Long lasting
No flats
Rolls very well on road too
Great rear tire

Not the best front tire

Very pleased with the perfomance of Crossmark as a rear tire. It perfoms well in front too, but personally I think that I need something better in terms of handling. It is not a mud tire you should know that: Be very careful on muddy terrains (better avoid them).

Cheap, fast on flats

Cant break, cant handle any wetness, cant climp

These tires are good if you the kind of person who rides a lot of road because they last forever! They are good tires for a flat dry ride. Personally i hate these tires because as soon as a want to do tech stuff down or uphill they slip and slide everywhere! I went down to 25 psi with no improvement and it
Doesn't matter if it is bone dry if there is a angle these tyres a crap! They are not confidence inspiring at all and i have swapped to a ikon on the rear and a ardent race on the front and i love both of these!

Fast rolling,predictable in the limit even if you have to take off your shoe form pedal (sometimes),the dual compound lasts a bit more,bigger diameter/profile from my previous GEAX tyres that was 2.1 too and so faster over obstacles

I dont know the reason that both tires developed some kind of cracks over the profile. Some brands had problems with some specific sealants. Worth to mention that I use cafelatex, but I have never had any problem with air leak or something else, just the cracks.

Really,not the best tire for muddy inviroments.It looses its character, but it will handle afford-ably in wet rocky rooty terrain for an XC tyre.

I ride mostly in rocky-rooty-dusty techy terrain with a rare gravel parts. Realy its not the best place to ride for a 26er hardtail but I enjoy it. The fact that I ride to approach the mountain 7 km, make me to think that a faster tire could be better from a knobby one. This UST dual compound version it was really what I need. It impress me in dust conditions! Its the best tire I have ever tried for this conditions. Fast on tarmac and on hardpack, less friction...Much better rolling from Larssen TT, though it not grap so well if you climbing in loose over hard. I have to say, never had a problem with that. The bigger profile in addition with other 2.1 tyres, helps to maintain speed and absorb bumps a bit better.

Similar Products Used:

Geax Saguaro,Geax Gato,Maxxis Larssen TT,Onza,Michelin all terrain

Fast, corners predictably and well, quiet, fast, good climbing traction on rear in reverse rotation, Exo sidewall protection, 120 tpi casing is light and absorbent.

Holds on to mud, slippery when wet (at least on roots)

I got the 2.1 Exception EXO Crossmark to replace my old IRC Serac XC on the back of my bike which was losing knobs due to dry rot. The Crossmark corners significantly better than the old tire, though I wouldn't say "on rails" as the shorter (albeit continuous and blocky) sideknobs give it a slightly round profile. It transitions predictably and when the transition knobs slide the sideknobs catch well and fast giving it a pretty fun cornering pattern when you want to push it to its (intended) limits.

It's considerably less bouncy than my old tires and at 120 tpi it soaks up more vibration than I expected and retains a lot of traction through large swaths of roots and rocks. I run it in reverse in order to give the transition knobs a square connection to the trail rather than the ramps in order to optimize climbing traction over these rooty sections and while my old tires had more, I have yet to break these loose when I keep myself in an efficient climbing position.

This tire is fast. The first time I took it out I didn't even feel like I got a workout even when increasing my usual distance and lowering my usual time. They feel almost like slicks on asphalt, and on the trail the only way you know you've got knobs is that you aren't constantly spinning out. Just... fast.

They retain mud so I wouldn't suggest them to people in wet environments. Speaking of wet, I wouldn't trust these on wet roots or rocks as well. Off camber roots can kick them aside pretty easily, and without enough traction I can see that washing the rear.

Bottom line; These things are great for what I'm riding. Loose over hard, hardpack, dry to slightly damp, east coast trails. Roots, Rocks, (Reggae), some red clay, pine needles everywhere. Value 5 thanks to a sale on pricepoint, 5 Overall because these excel at their niche and include some extra sidewall protection if you are looking to expand its horizons and see what it can really do.

Similar Products Used:

Maxxis Ignitor Exo 2.35, IRC Serac XC 2.1

Low rolling resistance.
Great dry and wet traction.
Great cornering traction.
Large volume = good flotation in soft/loose stuff.
Low weight.
Good tread life.
Equally good on the front or back of the bike.

Sidewall weaker/more prone to damage than many of the competitors.

