Description:Designed with World Champion Christoph Sauser, the CrossMark is the dramatic evolution of the Cross Country racing tire. The nearly continuous center ridge flies on hardpack, yet has enough spacing to grab wet roots and rocks. The slightly raised ridge of side knobs offers cornering precision never before seen on a tire this fast.
Submitted by
wasso67
a Cross Country Rider
from Colorado USA Date Reviewed: October 2, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Voodoo
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$55.00
Strengths:
Very fast rolling tire. Very light, holds air well and easy to mount.
Weaknesses:
Forget about this tire on the front if you have loose gravel, sand or small rocky section. On the rear it is a great tire for all conditions, but wears fairly fast.
Similar Products Used:
Nevegals, small block 8's, bontragers acx
Bike Setup:
gt marathon carbon with ztr/king wheels
Bottom Line:
Rode these in Leadville and they were awesome, but on sandy loose gravel, or loose rocky bits the front just doesn't track well. But if you ride hard pack, fire roads, some pavement there is nothing better out there.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Olivier
a Racer
from Saint Tropez Date Reviewed: September 7, 2008
My personal favorites are Schwalbe Nobby Nic 1.8 or 2.1 Tube type w ultralight tubes.
Bike Setup:
XC sled 10Kg custom frame.
Bottom Line:
These tires are slugs.......heavy, slow, bought because of a temporary shortage of Nobby nics during a bike trip....I hated them evey second!!!!
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Submitted by
phil
a Cross Country Rider
from newbury park, ca. Date Reviewed: March 27, 2008
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Purchased At:
sundance
Strengths:
grip,grip,grip.I lowered the psi to 26 front, and back. These tires suck to everything I rode on. Cornering, climbing, braking, small rocks, large rocks. I reversed the tread rotation on the back, and the tire never slipped.
Weaknesses:
they may have a slower feel on pavement, compared to others, but when you get on the trails, you forget the pavement ride quickly.
Similar Products Used:
panaracers, navelgals
Bike Setup:
cross country rig
Bottom Line:
This is the first day of using them, and I will find a way to ride tomorrow. These tires gave me the feeling that I was carving the trails up. Going slow or fast up hill, or down, it didn't matter. That is the first time I can say that about tires. I love trying new tires, my garage is filled with them. The next time I will buy more tires is to buy a new set of these tires.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Htail
a Cross Country Rider
from SF Bay Area Date Reviewed: October 13, 2007
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Strengths:
Excellent all around xc tread, durable & long lasting
Weaknesses:
Weight? but not a big deal
Similar Products Used:
IRC, Specialized, Hutchinson
Bike Setup:
Ells Truth 01
Bottom Line:
Now that I've ridden these tires for over a year now, I'm even a bigger fan of them! After having tried many tires over the years, these are the best- and defintely the best tubeless tires thus far. Highly recommend them for hard pack, single tracks, and light technical.
Low rolling resisitance, run very happy at 30-40psi. Mated to me Mavic CrossMax SL rims, can go weeks without filling them up (I also have Stans inside). Controlled cornering, braking and excellent for climbing.
Compared to previous Hutchinson Spiders & Pythons, these are way more durable. I'd constantly get pin holes in the Spiders, I can see the wet spots where Stans is plugging the leaks. It's been a year, and no sign of any leaks or pin holes. I think the compromise is slightly more weight, but not noticable once your rolling.
First tire that I plan to get a second pair. Very impressed by Maxxis so far.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Drew
a Weekend Warrior
from Cape Town, South Africa Date Reviewed: August 24, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Harkerville
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$50.00
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
Rolls fast enough, hooks up well on technical climbs, supple controlled handling, seals well, predictable on fast technical singletrack descents
Weaknesses:
Non yet - This is an all round tyre, and is 'fit for purpose'
This is a great all-rounder. Cape Town riding is a lot of coastal pine forest, and a 2 hour ride takes you through everything - wet roots, dry sand, rock gardens, hardpack, 16% fire road climbs, super technical singletrack and screaming 70kph descents. This is the best tyre yet to handle all of these well. Its a good 80% er on all of the above, 100% on non. Those who review it and mark it down for not shedding mud like an Octopus, or rolling like a Larssen etc, etc should have done their research first. And the idiot who complains that the rear leaks more than the front because there's a problem with the wheel should grow some brain cells.
