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Submitted by
Ev
a Cross Country Rider
from AlbertaDate Reviewed: July 26, 2007
Strengths: +light weight
+hooks up well on smooth, flat, straightaways
+rails surprise corners with easeWeaknesses: -nervous/twitchy on anything technical
-does not hold a line easilyBottom Line: These tires are obviously and XC racing tire. They hook up well on smooth straightaways. They work surprisingly good in the muddy sections that are encountered (but if you know a race or ride is going to be almost all muddy, switch to something else)
When you drop the hammer, these tires respond!
Unfortunately, at that speed the tire gets nervous/twitchy on bumpy/rooty trail.
It climbs decently, but on downhills I was scared for my life.
Basically, these tires are great for XC racers who run a different tire depending on the course. If the course is smooth, and fairly dry, then this is your tire. Overall, its a good XC tire..but it's not for you if you're bike has over 80mm of suspension or weighs more than 24 pounds.
Duration Product Used: Tested or demo'ed only
Similar Products Used: Hutchinson Python
Maxxis Crossmark
Bike Setup: Cannondale Rush 1000
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Submitted by
Roger Hart
a Cross Country Rider
from Gloucestershire UKDate Reviewed: August 2, 2006
Strengths: Light weightWeaknesses: Wearing outBottom Line: Got these cheap and suprised how well they grip given the very open tread. Don't have the problems most people have mentioned and have ridden them through hard rooty single track, gravel and loamy soils and even rock gardens without a flat (yet).
The rear does wear out pretty quickly though but its a fast and light weight racing tyre which is much more grippy than you might suspect - compare well to all the tyres above.
Favorite Trail: Afan Argoed
Duration Product Used: Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$20.00
Purchased At: Noahs Ark
Similar Products Used: Fire XC, Hutchinson Pythons, Specialised Team Control and Master, WTB Velociraptor, Michelin Wildgripper
Bike Setup: Sworks Epic, Easton, Mavic, Middleburn, Thomson, Hope, etc
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Value Rating:
Submitted by
Scott
a Racer
from Pickering, OntarioDate Reviewed: May 20, 2004
Strengths: Very Light, Good traction on soft surfacesWeaknesses: On hard packed single track tire drifts and squirms, SCARYBottom Line:
Early season races in wet/soft conditions this tire worked quite well. As trails dried and became smooth and fast this tire became hazardously twitchy, Felt like a loose wheel on ice. At 380 grams the weight is GREAT, but for a tire that is dependable AND light,I'll go back to the Michelin Comp S Lite at 460 grams skip dessert and break even.
Duration Product Used: 6 months
Purchased At: came stock on RM Vertex
Similar Products Used: Michelin Jet-S , Michelin Comp S lite, Kenda Karisma
Bike Setup: Rocky Mountain Vertex Team,Shimano XTR, Spinergy
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
Robert Brink
a Cross Country Rider
from Rockville MDDate Reviewed: May 2, 2004
Strengths: Light..weighs in at 380 grams!!Weaknesses: Not durable..alot of roll in the corners..unpredictable
ride!Bottom Line: Bought these tire looking for a good all purpose tire that
hooked up well in all terrain...They looked good
and came in at a weight that I could live with..The problem with the tires was felt immediately..the lugs on the tires are to soft..on hard corners they just give up..on the flats you seem to "squirm" along...After 2 rides on my favorite trail I had already torn the lugs off the back tire..Not the best tire for the buck..If you are looking for a good all purpose tire, look at the kenda...
Favorite Trail: Hardrock
Duration Product Used: Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$50.00
Purchased At: Performance bike
Similar Products Used: Kenda klimax lite..
Bike Setup: Access xcl..Full xtr..Manitou mars
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
Clydesdale Dave
a Racer
from AtlantaDate Reviewed: September 18, 2003
Strengths: Only running this in the front. Very Lightweight. Rolls great. Grips extremely well in most conditions.Weaknesses: Pinch flats easily...has a narrow "sweet spot" between grippy and bouncy. For me it seems to be 42-44 psi. in the front which is enough pinch flat if you hit an unexpected rock...good riding technique will prevent this.Bottom Line: NOTE: This review compares this tire to other ultralight XC race tires...sub 500g tires. In general, it's a great racing tire...especially for lighter riders. I'm currently running this in the front with a Maxxis Wormdrive in the rear. This setup replaced a pair of Kenda Klimax Lites becuase I wanted more grip. My rationale was that the Wormdrive would slip before the front...oddly, they both grip like 500+g knobby tires. The wormdrive only slips when it's wet and you are out of the saddle...it's a great setup. This is a nice combination. I don't think the front Minitour will ever slip. Other reviews which call this tire "squirrelly" are running their pressure too high...others claiming excessive pinch flats are running the pressure too low. I recommend pressuring them up to 52 lbs, ride through some technical, rooty sections then back off the pressure until it feels good. If you like low pressures...avoid this tire. The nice thing about the Klimax is that it is predictable at high pressure though it slips.
Favorite Trail: Tanasi
Duration Product Used: Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$24.00
Purchased At: maxxis.com
Similar Products Used: Kenda Klimax Lite, Maxxis Wormdrive
Bike Setup: Titus Racer-X, Chris King Hubs and Headset, Mavic 517, Thomson Seatpost and Stem, Maxm MX1.
