall support for not very much weight penalty. 

Thanks for the suggestion. Thought about this, but I like the Continentals enough to skip the insert experiment. 

1
AndehM
Posts
836
Joined
5/7/2018
Location
El Granada, CA, USA
Fantasy
9/11/2026 9:13am
AndehM wrote:
I got my hands on a DHX and DHR2, both in the New DH casing, and have some first ride thoughts.  Two words:  holy shit!  The...

I got my hands on a DHX and DHR2, both in the New DH casing, and have some first ride thoughts.  Two words:  holy shit!  The gist of it is, the feel of this casing is what I wanted from radial but couldn't get.  I weigh ~150 lbs, and am on a ~49 lb ebike, riding totally dry and blown out trails about an hour north of Santa Cruz.  I started with lower pressure than what I run with DH, but kind of hedging a bit - 18 front, 20 rear.  With old Maxxis DH or Conti, I usually run about 19/22 locally, and add 1-2 psi if I'm riding somewhere really rocky.  Things felt decent but a bit pingy after first lap so I checked pressures, and they'd gone up 2 psi since I left my house due to it being 94* out.  Dropped back down to 18/20 - better, more compliance & grip but no squirm.  Dropped 0.5 psi next lap to 17.5/19.5 - still improving with no downside.  After that dropped to 17/19 (!!!) and had crazy good grip, nice damp feeling.  By the end of the ride at that pressure, I still wasn't getting the X marks on sidewalls, even after hitting some high speed, steep berms and big compressions.  Compliance over roots and rocks was excellent.  Traction on flat corners was on par with Gravity Radials, without any squirm.  There's one flat corner at the top of our hill that I can hit without braking when I trust grip - I get it about 20% of the time on regular tires, 80% of the time on radials, and was 4/4 yesterday on NDH.  And that's with conditions about as bad as they possibly can get.  The DHX up front rolls noticeably faster than the HR3 that it replaced, and still hooks up in steep loose chutes where an Assegai/Kryptotal Front tend to float.  Even at those silly low pressures, I was overshooting landings because I was carrying so much more speed into them.  As someone who never really gelled with the radials, this is the feel I was looking for.  Part of it is the incredible sidewall stability, but part of it is really good tread patterns and knobs.

Now, the downside is these are freaking heavy.  My 29x2.5 DHX clocked in at 1,534g.  My 27.5x2.5 DHR II (NDH) is 1,340g.  In the future when new casings become available, I'll consider dropping the DHX down to DD casing (depending on what the actual weight savings is) but keep the NDH in the rear (just with MaxxTerra v2 once that's available).  On my enduro bike, I definitely can't stomach pedaling a 1500g tire, so will probably stick with DD/DD or EXO+/DD.  I'll probably switch back to my stash of HR3s for the front once the rain starts in a month or two, but I plan on running DHX front for the majority of the year here.  Even if the DHX runs heavy in DD / EXO+, it's damn good and worth the penalty.

To be fair the Schwalbe Gravity Pro is also quite heavy at 1400g. I'd say a 130g increase for what basically amounts to the equivalent of...

To be fair the Schwalbe Gravity Pro is also quite heavy at 1400g. I'd say a 130g increase for what basically amounts to the equivalent of an insert seems like a fair trade off.

It's also not apples to apples given the DHX is quite knobby so some of the weight likely comes from the tread design as well.

Yeah, the Schwalbe GP are in the same ballpark of weight.  But I don't get along with their knob patterns or rubber compound.  I tried the insert + light casings setup years ago and just never got along with it.  I had lots of issues with inserts causing lighter casings to warp and wobble.

I'd like to see what Conti's response to NDH & Gravity Pro is.  Their DH casing has always felt to me fairly stiff but undamped.  Like, I can run it pretty low pressures but it still always transmits a lot of feedback to my hands.  Their DH casings run about 100g lighter than old Maxxis DH, closer to DD weights, so there's clearly less rubber or fabric in the tires.  Part of it is probably their rubber compounds too.  I feel like their Super Soft rubber is more like MaxxTerra (or harder) and I've heard they have a sponsored racer-only "Super Duper Soft" that probably would feel great up front.