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Submitted by
ncjumper
a Cross Country Rider
from West Palm Beach,FL Date Reviewed: April 27, 2007
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$70.00
Purchased At:
Jenson.com
Strengths:
Low rolling resistance, seated easily on XT wheelset, decent, but not great cornering. Climbing in semi-loose hardpack in the the granny gears not a problem. I have to ride about 10 miles of pavement before I get to my trail and these tires are great for that.
Weaknesses:
The tires seem to be a bit "Out of True". My rims are true, but the tires are a bit warped. Nothing I'd send them back for but I always feel like I need to pull out a spoke wrench when I see the wheels wobble.
Similar Products Used:
Hutch Scorpions
Bike Setup:
Spec Epic/XTR/XT wheelset. I'm running Stans sealant and about 25 psi.
Bottom Line:
I'd buy them again.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Daniel
a Racer
from Johannesburg, South Africa Date Reviewed: April 2, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Sabie
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$48.00
Purchased At:
MSC
Strengths:
Fast rolling, predictable handling, strong cut resistant casing
Weaknesses:
Difficult to seat without compressor when new, does not hold air well with Slime. Problem with casing seperation
Similar Products Used:
Lots
Bike Setup:
Ellsworth Truth with Crossmax SL wheels
Bottom Line:
Very good all round racing tyre in dry conditions. Cornering very good - improvement on Larsen TT. Excellent in harsh rocky terrain which would cut most other UST tyres. Loses air from thorn punctures which Slime does not seal. I had a problem with a bubble forming on tread area due to casing seperatation. LBS replaced in though, without hassle.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Mark E.
a Weekend Warrior
from Manteca, CA USA Date Reviewed: January 10, 2007
Favorite Trail:
The next one
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Strengths:
Fast rolling, durable, forgiving, grippy on hardpack.
Weaknesses:
None yet
Similar Products Used:
Tioga XC, WTB Weirwolf
Bike Setup:
Cannondale Rush 1000 w/Answer bar, Ritchey Pro seatpost, Bontrager saddle, Shimano pedals.
Bottom Line:
These came stock on my Rush and have done well. Pump em up to max psi on the street and you won't believe how fast they are. I run Stan's sealant so there are no air-loss (or puncture) issues. When at the limit, they will drift controllably; you definitely get a warning before a washout. If you ride mostly smoothish trails, these tires are hard to beat.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Tucky
a
from Hermosillo, Son Date Reviewed: January 8, 2007
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$50.00
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
The looks nice, rolls fast ( not as fast as Pythins) holds air pretty good. good grip on loose over hard pack.
This are great to my terrain, not as fast rolling as the Pythons, but hook up great. and I can use'em as a high volume tires, I got away with something around 28Psi, and being 85Kgs (around 185 Lbs) I think that's great. the lower the Psi the greater the grip, I was a stubbon to use something close to 40Psi, got tire of the front end bouncing and not finding the correction on the Fork decide to let some air out on trail, to whatever I though was decent, after that was hooking awesomely good for me, got home and decide to check the gauge and it read 27Psi acording to me (not digital gauge)in the back I use 32 now, I use'em front and back and no complaints, I ride mostly for fun not with the intention on racing, but I gues these tires would be great for racing too. Sonoran Desert Style.just 4 chilis on value 'cause I think, no matter they are UST tires, they could defintly be cheaper, I'll be pretty happing paying around 30-40 dlls for them. but you get what you pay for.
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Submitted by
Rich
a Cross Country Rider
from Curacao Date Reviewed: January 3, 2007
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$50.00
Purchased At:
LBS - Curacao
Strengths:
Fast rolling Great traction
Weaknesses:
Price?
Similar Products Used:
Geax Mezcal (not good ..)
Bike Setup:
Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Mavic Crossmax XL Maxxis CrossMark as rear tyre, with Stans No-Tubes sealant
Bottom Line:
These tyres work! I'm 6'4", 100kg, and use this as my rear tyre. It's perfect for the cross country races here in Curacao, where the tracks are hard packed, dusty, with small coral rocks. Great traction, cornering grip, and low rolling resistance ... only slight negative is the price, but you get what you pay for.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Greg
a
from Glendora, CA, USA Date Reviewed: December 24, 2006
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Purchased At:
51.00
Strengths:
Very light and nimble tire. Good rolling even with lower air pressure. Compared to the Hutchinsons I used to run, this tire is awesome!
