Maxxis Aggressor Tire: Rider Review

The Maxxis Aggressor is a top-notch rear tire and one that many brands sell as stock on their new bikes. When paired with a beefier tire up front the combination creates the perfect blend of grip and rolling speed. In this review, our customer Mark swaps out his High Rollers for an Aggressor out back. Check it out! 

Overview

When I bought my original bike, a Santa Cruz Tallboy LT, it came with Maxxis High Roller 2 tires. I liked those tires and they performed well for me. When they were worn out and it was time to buy new tires, I naturally went with Maxxis again. There are a lot of good tires out there but I don’t think any other company makes tires significantly better than Maxxis.

Wider is Better

I wanted to try the wider is better tire and rim combination, so I replaced the stock wheels and had a new set custom built. The wheels were built by a company located in Georgia and they are real “Pro-Wheel Builders”. The new wheels have 30mm wide rims and so I wanted tires designed for that width rims. The new WT or wide trail tires from Maxxis fit the bill.

Current Setup

My bike is a 29er in XL size so it is not the lightest bike around. I wanted to get a rear tire that was not too knobby and therefore heavy, but that had decent grip. I have been using the Maxxis Ardent 2.4 tire and it has been fine but this time around I wanted to try something with a little more meat without going all the way to the DHR tire. DHR or Down Hill Rear, as its name indicates, is a little more than I need.

Performance and Final Thoughts

Along came the new Maxxis Aggressor 2.5 WT. A perfect new tire to try on the rear of my bike. Compared to the Ardent, the Aggressor has taller more spaced out knobs in the center and a lot more knob/grip at the shoulder of the tire. The Aggressor gives me better grip in all circumstances, especially when I have to stand and unload the rear wheel to pedal up that last little bit of a difficult climb. I selected the tubeless ready, regular casing model which is not too heavy and I don’t usually have issues with pinch flats.

Maxxis has many models, sizes and compositions of tires, go to Maxxis’ website to learn what all the letters mean so that you buy the right tire for your bike.