Maxxis High Roller 3

I know you lot love a tyre thread.

A new offering from the big M is on it’s way. Looks decent, like a cross between a Hillbilly and Argotal. Not sure it’s the same use as the old HR 2, if it falls under that banner when released!

The pro riders were describing it as being like a cut Shorty IIRC? And the Shorty was like a cut spike anyway.

I found the HR2 a bit shit in mud, but this could be a lot better. The pros seem to love it anyway.

Dunno if Maxxis pricing will ever be realistic again though.

I believe it’s this:

It looks very similar to the Shorty but side by side you can see the knobs are closer together and the side knobs are thicker. Different siping too. I presume the centre knobs (and maybe side knobs) are lower?

Nice one Chief.

Separated at birth from the Schwalbe Tacky Chan?

Looks like a wider spaced Assguy.

Has that Maxxis tyre only been doing right hand turns, looks like two different height cornering knobs on each side.

“Has that Maxxis tyre only been doing right hand turns, looks like two different height cornering knobs on each side.”

Good point! That photo is a spy shot from pinkbike from last year – maybe they made a prototype mould with different knob heights on the opposing sides to make it easier for test riders to compare and find what works best?

HR3 gets a few mentions in the PB article on Hardline tyre choices as used before the track dried, looks no relation to a HR2 to my eyes and I wouldn’t much go for a HR2 in mud (or ever really).

Looks very like a WTB Verdict, which is an amazing front tyre…
Verdict

Has that Maxxis tyre only been doing right hand turns, looks like two different height cornering knobs on each side.

Is it’s for use on dirt ovals? Cycle speedway, perhaps?

edit:and bugger, I was happy with my tyres. Now there’s another to fret over!

More photos of it here https://www.pinkbike.com/news/randoms-round-1-bielsko-biaa-dh-world-cup.html

Separated at birth from the Schwalbe Tacky Chan?

IMO, no. It’s a well-spaced 2-2-2 with prominent knobs, and much squarer profile.

like a cross between a Hillbilly and Argotal

Looks very like a WTB Verdict

Agreed. For when it’s muddy but it’s not just mud. More knob % to put rubber down and less open space than a Shorty II.

Looks like a wider spaced Assguy

Nah it’s a different tread pattern. Although as some have said it’s nothing like it’s predecessor which was predominantly used as a faster rolling rear.

If you want an Assegai alternative there’s Vee Tire Attack HPL, which actually looks a good quality tyre. Never seen one out on the trails though, maybe you do in the states I don’t know!

What do we reckon, £95ea?

That’ll be wire bead single compound….

That photo shows how much lower the knobs are than on a Shorty. I’ve been running the last gen Hillbilly on the front all year round for over five years on my ebike and this arrangement of knobs is very versatile – it hasn’t got intermediate tyre levels of grip on hard ground but it works better than you might expect and rolls faster than you’d think.

The current Hillbilly moves the knobs a little closer together and makes the side knobs a lot thicker – it’s a softer/slower compound too and is a great front tyre in all weathers on the natural trails I ride.

This HR3 seems to go further still in that respect – I can imagine it working fine in almost all conditions. As usual with Maxxis, a lot of crossover with other tyres like the Assegai, DHR2, Shorty and even DHF – niches within niches!

At least they can probably just make two diameters and one width (29 & 27.5×2.4) judging by how so many have converged on those dimensions.

Who wants to bet they initially launch the stickiest compound only with the heaviest casings and the fastest with the lightest, instead of what we’d really like on front and rear?

Who wants to bet they initially launch the stickiest compound only with the heaviest casings and the fastest with the lightest, instead of what we’d really like on front and rear

TBH the fact the big brands dragged their feet (not just tyres) and got away with knocking out garbage year-on-year, which has only been settled/corrected in the last few years beggars belief.

Wait…….. we can take the wire bead out 🙁 —-thscvlabarg8*^$%”!$%&*&!!!!!!??????????

People will buy dual ply and thicker carcasses, not just for “Training” or DH. One of the brands used to call them training tyres, as opposed to the racing paper versions with a single 120 ply. One whiff of rock would induce at least four snakebites! Now they be Trail or Enduro at much higher prices 😀

Wait…….. people want soft compounds attached to lighter carcasses, madness madness I tell thee yyouoouuooooo vnjkljacva;jvanjscnv;ajsvnal;jvvjanvjfpaefp’rfvamauitateo;nununununununununununuqo’jopa’agoibna;l;?lzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nxt u wil bee tellin me THT thay wan harger cumpunds on da hVY crocuss

Looks very like a WTB Verdict

Good spot, it does look like a cut Verdict.

Wonder if it has more prominent edge blocks than the Shorty? That’s where the Verdict really earns its keep IMO.

chiefgrooveguru

Who wants to bet they initially launch the stickiest compound only with the heaviest casings and the fastest with the lightest, instead of what we’d really like on front and rear?

Maxxis are the one company who seem to have got that memo, to be fair – even if it did take a decade or so

Looking at you, Continental

Maxxis are the one company who seem to have got that memo

I’m still struggling to find many EXO+ tyres at all, personally.

