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Submitted by
Sideknob
a Cross Country Rider
from Victoria Australia
Date Reviewed: November 12, 2009 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$30.00 | | Purchased At: | eGay | | Strengths: | Light
Fast rolling
Reasonable traction on moderately loose surfaces
Accurately sized for a 2.1 | | Weaknesses: | Washes out for me on the front end - no sharp edge to dig in. Lets go REAL fast in loose over hardpack.
Skitters to the side on the back on loose corners - but this can be good at times! | | Similar Products Used: | Dozens of XC and trail tyres - too numerous to mention | | Bike Setup: | Tomac Taos HT
'08 Cannondale Rush 4 | | Bottom Line: | This review is for the 2.1 Exception, run with tubes.
I got this tyre off eBay paired up with a 2.1 Rendez front. The Monorail is a rounder profiled tyre than most photos on the web suggest - it lacks the square edging knobs of the other 2.1 Maxxis XC tyres like the High Roller, the Rendez and the Crossmark. As such, when you hit loose stuff there's nothing holding an edge and it can just wash out all of a sudden. I do not like this tyre as a front tyre for my conditions - for strict hardpack it would likely be OK. On the rear the tyre rolls extremely fast, but given the light casing it is not much good in rough and rocky conditions, where it pinch flats easily. On sharp, loose corners the Monorail tends to drift out to the side a little - this is not all that bad as it helps the back of the bike come around for the corner. Climbing - if it's loose, unless you run low pressure and weight the back this tyre will break loose on steep climbs, but that's to be expected given the low, close and ramped tread. Mud - mud sticks like mad and does clear fast.
I feel this is far better as a rear tyre than a front, paired up with something that has more side bite. Good race tyre, good for smoother trails or for a bike that sees a bit of tar on the way to the trail. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
swervin'
a Cross Country Rider
from Cranbrook, BC
Date Reviewed: October 28, 2009 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$50.00 | | Strengths: | Rolls fast, holds an edge very well. Awesome for railing the flat corners! | | Weaknesses: | Not good for the mud, but not designed for this. If you want a mud tire, get a tire with some big lugs that rolls slow. | | Similar Products Used: | Maxxis crossmark, Panaracer Fire XC Pro, Kenda small block eight, Specialized the captain. | | Bike Setup: | Specialized Stumpie FSR Expert | | Bottom Line: | This is a fast tire you can trust in the turns. Holds well on climbs. Good in hard pack and loose and pretty much everything but mud. Wears well - I don't know what some of the other reviewers are talking about: 'save it for race day??' I have had mine on for about 1000kms and in that time run races, 24hrs, downhill riding at Whistler. The tire has survived well I would say. It's getting tired now though and I'm getting another one. (I run it on the rear). | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
phayde
a Racer
from Kansas City
Date Reviewed: October 14, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | Swope | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Bikesource | | Strengths: | Almost as fast as the CrossMark but with predictable traction and cornering. Good in loose and hard-pack, handles rock & root climbing well. LUST sidewalls. Great race tire you can trust. | | Weaknesses: | A little on the heavy side (UST/LUST) but it will last the course of the race.
Maxxis is very proud of all their tires... $$$$ | | Similar Products Used: | Captain's, Racing Ralph, Crossmark, Mountain Kings, Fast Track | | Bike Setup: | Spec EPIC | | Bottom Line: | I have shredded many a captain, washed out too often on the Crossmark, and ripped the casing all to often on the racing ralphs. This tire seems to be the best in the middle, not the fastest (ralph/crossmark), not the greatest traction (mountain kings/captains) but this is right in the sweetspot in the middle. You can push it hard in the corners, and fly in the hard-pack, braking and climbing are also solid.
