Viewing 22 posts - 1 through 22 (of 22 total)
  • Understanding Maxis Tyre Range
  • jdpuddy
    Free Member

    hi guys

    Following the theft of my Orange 5 I’ve bought a Santa Cruz Bronson which I’ve had for a couple of months now and ridden in a couple of Enduro races.

    The Orange 5 was 26″ wheels an I had a variety of tyres (Schwalbe Magic Mary, Hans Damph and Rock Razor) which I had a pretty good combination for varying trails. However, in moving to the Bronson I’ve moved to 650b wheels and only have the Maxis Minion DHR II tyres which came with the bike; I’m not a massive fan of the DHR II on the front for steep, rooty trails so looking at what tyres to get.

    One option is just to go back to the Schwalbe combination I was used to but I’m trying to understand the maxis range and what might be sensible options.

    Clearly the Minion SS is comparable to the Rock Razor and it looks like the Shorty is comparable to the Magic Mary. But I’m struggling to separate the Minion DHR II / DHF and High Rollers, and what makes them so different from the Aggressor for example?

    as an example on the old Schwalbe tyres a Magic Mary front / Hans Damph rear would be my go to combination on wet + steep days, Magic Mary front / Rock Razor rear on dry + steep [brave?] days and Hans Damph front / Rock Razor rear on flat[er] days

    Thoughts and advice welcome

    thanks

    Hob-Nob
    Free Member

    What don’t you like about the DHR2?

    I think most (as in almost everyone) would agree it’s in a different league compared to a Hans Dampf (most other tyres are too, to be fair).

    DHF/DHR’s are just decent all rounders – you can pretty much get away with running them all year round. Shorty works well for really sh*tty weather – not as much grip as a Magic Mary, but unlike the Mary, which has a lifespan measured literally in minutes – the Shorty lasts well for a grippy tyre.

    My go to is DHF/DHF, DHF/DHR or any of the prior with a Shorty out front.

    Generally don’t bother with a High Roller – the Minions are better.

    philstone
    Full Member

    I’ve transferred from Schwalbe to Maxxis recently..

    My combos are:

    DHR2 front/SS rear – standard Summer setup for variety – dry, loose over hard etc..
    DHF/DHR2 – I’ve been told that the DHF is grippier, but doesn’t roll as well so
    HR2/DHR2 – Middle of Winter but still rolls ok, wet wet wet…
    Shorty/DHR2 – Deep mud/roots etc..

    Hope that helps.. Surprised you’re not a big fan of the DHR2 though, are you using 3C or Dual Compounds?

    chiefgrooveguru
    Full Member

    They do make a lot of tyres!

    From loose (wet or dry) to hardpack:

    Shorty
    High Roller 2 2.4
    Minion DHR2
    Minion DHF
    Aggressor
    Minion SS

    The Magic Mary sits somewhere between the Shorty and HR2 2.4, whilst the Hans Dampf sits between the DHF and Aggressor. Bear in mind that Maxxis change the knob size and spacing as well as the carcass size between sizes – an HR2 2.4 is much more knobbly than an HR2 2.3, likewise an Ardent 2.4 vs 2.25, etc.

    philstone
    Full Member

    Generally don’t bother with a High Roller – the Minions are better.

    Interesting… Not tried the HR2 yet, this was purely on recommendations.. So DHF/DHR is as good?

    chiefgrooveguru
    Full Member

    Hob Nob, have you tried the 27.5×2.4 High Roller 2?

    wobbliscott
    Free Member

    I don’t think that it is a truth universally acknowledged that maxxis is are better than HD. I’ve made the switch recently to maxxis and I’m a bit underwhelmed after all the hype. They’re not crap or worse than HD, just not necessarily better. The jury’s out on longevity but as far as performance I actually think on loose gravely trails the side knobbles perform marginally better with the hd’s – I can just seem to be able to roll the bike over more than I can now with the maxxis. Like so many things it is subjective and depends on your own personal preference, and an element of adapting to something different.

    Hob-Nob
    Free Member

    Hob Nob, have you tried the 27.5×2.4 High Roller 2?

    Funnily enough, I have one on the back right now – I annoyingly warped a DHF at a race last weekend when I rolled it off the rim mid corner & this was all I had left in the spares pile.

    I used it this weekend – find them odd, they seem to roll slower than a Minion (both) & grip less. Also it’s a really odd shape on a 26mm ID rim.

    I’ll sell it to one of my mates who loves them!

    CaptainMainwaring
    Free Member

    I’m with Hon Nob and the others. I run a DHR 2 year round on the back of my Bronson. Currently on an HD on the front but that will get swapped for a Magic Mary as my default for winter. Unlike Hob Nob I have not found it wears badly on the front.

    chiefgrooveguru
    Full Member

    Yes, it definitely rolls slower than a DHR2 but on the front that’s not very noticeable. I have it on a Flow EX and like the edge bite it has, it seems to rail better than a DHR2. That’s the 3C one, paired with a dual DHR2 out back, as my intermediate tyres. DHR2 3C and Minion SS as my dry tyres and Shorty 2.5 & 2.3 as my filth ones.

    jdpuddy
    Free Member

    @HobNob the DHR II just doesn’t feel like it was gripping in corners. I guess I am coming from the previous bike which had the Magic Mary on the front the last time I rode it so maybe I’m not comparing like for like.

