Maxxis tyres were known for coming up a little bit narrower than some of the competitors, and with the advent of wider rims needed to update their range. Enter WT, which stands for "Wide Trail". Maxxis claim:
Wide Trail line of mountain bike tires are designed specifically with 30-35mm rims in mind and feature a revised tread block arrangement to maintain ideal knob positioning.
We mounted up a pair of 2.5 DHF WT on a pair of 35mm internal rims and used them for around 12 months in total, covering just over 2000 miles. RRP is £64.99.
Weight and dimensions
From widest nob to nob we measured it as 58mm on a 35mm internal rim. When compared to a 2.35" Magic Mary, it's actually a little smaller.
We weighed the DHF at 947g, which is about average for a chunky trail tyre with decent volume.
Construction
We used the 3C MaxxTerra compound both front and rear, and the lighter Exo casing. The 2.5 DHF are also available in 3C MAXX GRIP and in the thicker Double Down casing.
Installation
Getting the tyres onto the rim was straight forward, and as you would expect with a modern tyre, getting it setup tubeless was easy and only took a few minutes.
Performance
The 2 main performance criteria when it comes to tyres are "How fast does it roll?" and "How well does it grip?". In our unscientific test which consists of seeing how far we can get just rolling down a hill, it gets noticeably further than a double Magic Mary combo but no where near as far as a proper XC race duo. For such a wide, chunky nobbed tyre we think it rolls pretty well.
So, what about grip? Again, pretty damn good. The DHF works really well as a do-it-all everyday tyre, able to take on all conditions from bike park hardpack to steep muddy roots in a consistently impressive manner. Back to back with the double Marys and the braking traction is not as good, the knobs don't seem to bite in quite so much, and earlier braking is required to control speed. With that though, the Maxxis never feel completely out of their depth and once you get used to how they work it becomes second nature.
Cornering is on-par with a Mary in all but the muddiest conditions and unlike the High Roller 2, the transfer from centre to side knobs is seamless.
We would say that the 2.5 DHF WT works well both on the front and the rear of the bike, and could be paired up with something beefier upfront for a more a aggressive setup, or with something faster on the rear for speedier summer conditions.
Longevity
As always the rear has taken more of a beating than the front, but we have been very impressed with how well the tyre has worn. There has been no issues with knobs tearing off, and both tyres have plenty of life left in them. We would say these are some of the longest lasting tyres we have tested.
Issues
Whilst we had no issues with punctures or tears, we did end up with a wobbly front after only a few months use. This does seem to be an issue with some tyres, not just Maxxis, but we have had it before with a Shorty and a DHR II.
The rim is true, the tyre is not, similar to this video:
Switching the wobbly tyre to the rear meant we couldn't see it when we were riding, which helped, but the wobble could still be felt when going quite slowly on tarmac. Pretty annoying.
So what causes the wobble? No one seems to be sure, in some cases such as the one above it seems to be a manufacturing defect, in others, such as ours it seems to be from landing a jump slightly sideways which damages the bead. It does seem Maxxis are the most prone to it though. If the tyre is new then we know people who have successfully warrantied it for a new one.
Overall
£64.99 is a LOT of money for a bicycle tyre, so we should be expecting a lot from them for the money. Performance and longevity wise, we think the DHF 2.5 WT hits the mark, as a year round fit and forget piece of rubber, its just great. The big issue is the continued occurrences of the Maxxis Wobble. It does seem to vary in severity, from hardly noticeable to completely buckled, and for the most part it is ignorable, but we haven't seen the same issue from other brands. As the tyre market is full of valid competitors, many of which are cheaper it does seem hard to recommend unless they are on offer.
