Maxxis Aspen 26 x 2.25 Tire. Maxxis has done it again with its latest XC race tire. The new Maxxis Aspen pushes the limits of a lightweight XC tire designed to have minimal rolling resistance. The Aspen is designed with a high-volume casing to smooth ou
Strengths: Lightweight, fast acceleration, fast rolling. Good cornering and traction for how fast and low profile they are. On hardpack, tacky, or loose over hard these are good fast race tires.
Weaknesses: not heavy duty enough for everyday trail riding. After a few months kevlar beads are visible on the sidewalls. Keep these as "race tires only" and you will be good. Sidewalls gash easily. Stopping power not the best - I skidded the rear on these more than other tires.
Bottom Line:
they are lightweight race tires and for that purpose they do a great job. on race day you can go fast with these. What you gain in speed is the durability found on heavier tires. I have sliced a sidewall and punctured the top of a tire after one season these tires are ready to retire. vs the heavy nevegal i can run those for a long time without replacing.
Submitted by
sheke
a Cross Country Rider
from Gainesville, FL, USA
Date Reviewed: February 22, 2012
Strengths: Great Traction on the trails, low rolling resistance on pavement
Weaknesses: None as of yet
Bottom Line:
After getting a few rides under the belt with these suckers, I'm extremely happy with them. I feel far more confident on the Aspend than I ever did on the S-Works tires.
Similar Products Used: WTB: Nanoraptors,Exiwolfs - Maxxis Ignitors
Bike Setup: Tallboy 29er
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Submitted by
basic_h
a Cross Country Rider
from Golden, CO, USA
Date Reviewed: October 17, 2011
Strengths: Light, fast roller.
Weaknesses: Very Weak side wall and overall durability. Terrible cornering. Possibly worst front tire I have ever had. Rear does not grip on steep rocky inclines.
Bottom Line:
Would NEVER EVER buy again (came with bike). Not olny do tey rip pretty easy but I cannot corner at any speed when they are on the front tire. If you want a fast roller that actually grips try the specialized fast tracks (and they come with a warranty)
Similar Products Used: Specialized Fast Track and captain. Maxis Crossmark and Ignitors
Bike Setup: Trek 2011 Top Fuel 9.9.
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Submitted by
presa
a Cross Country Rider
from dallas, texas
Date Reviewed: July 3, 2011
Strengths: (this is for the 2.1 Exception 120 tpi)
I'd like to echo what Zacharia has said below. Excellent rear tire in all conditions. Truly amazing wear too. After 6 months of riding 4x week,, there are still nice edges on the tread.
Weaknesses: Sidewalls are a bit thin, I've never punctured one, but when installing non UST tire tubeless, the sides leaked air a bit,, just had to leave wheel on its sides for a while and let sealant do its magic.....
I also found that the tire had a bit of lateral roll at lower pressures(thin sidewall),, I put about 30 psi and it is not an issue anymore.
Bottom Line:
My go to tire for rear, wouldn't try it up front for my local conditions, currently have a Rocket Ron up front.
I love it and highly recommend it!
Similar Products Used: Maxxis Ikon,Schwalbe Rocket Ron, Racing Ralph, Nobby Nic, Continental twister, Racing kings, WTB Racing Raptor and many many more.
Bike Setup: Intense Spider 29, 1x9 XTR cranks, Marta SL, Crossmax 29, etc.
24.5 lbs
Strengths: Rolling resistance is notably less than other tires. Grips well on damp to dry conditions. Felt like it was worth gearing up one gear just about everywhere. Tread wears like iron.
Weaknesses: Is sandy and dusty conditions this tire slides out a lot. Very weak sidewalls. 4th race of the season, and 4th race on the tire I blew out the sidewalls in a fairly mild rock garden. Stan's couldn't seal the gash and the tire wouldn't stay on the rim even with a tube installed. I had to withdraw from the race, on my home course.
Bottom Line:
Fast tire in the right conditions, but the low weight comes from a lack of material and durability, not any special construction method.
Similar Products Used: IRC Serac, Maxxis Ignitor and Crossmark Exception Series, Conti SuperSonic Mountain Kings.
Bike Setup: Giant XTC 1 29er.
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Submitted by
Zachariah
a Cross Country Rider
from Palm Desert, CA USA
Date Reviewed: April 19, 2011
Strengths: -Incredibly fast; going straight, turning, off-camber, though light mud, climbing
-Each tire weighed 480 grams
-Dropped 1/2 pound of rotating weight off my bike
-Mounts and seals well with Stan's NoTubes sealant
-Inspires ultimate confidence in dry, hard pack conditions
-Great compromise of price, weight and rolling resistance
Weaknesses: -Kicks dirt up in your face and backside
Bottom Line:
Maxxis Design Engineer Bryan Holwell hit the nail SQUARE on the head, with this tire. The Maxxis Aspen 2.1 tire is a product of pure science and diligent rider feedback, namely from Maxxis XC Pro Geoff Kabush. Many XC race tires lack in some crucial area...but the Aspen exceeds in every SINGLE department. The trademark "Chevron" center rolling blocks grip uphill like a Sandrail Paddle wheel, while the semi-aggressive side and transition knobs make for an excellent-cornering tire that digs into the terrain, while inspiring confidence to go even faster. It never wanders, squirms, or fail to claw away at that off-camber rut. Braking traction is fairly good - as long as you modulate your brakes evenly. Even gliding through sand is a non-event. Give a good spin on the cranks, and this tire just wants to keep rolling and rolling. Simply amazing.