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
Matt Stephens
a Cross Country Rider
from Llandrindod Wells, Wales, UKDate Reviewed: April 3, 2003
Strengths: The tyre is good if you only go in a straight line. Its quite good in a little bit of mud (in a straight line), low profile means that its easy to bike on the roads.Weaknesses: This tyre goes all over the place on the road, i've nearly crashed into lots of cars around fast corners, as is just doesn't want to turn. In the mud around corners is still rubbish. The worst place has to be in rocky dry conditions, i've already had a crash with them. They hate cornering, and just want you to go straight. They are truly evil tyres.Bottom Line: These tyres are the worst tyres i've ever had, they too thin, have no tread, they always puncure. I wouldn't buy them, i've already sent an e-mail to marin saying how poor they are. I wouldn't buy them unless i was a slow rider and only go in straight lines on flat ground. Very very poor.
Favorite Trail: Kona 100
Duration Product Used: 3 months
Similar Products Used: Michelin Wildgrippers, Continentals, WTB tyres.
Bike Setup: 2002 Marin Mount Vision, with Hope M4 disc brakes (185 disc in the front), DMR V12 Magnesium pedals
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
ry
a Cross Country Rider
from LA, CADate Reviewed: February 15, 2003
Strengths: Lite (380 gr), durable, long lasting knobsWeaknesses: Not so good while going downhill and cornering on SoCal fire roads with dry, loose, gravelly conditions.Bottom Line: Given the super light weight, the traction you get is still excellent. The rubber is hard and last long. This tire has increased my climbing ability big time. However, cornering in loose conditions will require more concentration and weight shifting to maintain traction...actually, this tire has forced me to learn better cornering technique. Bottom line: this is the lightest tire that I found that works well in most conditions. The weight benefit IMO far outweighs the the minor loss in traction.
Duration Product Used: 3 months
Price Paid:
$15.00
Purchased At: eBay
Bike Setup: Maxxis minataur front, Specialized Mt.Baldy rear.
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
Robert
a Cross Country Rider
from SoCalDate Reviewed: May 22, 2002
Strengths: Weight.. Weight.. WeightWeaknesses: Frequent Flats... "Squirelly" as hell...Bottom Line: Rode these tires as part of a new lightweight XC YETI that I built. Was never able to get used to them. Flatted more in the first week than I had the entire previous year on Velociraptors. Got tired of fixing flats. I started to think it was the bike. Then I switched to the Panracer FireXC and won't look back. Even with the additional pound of rotating weight.
These are defintely lightweight and for racing on flat, hardpack XC courses with no highspeed downhill, they will be great. (I will keep them for that pupose only)
Duration Product Used: 3 months
Similar Products Used: Velociraptors, FireXC, Specialized Ground Control
Bike Setup: Yeti AS-R, RS SID SL, XTR, FSR Carbon Cranks etc...
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
Darrell
a Racer
from Denver Co.Date Reviewed: May 11, 2002
Strengths: Uh, Uh, I learned how to be a better crasher, and how to handle a bike that was out of control. They are light though, if nothing else.Weaknesses: These tires add a whole new meaning to riding. I put them on and road them for 7 miles and took them back off when I got home. They wonder all over the place, suck in corners, and have bad rolling resistance. I now know why I found them at the bike swap.Bottom Line: If a light tire and great rolling resistence is what you are looking for. Look no further than the 1.9 Specialized Rockster S-Works, Not the Pro but the S-works. If you like riding out of control then the Maxxis 380 is the perfict tire for you!
Favorite Trail: many
Duration Product Used: Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$10.00
Purchased At: Velo Bike Swap.
Similar Products Used: Michelin Comps, Specialized Rockster S-works, now there is a good tire...
Bike Setup: Don't matter, they still suck.
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
MountRealRider
a
from MontrealDate Reviewed: April 29, 2002
Strengths: LightWeaknesses: Can get you killed! Expensive!Bottom Line: 380 grams Minautor: I used it as a front tire like recommended, and it freaked me out. Makes all kind of loud popping noises when riding it, weird things happens, inexplicable crases, slips without warning, probably never gonna ride it again! Do not buy it, better have 50-80grams more on the front than ride this!
Duration Product Used: Less than 1 month
Similar Products Used: all kind of race tires
Bike Setup: Cannondale F2000SL
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
paddy h
a Racer
from winnipegDate Reviewed: April 16, 2002
Strengths: weight...clear mud well, corner well..fellow racer is on his second second season with his with little signs of wearWeaknesses: not sure how long they'll for the priceBottom Line: if your a reasonbly light-weight cyclist(150lbs or less)who appreciates serious performace minded compontents, these tires will serve you well
Favorite Trail: ????
Duration Product Used: Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$50.00
Purchased At: Olympia
Similar Products Used: quite a few from other brands
Bike Setup: 01 Norco Fireball....i work in a shop...you can count on the fact that its been modified heavily(and is feathery-light)
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
Jeff Wu
a Racer
from Boulder, CODate Reviewed: March 6, 2002
Strengths: super light!
climbs faster than anything elseWeaknesses: sketchy on downhills
weak corning tractionBottom Line: Lightest tire I've ever ridden. Makes me climb faster. Great for non-technical courses with lots of climbing.
Duration Product Used: 2 Years
Purchased At: Taiwan
Similar Products Used: Panaracer Trailblaster
Bike Setup: Dirtworks Cannibal w/ Mozo XMO fork
Overall Rating: Value Rating:
Submitted by
John
a Cross Country Rider
from Sacramento, CADate Reviewed: March 23, 2000
Strengths: Super Light
Super Fast
Super SweetWeaknesses: NoneBottom Line: Really good and fast tires. DO NOT buy the 380 gram version unless you just got money to burn. Thess tires lead me to a 5th place finish at Sea Otter.
Favorite Trail: Dirt ones
Duration Product Used: Less than 1 month
Similar Products Used: Velociraptors
Bike Setup: Ventanna, Mach 5, XT
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Reviews 1 - 13 (13 Reviews Total)
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