I have been waiting for this tire to come out since Interbike of last year. I couldn't wait to get them onto my bike and get out for a ride. I prefer a tire with large side knobs, especially for cornering. One of the trails I ride very frequently has a fair amount of flat turns and heavy braking spots. I gave this tire a go front and rear, with some modifications to make it a better cornering front tire (the DHR2 will be a front tire for me until the DHF is released as a 29 in a few weeks).
Continue reading...
I snipped the corner knobs off of the tire to try and give better front control, under cornering. This process has been done before for the same tire, but in the DH version. Maxxis simplified the sealing process usually associated with tubeless tires, by going with a tubeless ready version and stiffening up the sidewalls. I would say that this tire feels around a 1.5 ply thickness compared to the DH 26" version.
I found that as a rear tire it tracked really well. It allowed me to brake later on the trail and predictably slid when I wanted it to. Using the DHR2 as a front "snipped" tire was excellent. It tracked really well on the descents and all the flat turns were ridden comfortably. I felt that the turn in on the front tire was much quicker than the Ardent I had run previously. It was nice to give this setup a go on trails that I am comfortable at speed and ride fairly often.
I can't wait to try the DHR2 on some trails that I am not as comfortable on. Once I get some more time on this tire I will go into the details on it. No tire can be perfect, but this tire is shaping up to be something pretty special.
Continue reading...
I snipped the corner knobs off of the tire to try and give better front control, under cornering. This process has been done before for the same tire, but in the DH version. Maxxis simplified the sealing process usually associated with tubeless tires, by going with a tubeless ready version and stiffening up the sidewalls. I would say that this tire feels around a 1.5 ply thickness compared to the DH 26" version.
I found that as a rear tire it tracked really well. It allowed me to brake later on the trail and predictably slid when I wanted it to. Using the DHR2 as a front "snipped" tire was excellent. It tracked really well on the descents and all the flat turns were ridden comfortably. I felt that the turn in on the front tire was much quicker than the Ardent I had run previously. It was nice to give this setup a go on trails that I am comfortable at speed and ride fairly often.
I can't wait to try the DHR2 on some trails that I am not as comfortable on. Once I get some more time on this tire I will go into the details on it. No tire can be perfect, but this tire is shaping up to be something pretty special.
Comments