Net Net is this is a great racing tire when you want speed, control, and durability. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Pedela
a Cross Country Rider
from Christchurch, New Zealand
Date Reviewed: August 13, 2009 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$40.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Review is for a set of 2.1 Exception Series on front and rear
Quite light, held air well tubeless with Stans, roll ok | | Weaknesses: | They only roll ok, not real fast, don't transition well from the centre row to the outer knobs, unique (annoying for me) hum and vibration from centre knobs on hardpack | | Similar Products Used: | Believe me, I started mtb racing in 1990 and I've probably spent thousands in search of a better tire for race & trail - on my death bed I'll have to confess that I never found the perfect tire | | Bike Setup: | Had these on a singlespeed hardtail, looking for a fast smooth tire for flat hardpack & loose over hard singletrack | | Bottom Line: | These didn't work for me. The buzz probably comes from the unusual line of centre knobs & it's annoying on a quiet singlespeed ride. There is a gap each side of the centre knobs (compared with many tires that have a rounded profile & even spread of knobs)which made the front vague just at the start of leaning into a corner - I actually lost the front end a number of times when I was starting to turn in to loose over hard corners (never on several other tires/bikes I use on the same circuit) - unnerving. I also found these tires didn't cushion very well (I run tubeless about 28-30lb) but this could be due to me going down in size - I now run larger (about 2.3) lightweight tires on everything from the singlespeed hardtails to the longer travel trail bike (including the XC race bike). On this bike I've ditched the Monorails and gone back to 2.3 single ply Larsen TTs (generally Maxxis make excellent tires) which are more comfortable, quieter, more predictable in corners and roll just as fast. I'll give these tires a 3 rating rather than 2 because to be fair I haven't tried them in a wide range of conditions. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
pierocapredoni
a Cross Country Rider
from Mendoza, Argentina
Date Reviewed: July 19, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | technical trails | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$60.00 | | Strengths: | Veery fast at all terrains, very good grip, supreme cornering | | Weaknesses: | Wears out too fast | | Bike Setup: | Giant Anthem, Cross trail wheels | | Bottom Line: | This tire is highly recommended on XC competition. Goes VERY FAST in hardpack, excelent grip on technical stuff. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Sam B
a Weekend Warrior
from Monroe, WI
Date Reviewed: June 22, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | Mary's loop | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$30.00 | | Purchased At: | Spokes n spines | | Strengths: | Light, grippy, versatile | | Weaknesses: | None found yet. | | Similar Products Used: | Specialized tires, IRC mibro, | | Bike Setup: | Salsa El santo full suspension, Sram drivetrain, stans tubeless tire setup, suspension by Rock shox, braking by Shimano XT disc. | | Bottom Line: | A light weight, versatile tire. I have ridden on hard pack rocky trails and slow speed mud bogged trails and these tires have handled it all. They role fast and can handle different terrain. Sure mud clogs them up but these tires shed it fast once up to speed. For a fast rolling, grippy tire these are probably the best I've ridden. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
The Bung
a Cross Country Rider
from Cape Town, South Africa
Date Reviewed: June 12, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | Grabouw | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$50.00 | | Purchased At: | CMC | | Strengths: | Fast, decent grip. | | Weaknesses: | Struggled in the mud at Sani2C. Broke four tyre levers trying to get these things off or on. Did they get the sizing wrong? Have never struggled so much with a tyre before. Front tyre has started delaminating! Apparently incompatible with Stans, but only found out after the fact. Very irritating. Wear very quickly - less than 500km. | | Similar Products Used: | Maxxis Crossmark | | Bike Setup: | Merida Mission 3000 D standard | | Bottom Line: | Decent performance, but impractical and what's with the delamination? Never again! | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jules Evans
a Cross Country Rider
from hobart, tas
Date Reviewed: October 3, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Fast rolling, good grip on anything but mud. | | Weaknesses: | Not good in mud or over wet roots.
wears fairly quickly. | | Similar Products Used: | Maxxis, Continental, IRC | | Bike Setup: | Hardtail | | Bottom Line: | This is a great race tyre. Tubeless is so much more comfortable on a hardtail. They are light, almost as fast as a crossmark but with much better grip. It does wear fairly quickly though so best to keep it for race day. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
pangster
a Racer
from San Antonio
Date Reviewed: August 28, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Cameron Park, Waco, TX | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$30.00 | | Purchased At: | Amazon | | Strengths: | Rolls real nice, corners well, and is light | | Weaknesses: | None | | Similar Products Used: | Crossmarks | | Bike Setup: | 2007 Titus Racer X, Shimano XT Hydraulic Brakes with LX levers, Fox RLT 80mm Front Fork, Fox Float RP3 Rear Shock, SRAM X.0 RD, Shimano XT FD, XRAM X.0 twist shifters, American Classic Wheelset, Chris King headset, Race face stem, FSA K-Force Carbon Flat Handlebar, FSA SLK seatpost and Selle Italia SLK Gel Flow saddle | | Bottom Line: | This is a race quality tires that rolls well and corners well. I currently use the monorails on the front and a crossmarks mounted in reverse in the rear. Best tire setup for me to race in so far. Several members of my team use both the monorails front and back. they love it. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
mackeroo
a Racer
from Bristol
Date Reviewed: August 4, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Penmachno | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$50.00 | | Purchased At: | Just Riding Along | | Strengths: | Rolls quick. Assured in the corners. Brakes well. UST!!!! | | Weaknesses: | None at the moment. | | Similar Products Used: | Maxxis High Roller 2.1. Hutchinson Python. Maxxis Cross Mark. | | Bike Setup: | Intense 5.5. Pikes. Shimano. Hope. | | Bottom Line: | I've only just got this tyre and ridden with it a few times - but I'm impressed! Have been running High Rollers for some time, but have been looking for something new in UST. This might be it! Only tested on manmade trail centres so far - but in the wet. It seems to roll slightly quicker than a High Roller 2.1. The side nobs are quite chunky and agressive and were never found wanting when the bike was lent over. Braking control was excellent. The tyre seemed to break away when I knew it was going to: predictable. I think in loose, or muddy conditions, this tyre might struggle because of the comact, shallow tread pattern, but for trail centres and dry/ moist stuff I'd say its spot on. So, in summary a fast rolling, good cornering, predictable tyre ideal for trail centres - IN TUBELESS!!!! Recommended. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
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