Overall this tire is fantastic for all mountain/cross country riders. There are 3 versions of it offering various degrees of sidewall armouring. So far I have used the most basic one, which unfortunately suffers from vulnerable sidewalls. I just ordered the more expensive version of this tire to replace one I damaged in Moab last year (cut sidewall). Even with somewhat vulnerable sidewalls, I still love these tires as they provide incredible level of traction in dry and more impressively in wet conditions. I am impressed how little spin you get with these tires on wet rocks and tree roots. Interestingly enough, despite relatively weak sidewall design, this tire provides excellent directional stability, more specifically the tire does not roll laterally in turns making it very stable.

Similar Products Used:

Panaracer Fire XC, Kenda Nevegal StickE

super low rolling resistance, light weight, long tread life and very durable

the ONLY weakness of this tire is that it isn't great in the mud

I have been using the Maxxis Crossmark tires for both front and rear on my xc trail bike for 6 years now. I am currently on my second set. I don't think I will ever use another tire ever again, these tires can do it all! They roll like they're a street slick on a road bike but on hard pack and even lose terrain they have amazing grip. The shoulder knobs give plenty of grip for cornering while the center tread is very fast rolling while giving great traction on climbs. The only weakness I have found in these tires is that they are not the best in the mud. They are by no means terrible or unridable but there are better tires in the mud but all of the pros for this tire heavily outweigh their one weakness in the mud. I will keep buying these tires until they are no longer being produced.

Very fast, corners reasonable considering its made to be a fast straight line tyre.

Braking, climbing traction, mud (definitely not marketed as a mud tyre though)

I have used a 2.1 folding bead on the rear only. Generally 26-30psi tubed.
This is a fast race tyre, good for hardpack and slightly loose/loamy, but not loose.
Is doesn't brake that well, doesn't have good traction so slips on climbs.
Fairly high volume, makes for a comfy ride and good headroom for playing with air pressure.
This pairs up well with an ignitor on the front.
I have now used a monorail, its seems just as fast if not faster, climbs WAY better, out brakes crossmark by a fair amount. But monorail feels a bit more slide-happy when pushed in damp conditions.
I would recommend the monorail over this.

Similar Products Used:

monorail

Very light and very fast on well groomed trails.

Extremely prone to pinch flats when run at a pressure that makes them grip.
Side walls are paper thin.
Poor grip when leaning over in damp to wet conditions.

This tyre is fast in dry and well groomed trail conditions. I have found it works well at high pressure but does not grip well. For the optimum grip it needs to be run at less than 30 psi......but this means pinch flats a-go-go!! I would not recommend this as a front tyre it is for the rear but only on reasonably smooth, trail centre type trails. I have had to ditch mine as it is just a bit too fragile and unpredictable.

FAST ... Soooo Fast. Light too.

Not many. Doesn't handle greasy, technical downhill as well as others, but they make up for that in climbing and speed.

Just finished the 70km Test of Metal in British Columbia, Canada. It’s a grueling race with 1200m of elevation gain and 40km of technical singletrack. Oh, and I should also mention that this year was the wettest Test of Metal on record. I ordered the 2.1 Crossmarks last minute because I knew my Ardent front and High Roller rear were going to be too slow for the amount of uphill on the course. I was a bit concerned when they arrived the day before the race and I didn’t have time to test them out before I was committed. However, the minute I rolled out of the starting chute I knew I had made the right choice. These tires are FAST! They fly on hardpack, handle in the mud and climb like champs. Admittedly, they don’t inspire the same confidence as my Ardent or High Roller on the real greasy, technical downhill, but that was a small price to pay for their speed and agility on the climbs. As most of my riding is really technical and aggressive singletrack, I will be hanging these tires up until the next big event. Nevertheless, these are my new racing tires … hands down!!!

Similar Products Used:

Maxxis Ardent, Maxxis High Roller, Maxxis Minion, Kenda Nevegal

very fast and light

Fragile sidewalls

I like these as a summer tyre but so far I have gashed the sidewall on two of these and have now become wary of them. Never happened to me before - luckily I saw the inner tube bubbling out before it blew but I could easily have missed it. Tyre maybe OK generally but possibly the lightness has a penalty where there is a risk of sharp stones ( eg UK south downs flint ) scraping the sidewalls and maybe best avoided where sharp stone cuts are possible. Pity as I like 'em!