Maxxis Tire Setup for Dual Slalom Racing

While stuck in the middle of winter, it’s easy to find motivation thinking about upcoming races. Most of the year I will be competing in downhill races so throwing in a few dual slalom races is always a blast. The Sea Otter classic dual slalom was the first of those races for the year. It was time to get the slalom bike together and have some fun. In this blog, we are going to be looking at my ideal Maxxis tire setup for racing dual slalom and why.

Front Tire: 27.5 x 2.3 Maxxis DHF 3C MaxxTerra EXO TR

The Minion DHF is one of the most popular mountain bike tires ever produced, and for good reason! This tire absolutely rips. I decided to go with the DHF for the front because I knew it would be a tire that provides a strong consistent feel in both hard pack and loose conditions. It rolls fast, has powerful cornering knobs that provide plenty of bite, and has square edge cornering knobs that come in handy while braking. I chose to go with the 2.3 inch wide model because a larger volume tire isn’t really necessary for dual slalom. The “narrower” tire still has plenty of contact with the ground and rolls very fast. The Minion DHF is mounted to Industry Nine Enduro 310 wheels which have a 31mm internal width. The 3C MaxxTerra compound is an intermediate compound that is softer and provides better traction than the 3C MaxxSpeed but has a better tread life than the 3C MaxxGrip. The Minion DHF is one of the most versatile tires on the market. You will find it on every day trail bikes, race winning downhill bikes, and in this case, dual slalom bikes.

Rear Tire: 27.5 x 2.25 Maxxis Ardent EXO TR

A lot of racers out there go for a minimalistic approach when choosing tires for dual slalom to gain any advantage they can with minimizing rolling resistance. While other tires available like the Minion SS (Semi Slick) are very fast rolling, they give up grip under braking. For me that wasn’t something I was going to be as comfortable on, and that is why I chose the Maxxis Ardent for the rear. The Ardent isn’t as beefy as something like the Minion DHR II but still has plenty of grip in the corners. This to me seemed like the perfect mix for maximizing rolling speed and grip. Same as in the front, the Ardent is mountain to the Industry Nine Enduro 310 wheels with a 31mm internal width.

The Minion DHF in the front and Ardent in the rear turned out to be a really fun combinations of tires offered from Maxxis. Maxxis has always been my favorite tire and they seem to cover it all! Check out our huge selection of Maxxis tires and as always, just give us a shout if you have any questions about tire setup, we all ride and race and can help give you that winning combination!

About Me

Max Morgan is 24 years old, and lives in Brevard, North Carolina. Max grew up in Atlanta, Georgia and started racing downhill at the age of 15. He has now been racing professionally for the last 7 years, competing in the U.S. Pro GRT series and UCI World Cup series. Find him on Instagram @mxmorgan77.