1
1
Trocko
Posts
203
Joined
11/23/2010
Location
Rocky, CO, USA
Fantasy
9/11/2026 10:19am

How do the Specialized radials compare to the Schwalbes? Curious if anyone’s ridden both yet

9/14/2026 9:59am

Does anyone have any intel on the incoming Conti radials? Given how hard Conti's rubber is, they could be the holy grail of huge contact patch that actually still rolls pretty well and lasts as long as a $100 tire should.

2
9/14/2026 12:52pm
Does anyone have any intel on the incoming Conti radials? Given how hard Conti's rubber is, they could be the holy grail of huge contact patch...

Does anyone have any intel on the incoming Conti radials? Given how hard Conti's rubber is, they could be the holy grail of huge contact patch that actually still rolls pretty well and lasts as long as a $100 tire should.

Ya, at times it seems like the more expensive the tire, the faster it wears

theweaz
Posts
16
Joined
4/30/2020
Location
Victor, ID, USA
9/14/2026 8:53pm
Trocko wrote:

How do the Specialized radials compare to the Schwalbes? Curious if anyone’s ridden both yet

I have around 500 miles on a set of the spec radials on a full powered ebike. I like them more the shredda/ albert combo I was running before. I think the T9 compound is the only thing available thats comparable to maxgrip, schwable ultra soft and conti super soft feel less sticky on smooth rocks and roots. 

Im more of a 2-2-2 tire tread person so the butcher fits my front tire preferences more than anything that was available in the schwable radials until they released the tacky chan. 

I can’t say if the radial part of the specialized tires is what makes them good but the butcher is probably my favorite front tread right now. The eliminator is good but doesn’t really stand out in any way, it’s just fairly reliable in a wide range of conditions. Eliminator rear is showing moderate wear at 500 miles, the butcher front isn’t showing much of any wear. The dual compound eliminator seems to be wearing at a similar rate across the whole tire instead of either the center or side knobs wearing faster. Wish they would do a T7 butcher to run in the rear for better longevity. 

7
Slavid666
Posts
174
Joined
5/3/2024
Location
Santa Rosa, CA, USA
9/14/2026 10:10pm Edited Date/Time 9/14/2026 10:14pm

Closing thoughts on the new maxx Terra v2. Dh season is over for me now, and I’ve been riding the DHR2 since it opened. FWIW, this is on a DH bike at race pace for the season. Just about 160 miles and just under 100k feet of descending. Still has tons of breaking grip, can’t tell the difference in nor-cal dirt from maxx grip, but well over 2x the life, if not more. Casing is spent and the tire got a sidewall slice at the top of the casing insert on the last run, so she’s pretty cooked, otherwise would have kept it for non-race weekends next year. Really stoked on the new rubber, 10/10 would recommend. *edit: 6’3” and 200 ish lbs before gear. Most conti like wear I’ve ever had with maxxis. Has had me thinking of running Maxx Terra in the front for our summer riding. Not sure if Maxx Grip makes any difference in the brown POW when it’s 95 degrees out every weekend.IMG 2598IMG 2599

13
AndehM
Posts
836
Joined
5/7/2018
Location
El Granada, CA, USA
Fantasy
9/15/2026 6:58am
Slavid666 wrote:
Closing thoughts on the new maxx Terra v2. Dh season is over for me now, and I’ve been riding the DHR2 since it opened. FWIW, this...

Closing thoughts on the new maxx Terra v2. Dh season is over for me now, and I’ve been riding the DHR2 since it opened. FWIW, this is on a DH bike at race pace for the season. Just about 160 miles and just under 100k feet of descending. Still has tons of breaking grip, can’t tell the difference in nor-cal dirt from maxx grip, but well over 2x the life, if not more. Casing is spent and the tire got a sidewall slice at the top of the casing insert on the last run, so she’s pretty cooked, otherwise would have kept it for non-race weekends next year. Really stoked on the new rubber, 10/10 would recommend. *edit: 6’3” and 200 ish lbs before gear. Most conti like wear I’ve ever had with maxxis. Has had me thinking of running Maxx Terra in the front for our summer riding. Not sure if Maxx Grip makes any difference in the brown POW when it’s 95 degrees out every weekend.IMG 2598IMG 2599

That's awesome, thanks for the report.  Pretty wild that the sipes are still intact (indicates the surface rubber hasn't abraded much).