Weaknesses:
Price?
Bike Setup:
Cannondale Scalpel
Bottom Line:
Great cross country tubeless tire! Buy 'em!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
brad seymour
a Cross Country Rider
from grand rapids, MI Date Reviewed: December 2, 2006
Favorite Trail:
north country Trail, MI
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Strengths:
Works great on dry, smooth singletrack, light weight. Able to use really low air pressure with no flats. They also seem to be lasting a long time.
Weaknesses:
Looses air (5-10 psi during a 2 hour ride), doesn't hook up well in the corners, breakaway is without warning, not good on damp wood or rocks. All the above statements are comparing it to a Panaracer Fire XC Pro. The rear leaks more than the front and some of that is due to the rim leaking where it is welded, but they both leak quite a bit. They are also a bit expensive.
Similar Products Used:
Fire XC Pro
Bike Setup:
Cannondale Rush Team Replica, which included these tires.
Bottom Line:
The tires are about as good as mid nineties Velociraptors, except they leak. I am replacing them with Fire XC Pros.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Mike
a Racer
from Hillside,Il,USA Date Reviewed: September 12, 2006
Favorite Trail:
Palos: Out and Back
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$25.00
Purchased At:
Team Buy
Strengths:
Fast rolling and the best cornering tire I have owned. I'm not afraid to roll over anything with these tires
Weaknesses:
Weight, as with all UST tires. Not good in mud situations, but they are not designed for mud.
Similar Products Used:
Michelin Comp S Lite and XCR Dry, both UST
Bike Setup:
2003 Trek Fuel 98 with too many upgrades to list. Race with Bontrager Race X Lite wheel set and train with Race Lite WS. Manitou R-7 Platinum Fork ~32-35 psi front and 35 psi back. I ride at ~ 160lb I use Stan's in the tires.
Bottom Line:
A real toss up as far as the Maxxis vs the Michelin for pure speed. Michelin may have a very slight edge in b@lls out speed, but are nowhere close to the Crossmarks cornering ability in hard pack single track and giant swooping grass and dirt switchbacks. The outer knobs do what they are designed to do and have really given me more confidence cornering.
I have had no problems with rocks nor roots, climbing, descending, or flat sections of trail/courses with these tires.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
James
a Weekend Warrior
from Canberra Date Reviewed: September 3, 2006
Favorite Trail:
sparrow hill, madroo - Mt Majura
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$70.00
Purchased At:
Bike Shed
Strengths:
Fast rolling, strong sidewalls, good hardpack grip, decent rocky grip
Weaknesses:
A bit sketchy over the loose stuff, but to be expected with a fast roller
Similar Products Used:
non-UST crossmark, irc mythos, povvo hutchinson
Bike Setup:
Trance 1
Bottom Line:
After having 3 puncture in one week, I decided to give the tubeless a go. I checked out all info I could on all the systems available. I am really impressed with this UST setup.
I required a compressor to mount the tyre to the rim. This is my first foray into the Tubeless world, and I am pretty much sold. I have been racing and riding since 1988 (full rigid, one bike does all time). I have raced every discipline in the past, XC, DH, 4X, Trials, Slalom, Road, BMX.
I love how the technology has evolved over time.
I installed this tyre on a rainy Sunday and proceeded to do the gutter test where you often test suspension. I tried to ram the tyre hard against the gutter to pinch it. It wouldn't do it. For reference - 30.5 psi. I weigh 210 with gear on, and was trying to pinch it on the gutter. So on first impressions this was good.
I purposely have put no sealant in this tyre. It has stayed at the same pressure overnight. The rim is a Mavic Crossmax SL disc (UST obviously).
I took it out today for a thrash over 1 hour. I have a bunch of test singletrack out the back of my house including Mt Ainsle and Mt Majura. Today was riding over Mount Ainslie. It is pretty rocky on the trails I rode to the top of Mt Ainslie and then down. I also fanged it on some hardpack singletrack.
