Maxxis Ardent 26 inch Tire. An aggressive tread in high-volume casings distinguishes the newest addition to Maxxis' downhill and mountain disciplines. Designed with great traction in mind, the Ardent doesn't forget the racer. Large block-style side knobs
Strengths: High volume, fast rolling, tough, awesome grip in most conditions
Weaknesses: A little heavy
Bottom Line:
I've used the 29 x 2.25 and the 29 x 2.4 version of the Ardent. It took my a while to find the sweet spot pressure-wise but once I did these tire are great. The volume lets you run them really low without minimal risk of flatting or dinging a rim. The roll fast enough to race, but offer enough traction for all conditions, and are tough enough to not ride everyday without worrying about tearing a sidewall.
Duration Product Used: Rocky rooty New England Singletrack
Similar Products Used: Kenda Nevegal, Geax Saguaro,
Bike Setup: Rigid 29er
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Submitted by
Mark
a All Mountain Rider
from Wales U.K
Date Reviewed: April 8, 2012
Strengths: Good low rolling resistance, good grip, light weight for size 2.25, predictable, good longevity.
Weaknesses: None
Bottom Line:
Its a good compromise between size, weight, grip and longevity.
Its faster than Minnions, High Rollers and Advantages. It has the usual maxxis "no-mans-land" when leant over between little grip and full grip but it is much more predictable than the advantage which lets go unpredictably.
Grip is better than Advantage bot not quite up to HR or minnion.
Have ridden in wet and slimy conditions with good effect. Can recommend.
Submitted by
Kayton
a All Mountain Rider
from San Diego CA US
Date Reviewed: March 23, 2012
Strengths: Rolling, cornering, traction .
Weaknesses: Cost
Bottom Line:
I bought these tires after reading the reviews here. I love them! I have to ride to the trails and after a week of everyday riding they show little to no signs of wear. Through the rocky technical stuff they are great, awesome for climbing and cornering. Defiantly a fantastic tire for rocky, sandy conditions.
Submitted by
gfisher77
a Cross Country Rider
from Fleetwood Pa USA
Date Reviewed: March 12, 2012
Strengths: rolls fast, good grip, predictable.
Weaknesses: none.
Bottom Line:
maxxis Ardent 29 x 2.25 love this tire on the front with a maxxis crossmark 29 x 2.1 rear, good combo for me, been running the ardent with a tube so far at 28 psi no problem.
Similar Products Used: Maxxis iginitor, kenda nevgal, maxxis crossmark
Bike Setup: 2011 giant anthem x29
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Submitted by
ChiliPepper
a Weekend Warrior
from Sunny FL
Date Reviewed: March 9, 2012
Strengths: Awesome traction, sheds mud well, rolls fast, incredible lower rolling resistance compared to the Nevegals, corners very well, and are lighter than most 2-ply DH tires I have run on.
Weaknesses: None yet....
Bottom Line:
I fly with the 2.4 60c 2-ply DH casing tires in the rear and they are just awesome tires. I will be flying with a Ardent up front when my Nevegal wears out. I have been running Nevegals for so long and these Ardent are so much better than the Nevegals all around. These are very solid tires I am stoked to be introduced to and to fly on. I highly recommend them to all riders for their strength, awesome traction in all trail conditions & terrains, lighter weight, and fast rolling.
I stocked up on these tires when Jenson had them for $12.99 each last month. One hell of a deal for $50 tires
Submitted by
KeviChe
a Cross Country Rider
from D.C. area
Date Reviewed: February 29, 2012
Strengths: Great Grip
Predictable drifting
Fast rolling
Weaknesses: Not as wide as advertised
Bottom Line:
Better than I expected even with all the positive reviews prior to purchase. Shed Mud well, resistent to bottoming out, tons of grip, and they roll fast! This is my first experience with a 29er bike, so maybe that has some bias in my opinion. Other than the fact that they are the same width (2.4) as my buddies CST 29er tires (2.2), I really dont have anything negative to say about these terrific tires
Bike Setup: Jones Steel Spaceframe
29er F and R Velocity P35 rims
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Submitted by
jackspade
a Weekend Warrior
from West Java
Date Reviewed: November 20, 2011
Strengths: This is for 2.40
Big diameter, fast rolling tire on road/dry, good climbing traction on rear.
