# Maxxis Assegai - quick initial impressions....



## Miker J (Nov 4, 2003)

I've got 2 hard days on an old school, big vert DH mountain on the new Assegai (front tire only - I've got a Mary out back going belly up real fast). Running it on the front of a Giant Glory. Set up tubeless on a freshly built dT FR570. Conditions are extremely non-buff. Steep, off camber, rooty, rocky, bouldery, etc. Non-parky if you catch my drift. Some slow tight tech, some wickedly fast, sketchy, open slope stuff - very drifty if you use just a bit too much brake, and even if you don't use much brake.

The Assegai replaced a Super Tacky DHF (DH casing of course). I've also run Magic Marys up front, and have one on the rear right now (but its dying a quick death - typical of Schwabs).

So, to the point... This tire rocks (up front, putting one out back soon). It grips extremely well. Even on the sketchy loose, open slopes, at high speed I was able to front brake hard with no washing out. It corners well. What I look for in a DH tire is grip and durability. This tire has plenty of grip, at least on drier conditions.

Setup. The tire is a kevlar bead, even in the DH casing, and is noticeably lighter (nice). It set up tubeless well and about as easily as possible with a tire insert (I run FTDs as my local hill eats rims). As above I ran it on a dT FR 570 which is about an i27. The tire is suppose to be made for an i30-35, but I've found this to be a non- issue. Heck, its about the same size as a DHF 2.5 and that tire has been on ridiculously narrow rims. I would not be suprized if I saw shots of pros riding this Assegai on the pro-popular dt EX471. Yeah, I suppose its not the size of the tire but rather the knob spread, but, whatever.

Roll. I hear it is a slow roller, but since I've run our mountain chainless, a slower rolling tire is welcome as it will save me brake pads. For buff park riding, where it might be pedally, the tire may be overkill. I will say it rolls no slower than a Mary however, and they didn't seem to slow down several of the pros who rode them. In fact, I could definitely feel the lightness of this tire when it came to pedaling the bike up to speed compared to a Mary.

Wear. After two long DH days the tire (up front) remains in great shape. Total vertical DH'd in two days was just shy of 30,000 feet. The knobs are very tall and even if they wear fast, they should last long as there is a lot of rubber there. We will see how they do out back.

Grip. Pretty much covered that above. But, I am use to a Super Tachy up front and I'm quite sure the durometer blend on the Assegai is not Super Tachy. Its been fine for the recent dry weather, but when the rain comes, and it always does, we will have to see how it does on the wet, off camber roots.

So, for DH, the Aggessai will replace the DHF up front. That is saying alot. I expect it will also replace my usual DHR2 out back. While the straight line braking of the DHR2 beat the DHF out back, I never did like its noticeably smaller girth at 2.4". The Assegai has grip similar to a Mary, but wears much better, and is noticeably lighter on the bike - so long Mary. From a practical standpoint, running the exact same tire on both ends makes life a lot easier. Keeping only one spare DH tire around will be nice.

I still feel mountain biking is all about the trail. Heck, I'd rather ride a Huffy on good trail, than, well you get it. Reviews are also very dependent on conditions. So, to add to this review I'll post a link to very nice video of the mountain, to give you idea of the conditions. Don't know the riders in the video, but wish I did - they make a nice flick, and appear to be pretty good on a bike.






Will try to post back when I run this new tire out back.

Now, if I only new how to say, "Assegai" !!!


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## .WestCoastHucker. (Jan 14, 2004)

Miker J said:


> ..if I only new how to say, "Assegai" !!!


ass-uh-guy


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## Seventh-777 (Aug 30, 2013)

What did you run for pressures? It'll take an awful lot for me to move away from DHF/DHR but that's a great review. So this was all dry conditions, right?

I only ask because my last couple of days out have been "Dry" days where it's hero dirt on the open areas but super greasy in the woods. I run Minions on everything but it's a bit of a guessing game sometimes as to how to set them up for mixed condition days.


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## Miker J (Nov 4, 2003)

Seventh-777 said:


> What did you run for pressures? It'll take an awful lot for me to move away from DHF/DHR but that's a great review. So this was all dry conditions, right?
> 
> I only ask because my last couple of days out have been "Dry" days where it's hero dirt on the open areas but super greasy in the woods. I run Minions on everything but it's a bit of a guessing game sometimes as to how to set them up for mixed condition days.


Started with about 24psi up front. Did a run and it felt a bit harsh so tapped the valve a few times on the lift and likely brought it down to 23. I run FTDs so I can get away with the occasional rim hit. I weigh 175-180# geared up.

It was relatively dry, which is rare for us. But when wet its all slick, not sticky mud. But I can't see this tire packing more than a DHF if riding muck/mud. The knobs are taller and more "spikey" than a DHF so if you've got mud I'd definitely go Asg. There were a few very wet, steep spots that I did get to try the tire on, and had no issues.

