Team Maxxis rider Colin Bailey Designed the Minion for his own use in the NORBA DH season. Directional ramped knobs come in both a front & rear specific tire.
The DHF front tire incorporates ramped knobs for low rolling resistance and channel cut knobs
Submitted by
aelazenby
a Weekend Warrior
from Sandy
Date Reviewed: May 23, 2011
Strengths: Great in the mud. Hardly ever pinch flatted, even at super low psi.
Weaknesses: Not very good in sandy dry conditions. Slow on packed dirt. Heavy
Bottom Line:
These tires are good tires. They are great in fast wet conditions. The sticky rubber is fantastic, though it wears fast. The rubber is sticky enough that when they are new they toss all sorts of dirt into your shoes. These tires perform just as they claim. However, I am an all mountain / trail rider. I push the climbs, hit the jumps and rail the berms. Given that these tires even say on the sidewalls DH specific, they were not for me. If you ride on dryer trails buy something else. If you ride anything besides DH buy something else. If you only own one bike and don't like switching tires for weather conditions buy something else. With that said, if you live for the downhill and your part of the world is mainly wet, these tires are great.
Similar Products Used: Panracer Fire XC Pro, Kenda Nevegal, Kenda Blue Groove
Bike Setup: Kona Dawg Delux, Fox RP2, Rockshox Revelation RLT Ti, Shimano LX/XT
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Submitted by
dan
a Weekend Warrior
from Grand Junction, Colorado, US
Date Reviewed: June 8, 2009
Strengths: tacky, sticky, high volume, tough enough for rock gardens and I am 200ibs - not one of you whimpy 16yr old sized twikers.
Weaknesses: wear out fast as is expected but still a valid drawback to tacky tires
Bottom Line:
These are fantastic as new tires. They corner well and hook up great on all the rock gardens in our area w/out pinch flats.
I use the super tacky and as anyone with a brain expects this wears out fast. Soft rubber + lots of sandstone = new tires often; I don't care who you are. Now they run like worn out tred and I'm back to e-bay trying to find a deal cause I won't pay MSRP every 3-6 months.
4 chilis on value cause You need 2-3 pair/yr at $60/pop.
5 chilis overall cause they rock when new.
Bike Setup: yeti 575 stock. These are the bomb for western CO
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Submitted by
amirh1
a Downhiller
from Sunnyvale, CA
Date Reviewed: March 16, 2009
Strengths: Super grip, corners very well, inspires confidence on the descents, tubeless runs well with very low pressure
Weaknesses: wears out ultra-quick!
Bottom Line:
Great tire, tubeless runs great at 26-28psi, weight is okay compared to tire type. Narrow relative to other 2.5 - but that's a good thing IMO.
Only prob is if you do a lot of DH with this tire, prepare to replace every season. Wear was noticeable after first ride (although it was a full day at Northstar)
Similar Products Used: Kenda Nevegal 2.5 DH, Specialized Enduro 2.3
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Submitted by
Trone
a Cross Country Rider
from South Australia
Date Reviewed: October 19, 2008
Strengths: Grippy and springy, soft rubber for absorbing heavy blows makes them great for rough tracks and the large tread makes them great for soft tracks
Weaknesses: Quite high roll resistance, can't keep up with friends on the road, wears me out pretty quick because of this, also tread wears out pretty quickly depending on how hard you ride
Bottom Line:
get these tyres if you live on the track, don't recommend getting them for road specific use
Submitted by
Robo
a Weekend Warrior
from Bratislava
Date Reviewed: June 20, 2008
Strengths: These are 3C tires with three different compounds.
They have good grip and they look good.
Weaknesses: Massive rolling resistance that I haven't ever experienced. Wears quickly
Bottom Line:
These triple compound tires have so massive rolling resistance that old ladies on old bicycles will be faster that you on the road as you are trying to get to hills. On downhill track they offer good grip, but no better than my old minion with 42a compound (which have much less rolling resistance).
These tires are for downhill riders who don't need to pedal all the way to get to DH track.
Strengths: Confidence inspiring, grippy. Durable. Great value!
Weaknesses: Only minor weakness is the weight but the strengths far outweigh the weakness on this beauty.
Bottom Line:
This is the best tire I have ridden. Very confidence inspiring. It corners amazingly well, it is as if the tire actively seeks out traction. This tire has never caused me to fall and I have never ridden faster. You simply must try this tire. It even climbs well. I run the 2.35 front tire (42 durometer) and the 2.35 60 durometer folding rear. This has got to be one of the best tire combos on the planet!
Bike Setup: Trek Session 77, transition parts, travis intrinsic fork
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Submitted by
Shaggyrider
a Weekend Warrior
from North Vancouver, BC, Canada
Date Reviewed: June 5, 2007
Strengths: Sticky. It grips where other tires can't. Great for shoulder/off-season riding in steep, wet, rooty terrain.