2
9/15/2026 8:33am
Slavid666 wrote:
Closing thoughts on the new maxx Terra v2. Dh season is over for me now, and I’ve been riding the DHR2 since it opened. FWIW, this...

Closing thoughts on the new maxx Terra v2. Dh season is over for me now, and I’ve been riding the DHR2 since it opened. FWIW, this is on a DH bike at race pace for the season. Just about 160 miles and just under 100k feet of descending. Still has tons of breaking grip, can’t tell the difference in nor-cal dirt from maxx grip, but well over 2x the life, if not more. Casing is spent and the tire got a sidewall slice at the top of the casing insert on the last run, so she’s pretty cooked, otherwise would have kept it for non-race weekends next year. Really stoked on the new rubber, 10/10 would recommend. *edit: 6’3” and 200 ish lbs before gear. Most conti like wear I’ve ever had with maxxis. Has had me thinking of running Maxx Terra in the front for our summer riding. Not sure if Maxx Grip makes any difference in the brown POW when it’s 95 degrees out every weekend.IMG 2598IMG 2599

If your numbers are true, that's very impressive

9/15/2026 8:34am
Trocko wrote:

How do the Specialized radials compare to the Schwalbes? Curious if anyone’s ridden both yet

I've ridden both. Very different. 
Well, very different from the Trail casing Schwalbe to the Specialized Radials, since the Specialized is a DH casing. 
The gap between the Schwalbe Gravity casing is a bit smaller. But the Specialized are still 'stouter' feeling. 
The Specialized tires feel less "Radial" and they are by design. More of a bridge or middle ground between a Schwalbe Radial and a normal tire. 
The T9 rubber is great as it's always been. 
I think if you're really looking for a "Radial" soft carcass feel Schwalbe Trail is the way to go. Schwalbe Gravity is the way to go if you need a similar feel but want a beefier/more supportive tire. And Specialized if you want a DH casing tire that has the 'feel' of a Radial. 
If you're already on Specialized DH casing tires, I think these would be a very nice upgrade.  

2
Slavid666
Posts
174
Joined
5/3/2024
Location
Santa Rosa, CA, USA
9/15/2026 8:49am
Slavid666 wrote:
Closing thoughts on the new maxx Terra v2. Dh season is over for me now, and I’ve been riding the DHR2 since it opened. FWIW, this...

Closing thoughts on the new maxx Terra v2. Dh season is over for me now, and I’ve been riding the DHR2 since it opened. FWIW, this is on a DH bike at race pace for the season. Just about 160 miles and just under 100k feet of descending. Still has tons of breaking grip, can’t tell the difference in nor-cal dirt from maxx grip, but well over 2x the life, if not more. Casing is spent and the tire got a sidewall slice at the top of the casing insert on the last run, so she’s pretty cooked, otherwise would have kept it for non-race weekends next year. Really stoked on the new rubber, 10/10 would recommend. *edit: 6’3” and 200 ish lbs before gear. Most conti like wear I’ve ever had with maxxis. Has had me thinking of running Maxx Terra in the front for our summer riding. Not sure if Maxx Grip makes any difference in the brown POW when it’s 95 degrees out every weekend.IMG 2598IMG 2599

If your numbers are true, that's very impressive

15 days at the park, ~7k of vert per day. I'll see if I can filter just for N* on trailforks. I got recipes lol. Keep in mind this tire has never seen a day of climbing. 

2
ColinL
Posts
49
Joined
7/20/2015
Location
USA
9/15/2026 9:09am
Slavid666 wrote:
Closing thoughts on the new maxx Terra v2. Dh season is over for me now, and I’ve been riding the DHR2 since it opened. FWIW, this...

