Has Maxxis Minion durability gone down the pan?????

[Dirtnvert]

Does a shock with tokens in it have a similar sag point to one without at the same pressure?

Yes. Tokens just give it more ramp up

 

[Dirtnvert]

I agree in my area Maxxis has a large share and they Are Expensive. I got mine in exchange of other tires. We call that shelve advantage. At the pharmacy you will find tylenol for back pain and 6 other variety(the same shit, different color) so they push away the competition. Same with beers many formats to have an allmost monopoly. Other than my Rekon would you have a suggestion rolls well + grips well(i like to climb). 40 mm rims now 3.0 fr/2.8 rear. Thanks

Exactly.
As for suggestions in that width, that is out of my wheel house unless michelin makes tge wild enduro rear in a 2.6? (Thats equivalent to a maxxis 2.8 width). Great rear tore for both edging and rolling with still a fair bit of for/aft traction

 

[Dax]

I've been pretty disappointed with my minions, running them soft enough to hook up on morzine slime causes pinches, sniff more air and they don't feel like they have much grip at all. I've run HR/HR2s for years and not had these issues, I assume these are cheapy oem casings

 

[33red]

Got a pair of 3” Rekons you can have if you want to collect them. Only used twice then taken off.

If they are 27.5 write to me in private please.

 

[Dirtnvert]

I've been pretty disappointed with my minions, running them soft enough to hook up on morzine slime causes pinches, sniff more air and they don't feel like they have much grip at all. I've run HR/HR2s for years and not had these issues, I assume these are cheapy oem casings

If your on 2.5's you may want to look at michelin wild rockr2(2.35 equivalent to 2.5 maxxis) . Out minions a minion in every way(edging knobs and pinch flat protection). Thatd be my first choice. Also e13 trs plus. In dh casing the vee rubber snap and bontrager g5 out minion a minion. Minion is still a great tread design just tgat otgers have one upped them with tech on a similar design. Michelin needs to make a wild rockr 2 in larger widths for people looking. Thats an awesome tread design and weight for emtb. Magicx front and gumx rear. Doesnt roll quite as fast as a minion but close and better traction

 

[Gary]

Minion is still a great tread design just that others have one upped them with tech on a similar design.

In what way?
Can you explain in detail please ?
particularly how (and where) the edge knobs work better?

I'm not sure how any tyre tread design can "Out Minion a Minion" but especially a tyre that doesn't actually have the minions alternate L shaped side knobs.

 

[Jeff McD]

I swapped to 2.8" Maxxis Minion tyres when I bought my e-bike a couple of years back as Schwalbe were not making what I wanted in the sizes required at the time. Being impressed with the grip & wear characteristics across a broad range of surfaces I put them on my regular bike too in 2.5/2.4" and have had trouble free riding on those two sets of tyres since.
The e-bike tyres finally wore out a couple of months back so I replaced them with Minions again, this time 2.6". Within half a dozen rides I got a snake bite puncture on the back, bit of a surprise as I was running 30psi with Rimpact inserts at the time. 2.8" went back on and still ok.
Move on a month, and I'm out on the new e-bike, three rides in and again a hole in the rear this time just by the rim.
They have all been Exo casings (the last one might be an Exo+) riding the in the same way at similar places.

Anyone else found the same with the more recent Minions?

Taken on board positive comments from other forum members and going to give Michelin E-Wild a go.

Bit of a shame as I'd had a good experience with Minions, pretty much fit and forget other than checking pressures.

Are your 2.6 inch Maxis tires the DHR II or DHF? Some of these tires come with a different casing, 120 threads per inch rather than the old stiffer more durable 60 threads per inch. If you read the website they explain that these are lighter but more fragile. That could explain it. You might check.

 

[Dirtnvert]

In what way?
Can you explain in detail please ?
particularly how (and where) the edge knobs work better?

I'm not sure how any tyre tread design can "Out Minion a Minion" but especially a tyre that doesn't actually have the minions alternate L shaped side knobs.