Weaknesses: I am not sure this tire made for off-road.
Bottom Line:
This tire is perfect for on road, Fast rolling, big diameter and narrow thread runs like 700c except this looks better, bigger, fatter so you'll get bigger gear per inch on 26" bikes.
Because of bigger diameter this tire good for climb against obstacle, bigger diameter also give bigger momentum so the more you pedal the more momentum push you forward.
I only use this tire for onroad and uphill race, when it comes to offroad this tire doesn't give good confidence at all - it scares me to wash out since the sidewall is tall makes easy to slips on rockgarden.
5 chilis because this is a great onroad/asphalt tire.
Submitted by
bucnasti_AT
a Weekend Warrior
from scottsdale
Date Reviewed: November 5, 2011
Strengths: Superior traction on AZ terrain, sandy mud, gravel, rocks etc. Easy tubeless setup
Weaknesses: Bit heavy for the 29 2.4. But im a 205lb hoss so it not abig deal
Bottom Line:
I just swapped in these ardents to replace my stock 29 2.2s Bontargers 0n the front and rears. These tires are monsters. I got the 29 2.4s and the have a serious presence looking at them on my bike. Ive been riding for 6 years so ive seen alot of tires come and go. Even still I was blown away at how well these tires performed in som3 or of AZs worst weather. We just had a serious rain storm that turned all of the tails i hit today to sandy mud holes, loose terrain,Water ditches and hard packed run-offs. These tires didnt seem to care. Running 35psi tubless, these tires held on to everything like glue. In sand patches it was very hard to lose traction anywhere. Runn8ng thre the soft mud and ditches was a piece of cake. I didnt once feel as if i was going to lose it at any point along the pb trail at McDowell mnt. Park here in AZ, for the entiire 15+ miles. Best $100 i spent so far on my rig, and i will gladly do it again when they wearout.
Im 6'0 200lbs so the extra wieght from these wheels go unnoticed when i ride. They roll so easy over rough terrain its sells itself. If your a simular size the extra wight from these tire will never be an issue.
I would recommend thse tires for any mountain terrain wheres there's mud, sand, gravel and rocks to the extreme. I dont do any street riding so i cant comment on that, but these tires will def give you a new-found confidence it your terrain negotiation skills.
Submitted by
nc35442a
a Weekend Warrior
from Portugal
Date Reviewed: October 27, 2011
Strengths: 2,40 version ST is a great tire, it rolls very well, anf it grips perfectly, I love't. I used HR and Minion those are great tyre also, but for enduro Ardent is th most poli used
Weaknesses: Side wall´s
Bottom Line:
Great tyres maxxis ardent is, they can do anything
Bike Setup: Spec Enduro 2008 with E150 fork with some upgrades
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Submitted by
crisco
a Cross Country Rider
from Santa Fe, NM
Date Reviewed: October 23, 2011
Strengths: 26 x 2.25 Exo used in rear: excellent traction while climbing, great cornering. Very consistent grip. No burping, sidewall seems tough.
Weaknesses: Non-UST is difficult to get started when run tubeless compared to other Maxxis tires (no lost ratings, just mentioning it!).
Bottom Line:
Really great tire. Bought it to replace my minion 2.5 in the rear because it rubbed too much. Traction is, incredibly, about the same. Sticks like hell for climbing and corners beautifully. Pretty light and has a good volume. My trails are very scrabbly and it works well in this environment. Was a little difficult to set up tubeless compared to my minions (much stiffer sidewalls) but seems to be holding up just fine now that it's seated. Highly recommend! Have yet to be let down by a Maxxis tire.
Bike Setup: Blur 1.0, Ardent 2.25 rear, Minion DHF 2.5 front
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Submitted by
Eric Waldron
a Cross Country Rider
from Nederland,co,usa
Date Reviewed: September 11, 2011
Strengths: Rolls fast, corners well,Strong breaking, large and light.
