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Spotted! New Maxxis DH Tire Makes World Cup Rounds

closeup details of prototype maxxis high roller 3 downhill mountain bike tire
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While we spotted the reversed Fox 32 fork on the cross-country bikes, the DH riders were rolling on what appeared to be a new Maxxis DH tire aimed at mixed conditions.

Details are under wraps, but teams are riding them. The Norco DH team rode them all week, and for the finals, The Santa Cruz Syndicate used them for the beginning of the week but not at the final because course conditions had improved.

Photos were hard to come by, hence the weird angles and cropping, but here’s what we can tell so far…

closeup details of prototype maxxis high roller 3 downhill mountain bike tire

At first, we thought it might be a more aggressive High Roller II, but after some more thought, this could be a new design altogether. We’ll have to keep an eye out on the pros’ bikes and see where it goes. This prototype’s center blocks are more square, whereas the HRII has wider, rectangular knobs. Here it is for reference:

maxxis high roller 2 mountain bike tire
Current Maxxis High Roller II Photo: Maxxis

The other big difference is the leading edge. The Maxxis High Roller II’s center treads are ramped with a long slope, helping it roll quickly. The side knobs are tall and angular, which makes this one a great rear tire when paired with something more aggressive in the front.

closeup details of prototype maxxis high roller 3 downhill mountain bike tire

Both have flat backs on the knobs for good braking traction. This new DH prototype’s side knobs are straighter, with edges running parallel to the rolling direction rather than at slight and alternating angles.

closeup details of prototype maxxis high roller 3 downhill mountain bike tire

The center blocks also stay in line, suggesting it could be a new Shorty with each other rather than the High Rollers II alternating wide/small pattern. Both have wide open spacing between the knobs, suggesting this DH prototype is also intended for loose conditions.

closeup details of prototype maxxis high roller 3 downhill mountain bike tire

There’s no word on specs yet, but we suspect it’ll have the same DoubleDown and Downhill casing options as others in the Maxxis DH line. It’ll likely also get various single, double, 3C MaxxTerra, MaxxGrip, and SuperTacky compound options. Why? Because we could see this pairing really well with the High Roller II as a front/rear combo. That said, the Minion DHR II tire has a similar tread pattern to the High Roller II, so perhaps this one’s intentionally different to help give it its own personality and position in its lineup.

Maxxis.com

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Bobinas
Bobinas
4 months ago

I hope you’re just mistakenly calling it the HR3…. This is really a totally new tire. It’s upgrade from the Shorty2 to allow to be ridden on more hard pack conditions, rocks, etc. It’s the competitor tire to the very popular Conti Argotal.

@MrRichardH
@MrRichardH
4 months ago
Reply to  Bobinas

Yeah, it’s such a hugely different tyre to the HRII, but it does look like a revised Shorty…

Tony
Tony
4 months ago
Reply to  Bobinas

It looks a lot like the Specialized Hillbilly, which is lot like the Shorty only in a EXO+ type casing, might be the best mixed condition front tire I’ve ever run

Jason DW
Jason DW
4 months ago

Looks like a Continental or a Schwalbe

hmstuna
hmstuna
4 months ago

I don’t understand why this would be the HRIII. No reason was given in the article either. Not only is the tread pattern not even slightly similar, it doesn’t seem aimed at the same terrain at all. It looks more like a minion dhf than a HRII by a long shot and seems like it might be trying to give riders another allround option. The assegai has been wildly popular for that reason.

Also does Maxxis release any of their new tires in SuperTacky anymore. Pretty sure it was discontinued in favor of maxxgrip.

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