I am used to the characteristics of this tyre having put over 600kms on a pair.
This tyre held up no problem, and had no leaks. I checked the pressure when I got home and it was exactly the same.
Now, I will ultimately put some sealant in because that will solve a fair few issues that may arise, but I am really impressed with the characteristics of the tyre.
The ride was firm up the front with respect to way the tyre went over the terrain. I would assume that this is due to the slightly thicker sidewall. I will probably try at a slightly lower pressure to search for the sweetest ride. My 30 psi is only relevant to my tyre guage ( a new Topeak digital) so just use what is good for you. For reference, my rear tubed crossmark had 31psi, and felt slightly softer - due to the thinner sidewall.
Anyway, summing up, the tubeless setup is very impressive for the first ride!!!. I will repost in a month for a timeline review.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Andy Horka
a Cross Country Rider
from vancouver Date Reviewed: August 9, 2006
Favorite Trail:
Roller Coaster
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$75.00
Purchased At:
Sreed Cylcles
Strengths:
Fast rolling, great traction very predictable
Weaknesses:
None
Similar Products Used:
Tons of tires
Bike Setup:
Santa Cruz Blur LT
Bottom Line:
I weigh 220 lbs and this thing holds me in place. Simply the best overall tire I have ever ridden!!! Tracked where other so called all mountain tires lost traction. I ride a lot in Squamish BC and for this terrain I can't imagine a better tire. Thanks to Scott at Steed Cycles for the recommendation.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
CJ
a Cross Country Rider
from Orange County, CA Date Reviewed: July 26, 2006
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$45.00
Purchased At:
Bike Co.
Strengths:
*Light weight *Fast rolling tire
Weaknesses:
*Terrible cornering tire *Weak climbing bite in technical terrain
Similar Products Used:
*Maxxis: Larsen TT, High Roller and Ignitor *Kenda: Nevgal & Blue Groove *WTB: Weirwolf & Moto-Raptor *Hutchinson: Spider (worst tire ever)
Bike Setup:
Titus MotoLite
Bottom Line:
(Note: I run this as a rear only...I couldn't imagine the carnage if one were to attempt to run this thing on the front)
This is a fast rolling, light-weight tire that may be OK on moist, non-technical terrain however, if you ride in SoCal, that is not your terrain.
While it was solid, if not spectacular, during most climbing conditions, it had some trouble grabbing obstacles when attempting to climb rocky, technical terrain. This meant plenty of slips and dabs as a result.
This is in stark contrast to both the Nevgal and, my personal favorite, the Larsen TT which both hook up exceptionally well over this type of terrain.
This is a fast rolling tire however so, for it to fail somewhat over the techy stuff is understandable. What was not acceptable was the fact that this thing washed out faster and with more frequency than any other rear tire I've ever ridden.
Where I realized just how pronounced the washouts were with this thing was during the 24 Hours of Adrenaline - Hurkey Creek this past April.
I mounted this tire about a month prior to the race and noticed plenty of washing out however, I continued to ride it and give it a chance. Once at the race however, I turned a practice lap and the rear end was all over the place over a fast, fun, well groomed section of singletrack.
Since I had with me a used, but not totally worn, Larsen TT, I decided to mount it and see if it would make a difference and...wow...was it noticable.
Despite the fact that the Larsen was used with the center nobs slightly worn, this thing climbed noticeably faster and completely changed the way I was able to attack the descents.
Rather than washing out, I was gripping everywhere (like I should have been) and was able fly downhill like I was on rails.
BOTTOM LINE: If you're a "rolling resistance" nut, then you'll probably want these as they are ever so slightly faster in that department than the Larsens however, if you actually prefer to stay upright when diving into a turn then you should probably look elsewhere.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
HTail
a Cross Country Rider
from SF Bay Area Date Reviewed: June 15, 2006
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Purchased At:
Cambria
Strengths:
Deceivingly grippy tread, corners predictably on hardpack, rolls ok. Seals up nicely with Stans and UST rims.
Weaknesses:
Can loose traction on steep climbs over dusty hardpack.
Similar Products Used:
Mythos, Specialized, Continental, Hutchinson
Bottom Line:
I've been a big Hutchinson fan but decided to try Maxxis seeing that many riders use them. I don't have a lot of miles on them yet, but so far the standout is the amount of traction you get. These are great hardpack tires, corners with confidence, really sticking even on dry dusty stuff.