For instance, i find the edging knobs on the wild rockr2 more supportive and they have dug me out of more turns than i can count. Pinch flat and rim dings are better protected. Wear has been better and i find michelins slow rebound rubber more damp than maxxis'. I think that has given them better wear as well. The wild gripr i had was the other side of the coin. The edge knobs were too small and lacked support and because they were smaller they tore off.
With e13 i was just relaying friends that have tried them.
The bonti g5 has a bit wider channel between center knobs and edge knobs and tge edge knobs are very supportive. I attribute both those things to having it feel like it is locked in on the turns.
A lot of it is splitting hairs and like i say tge minion set the stage. Kircaldie designed a great one
Splitting hairs until you stack the wild rockr2 against the similar weight minion dd. Wild rockr2 destroys it in almost every comparison. The only thing i might do to that tore is slice a ramp on the leading edge of the center knobs to make it roll faster for a front tire or both tires on an acoustic bike. For an emtb they are $$$$$. Our terrain isnt quite coastal bc rocky burl but its steep and nasty and does have a fair bit of rock and the wild rockr2, at 1100g ,held up better than my scwalbe super gravity casing tires on my dh bike. Thoughrs are echoed by anyone that tries that tire

 

[Gary]

Great answer. Thanks @Dirtnvert .

did you ever ride the old (now discontinued) Maxxis Slow Reezay compound ? (and first gen 3C)
Sounds a similar deal to the new michie compound. I'm glad Michelin are back on it. I absolutely loved the OG comp 16. if it weren't for that tyre I doubt Maxxis would have gotten where they did so quickly. The 1st gen Highroller being a blatant (but not as good IMO) copy but Maxxis offering more compounds, sorted casings and a £20 price tag they managed to hugely outsell comp 16 sales in the DH scene in no time.

I actually still really like the smaller edge knobs of the DHF/RII (over say something like a Mary) but I like a predictable drift slidey ride rather than fully locked in. Yeah.. I know... I'm kinda weird like that.

 

[Dirtnvert]

Great answer. Thanks @Dirtnvert .

did you ever ride the old (now discontinued) Maxxis Slow Reezay compound ? (and first gen 3C)
Sounds a similar deal to the new michie compound. I'm glad Michelin are back on it. I absolutely loved the OG comp 16. if it weren't for that tyre I doubt Maxxis would have gotten where they did so quickly. The 1st gen Highroller being a blatant (but not as good IMO) copy but Maxxis offering more compounds, sorted casings and a £20 price tag they managed to hugely outsell comp 16 sales in the DH scene in no time.

I actually still really like the smaller edge knobs of the DHF/RII (over say something like a Mary) but I like a predictable drift slidey ride rather than fully locked in. Yeah.. I know... I'm kinda weird like that.

Ya those 40durometer slow rezays were great. UST too. They wore out quick though. Im sure i rode the og 3c's too, most did, but i couldnt comment on the difference. At this age i have a hard time remembering yesterday let alone the 90's, apart from i had a good time.
I like the magic mary but i also prefrr the minion. In fairness i had the 2.6 mary and at that width they definitely float more than i like. Maybe im just not used to these +ish size tires. Ebikers and motoX guys seem to like them. Then again super bruni runs 2.3's and i dont feel safe on ghose on the steeps. 2.35mich/2.5maxxis seems to be my happy spot

 

[Gary]

The 2.35 Mary is the one I like here (Damp Scotland) and it's great in the steep.
Yeah. I find plus tyres awful too. hate the squirm/float

 

[Rusty]

Interesting comments about CST. I tested their MX tires back in the 70's when they were thought of as a joke. Cheng Shin brought over literally hundreds of tread patterns and compounds to California for the testing team to thrash. My first contract was for a month and we rode Monday to Friday at tracks all over the place. Was I think 8 riders on the team with several of us having tested for Dunlop previously. They listened to the feedback and by the time the tires came to the market they were not too far off the best.
Now, on to eMTB. The original poster commented he went from 2.8 to 2.5 - all things being equal with the same tread pattern and casing they are going to behave differently with the same tire pressure.
As an aside I came across a guy 12k or so from the trailhead that had ripped the sidewall out of his rear tire. He reckoned the 2.2 Nobby Nics on his conventional bike worked better that what came on it so se swapped them over. That bike was probably 1/3 the weight of his ebike and had 22-23 ID rims against the 30mm rimes on the ebike. Those tires were designed for a different purpose but he did not realise that until it bit hit with a long push.

