Maxxis Assegai/Dissector Tire Combo: Rider Review

Our "Rider Review" article series features honest reviews from verified purchasers of Worldwide Cyclery. They contain the photos, thoughts, feedback & overall review you are looking for. 

There are a few things that can make a huge impression on the way your bike can feel on a ride. One of them is, of course, your tires. Tires can not only affect the grip but also the rolling weight and the vulnerability to flats. Our friend Sean shares his thoughts on the Maxxis Assegai/Dissector tire combo. Check it out!

Overview

First disclaimer for this review: I am by no means a super discerning tire guy. Yes, going from XC tires to beefy DH tires I notice rolling resistance, but other than that, most tires feel generally the same to me, and I’m mainly concerned with grip over rolling resistance. I want to ride hard for my skill level and not feel like the bike is about to slide out on me.

Second disclaimer for this review: I’m a Maxxis guy. I’ve used Maxxis tires exclusively for the last year on my current bike, so that’s really the only comparison I have for this review. There are a ton of awesome tires out there, but I’ve had good experiences with Maxxis and will most likely keep running them.

Alright, now that these are out of the way, onto the review of the Maxxis Assegai-Dissector combo, commonly referred to as the Ass-Dissector combo on the inner-webs. Confession, there was some hesitancy throwing these on the mid-travel steed (Yeti SB130) given the Ass-Dissector connotation and the fact that both tires were developed by World Cup Downhill racers. What would my friends think? Do I shred hard enough to warrant such a beefy tire combo?

Within one ride on these tires, all my fears and doubts went away. These tires kept me upright, rolled fast, and brought more confidence to the sketchy loose rocks that I typically ride in my local terrain. Before going to the Assegai/Dissector combo, I was running the classic Minion DHF/Aggressor which has honestly been my favorite tire combo to date. I’m not a gram counter by any means, but I was down 49 grams from my previous combo which was a nice surprise. The Assegai is beefy. I’ve found that I’ve needed to run lower pressures by a couple of PSI compared to the Minion DHF it replaced. From a rolling resistance standpoint, the Assegai and Minion DHF feel comparable in my opinion, but the Assegai seems to hook up a little sooner when leaning into corners. On the back end, the Dissector doesn’t seem to roll as fast as the Aggressor, but that could just be me. The grip is amazing though. And like I said earlier, I’m more of a grip guy anyway.

Final Thoughts

All in all, the Assegai/Dissector combo has taken the throne for me for favorite tire combos. I’ve had no regrets putting these on my SB130, and they will most likely be mounted to all bikes going forward!