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Last week, Maxxis hosted media from various mountain bike publications at the Mulberry Gap Mountain Bike Get-A-Way. They teamed up with Pivot to provide bikes for us to ride on the nearby Pinhoti and Bear Creek trails, as well as Mulberry’s new jump line and pump track on their property. Over the long weekend, we rode bikes in between talking tire tech with engineers, pigging out on Mulberry Gap’s delicious food, and throwing back Terrapin’s various brews.
Maxxis didn’t have any brand new tread patterns on hand for us to try out as they’re focusing on expanding size and spec options. Chief among these are several existing treads in 2.6″ widths (for both 27.5″ and 29″), and increased puncture protection as an option on certain plus tires. I rode Pivot’s Switchblade, which is compatible with 29″ and plus wheels. I tried it first as a 29er and then as a plus bike with Maxxis’ reinforced Rekon 27.5×2.8 tires. The bike pedaled well and offered excellent climbing traction in either mode, but at the end of the day, I preferred the 29er setup as it better suits my riding style and terrain.
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Check out highlights from the weekend in the photos below.
Checking out the new jump line at Mulberry Gap that ends in a pumptrack
I chose to ride Pivot’s Switchblade trail bike; 135mm rear travel, 150mm front
Fox Factory 36 Boost
A beautiful baby blue paint job on the Switchblade
Here’s the Pivot Switchblade with plus wheels. This is Brendon’s (Pivot’s demo driver) personal bike, which explains the slight differences in spec.
The Maxxis Rekon is now available with a layer of protection that goes from bead-to-bead; Maxxis says these tires are good for large, aggressive riders, or extra chunky terrain
Charlie from Maxxis, keeping the trains running on time
Loading up for a shuttle on Bear Creek
It’s all smiles when you get a ride to the top
Pivot is using a taller bottom cup on the headset to preserve geometry when using plus wheels; the cups can be found on the Les, 429 Trail, and Switchblade
Regrouping at the Gennett Poplar on Bear Creek
Dylan Stucki tearing up the pumptrack
3D printers give Maxxis’ engineers a chance to review designs with athletes before cutting a mold. This allows them to easily change knob heights and spacing.
Before the 2016 Olympics, Nino Schurter and his team did independent rolling resistance tests and found that the Maxxis Aspen was the fastest rolling tire available, even faster than the Dugast tubulars he typically rides. Nino came to Maxxis and asked them to make tires specifically for Rio. These may look similar to the production version, but they use a 170 TPI casing that is for race use only.
Maxxis’s rubber expertise isn’t limited to bike tires; they make products for everything from passenger cars to rock crawlers like this one
They also make tires for side-by-sides
1000cc, 3-liter engine, with Fox X2 shocks at all four corners
Terrapin, for hydration
Shaggy jibbing while waiting for the group
The weekend started out chilly, but the sun eventually shone through
Stucki finishing up the Pinhoti 2 descent
When you’ve got fire and a jump, you combine the twoBrice Shirbach hucks into the darkness
