I bought a Maxxis Assegai 2.6 MaxTerra as a replacement rear tire after watching hours of tire review videos on YouTube, comparing at least twenty different tires. It’s definitely not the budget choice. It’s a replacement for the rear tire that my 29” Enduro bike came with when I bought it a year ago. The bike originally came with a Maxxis Aggressor, which despite its name, didn’t impress me as very aggressive. I found it slid around way too much, especially at lower pressures. Maybe the name means it was for ‘aggressive’ riders who want a tire for a showy and aggressive riding style… I could actually feel the tire sidewalls deforming sometimes, especially at low pressures, and after a bit of use it stopped maintaining tubeless pressure well before the tread showed even that much wear, due to micro cuts and punctures that would leak sealant slowly. I ride in very dry conditions all year round, with a combination of loose sand and rock and sharp edged granite drops and rock gardens. I could also never get the pressure quite right on the Aggressor, it was either too hard and bouncy when run at 25+ PSI, or noticeably sloppy when the pressure was anywhere below 22 PSI.
The Assegai I loved after just two rides. I ran it at 21 PSI and that seemed the perfect pressure without any tweaking. The thing I most liked was that the careful mixture of side and center knobs seem to give it an ability to track a line perfectly regardless of whether the terrain was exposed rock, loose rock, hard clay or loose sand.
My first ride was on my local mountain behind Vista, with 700ft of technical climbing with multiple steep sharp switchbacks and a difficult uphill exposed rock sections where traction on exposed rock is key, followed by 700ft straight back down again on a custom built downhill trail, with big clay berms, steep -40% gradient rocky drops and a few loose loamy sections in a creek bed.
The Assegai was perfect on the uphill, nearly never losing traction on the switchbacks. On the downhill, it gave huge confidence over the rocky drops, because it really likes to stay connected to the terrain whenever possible. Sure it will skid if you want it to, but for me it doesn’t seem like it wants to be ridden by the type of rider who wants to shred every corner and spray gravel all over the place in the process. Rather, it’s for a rider that wants the confidence that their bike will go exactly where they put it on every single turn, and track whatever line the rider chooses, regardless of what the trail throws at you.
My second ride was one of my favorite circuits at Daley Ranch. This time there is a long slow uphill with multiple sections of loose rock and deep clay ruts. The Assegai excelled at both, especially the clay ruts where the side knobs bite right in and let your ride up out of the rut to track a line while keeping power on. Everything about the tire encouraged me to keep the power on through difficult uphill terrain, with the confidence that the grip will be delivered by the tire continuously and smoothly. Then there is a fast single track downhill, with flat out sweeping turns, sharp uphills, and sandy loose switchbacks. Overall, the Assegai simply gave me more confidence in every type of terrain, and as a rider that confidence meant I had more fun.
I’m now wondering how long I can wait before justifying buying another Assegai for the front to replace my Maxxis Minion DHF 2.6, as I’m convinced the Assegai would also be a brilliant front tire for my riding style and conditions.;