 

[Gary]

TBF Nobby Nic have always had a rep as weak. not to mention a pretty mediocre tread design.

 

[stiv674]

I'm a relative newcomer to this mountain biking so I don't have the experience of different tyres but does the perfect tyre exist? There has to be a compromise somewhere for different conditions etc...

I've got Maxxis Minion DHF/DHR 2 on my Focus, they seem to cope with most conditions, I've done 630 miles on them, no issues so far, although that's mostly cross country/trail riding. How many miles would be expected roughly?

 

[Gary]

does the perfect tyre exist?

No

as you've worked out EVERYTHING is a compromise.

TBH DHF/DHRII are total overkill for an XC ride.
They're dry to intermediate condition downhill race tyres.
(although plenty folk wanting huge amounts of grip ride them in way less than the conditions they were designed for)

No one here can estimate your tyre wear rate.
Wear rate will rise the softer compound the tyre and more hardpack/braking the tyre sees. cornering technique and tyre pressures will affect wear too.
I get about 2.5-3000miles out of a rear 2.3 Minion SS in dual compound riding a mix 50:50ish of steep rough rocky rooty muddy forest DH/enduro tracks and local natural XC/trails. Others might get less than 500 miles from the same tyre depending on how/where they ride.

 

[33red]

I'm a relative newcomer to this mountain biking so I don't have the experience of different tyres but does the perfect tyre exist? There has to be a compromise somewhere for different conditions etc...

I've got Maxxis Minion DHF/DHR 2 on my Focus, they seem to cope with most conditions, I've done 630 miles on them, no issues so far, although that's mostly cross country/trail riding. How many miles would be expected roughly?

Your weight may have an effect, some bad luck, the construction, many manufacturers offer 6 different variations of a model, 60/120 TPI, with or without protection, different compounds. A softer grippier coumpound last less generaly. Do you ride on asphalt? Many are good for a season 6-8 months. Some switch summer(dry) so your neighbors might have a better answer. Mines look good with 3,200 kms others destroy them real fast.

 

[stiv674]

No

as you've worked out EVERYTHING is a compromise.

TBH DHF/DHRII are total overkill for an XC ride.
They're dry to intermediate condition downhill race tyres.
(although plenty folk wanting huge amounts of grip ride them in way less than the conditions they were designed for)

No one here can estimate your tyre wear rate.
Wear rate will rise the softer compound the tyre and more hardpack/braking the tyre sees. cornering technique and tyre pressures will affect wear too.
I get about 2.5-3000miles out of a rear 2.3 Minion SS in dual compound riding a mix 50:50ish of steep rough rocky rooty muddy forest DH/enduro tracks and local natural XC/trails. Others might get less than 500 miles from the same tyre depending on how/where they ride.

They were on the bike when new and like I said I've no idea really what would be suitable for my style of riding. I'm generally a 'if it's not broke don't fix it' kind of person, although I'll accept there's going to be something more suitable.

I'll have to do some research when they need changing...

 

[HORSPWR]

Why fine all this time at those pressures only to have puncture on two new tyres in short succession? Riding locations & style hasn’t changed.
Maybe just coincidence & bad luck ?‍

I run a Minion DHR up front and a Continental Projekt in the rear, all of my tracks are brutal rocks that stick out like a thousand bread knives. My rear tyre pings and pops constantly as it sidewalls off every rock bit it holds up and hasn’t let me down. The Minion up front has been a Trojan too but I’m not happy with the grip in loose shale corners so I’m keen to try a Magic Mary up front or a Michelin E Wild. By the way my front never has more than 20 psi and my rear 25 psi. I look at it like this, blow a balloon up just a bit and stick it with a pin, nothing happens. Now blow it up full and stick it with a pin and it’ll pop.
It’s the same when four wheel driving over rocky terrain, softer tyres prevent punctures.

 

[33red]

They were on the bike when new and like I said I've no idea really what would be suitable for my style of riding. I'm generally a 'if it's not broke don't fix it' kind of person, although I'll accept there's going to be something more suitable.

I'll have to do some research when they need changing...

I like many small knobs for your kind of riding. I was happy with continental but many brands may do.