Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 103 total)
  • Horror story with Maxxis High Rollers in mud
  • jhw
    Free Member

    Fitted some Maxxis High Roller 2.2 foldings on my bike prior to an Alps trip after reading on this forum that they were good.

    In the dry they’ve been unreal!

    In clay mud though I’ve found that they are quite dangerous – I’m talking complete loss of control – because they clog up irreparably, even if only touch the slightest bit of sticky mud!

    Yesterday I rode a descent on Holmbury that begin with a steep muddy section. I noticed after riding that bit that the bike seemed to be sliding a bit, but carried on. Then the next steep bit came and the bike went completely out of control fishtailing, it was sheer luck that I was able to bring it to a stop without hitting a tree!

    The same thing was happening a few weeks ago in Morzine (it was slightly muddy and ended up walking a lot). At the time I thought it was because the mud there was something special. But now I can see it’s the tyres, as the same thing happened on my home trails and has never happened before – they’re unsafe in clay mud.

    I just thought I would post this to qualify the rave reviews of Maxxis High Rollers that I’ve seen here – they’re good, but definitely for summer only…!

    scott_mcavennie2
    Free Member

    Which bit on Holmbury put you out of control?

    geetee1972
    Free Member

    Mud on Holmburry? I don’t believe you!

    Besides I rode up there on Friday evening and it was bone dry.

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    mikey74
    Free Member

    I use them all year round on the same trails around Holmbury Hill and I think they are fantastic, in pretty much all conditions.

    That being said: No one has ever said that they are a mud tyre, and therefore won’t be as good in deep mud as a mud specific tyre; but to say they are dangerous is being very melodramatic. Perhaps you need to look at your technique a bit.

    Oh, and for your information: They don’t make 2.2 High Rollers.

    GW
    Free Member

    Im not a huge fan of Highrollers but it’s you, not the tyres. go faster and they’ll shed mud

    Drac
    Full Member

    I use them all year round they’re a great tyre, used them in Alps, Wales, Scotland, Lakes and Northumberland. In mud, dust and snow just great.

    Guess they’re not for you.

    Shandy
    Free Member

    the bike went completely out of control fishtailing

    😆

    I wouldn’t say they’re unsafe, but they definitely skate about a bit in clay.

    Papa_Lazarou
    Free Member

    no problems here

    simonfbarnes
    Free Member

    the bike went completely out of control fishtailing

    I enjoy it like that :o)

    scott_mcavennie2
    Free Member

    I was riding around Surrey Hills yesterday and it was hardly wet?!?

    jam-bo
    Full Member

    go faster and they’ll shed mud

    this.

    Jamie
    Free Member

    Bad workman etc etc 😉

    Simonofthepiemans
    Free Member

    Never used em’ but they sound like fun 😀

    ChunkyMTB
    Free Member

    Used them in wet muddy conditions in the Alps a few weeks back. No problems at all. And Holmbury Hill ain’t that wet at the moment anyway!

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    I run them right through from bone dry through to the point where the muds so deep and constant that I’d give up riding, then I swap for swampthings 🙂

    I even run a semi slick high roller on the rear and that never feels like its got insuficient grip right up untill the trails are properly muddy.

    Nothing works on wet clay, even spikes struggle.

    yunki
    Free Member

    the bike went completely out of control fishtailing

    that does sound horrific.. and VERY dangerous.. We should mount a campaign to get them banned immediately before someone gets seriously hurt..

    Splash-man
    Free Member

    yunki – Member

    the bike went completely out of control fishtailing

    that does sound horrific.. and VERY dangerous.. We should mount a campaign to get them banned immediately before someone gets seriously hurt..

    yep – ban them now, then virtually every member of Sussex MTB will have to buy new tyres.
    Well apart from me coz I have never run a Highroller.

    I feel a letter to Watchdog coming on 😉
    They’re a potential death trap…..

    BoardinBob
    Full Member

    HR were horrendous in the mud for me.

    jhw
    Free Member

    Location:
    One of the steeper trails on the hill…I think it may be cheeky but I’m not sure. Steep chute at top with great views West, round the contour of the hill to the left, steep again, road.

    The steep chute at the top was cut up just a little bit, with a tiny bit of mud, but the tyres managed to pick up what little mud there was like f**king magnets, so it got hairy later on.

    I don’t think this was rider error, though it’s true that I make mistakes on every ride! Without being “I’m a trail god”, I’ve ridden this particular trail probably 500 times, over fifteen years, in all seasons…including snow…I have never had the problems that I had yesterday. The variable was the tyres. On steep stuff it was simply impossible to keep the bike upright with the way those tyres clogged with mud.

    So for the record, if you’re looking for a good all season tyre that’s average in all conditions…just stick with plain unsexy Panaracer Fires…these tyres actually do pretty well in wet clay. Though they’re not as good as High Rollers in the dry. I was amazed at how far you could lean them in good conditions. It felt like the bars were about to touch the ground!

    buzz-lightyear
    Free Member

    Clay is tricky cos it’s so sticky. One trick is to drop the pressure a bit. The tyres flex more which helps them shed mud, and at generally low winter speeds you can get away with it. The HR’s big side knobs normally dig into most surfaces.