Closing thoughts on the new maxx Terra v2. Dh season is over for me now, and I’ve been riding the DHR2 since it opened. FWIW, this is on a DH bike at race pace for the season. Just about 160 miles and just under 100k feet of descending. Still has tons of breaking grip, can’t tell the difference in nor-cal dirt from maxx grip, but well over 2x the life, if not more. Casing is spent and the tire got a sidewall slice at the top of the casing insert on the last run, so she’s pretty cooked, otherwise would have kept it for non-race weekends next year. Really stoked on the new rubber, 10/10 would recommend. *edit: 6’3” and 200 ish lbs before gear. Most conti like wear I’ve ever had with maxxis. Has had me thinking of running Maxx Terra in the front for our summer riding. Not sure if Maxx Grip makes any difference in the brown POW when it’s 95 degrees out every weekend.IMG 2598IMG 2599

If your numbers are true, that's very impressive

Slavid666 wrote:
15 days at the park, ~7k of vert per day. I'll see if I can filter just for N* on trailforks. I got recipes lol. Keep...

15 days at the park, ~7k of vert per day. I'll see if I can filter just for N* on trailforks. I got recipes lol. Keep in mind this tire has never seen a day of climbing. 

quite impressive. you must not be a brake dragger? edges look good.

are there new hot patches, sku / product id, or how can a person be sure they're getting the new maxx terra and not older?

3
2
AndehM
Posts
836
Joined
5/7/2018
Location
El Granada, CA, USA
Fantasy
9/15/2026 10:19am

If your numbers are true, that's very impressive

Slavid666 wrote:
15 days at the park, ~7k of vert per day. I'll see if I can filter just for N* on trailforks. I got recipes lol. Keep...

15 days at the park, ~7k of vert per day. I'll see if I can filter just for N* on trailforks. I got recipes lol. Keep in mind this tire has never seen a day of climbing. 

ColinL wrote:
quite impressive. you must not be a brake dragger? edges look good.are there new hot patches, sku / product id, or how can a person be...

quite impressive. you must not be a brake dragger? edges look good.

are there new hot patches, sku / product id, or how can a person be sure they're getting the new maxx terra and not older?

I have 1 unopened DHR2 in DD with the MTv2 and on the cardboard hanger there was a sticker in the upper corner that said "NEW MAXXTERRA". I don't recall the hotpatch being any different. Likewise my New DH also had a sticker on the packaging, although the actual hotpatch looks a little different (it's now sort of a grey font/shield for DH instead of the old white letters).

Some online shops are making sure to distinguish both of those in their description but others aren't.

1
ColinL
Posts
49
Joined
7/20/2015
Location
USA
1 day ago

lol getting downranked for expressing an opinion that the tire wear DOES NOT look like the brake was dragged. 🤨

1
1
Dogboy
Posts
79
Joined
4/12/2011
Location
Chapel Hill, NC, USA
1 day ago
Slavid666 wrote:
15 days at the park, ~7k of vert per day. I'll see if I can filter just for N* on trailforks. I got recipes lol. Keep...

15 days at the park, ~7k of vert per day. I'll see if I can filter just for N* on trailforks. I got recipes lol. Keep in mind this tire has never seen a day of climbing. 

ColinL wrote:
quite impressive. you must not be a brake dragger? edges look good.are there new hot patches, sku / product id, or how can a person be...

quite impressive. you must not be a brake dragger? edges look good.

are there new hot patches, sku / product id, or how can a person be sure they're getting the new maxx terra and not older?

AndehM wrote:
I have 1 unopened DHR2 in DD with the MTv2 and on the cardboard hanger there was a sticker in the upper corner that said "NEW...

I have 1 unopened DHR2 in DD with the MTv2 and on the cardboard hanger there was a sticker in the upper corner that said "NEW MAXXTERRA". I don't recall the hotpatch being any different. Likewise my New DH also had a sticker on the packaging, although the actual hotpatch looks a little different (it's now sort of a grey font/shield for DH instead of the old white letters).

Some online shops are making sure to distinguish both of those in their description but others aren't.

The new MT hot patch drops the "3C" logo.