    Is the DHF notably better for grip on the front that the DHR II?

    chiefgrooveguru
    Full Member

    Assuming you’re leaning/weighting the bike optimally, with the right tyre pressure and rim width, then it comes down to the surface you’re riding on. The Minions all have more grip on hard surfaces than the Magic Mary (in similar compounds). The Magic Mary has more grip on soft surfaces.

    Northwind
    Full Member

    DHR2 on the front is a pretty great combination of speed and grip but it’s not massively grippy- more in a highroller vein than what you had before, I liked it in the summer but it’ll be coming off soon. 3C DHF is a bit bitier especially in softer conditions. And yep shorty for wet, minion ss for speed

    Hob-Nob
    Free Member

    @HobNob the DHR II just doesn’t feel like it was gripping in corners. I guess I am coming from the previous bike which had the Magic Mary on the front the last time I rode it so maybe I’m not comparing like for like.

    Is the DHF notably better for grip on the front that the DHR II?

    The Magic Mary is a grip monster though to be fair – I would say noticeably more so than a Shorty, which is again, noticeably more than the Minions (assuming fairly soft ground, otherwise they tend to be a bit scary skating across the surface).

    The grip levels between the Minions is fairly comparable IMO.

    jdpuddy
    Free Member

    yes I’m running 3C front and dual on the rear. so from the above it seems like a 2.3 3C DHF might be the next tyre to get and run that with the DHR II on the rear.

    On tyre pressures I usually run the front at 20psi and rear about 28psi. I did find (after cocking up adjusting the pressures on the trail and not being able to fix then and there) that 26psi in the back gave so much grip it was unbelievable but pedalling that thing up hill was a pain 🙂

    jdpuddy
    Free Member

    ah missed a few posts whilst I was writing that and re-reading I wonder if I’d be better off with the HR II 2.4 on the front as something more grippy on the soft and wet stuff than the DHF. Interestingly Maxis website lists the DHR II as a Medium / Loose tyre but adds ‘wet’ as a category on both DHF and HR II.

    chiefgrooveguru
    Full Member

    I don’t think manufacturer recommendations always make the most sense, especially as many consider the DHR2 better in wet/mud than the DHF. HR2 2.4 definitely better in the loose than the DHR2 by a fair margin though.

    Curious to see how the Shorty 2.5 performs – it’s quite substantial looking!

    chakaping
    Free Member

    It’s about carcass as much as tread or compound for me, so at the moment I’ve kind of settled on a Hans Dampf or Rock Razor Trailstar Supergravity for the rear with a Mary Snakeskin Trailstar or Chunky Monkey Exo dual compound on the front – both depending on conditions obvs.

    If Maxxis did the DHR2 in Supergravity casing, I’d get one for the rear.

    The DoubleDown casing tyres seem quite rare and expensive so far, don’t they?

    honourablegeorge
    Full Member

    DoubleDown is starting to appear, have the aggressor on the rear now, but only a few hours on it so far.

    Bike-components had DD DHFs and Shortys last I looked

    jammymark
    Free Member

    My choice would be HR2/Minion SS for dry and Shorty/HR2 for wet if i was picking from Maxxis range but i’m a tight arse so i run a HR2/Specialized Slaughter (almost identical to Minion SS or Rock razor but £15 cheaper than both!) in the dry and Maxxis Beaver/Specialized storm control in the wet. This is on a 29er though so doubt would be the same but i wouldn’t rule out Specialized as another alternative to Schwalbe.

    gregwaring
    Free Member

    Interesting thread… Personally I have been running magic mary/hans dampf all year round for a couple of years in the peaks, and found them to knock everything else out of the park, but when it comes to wear they don’t seem to like loose rock at all (slate, gravel) – in the lakes and the alps they wear out in no time, but on the gritstone and limestone of the peaks i’ve had over a year out of either tyre. I got fed up of flatting maxxis tyres and ending up with holes in them by the bead when run tubeless, the schwalbes have been tougher for me in that regard.

    I’ve run the HR2 up front and the magic mary is hands down way grippier, and doesn’t seem to “ping” off rocks as easily as pretty much any other tyre i’ve tried.

    Am currently trialling an on-one chunky monkey on the rear to see if it copes with weekends away on loose rock better than the hans dampf. They are made by maxxis, but massively cheaper than their branded tyres. A mate of mine rates them for all-round use on the rear. I got one in 26″ for £13!

    bogdan27
    Free Member

    Sorry to intervine but I have some maxxis plans : DHF 2.5 WT front and Dhr2 in 2.3 on the rear. Any drawbacks to mount these tubeless on Flow Mk3?

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