- Very light.
- Fast rolling.
- Minimal rolling resistance.
- Surprisingly good grip in the dry.

- Not great grip in the wet.
- Expensive.
- Fragile.

I've used this tire for the first half of the 2012 season, and I have to say, it's damn good! I've set them up tubeless and they pick up and hold speed exceptionally well. Looking at the minimal tread on the tire you would be surprised by how well it grips. Every dry ride I have had has proven how well the tire hooks up on hardpack, and loose stuff over hardpack conditions. Changing from a heavier tire, you instantly notice the lack of weight and the ease of which it gains speed.

Unfortunately though, their are always negatives. The tire is less than excellent in the wet (as to be expected), the bright side is, when it does loose grip it's very predictable. It's also VERY expensive for a tire ($140 MSRP). I've had no problems with it so far, but the thin side walls, and small amount of tread cant lead to good durability so if you chuck your bike into rock gardens hard, this may not be the tire for you.

Overall i'm very happy with the tire. On dry rides you can sit back, relax, and enjoy the enormous speed advantage this tire gives you. Just be warned, when it gets wet it does feel very squirmy. I'm taking 2 chilli's from value for the enormous price, and low durability, and one from overall for the less than adequate grip in the wet (but let's be honest, I knew that before I bought the tire).

Any XC racer, rider who enjoys seeing their times drop on the trail will love this tire.

Similar Products Used:

- Schwalbe Rocket Ron
- Schwalbe Racing Ralph
- Maxxis Aspen
- Panaracer Cinder

Race Weenie XC dry conditions super fast and light tire. It spins up very fast, accelerates out of corners like the wind.

Not the best grip up front, but can be manhandled around the course with it on the front. Requires all your cornering skills and a perfect psi for your needs. Gotta snatch a chili for the price and dock one chili for overall simply based on other tires I've tested and ridden that I feel are of more value.

No doubt about it, this is a specialty race only tire for dry/hardpack conditions. Due to massive amounts of rain during the 2011 XC racing season here in the Midwest, I only got the chance to race the Maxxlites front and rear on my 29"er in three events. All the other events were far from dry and had lots of mud, so the Maxxlites were swapped for Beavers, IKONs, Ardents or Ralphs.

You will get very little suspension from these smaller volume tires (much the same as a Crow 2.0 or Karma 1.9), so I can only tolerate them on one of my full suspension bikes to mitigate the beating over roots and bumps. I imagine these would be big hits in Europe where running smaller volume XC tires is more the norm. I will pull them out for dry events, but most likely use one on the rear with a Karma 1.9 up front or something with a little bite for the cornering traction.

Similar Products Used:

Crow 2.0, Karma 1.9, XR 1.8