Maxxis Assegai Tire [Rider Review]

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

Maxxis is arguably the gold standard when it comes to tires, and the Assegai is one of their best. It was co-developed with Greg Minnaar, the winningest DH world cup racer of all time. Our friend, Joseph, has been putting the tires to test. See what they think!

Overview

Fall starts a new riding season here in San Carlos, Mexico. During the summer, which is off-season, I had been updating an older Rocky Mountain Element bike. The summer here becomes a little hot and humid. That makes for a great time to do bike maintenance and my goal was to make the bike more enjoyable to ride on the trails here in San Carlos.

The trails here are dry, loose, and rocky. I felt adding more traction to the front wheel would be a big improvement. I was running a Maxxis Minion DHR II on the front and rear. I was happy with the DHR Minion ll on the rear, but felt I could use more traction in the front. So I went to the internet and started my search for a new front tire. There is a lot of information and opinions out there on the internet, you could easily become overwhelmed. I read and watched some very informative blogs and videos on Worldwide Cyclery’s site which helped me make sense of it all. I also checked out the Maxxis website and read up on the tires I was comparing, along with educating myself on the different compounds and sidewall construction they offer. After digesting all this information, I decided to try out the Maxxis Assegai. Maxxis developed this tire with the help of world-champion downhill racer Greg Minnaar. Sounds like a good combination to me, Maxxis and Greg Minnaar working together. So I placed an order for a 2.5” wide 3C Maxxterra EXO+ Wide Trail Maxxis Assegai. It was delivered promptly. After mounting the new tire I compared it to a new Maxxis DHR Minion ll. As you can see from the photo the Assegai has a more aggressive tread pattern than the DHR Minion ll. And after taking a few measurements, I found the outer lugs of the Assegai to be about 24% taller. You can also see there are some transition lugs between the center tread and outer lugs.

These transition lugs should help reduce any feeling of the tire drifting when you lean the bike going into a corner. The potential downside with this tire is the increased rolling resistance. At the first glance, this tire should be a good fit for the trails I’m riding. My first ride out definitely felt like I had more traction. I was feeling more confident going into corners and having a wider tire allowed me to steer easier in sandy areas. For my style of riding, I could not see any change in rolling resistance with this tire. I feel this was a great addition to my bike, making it much more trail friendly and fun to ride.

‌Final Thoughts

If you are in the market for a new tire that will give you great traction, I would definitely check out the Maxxis Assegai. It’s always good to educate yourself before you make a purchase. I would check out the blogs and videos on Worldwide Cyclery’s site, they have a lot of good information to help you with your decision-making process.