Maxxis Maxxlite-310 Kevlar XC Race Tire: Incredibly lightweight hardpack XC racing tire for front or rear. Ramped low profile tread, 120 tpi casing. 61a durometer: grippy, yet fast rolling compound.
Submitted by
satanas
a Cross Country Rider
from Oz
Date Reviewed: August 25, 2010
Strengths: Very light and fast, surprisingly good traction. Had no problems with cornering grip, but only wet conditions were on bitumen.
Weaknesses: Terribly easy to pinch flat. Do NOT use these with Supersonic tubes or similar and a loose-ish fitting rim. With a tighter-fitting rim - or preferably tubeless - they'd be much, much better.
Bottom Line:
Great as a rear racing tyre in dry conditions, used tubeless. To be avoided like the plague if there are thorns; DO NOT take these tyres to northern Ladakh(!) as too many thorns, or to Himachal Pradesh, as too rocky. (I am not allowed to say th0rny as this is assumed to be profanity as the word contains h0rny - only in America!)
Definitely not an all around tyre, but great when conditions suit them.
This tire is exactly what it supposed to be, a race tire. It corners suprisingly well, not as good as my Karma's but that is expected. It is so fast uphill it is almost funny!
THe only bad thing is that when things go bad...they go bad FAST. THere is almost no time to save yourself, if you are racing this tire, you will crash more. That said it is still a massive advantage on almost any dry course. I will be buying these again.
Submitted by
jsassenberger
a Racer
from Marietta, GA 30064
Date Reviewed: March 15, 2010
Strengths: Super Lite
Weaknesses: Mounting with Stans Sealant was tricky, but can be done.
Bottom Line:
Tire is made for speed, not much tread here...
I raced tire on the Snake Gap Creek time trial and put up my best time ever. I run with Stans sealant, which is highly recommended in my opinion due to how thin this tire is. I am 140lbs. My buddy ran this tire also and flatted with Stans, but he is 190lbs.
This tire says Race Use only, and there is a reason for this.. tire tread will not be around long and you don't start with much.
Submitted by
Tanjung_boy
a Cross Country Rider
from Malaysia
Date Reviewed: June 28, 2009
Strengths: Lightning speed. Good grip on concrete trail and dry hard pack. Love these tires during dry season. My ride is much more enjoyable now since i don't have to sweat so much.
Weaknesses: Needs low pressure to handle wetter condition but that will increase puncture incidents. This tyre could also Doesn't work in Penang's wet, mossy and muddy trail. Blow up if the pressure is too high. That happened to me today. The massive explosion crack my crossmax xl rim as well. Damn. I truly enjoy this tyre until today.
Bottom Line:
Don't pump too much pressure and use it in the dry. You probably do not want to go back to other stuff, unless technically needed. Overall would have been outstanding if it didn't blow up.
Submitted by
stepenliem
a Cross Country Rider
from Antioch, California
Date Reviewed: April 1, 2009
Strengths: Fast, fast, fast!
Weaknesses: Sink and slide in sands
Bottom Line:
I have just finished my second XC trips (total 40 miles) using this tire (front and back). I used Maxxis Advantage before, and the difference with this is night and day. On a paved road I was able to increase the speed by 25% easy. On a uphill, and flat trails (mostly fire road, hard packed clay, gravels), the speed increase is very noticable. This tire is fast and I will never go back to anything else. I dont see any issue going downhill. But I did slide and sink in an area where heavy sand is present. I read in this review that there are issue with this tire due to its being very thin (yes, it is as thin as paper), so what I did is to install a tube that has Green Slime product in it. I will report back when I have done more trips on this tire. I am planning to use this tire all summer season before rain comes. Highly recommended for racing, but I love it for non racing too. I am interestd to know if there are other tires like this that are better or comparable to it.
Submitted by
Zachariah
a Cross Country Rider
from Palm Desert, California USA
Date Reviewed: November 19, 2008
Strengths: Extremely light, blindingly fast, decent grip, climbs with minimal pedal effort, whisper-quiet on pavement.
Weaknesses: Price. One of the most expensive minimalist bike tires around. Only the new Maxxis Maxxlite 285g costs more($200/pair). Avoid moisture at all costs.
Bottom Line:
This is THE TIRE that made Geoff Kabush an XC/Marathon champion. Rolls fast as a road slick, due to the thin tread footprint. The tightly-spaced center knobs are almost in continuous arrangement, allowing for blazing speed, on any terrain. The hard 70a durometer, 120tpi casing makes for a durable tire, as long as you carefully watch what you ride over. Seals up easily when running tubeless, and effectively removed ONE FULL POUND of rotating weight.
However, this tire is NOT for everyone. Rider finesse and trail handling skills are absolutely necessary, to make these tires really work. With rider skill and endurance, they grip and climb uphill, like a billy goat on crack. They corner good as long as you KNOW the adhesion limits of this featherweight tire, under loads. On dry hardpack conditions, with low pressure- this tire wins supreme....hands-down. On the road with higher pressure- this tire feels like a cyclocross/triathlon tire, and can effortlessly maintain 25mph on the straights.
I have ridden many sub-400 gram mtb tires, and the Maxxlite 310s are clearly my favorite, due to high speed capability, lightness, and nominal grip. I am not crazy about the cost of such a small tire(1.67" wide casing), but if you race, and want to shave valuable seconds off your finish times......this tire will certainly do it for you.