    PJ266
    Free Member

    You wanna try 3 year old, bald high rollers on greasy mud, takes tricky to a new level.

    jhw
    Free Member

    Heh, I choose life…

    Good tip on the low pressure. I think they were at about 20psi. I wonder if conversely high pressure would’ve helped – i.e., a more rigid surface might be more inclined to ping the mud away rather than soak it up?

    It’s academic now as I’ve changed the tyres, once bitten twice shy etc…can’t be doing with it!

    A bit of drift is great (cf the drifting thread) sliding down fifty feet of trail desperately trying to bring the train to a halt before hitting the tree is not so much…!

    bullandbladder
    Free Member

    Not sure a tyre exists that won’t skate around in clay.

    Must try harder 😀

    scott_mcavennie2
    Free Member

    You were running a 2.2 High roller (which doesn’t exist btw) at 20psi (20 psi!!!!), to ride a trail that you reckon you’ve ridden for 15 years, but are unable to give an accurate description or location of, and then you recommend Panaracer Fire xc’s as a decent alternative?

    You’re on a wind up aren’t you?

    _tom_
    Free Member

    No problems with a 2.35 dual ply HR here (on the rear) and mine is about 30-40 psi.

    t-p26
    Free Member

    What tyre for mud? That`ll be MAXXIS SWAMP THINGS then 😆

    Jamie
    Free Member

    No problems with a 2.35 dual ply HR here (on the rear) and mine is about 30-40 psi.

    Likewise.

    scott_mcavennie2
    Free Member

    I have a single ply HR on the rear. Until very recently I had a HR up front with an ignitor on the rear – swapped out for a Swampy up front when we had the heavy rain a couple of weeks back, but would have happily run that combination yesterday had I been bothered to change tyres back over again.

    As it happens I managed to break my nose in 2 places yesterday, but even I’m not blaming the tyres or the mud!

    Drac
    Full Member

    scott_mcavennie2 sums it up well.

    br
    Free Member

    Oh, and a near 40 mile loop on the North Downs today, what mud?

    alpin
    Free Member

    i’ve been running HR 2.35 on the front for the past two years in the Alps and have found them to be brilliant tyres. admittedly there isn’t that much clay in the Alps.

    now running a 2.4 Fat Albert on the front and don’t have as much confindence in them when cornering hard. they seem more ready to wash out than the HR.

    grantway
    Free Member

    Hello there NOT a Mud tyre?? pass

    GiantJaunt
    Free Member

    I recently replaced my worn out 2.1 Kenda Nevegal’s for some 2.35 single ply High Rollers (super tacky on the front)and have been very impressed with them. They have definitely made me faster and are far better in the corners. They don’t feel as grippy going up hill but are a better tyre I think. No probs in the mud as yet.

    seanoc
    Free Member

    The thing with HR’s are that they work best at some speed and once you’ve got them on the edges. There’s loads of grip on the centre nobbles and on the edges but if you look at the tread there’s a fair bit left and right of the centre ridge that hasn’t any nobbles. This helps them roll fast on the centre ridge but gives them a ‘no grip’ feel as you make the transition over to the edges. Best advise is to get them over; let them do their job.

    I’ve rarely used any other tyre in several years of DH racing. I’d plumb for some Advantages for regular UK riding though.

    Pawsy_Bear
    Free Member

    +1 for speed and edge. Never clogged. Lust 2.35 HR front all year, Advantage/Medusa rear both 20 – 25 psi. Never put a foot wrong. XC pros = tractor tyre 😆

    Morzine (it was slightly muddy and ended up walking a lot)

    nuff said.

    jhw
    Free Member

    The trail is cheeky. I don’t know if it was mud due to rain – it looked more like maybe someone had been digging or something, or a small landslide? Just a little muddy patch – but enough to make these tyres (2.35s by the way – apols, senior moment with the 2.2) lose any grip whatsoever.

    Pressure – previously I’ve run them at about 40-50 PSI but recently I’ve started running them much softer, more like 25-30. But the pressure doesn’t seem to change anything. I ran them rock hard in the Alps a few weeks ago and softer yesterday and had the exact same problem I’m describing on both days.

    I’ve ridden a few sets of tires (Michelin Comps, Panaracer Fires, Tioga DH) and only on the High Rollers have I found myself sliding down pretty gentle trails I normally hammer down, utterly out of control, as if on an ice rink, wondering how the **** this situation materialised!

    I too saw how dry the whole area was, so I’m even more surprised that these tyres couldn’t take what little mud there was.

    They were the folding ones – I wonder if that affected things? I can’t see how it would.

    nb I tried accelerating to knock the crap out of the tyres but you just couldn’t safely, you couldn’t control the bike’s direction at all.

    On a more positive note, I’ve actually been well impressed by Specialized’s Eskar tyres this summer (the ones their Enduros are kitted out with). This is doubly surprising because their hubs and shocks are crap!

    soulrider
    Free Member

    worra spacker

    meehaja
    Free Member

    high rollers do clog badly in the mud, as I learnt in the Alps a few years ago. You just have to go faster to unclog them.

    Bosh
    Free Member

    High Roller 2.35 60a compound. Excellent. Has been the only tyre on both of my bikes for 2 years now.

    Yes I’ve got into an uncontrollable fishtail on mud before. I think I needed to go to my LBS and buy a new pair of skill & bottle rather than new tyres!

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