4
Slavid666
Posts
174
Joined
5/3/2024
Location
Santa Rosa, CA, USA
1 day ago
ColinL wrote:

lol getting downranked for expressing an opinion that the tire wear DOES NOT look like the brake was dragged. 🤨

: ) to be fair I think its very much terrain dependent. Northstar is often called duststar. Calling it loose is a bit of an understatement. lol Theres not a whole lot for the knobs to grab on to even if you want to slow down. 

2
Eoin
Posts
405
Joined
3/6/2015
Location
FR
Fantasy
16 hours ago

So I can give a similar ride report for my continentals:

2000km and 60km vert over 10 months (1,200 miles, 200k feet descending). No racing and no bike parks this year, but I ride hard enough.

Absolutely blown away by the Kryptotal rear downhill soft. That tyre has no right to still be alive today, with some side and middle knobs still present. The main issue is the casing, the grip itself is ok enough that I would run it until the rain comes in October.

PXL 20260917 065801473 0

My front tyre is actually a Krypto Rear downhill Supersoft on about 11 month old.
It actually wore down quite fast at the start and then kinda just stayed at a certain level of wear. I am going bach to Soft upfront as my previous front tyre effectively didn't wear and my guess is that near perfect harder side knobs are equivalent to softer worn out ones...

PXL 20260917 065806003.jpg?VersionId=5B6z

But actually this wasn't what I wanted to post, I actually came here to give a PSA:

If your tyres look good 6+ months after fitting them, instead of just bragging about it on forums, maybe take them off and do a sealant change, otherwise you might end up with this monstrosity:

 

PXL 20260917 065758304.MP .jpg?VersionId=vyq

Wasn't sure if this thread or the dumb bike problems was the correct one, and yes I could feel it but I thought it was the massive flat spot on my rim... Feel free to ignore all my tech advice in the future

7
9 hours ago
Eoin wrote:
So I can give a similar ride report for my continentals:2000km and 60km vert over 10 months (1,200 miles, 200k feet descending). No racing and no...

So I can give a similar ride report for my continentals:

2000km and 60km vert over 10 months (1,200 miles, 200k feet descending). No racing and no bike parks this year, but I ride hard enough.

Absolutely blown away by the Kryptotal rear downhill soft. That tyre has no right to still be alive today, with some side and middle knobs still present. The main issue is the casing, the grip itself is ok enough that I would run it until the rain comes in October.

PXL 20260917 065801473 0

My front tyre is actually a Krypto Rear downhill Supersoft on about 11 month old.
It actually wore down quite fast at the start and then kinda just stayed at a certain level of wear. I am going bach to Soft upfront as my previous front tyre effectively didn't wear and my guess is that near perfect harder side knobs are equivalent to softer worn out ones...

PXL 20260917 065806003.jpg?VersionId=5B6z

But actually this wasn't what I wanted to post, I actually came here to give a PSA:

If your tyres look good 6+ months after fitting them, instead of just bragging about it on forums, maybe take them off and do a sealant change, otherwise you might end up with this monstrosity:

 

PXL 20260917 065758304.MP .jpg?VersionId=vyq

Wasn't sure if this thread or the dumb bike problems was the correct one, and yes I could feel it but I thought it was the massive flat spot on my rim... Feel free to ignore all my tech advice in the future

Those might look tasty but I can assure you they are not

2
ColinL
Posts
49
Joined
7/20/2015
Location
USA
9 hours ago
Eoin wrote:
So I can give a similar ride report for my continentals:2000km and 60km vert over 10 months (1,200 miles, 200k feet descending). No racing and no...

So I can give a similar ride report for my continentals:

2000km and 60km vert over 10 months (1,200 miles, 200k feet descending). No racing and no bike parks this year, but I ride hard enough.

Absolutely blown away by the Kryptotal rear downhill soft. That tyre has no right to still be alive today, with some side and middle knobs still present. The main issue is the casing, the grip itself is ok enough that I would run it until the rain comes in October.

PXL 20260917 065801473 0

My front tyre is actually a Krypto Rear downhill Supersoft on about 11 month old.
It actually wore down quite fast at the start and then kinda just stayed at a certain level of wear. I am going bach to Soft upfront as my previous front tyre effectively didn't wear and my guess is that near perfect harder side knobs are equivalent to softer worn out ones...