Weaknesses: None for what it's intended for.
Bottom Line:
I use these in the off-season when the weather's rough and the trails are slick. I haven't seen anything that'll hold on to wet roots & rocks & mud this well. Confidence inspiring to say the least. The soft compound wears, but that's why it works.
Submitted by
Joe
a Weekend Warrior
from Albuquerque
Date Reviewed: May 14, 2007
Strengths: Fairly grippy and confidence inspiring for downhill.
Weaknesses: Not much good elsewhere. Heavy and they suck in sand, suprizing for a 2.3. Didn't wear too well but I guess that would be a strength because I got to spoon on some excellent WTB Mutano Raptors!
Bottom Line:
Well, they came on my new 575 or else they wouldn't have been my first choice. I probably would have speced it with some Conti downhill tires instead. But they were there so I tried them out. Fortunately they wear pretty fast so I could try the Mutano Raptors.
Favorite Trail: Anywhere along the "Mighty" Rio Grand
Duration Product Used: 3 months
Purchased At: Came on my Yeti
Similar Products Used: WTB Mutano Raptor UST (a favorite of mine), Hutchinson Scorpions, Some Specialized and Michelins.
Bike Setup: Yeti 575 mostly stock except for UST wheels. Oh, and I had to narrow the bars an inch on each side 'cuz I just haven't caught on to the wide bar craze, I like to ride in the narrow, technical stuff.
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Submitted by
Andrew
a Downhiller
from Adelaide Australia
Date Reviewed: May 5, 2007
Strengths: I went downhilling just after it rained for 3 days and they gripped really well. No sliding in loose dirt, they handle pretty much anything you try.
Weaknesses: Wear out fairly fast, but they wouldnt grip if you made them solid. Expensive for the soft ones.
Bottom Line:
I have a high roller on the back for stopping power and minion for steering, im gonna test out the soft ones after i wear these out.
Weaknesses: sucks on cornering in snowy/icy conditions, ok, seems like a weird thing to pick on, but i have other tires that do a hell of alot more when i comes to cornering, and they're also without studs
Bottom Line:
Well, i got the bike in february,tested the bike in february, so, it'll be another 2-3 months be4 i can test 'em for real, however it seems weird that both my 4 year old 60% worn out kenda's and not very good at all bulldogs are far better for winterbiking.
Strengths: Awesome climber, corners well, good on downhill
Weaknesses: Wears out quickly, especially given the price
Bottom Line:
You have to get over the fact this tire wears out quickly and is slightly expensive and just enjoy it. I ride the "sticky" version, and it corners well, great traction on rock climbs and great on downhill runs. Not the cheapest tire out there, but if you ride southern California rock and sand trails I recommend you give it a try. I'll be buying another set when these wear out, which will be pretty soon. I'm only giving it 4 flaming chilis because I keep hoping someone will make a tire that sticks like glue, hooks up great and doesn't cost a fortune. Hey, a guys gotta have a dream....
Favorite Trail: Noble Canyon, Upper Anderson Truck Trail
Duration Product Used: 3 months
Price Paid:
$40.00
Purchased At: College Cyclery
Similar Products Used: Panaracer Fire Trail, Maxxis Adrenaline, Specialized, WTB, Geax
Bike Setup: Yeti 575 Enduro Pro, stock with a few additional cool toys
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Submitted by
Eunice Wallenstien
a Downhiller
from tedfordsville, North Carolina
Date Reviewed: December 5, 2006
Strengths: They look like junk and costed a buck?
Weaknesses: Nothing, would not recommend at all. These "DH" tires are nothing but trash. My old XC WTB veloeraptor's performed better in the mountains. While i was an a DH tour they wore out completely in two hours!! I mean completly bare, no tread at all. I have never seen any tired die so fast! Also when i got a third pair they shredded while going through some light gravel! (How does that happen) There were huge slashes throught the middle like some one had taken a knife to em but no one did!
Bottom Line:
Maxxis is the worst brand i have ever used, they dont even compair to Continenetal's!!!!
Favorite Trail: Underground dh pit in them tar heels
Duration Product Used: Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$1.00
Purchased At: ebay
Similar Products Used: WTB, +Nevegals+
Bike Setup: Norco, diabolus, saint, hayes
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Submitted by
ben hobbs
a Downhiller
from new zealand
Date Reviewed: November 25, 2006
Strengths: Very grippy. Good for cornering because of the large nobbly pieces. Still manages to grip well in the wet to. even on roots it doesnt slide off.
Weaknesses: No good on tarseal does not roll and will wear out very quickly.