Weaknesses: Thin sidewalls
Bottom Line:
I really dig this tire. most of my local trails are full of loose rocks and gravel. I am running it up front in the 2.4 non exo version. It rolls fast, rails corners, brakes hard. I like it better than the maxxis advantage as a front tire. I suspect it will roll faster in the rear as well. I'm planning to run this out back when my current rear tire dies.I don't expect it to survive long in the rear. I tore open 3 adavantage 2.4's befor I quit buying them.I would love to compare this with the 2.5 minion single ply up front. I think the extra sidewall protection on an exo model would make this even more killer! Rocky mountain speced it stock on the 2011 slayer. nuf said?
Similar Products Used: Conti, kenda, maxxis, panaracer...
Bike Setup: Nomad, 36 talas ,race face, jopplin post, Stans ZTR Flow wheels and hubs , hayes brakes, xt.
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Submitted by
igor
a Cross Country Rider
from Vancouver
Date Reviewed: August 17, 2011
Strengths: Rolls very well. Turns on a dime
Weaknesses: Unstable and slides. Bad on loose gravel on downhill. Drifts unpredictably
Bottom Line:
The review is for Ardent 2.4 EXO front wheel tire. Did not try to use it tubeless yet but with 40 psi or so I need to steer in a much more active way to stay on top of it. I will swap it for the Maxxis Advantage which is very predictable.
Submitted by
Steve Mowle
a Cross Country Rider
from Sydney, Australia
Date Reviewed: November 25, 2010
Strengths: Decent cornering grip in dry conditions with help of good raised tread on sides.
Weaknesses: Absolutely discracefull sidewall strength and life. After 2 months the weak, thin sidewalls had started to shread and I had a 1cm tear appear and become a marble sized tube hole, without any rock contact - just wear.
In wet conditions the tread pattern simply did not shed the mud, it stuck into the grooves, forming an almost slick tyre which was hopeless at cornering or braking.
Bottom Line:
Did I get a badly manufactured tyre from a bad bunch?
Maybe so, but I will never buy another. I am now running a set of Kenda Nevagal 2.1" tubeless Front & Rear and they are so much better. They may be slighty heavier, but the extra thickness & strength in the sidewalls gives me the confidence to ride hard and they last.
Similar Products Used: Kenda Nevagal - SOOOOOOOO MUCH BETTER
Bike Setup: Giant Reign 6", All mountain bike.
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Submitted by
watertight
a Cross Country Rider
from Gunnison
Date Reviewed: October 19, 2010
Bottom Line:
Went to this tire from a crossmark and am very disappointed. I ride in western CO and UT and this tire is the worst performing unit I've ridden on. I believe the crossmark is the best tire I've ever ridden but wanted a thicker sidewall so went with the ardent but it feels like I am riding on road slicks compared to the crossmark. If you ride decomposed granite/sand/rock i.e. typical western trails this is not the tire for you.
Submitted by
Ericmopar
a Cross Country Rider
from Henderson NV
Date Reviewed: June 28, 2010
Strengths: Tracks strait in sandy washes.
Fast.
Light weight.
Easy mounting. (folding version)
Works best on front.
Weaknesses: Less braking traction than similar Advantage or Minion DHF.
Squirly intermediate traction. (common issue with Maxxis tires)
Terribly weak side walls. They have an overly thin layer of rubber on the sidewalls. They grind through in a month or less of riding in rocky terrain, when mounted on the rear.
Bottom Line:
This review is for the 2.25 60a folding version.
It's a good tire, but not great here in the desert.
Mostly it's the lack of sidewall rubber that is the problem here.
The sidewall rubber is so thin, that you can see the texture of the casing, even before it starts to wear down in a few weeks.
I've never had a problem with the older heavy duty 2.35 tires like the Hansventure or Minion DHF. It's these new ultra lite tires that have the sidewall issues.
If Maxxis would double the sidewall rubber, and add some more intermediate knobs, this tire would be great.
I only recommend these to people that need a high volume XC tire and don't drag tires around rocky basalt terrain.