What I'm on the fence with is the rolling resistance. For some reason, I feel like they're just a tad sluggish compared to my prev Hutchinson Spiders. Though I haven't had a chance to vary the air pressure, they feel ok, but not as energetic as the Spiders (for lack of a better description). This is most noticable on climbs.
On the plus side, they seem to be more pin-hole resistant than my Spiders. Mounting them on CrossMax SL rims was painless, the beads sealed up quickly with the help of soap/water. Also added 3 scoops of Stans (can't go without). The next couple days, I've had almost zero air leakage which is a sign of quality tire to rim interface.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Mumps
a Weekend Warrior
from Japan Date Reviewed: June 5, 2006
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Strengths:
Rolls really fast. Hooks up way better than expected. Very predictable.
Weaknesses:
Climb poorly in damp conditions. Sheds mud OK but not great.
Similar Products Used:
High Rollers, Mythos XC, Kenda Kozmik. Large gaps between knobs leave room for thorn punctures.
Bike Setup:
Hard Tail
Bottom Line:
These are my first UST tire allowing me to run the Crossmarks at much lower pressures than my old Mythos which may to some extent skew my judgement.
Switching over from the allround Mythos 2.1s to this dedicated XC tire I expected to loose grip, however on my first ride out (in dry conditions) I was shocked in a very good way.
Firstly - this tire rolls really fast. I adventure race and the races here often have long road sections between offroad sections. The continuous center tred feels almost like a road tire - these roll better on road than my semislick Kozmiks (which I will now probably never use again). Of course they are perfect for fast smooth offroad as well. What was amazing about these tire is how well they hooked up on rougher single track.
While not quite providing as much grip in the straights as the much more agressive nobs of Mythos, the Crossmarks hooked up exremely well and much more predictably -never any sudden loss of grip but rather a gradual giving way that you can feel. From the first time out these tires gave me a huge amount of confidence, especially in the corners. I feel like I go faster through the tricky bits on these and never slide or loose control due to their predicability. This is however in the dry. In the wet the nobs just arn't deep enough to cut through even shallow mud. While going down, the lower pressure and nice sticky rubber make up for this. However trying to climb even in slightly wet conditions can be very tough. I thought they would shed mud like the high rollers which have similarly widely spaced nobs but this is not the case. So even if climb is dryish, going through that muddy bit trough of a down up section can lead to pushing rather than peddling.
One other drawback is the wide gaps between the nobs seem to leave alot of space for pokey type punctures (which I have never suffered with the Mythos -pinch and sidewall are another matter). I got one right in the middle of one of the bald spots going down rocky gravel road while doing some touring(I am running with no sealant). However, this puction showed me one of the advertised benefits of UST. I didn't notice the puncture untill after riding another 20km and going to bed. The tire was not flat untill the next morning. I didn't have time to look for the puncture so I just pumped up the tire, rode for another day and without any noticable pressure loss untill the the following morning. When I finally bothered to repair the tire I found a pretty fair size puncture which I repaired easily with super glue. So, while not "self healing" UST definitely certainly leaks air slower when punctured.
Other positive points were that the tires were extremely easy to mount onto my Crossmax XLs - no need for levers and no need for soap and water. And, for a 2.0 the tire casing is very generous probably the same size if not bigger than my 2.1 Mythos not including the taller nobs.
Overall an excellent lightweight XC tire that also makes a great trail tire in dry conditions. Does more than it says on the tin.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Mark Terrill
a Racer
from Melbourne, Vic, Australia Date Reviewed: May 29, 2006
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Strengths:
Rolls fast (faster than the Larsen TT's, but slightly slower than Pythons. Corners well.
Weaknesses:
Not great at climbing. I don't think they will be good in the wet by looking at them.
Similar Products Used:
IRC Serac, Panaracer Fire, Larsen TT, Pythons.
Bike Setup:
NRS carbon, XT gear
Bottom Line:
These are a good tyre to race on & also trail ride, I found them to be much faster than the Larsen TT's (I always found them slow for a tyre that you are ment to be able to race on). They corner much better than Pythons. I will use these everyday.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
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