I have tested ALL comparable XC race tires, and the Aspen smokes them all...with sub-500g weights, blistering speed, affordable price and even rock garden manageability(make sure pressure is between 28-32psi). I will start a 6-month update thread in MTBR, once I get to that point. In the meantime...I'm going for another ride!!!
Submitted by
wvwes
a Cross Country Rider
from Oak Hill, WV, USA
Date Reviewed: April 15, 2011
Strengths: light, fast
Weaknesses: mud, weak sidewalls
Bottom Line:
Rode these only a few times...3-4 races and 6-8 trail rides. Tread barely worn and sidewall blew out sitting in the house. Better in the house than on the trail I guess, but disappointing.
Similar Products Used: Kenda Nevegals, Panaracers, Racing Ralph
Bike Setup: Scott Scale 50 1x9, Race Face Deuce crank, XT, Spank Oozy rims/Hope hubs.
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Submitted by
jdc8g
a Cross Country Rider
from Charlottesville, VA
Date Reviewed: January 26, 2011
Strengths: FAST! Good cornering
Weaknesses: Probably not the best in loose soil.
Bottom Line:
There are different tires for different conditions. Riding a knobby tire works well in mud, but generates resistance on harder surfaces. Riding a tire with less aggressive tread rolls fast on hard surfaces, but the grip suffers in loose conditions. Know the intended use of your tires! These tires are very fast rolling on hardpack, they handle technical trail as well. Excellent cornering! I've ridden them in slightly soft dirt with success as well.
Great tire for blue ridge here in Virginia.
Similar Products Used: Maxxis Crossmark, Maxxis Larsen, Schwalbe Furious Fred
Bike Setup: Sette Phantom, stans olympic, XTR, Fox fork
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Submitted by
tiggersilhouette
a Cross Country Rider
from KL, Malaysia
Date Reviewed: November 1, 2010
Strengths: Speed, light weight and surprisingly good grip.
Weaknesses: None so far.
Bottom Line:
I won these at a ride in KL in the summer and thought I'd never use them. My regulars are Nevagalls as they work best on the rooty rocky terrain I usually ride here. However, I decided to try them out for the first time in a night race outside KL last weekend as I knew some of the 43k would be on tarmac and hardpack doubletrack. I didn't expect the conditions to be wet and muddy too though. I almost changed back to my Nevagalls but decided to give them a whirl. It was an inspired choice as I rode the 44k in 2hrs, a full 12min quicker than the previous year (on Nevagalls) when the trail was bone dry. They were fast as hell on the tarmac and the light gravelly trails, but surprisingly were OK in the mud and softer sections of the trail, even giving plenty of grip in the short slick climbs (everyone struggled with the mud, irrespective of tire choice). Rode them tubeless at 35psi (I weigh 77kg) with no problems. Will ride again, a super fast tire, does exactly what it says on the tin!
Similar Products Used: Kenda Nevagalls and Intense System 4.
Bike Setup: Maverick Durance, XC Race setup.
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Submitted by
IowaCoug
a Cross Country Rider
from Des Moines, Iowa
Date Reviewed: September 15, 2010
Strengths: light, fast, grip
Weaknesses: durability?
Bottom Line:
Purchased these in July. I'm running both front/back. They are as light and fast as advertised. No problem with grip to this point. This last week, I've had trouble keeping air in the tube. I found a small gash in the rear tire today. I'll be able to fix w/ a patch, but I've only had these since the end of July. Could have just been bad luck.
Submitted by
Yeti Fan
a Weekend Warrior
from Madison, Wisconsin, USA
Date Reviewed: May 28, 2010
Strengths: I splurged and purchased the Exception 120tpi version and wow what a difference the extra threads make. The feel of the tire is soft and supple. It feels like another 1/2 inch of travel on the bike and the tires are incredibly fast. I was worried about grip in the corners but the tires just rail and grab. Hit my favorite technical section at full speed with lots of ups and downs and twisty turns. The tire just performed like a champ.
Weaknesses: Anything muddy. Lost grip in a few mud bogs and the short knobs definitely felt like they were lacking whenever the trail turned muddy. You have to be careful about how you weight the bike especially in a muddy corner.
Bottom Line:
My new favorite tire and splurgin on the exception(120 tpi) casing was worth it. Incredibly light, fast and grippy. An amazing combination.
