When it comes to mountain bike choices, we have so many that it will make your head spin just thinking about it. There are XC tires, DH tires, tires for wet, tires for loose, tires for whatever! If you ride in one area all the time with the same type of dirt that just happens to stay consistent all year round then it would be easy to find the right tire. But most of us try and get out and ride different areas at different times of the year in different weather conditions. |
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If you don't want to change your tires around constantly then the goal is to find one that will give you the best grip and least rolling resistance for all the trails you ride and that can be a tall order. Plus you have the front and rear tires to worry about since they serve different purposes so now you need to worry about getting the right tire for both ends of your bike.
Maxxis has been in the tire game for many years and is one of the most well-known and well respected brands out there. They are probably most famous for the DH line of tires which many people actually use on their trail bikes. They have another popular model called the Aggressor which many people like to use for a rear tire since its fast rolling while still offering up some nice grip in the corners.
The Aggressor is an all-around Enduro style tire that is meant to be used in many types of conditions rather than for just one specific application such as downhill or wet conditions. It comes in many different sizes and rubber compounds so you can fine tune it for your bike and riding style. It also comes in their Wide Trail (WT) casing which is meant to be used for wheels with a 30-35mm inner width. You can also get it in 26, 27.5 and 29 inch sizes so if you are still running 26 inch wheels you are in luck!
We have been running the Aggressor as a rear tire for some time now and so far it's performing quite well. The exact tire was an EXO/TR 29X2.30 model at 900 grams. It replaced a Bontrager 29x2.40 XR4 Team Issue (780g) tire that had been on the bike for quite some time and also performed well itself. The first thing I noticed when going on the first ride was the increased rolling resistance. I am not usually one for noticing component changes too much unless it's a big change but definitely noticed that the bike rolled faster right off the bat.
When it comes to high speed cornering, the Aggressor works great and stays stable in the corners. There was not noticeable slipping in the rear unless you wanted it to slide and it feels quite stable. The trails ridden with the tire consisted mostly of loose over hardpack, hardpack itself and also various types of solid and loose rocky terrain.
The one thing I was a little disappointed with was the grip when climbing steep sections that are on the loose side. This is where the XR4 outperformed the Aggressor offering up more traction getting up those kickers. Depending on what types of climbing you have to do, that might be an issue but its not like it was spinning out constantly.
Overall the Aggressor is a great tire and if you are looking for something new then its one you should try to see how it performs for you. They are not super expensive at around $50 or so depending on what size and compound you get so it wont break the bank if you decide to give it a try.
