Maxxis Assegai Tire [Rider Review]

Our "Rider Review" article series features the honest reviews from verified purchasers of Worldwide Cyclery. They contain the photos, thoughts, feedback & overall review you are looking for. 

Maxxis' Assegai Tire is probably the most popular tire we have seen in recent years. For its notorious grip and durability, the Assegai has found a home on bike of all travel ranges and keeping riders of all skill levels rolling and locked to the ground. With a wide variety of casings, compounds and sidewall protection, there is an Assegai for just about anyone. Our friend Christian recently put on an Assegai, let's see what he thought:

Christian's Review

Utah is known for its grippy slick rock but that can truly be an oxymoron with lots of loose gravel and dust covering many of our trails. So after my front tire washed-out, and literally sent me pounding sand, a buddy mentioned this new “Ass Guy” tire and I decided to give it a spin and save some future skin. It is now the only tire I roll up front and has become a game-changer on Utah’s loose and hard terrain.

I always splurge on tires and cannot understand how someone could spend big on a bike then skimp with how that expensive performance bike communicates with the dirt?! I rode Schwalbe’s Hans Dampf and/or Maxxis’ Minion DHF upfront prior to giving this new A-guy a try. The difference in grip and cornering confidence is noticeable! The tread on the Assegai is more aggressive and deeper. If I am comparing it to the DHF then the DHF has only 4 rows of knobs and this Assegai has 5 rows of knobs. That extra row of knobs and the decrease in the “no man’s land” between the outer knobs and inner knobs is what I believe provides the extra confidence in the corners. Note that the Hans Dampf also mimics a 5-row setup.

So why go with the Ass Guy over the Handyman (that is what Hans Dampf loosely translates to)? It was durability for me. On our dry trails that Handyman would chap and crack on the outer knobs. Eventually, those cracking outer knobs would tear and could expose a hole. I have never had this problem with Maxxis, even in the 3C compounds, but I’ve lost a few Schwalbe’s to cracking outer knobs. All the tires mentioned have durable sidewalls – another necessity here!

Maxxis’ Dual Compound works best and lasts the longest for the trail conditions here in Utah. The deeper Assegai tire, as a front tire, with that Dual Compound really holds up. I can almost get a full season out of one tire or approach 3,000 miles.

If the pros are traction, longevity, and durability then the cons of the Assegai are that it is a heavier tire. The DHF was weighing in at 900 grams, the Hans Dampf weighed 800 grams, and this Assegai tilts the scales at 1000 grams! That is a surprisingly noticeable difference on climbs and when you need to pick-up your front end but it is more than offset by the extra confidence and cornering going down and going fast.

Another problem with the Assegai is that it plucks and hurls gravel at your downtube! Make certain you are well-protected with tape and fenders for the barrage of pebbles this angry Ass Guy is going to hurl into your pretty carbon downtube! I’m serious, the traction is so good that it grabs the pebbles and blasts them at your downtube like an automatic weapon at a gun range painting a target – pop, pop, pop!

Conclusion

"My conclusion is that this Maxxis Assegai is simply the best FRONT tire out there right now with all the confidence and durability to “eat and spit out” anything loose (or hard) that you can throw at it. Well worth its price tag." - Christian