Bottom line, if you want to WIN RACES.....this tire is worth the high investment!
Strengths: Lightning fast, minimum rolling resistance. Decent braking and climbing traction for such small tire, Maxxis quality & actually weight than advertised! Superb dry weather racer on smooth. non-technical hardpack terrain.
Weaknesses: Very terrain specific. Sketchy tire at speed. Very rough ride due to low air volume. Scary cornering due to lack of side knobs to hold on corners. Forget technical riding with these unless you're ready for a wild ride - usually end up with both wheels facing the wrong side up, easily punctured.
Bottom Line:
As expected, these tires accelerate and hold speed exceptionally well. Crossmark is very good in this department but this is much better. For sheer straightline speed on smooth dirt, nothing I have tried to date comes close to these 310s. Climbing is less of a chore as long as rear tire retain tractoin. Bike lost a pound simply by using these tires.
BUT
You give up everything else in pursuit of low weight and sheer speed. Braking and climbing traction's adequate as long as you're not slopping in picking your lines and have good body english. Scary cornering on loose-over-hard stuff, absolutely lethal on wet grass or leaves. Riding over rocks or crossing roots feels like you feel like a pinball ricocheting off the bumpers. The tire to have if you like to slide a lot.
3 for value, as it is expensive for so little rubber in return - but this IS a race tire after all.
5 for performance, as it achieves its design intent exceptionally well - go fast at the expense of everything else.
Similar Products Used: Maxxis Crossmarks, Larsen TT, Specialised Roll X Pro, Hutchison Mosquito 1.75", Tioga Red Pheonix 1.9, IRC Geo Claw 1.9 (!)
Bike Setup: GT Zaskar, Fox F100RLT
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Brian Beattie
a Cross Country Rider
from Bismarck, ND
Date Reviewed: April 7, 2007
Strengths: light weight, low rolling resistance
Weaknesses: cornering
Bottom Line:
I ride thes tubeless with Stan's. These are lightening fast and grip great in the rear. Watch the cornering. They do wash out on the front. They have a best pressure which can be hard to find and are scary on wet grass for cornering. Definitely a specialty tire and as advertised not great corning but man are they fast! I plan on trying them in the back and a Kenda Small Block 8 in front.
Submitted by
Mad Maxx
a Cross Country Rider
from Philippines
Date Reviewed: April 6, 2007
Strengths: Weight...310 grams! cool design
Weaknesses: none so far
Bottom Line:
It is like riding a road bike during the first few ride. My average speed really increased compare to my old tires. Excellent on uphill travel, very soft to pedal.
Submitted by
Adrian
a Cross Country Rider
from Boston, MA
Date Reviewed: November 18, 2006
Strengths: Weight
Weaknesses: Small knobs, low tread profile
Bottom Line:
I have to say that these tires will increase your speed by reducing rolling resistance. As the manufacter suggests these tires are not made for all terrain riders. They are definitely made for one purpose - speed. Of course, this comes at a price... stability. If you are accustomed to using tires larger than 2.10 then this will require you to re-learn how you ride. I bought these tires because i will be XC racing. In wet conditions this tire does not hold well...but what tire does? It is important to also note that this tire has to have a higher pressure setting than normal XC tires. Setting these tires too low will cause tire pinch to occur more often. In rocky conditions this tire did fair...considering that these tires are meant for packed terrain. Bottom line if you plan to race and would like to increase your speed capabilities - i would recommend this tire. Disclaimer: you will have to re-adjust yourself to these tires due to thier smaller tread and thinner side walls - the tires can be hard to control at times - especially going down hill.
Bike Setup: Trek 6700 SLR frame, SRAM X0 Drive Train and shifters
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Howard
a Cross Country Rider
from Pittsburgh, PA
Date Reviewed: September 21, 2006
Strengths: Actually hooks up in intermediate cross country loose, dirt, roots, rocks and some mud. It might do more difficult stuff..I just haven't tried it yet
Weaknesses: Wanted to stan's it but didn't have the tape and all. Using lite conti tubes instead.
Bottom Line:
I did not think that these tires would do anything with a 212 lbs intermediate rider like me. I have tried light tires in the past and took them off because they were too sketchy. I AM SO SURPRISED THAT THESE LITE 310's ACTUALLY WORK. I am using these in medium cross country trails and these things grip, corner, descend, climb. They look like they should not work but they work. I have never been compelled to write a review until now. These tires have totally surpassed my expectations. And I dropped from 24.6 lbs to 23.5 lbs. Fast..Very Fast
Bike Setup: Specialized Epic carbon, cross max sl disc
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Scott
a
from West Hawk Lake, Manitoba, Canada
Date Reviewed: April 21, 2006
Strengths: Ultralight weight, Lots of traction for weight
Weaknesses: Somewhat small knobs, Very Thin
Bottom Line:
These tires took almost a pound off my bike! They have great traction on rocky and rooty terrain for their weight. I would guess that these tires would be unbeliveable on smooth singletrack.
I run these tires tubeless on Stans Olympic rims. You must use rim stips to be able to inflate these tires (tapeing & valve stem don't work).
I tore the front tire recently but was riding on extremely rocky terrain. On the average trail these tires wouldn't have torn.
Only buy these tires if you are an XC racer or want to make your bike lighter. They are not for the average trailrider. Low profile makes them harder to handle than standard tires.