PXL 20260917 065806003.jpg?VersionId=5B6z

But actually this wasn't what I wanted to post, I actually came here to give a PSA:

If your tyres look good 6+ months after fitting them, instead of just bragging about it on forums, maybe take them off and do a sealant change, otherwise you might end up with this monstrosity:

 

PXL 20260917 065758304.MP .jpg?VersionId=vyq

Wasn't sure if this thread or the dumb bike problems was the correct one, and yes I could feel it but I thought it was the massive flat spot on my rim... Feel free to ignore all my tech advice in the future

I have the same wear experience with the kryptotal fr supersoft on the front. Conti officially states it's a single compound, but my observation matches yours, that it wears quickly and then... doesn't. I don't know how to explain that if it's not a firmer compound with a softer on top.

If I raced, or regularly rode in wet conditions, I'd keep riding supersoft. Since I don't race and ride dry conditions, I prefer soft as it's enough grip and much better wear even on the front. (I've never used a Conti supersoft rear.)

1
AndehM
Posts
836
Joined
5/7/2018
Location
El Granada, CA, USA
Fantasy
7 hours ago
Eoin wrote:
So I can give a similar ride report for my continentals:2000km and 60km vert over 10 months (1,200 miles, 200k feet descending). No racing and no...

So I can give a similar ride report for my continentals:

2000km and 60km vert over 10 months (1,200 miles, 200k feet descending). No racing and no bike parks this year, but I ride hard enough.

Absolutely blown away by the Kryptotal rear downhill soft. That tyre has no right to still be alive today, with some side and middle knobs still present. The main issue is the casing, the grip itself is ok enough that I would run it until the rain comes in October.

PXL 20260917 065801473 0

My front tyre is actually a Krypto Rear downhill Supersoft on about 11 month old.
It actually wore down quite fast at the start and then kinda just stayed at a certain level of wear. I am going bach to Soft upfront as my previous front tyre effectively didn't wear and my guess is that near perfect harder side knobs are equivalent to softer worn out ones...

PXL 20260917 065806003.jpg?VersionId=5B6z

But actually this wasn't what I wanted to post, I actually came here to give a PSA:

If your tyres look good 6+ months after fitting them, instead of just bragging about it on forums, maybe take them off and do a sealant change, otherwise you might end up with this monstrosity:

 

PXL 20260917 065758304.MP .jpg?VersionId=vyq

Wasn't sure if this thread or the dumb bike problems was the correct one, and yes I could feel it but I thought it was the massive flat spot on my rim... Feel free to ignore all my tech advice in the future

ColinL wrote:
I have the same wear experience with the kryptotal fr supersoft on the front. Conti officially states it's a single compound, but my observation matches yours...

I have the same wear experience with the kryptotal fr supersoft on the front. Conti officially states it's a single compound, but my observation matches yours, that it wears quickly and then... doesn't. I don't know how to explain that if it's not a firmer compound with a softer on top.

If I raced, or regularly rode in wet conditions, I'd keep riding supersoft. Since I don't race and ride dry conditions, I prefer soft as it's enough grip and much better wear even on the front. (I've never used a Conti supersoft rear.)

There was a forum member here who posted durometer tests of a few different tire compounds last year (I think).  His tests showed that Conti's SS rubber was inside out (hard over soft), whereas MG is soft over hard.  My experience is like the photo above, that SS tends to crack around the base, at which point it loses stability as the knobs are free to squirm on the soft core.  Once you start getting those base cracks on SS is when it's done.  I can't recall for certain, but I believe their Soft rubber was the same durometer all the way through.

1
5 hours ago
Trocko wrote:

How do the Specialized radials compare to the Schwalbes? Curious if anyone’s ridden both yet

theweaz wrote:
I have around 500 miles on a set of the spec radials on a full powered ebike. I like them more the shredda/ albert combo I...

I have around 500 miles on a set of the spec radials on a full powered ebike. I like them more the shredda/ albert combo I was running before. I think the T9 compound is the only thing available thats comparable to maxgrip, schwable ultra soft and conti super soft feel less sticky on smooth rocks and roots. 

