Maxxis Crossmark - Good Tyre?

[MaxUmis]

I've moved away from crossmarx. Reason being is that I've had 3 that somehow the tread distorts and makes it look like your wheel is buckled when in fact it's the tyre that is f#%&ked. I have a maxxis monorail on the front that does the job well though.

MBP,

were they LUST or the normal versions?

 

I ran a wirebead Monorail that did that and the postmortem showed that the Stans started to delaminate the tyre where I had patched a big cut.

 

So I'm thinking Stans + normal version Maxxis + biggish cut = failure/ tyre distortion.

[splat]

I also vote for the Monorail/Crossmark combo for dry conditions.

They are made of quite a hard rubber, so last a while but are terrible when things get wet.

 

They are far more robust than Conti tyres as well.

 

 

[MattyG]

gees thanks all for the comments and replies..my current tyres the schwalbe black jack light skin only weighs 570g each i think i will just keep those rather and do a ghetto tubeless conversion as my bike is already topping the scale at 12.9kg so hoping the tubeless might shave 400g or so off?? what you guys think?? and then rather spending the money that i would have spent on the crossmarks on a lighter seat post or something??

Edited December 20, 2010 by MattyG

[MattyG]

also im topping the scale at 59kg so i dont think sidewall slash would be a problem?? i cant even get my fork to compress more than 73mm and its rated for 120mm...

[Sharkie 2]

Excellent tyre

[mataz]

Continental Mountain King on the front and Race King on the back, there is no better combo.

 

They're a bit more expensive - for good reason...German technology where you need it most on a bike...

 

Rode Crossmarks for a long time, wear is definitely not as good, grip is not as good and they tend to blister.

[splat]

also im topping the scale at 59kg so i dont think sidewall slash would be a problem?? i cant even get my fork to compress more than 73mm and its rated for 120mm...

 

 

Sidewall slash has more to do with rocks and terrain than you weight

 

If you are only getting 73mm travel on your fork, you are either riding on flat roads, or have your air pressure too high.

[The Drongo]

Maxxis Monorail front

Maxxis Larsen TT rear

 

Crossmark has been the kakkest (sic?) tyre I have ever placed on the front end of a bike.

 

If you are a racesnake weight weenie, then rather go for Kenda Smallblock, they kick the MXXS Crossmark into touch any day.

[CAAD4]

If you ride Crossmarks, try and avoid ammonia based sealants, but that'a another argument...

[MaxUmis]

IMO it's not always purely about weight, but rather where you're saving that weight. Saving weight on anything that rotate is going to benefit you more than say a seatpost.

Running tubeless may or may not be "lighter", but tubeless rolls better and grips better than a tubed setup.

My best time for my 16km Groenkloof lap was 56m20s running entry level shimano wheels with a tubed Monorail/Crossmark combo and tyreliners as pucture protection.

Since then I've switched to Shimano XT wheelset, running that same Monorail/Crossmark combo and my current best time for the same lap is 51m50s. My first lap running the XT wheelset was 52m30s.

The combination of switching from tubed to tubeless and the XT wheelset over my old entry level set saves me 4 mins per hour.

I don't know if there's another upgrade that will save more time than that.

[AndreZA]

I don't know if there's another upgrade that will save more time than that.

 

training more, cooler weather, better ground conditions, a good night sleep the night before. A few other things can also help you improve time.

[MaxUmis]

training more, cooler weather, better ground conditions, a good night sleep the night before. A few other things can also help you improve time.

yes, but this is over a lap that I do 2 or 3 times a month. The 56m20s was my best lap out of about 15 months. the 52m30s was a week later on my very first lap on the new wheels. I can say with a fair amount of confidence that the improvement had nothing to do with the condition of the rider.

[MattyG]

guys i basicly want to know..is it a good tyre for the front end of my bike..and i think i should do a poll coz im getting vibes from both sides..

[Renier82]

i have the Larson TT on the rear (normal foldable on mavic SLR wheel) and the Crossmark on the fron also normal none UST tire.. the tires works well for me,

although the front tire has seperated from the rim twice whilst riding(tire pressure hard) and had 2 spectacular crashes each time..

i suspect its because of the none UST tire on UST rim?

other than that the crossmark seems to grip well for me.

[DownhillingKing]

Side walls tear really easily and they don't have much grip when cornering quickly.

 

I have been really happy with my Kenda Nevagals though

[MattyG]

Side walls tear really easily and they don't have much grip when cornering quickly.

 

I have been really happy with my Kenda Nevagals though

thats exactly what im scared of as i like to go hot into corners then i always find the bike understeering a lot so was thinking .maybe get a moerse DH tyre in the front then get a skinny 1.9 superlight xc tyre at the back to make up for the weight of the DH tyre?? what u think?