And DDs seem thin on the ground too.

One good thing about WTB and Spesh is they make far fewer variants and focus on useable options.

@sharkattack

Nah it’s just a repeat of a rant dating back to about 2015 and my expression of years of exasperation.

I was running DH and 60tpi casings on a trail bike way back then and lamented the fact it was impossible to buy tyres in the most useful combinations. Not because the technology didn’t exist, because tyre manufactures didn’t want to make them and were quite happy churning out the same shit nobody asked for. Although much has improved we are still having the same conversations in 2024, they have been dragged kicking and screaming all the way!

What do we reckon, £95ea?

It’s funny, Maxxis tyres are about the cheapest option in Oz. The most I’ve ever paid is $100 for a DH spec.

Looks interesting to me, might give it a try if I can find a cheap one in the exact princess-and-pea combination I decide is important for no good reason 😉 Love a maxxgrip shorty but it does roll like a paving slab.

Brand recognition is weird though, that doesn’t really look like any sort of highroller or like it’ll fit the use case for the old one but then the HR2 really wasn’t great either, they should have just branded up the dhr2 as a hr instead tbf.

(Honestly I don’t think the HR2 ever succeeded on merit, it depended so much on the brand recognition, but apparently it still has some power)

Has anyone given these a try yet? If so how are you getting on and what’s your thoughts to a general all conditions winter tyre?

This might put an end to running DHR2s up front.

Although maxxgrip and dh/exo+ only, at least for now.

This is quite a useful review:

https://www.fanatikbike.com/blogs/engage/maxxis-high-roller-iii-review-high-roller-compared-to-hillbilly-and-assegai

I feel like it’s a 3-way race between the new not-radial Schwalbes, the Highroller 3 in more carcasses, and the supersoft-on-enduro-carcass, to see what becomes available and affordable first. They all look bloody awesome if they can live up to expectations.

Genuine question on tyres for ebike, why’d you bother with something like this tyre? Wouldn’t you just get bigger and gripppier tyres if you’ve got a motor assisting you?

Took the plunge and got one on order with my local bike shop so will give feedback in a few weeks ??

“Wouldn’t you just get bigger and gripppier tyres if you’ve got a motor assisting you?”

Slower rolling tyres are still slower rolling on an ebike – so use/require more assistance/effort to go as fast on the flat or uphill and unless your downhills are the kind that require constant braking they’re slower downhill in a straight line.

And then there’s how they feel – much wider than 2.4” and they just don’t seem to want to flick about or dig into soft surfaces as well, for me at least.

Cheers for the insight

@gavjackson1984

Any update?

Noticed on a couple of websites that they’re showing in stock for the exo+ so have ordered one.

Got them front and rear in double down casing, so far so good grip wise riding mud and rocks. When the rear wears out I’ll swap the front over and get an exo+ for the front.

one thing to note is they come up very narrow, on my rims at least, says 2.4 on the side but not much more than 2.2 on 25mm internal rims if that bothers you

@Onzadog. I ended up changing my mind last minute after a friends recommendation and went for Michelin DH22 front and rear. Which are very heavy, super grippy, good braking traction and they don’t fold over especially with the weight of a ebike, but perfect for winch and plummet style riding down steep trails.

After riding these tyres now and liking them so much, I can’t see myself trying the HR3, mainly because I don’t think they’ll have as much braking traction, which I’ve found to be pretty important riding full fat e-bikes on steep trails.

Good to know people are getting on with them. I went from a DHF to an Assegai and I’m not convinced it’s a better tyre. It seemed to pack up with mud easier and I think I miss the transition between centre and edging tread.

Wonder if the High Roller might be a better replacement for the DHF.

I think there’s a lot to be said for this latest generation of tyres with two knobs down the middle and a run of pretty consistent side knobs. It’s like they’ve found the trick with moving some of the centre knobs slightly outwards and some of the outer knobs slightly inwards, so you don’t get that “DHF moment” without losing much of that open channel edge grip and mud clearing, as happens when you add a transition knob like the Assegai.

DHF:

Hillbilly:

Assegai:

High Roller 3:

I’d like to see an Exo version too but this is progress 🙂 (the maxxgrip exo dhr2 is pretty much in a class of one imo)

nzadog
Free Member

Good to know people are getting on with them. I went from a DHF to an Assegai and I’m not convinced it’s a better tyre. It seemed to pack up with mud easier

I think this is mostly a “designed for professionals, ridden by normal people” thing, if you can keep the speed up then the assegai sheds really well but I just can’t do that, as soon as it gets proper manky I slow down and the tyre turns into a mudslick. I doubt it ever happened to Greg Minnaar in testing 🙂

We have them in now and Ive not ridden one, but they look OK. I say only OK as tyres are so generic now its getting to the point where you choose your preferred compound/casing supplier and just buy whatever tyre of the 2 or 3 patterns they do between them. Bring back the halcyon days of the Tioga Psycho and Onza Porcupine I say.