Im more of a 2-2-2 tire tread person so the butcher fits my front tire preferences more than anything that was available in the schwable radials until they released the tacky chan. 

I can’t say if the radial part of the specialized tires is what makes them good but the butcher is probably my favorite front tread right now. The eliminator is good but doesn’t really stand out in any way, it’s just fairly reliable in a wide range of conditions. Eliminator rear is showing moderate wear at 500 miles, the butcher front isn’t showing much of any wear. The dual compound eliminator seems to be wearing at a similar rate across the whole tire instead of either the center or side knobs wearing faster. Wish they would do a T7 butcher to run in the rear for better longevity. 

Care to post some pics? Thinking of picking up an Eliminator to replace my My Tacky Chan radial that looks like it's totally toast after 4 months, 250 miles. (full power ebike detuned to 60nm running 30psi. Not really sure what I can do to get more longevity out of that other than not ride the bike)

AndehM
Posts
836
Joined
5/7/2018
Location
El Granada, CA, USA
Fantasy
5 hours ago
ColinL wrote:
quite impressive. you must not be a brake dragger? edges look good.are there new hot patches, sku / product id, or how can a person be...

quite impressive. you must not be a brake dragger? edges look good.

are there new hot patches, sku / product id, or how can a person be sure they're getting the new maxx terra and not older?

AndehM wrote:
I have 1 unopened DHR2 in DD with the MTv2 and on the cardboard hanger there was a sticker in the upper corner that said "NEW...

I have 1 unopened DHR2 in DD with the MTv2 and on the cardboard hanger there was a sticker in the upper corner that said "NEW MAXXTERRA". I don't recall the hotpatch being any different. Likewise my New DH also had a sticker on the packaging, although the actual hotpatch looks a little different (it's now sort of a grey font/shield for DH instead of the old white letters).

Some online shops are making sure to distinguish both of those in their description but others aren't.

Dogboy wrote:

The new MT hot patch drops the "3C" logo.

If anyone cares, here's photos of New DH & New MT hot patches:

IMG 8926IMG 8927
6
jeff231
Posts
22
Joined
4/16/2016
Location
San Clemente, CA, USA
Fantasy
3 hours ago

What's up with the S-Works cannibal that comes spec'd on the LTD Demo? Radial version maybe? 

1
theweaz
Posts
16
Joined
4/30/2020
Location
Victor, ID, USA
1 hour ago Edited Date/Time 1 hour ago
Trocko wrote:

How do the Specialized radials compare to the Schwalbes? Curious if anyone’s ridden both yet

theweaz wrote:
I have around 500 miles on a set of the spec radials on a full powered ebike. I like them more the shredda/ albert combo I...

I have around 500 miles on a set of the spec radials on a full powered ebike. I like them more the shredda/ albert combo I was running before. I think the T9 compound is the only thing available thats comparable to maxgrip, schwable ultra soft and conti super soft feel less sticky on smooth rocks and roots. 

Im more of a 2-2-2 tire tread person so the butcher fits my front tire preferences more than anything that was available in the schwable radials until they released the tacky chan. 

I can’t say if the radial part of the specialized tires is what makes them good but the butcher is probably my favorite front tread right now. The eliminator is good but doesn’t really stand out in any way, it’s just fairly reliable in a wide range of conditions. Eliminator rear is showing moderate wear at 500 miles, the butcher front isn’t showing much of any wear. The dual compound eliminator seems to be wearing at a similar rate across the whole tire instead of either the center or side knobs wearing faster. Wish they would do a T7 butcher to run in the rear for better longevity. 

Care to post some pics? Thinking of picking up an Eliminator to replace my My Tacky Chan radial that looks like it's totally toast after 4...

Care to post some pics? Thinking of picking up an Eliminator to replace my My Tacky Chan radial that looks like it's totally toast after 4 months, 250 miles. (full power ebike detuned to 60nm running 30psi. Not really sure what I can do to get more longevity out of that other than not ride the bike)

Right around 500 miles

 

IMG 4076IMG 4077.jpeg?VersionId=oOS7NiGSsvIeWjgLBoMQQCIMG 4078
2

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