Again, if wet and slick roots are the worry, the biggest issue compared to a DHF would be lack of the Asg in a Super Tacky. Otherwise the only other place I'd run a DHF, for DH, over an Asg would be where I'm worried about rolling faster on pedally tracks.

Think of the Asg as a slightly lower volume, lighter, yet way more durable Mary.

I've got two rear wheels, one with a Mary and one with a DHR2. Which ever one wears out first will get an Asg (pardon the abbreviation but I keep misspelling the darn thing).


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## Tjaard (Aug 17, 2007)

I tried putting it on a Bontrager rim(with the Bontrager plastic rim strip), and just can’t get it on (with plastic levers, might try steel levers), despite soap, time and swearing.


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## foggnm (Aug 17, 2015)

I have a dh casing assegai on the rear and DD casing on the front. I am very impressed with them after a bike park day. Had one instance where my front tire started to slide out and the knobs caught and dug in and I kept heading down the trail. Definitely gripper than DHF. And I don't really care about rolling resistance, they aren't my trail tires. And as with every maxxis I've owned, mounting on the rim was a piece of cake.


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## Seventh-777 (Aug 30, 2013)

I just picked one up for the front and will be taking it to Highland this week. It sounds weird to think that I'll be moving on from Minions (which have been my go-to forever) but the faster I get the less confidence I have with the DHF in the corners.

I definitely don't give a **** about rolling resistance. This is for my DH bike, grip is king.


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## foggnm (Aug 17, 2015)

The other thing I noticed is these are not a particularly wide 2.5 tire. Though I didn't measure them they look more like a 2.4, which is a good thing to me. I'll try to get a caliper measurement later this week.


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## foggnm (Aug 17, 2015)

2.45 inches, outside knob to knob at 24psi...so pretty close to claimed width. DH casing.


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## Seventh-777 (Aug 30, 2013)

DD casing on Enve M90. JFC I'm usually the guy my friends hit up to mount their hard-to-mount tires. I've never been so thoroughly defeated by a tire/rim combo in all my life. I Ended up going to my LBS for the first time ever, and to add insult to injury, the mech got it on right in front of me, without levers lol.


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## reidmorebooks (May 26, 2016)

I just threw these on last night...or tried to. Rear went on fine (ass guy I guess) but the front tire is deformed or something and would blow off the rim each time. Went to LBS also and they put the compressor on it and same thing. Called Jenson and they said it's not the first time they heard this about this particular tire, DH casing especially. They took care of me and I'll have a fresh one soon.


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## Seventh-777 (Aug 30, 2013)

We had hero dirt at Highland today - it rained a bit over the last couple of days and today was gorgeous. Great dry conditions, a little tacky with a little loose stuff. First impressions after a day railing it:

The good: Wow, that's a lot of grip.
The bad: I kind of want to try one on the back in place of the DHR now, which means I'll have to break 58 more levers mounting it. Crap.

Pretty solid first impression all around. Definitely more RR than the DHF but nobody buys Minions for their RR anyway. I started around 28psi and went down to about 26 and they felt great in the corners and over big drops (Reef, etc). I think 28 will end up being my sweet spot for extra grip + wheel preservation.


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## foggnm (Aug 17, 2015)

Seventh-777 said:


> break 58 more levers mounting it. Crap.


 Probably more a function of your rim than the tire. Mine were easy to mount on EX511 rims 30mm. And I've never had a Maxxis tire that was difficult to mount. Even the DH casing went on easy. All hand application and one lever just for the last little bit.


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## Seventh-777 (Aug 30, 2013)

foggnm said:


> Probably more a function of your rim than the tire. Mine were easy to mount on EX511 rims. And I've never had a Maxxis tire that was difficult to mount. Even the DH casing went on easy. All hand application and one lever just for the last little bit.


Enve M90s. Zero issues mounting DHF/DHR on them. The Tire Gods are fickle sometimes, it's a coin toss.


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## Miker J (Nov 4, 2003)

I've mounted a few of the DH casing flavor or DT 570/560s. No problems - well except getting it on the rear with a Flat Tire Defender out back. Those make any tire install a wrestling match.


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## SHIVER ME TIMBERS (Jan 12, 2004)

.WestCoastHucker. said:


> ass-uh-guy


ass u guy


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## sea_dude (Oct 2, 2019)

Thoughts on replacing a schwalbe magic mary 2.6 in the front with assegai for socal conditions? Replaced the hansdampf with the dissector in the rear and loving it.


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## SoCal-Rider (May 25, 2009)

sea_dude said:


> Thoughts on replacing a schwalbe magic mary 2.6 in the front with assegai for socal conditions? Replaced the hansdampf with the dissector in the rear and loving it.


I don't know how the Assegai compares to the MM, but I can say the Assegai is the best front tire I've ever used for SoCal conditions. I like it better than the DHF I ran for years. Yes the Assegai is a bit porky, but the traction is amazing. I don't notice it rolling any slower than the DHF.

When Maxxis comes out with the Dissector in DC, I'd like to try one on the rear.


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