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. 

When Maxxis dropped the new Assegai, it had a massive shock wave in the industry. Especially since the tire was developed with multi world champ Greg Minnaar. Our friend, Arthur has been running the tire. See what they think!

Overview

Assegai: Let me just say, WOW!

A little history... I previously used WTB Vigilante tires on the front and Trail Boss on the rear of my Santa Cruz Highball. Prior to my latest purchase, the widest width on those are 2.3" for a 29er. I liked the Vigilante and Trail Boss setup very much. However, I wanted a more aggressive bike and wider wheel & tires.

My new bike is a Transition Vanquish XL with NOX Kitsuma wheels on Hope Pro 4 Boost Hubs. My first tire on this new setup was a Maxxis DHF 29 x 2.5 front and rear. The DHF left me wanting in the front. It has good grip, but slips a bit when transitioning from center to side. I ride a lot of gravel trails and loose over hard. The DHF left me wanting more grip in the transition area and a bit more grip overall.

I decided to try the Assegai, it has a similar tread to the Vigilante and is 2.5" wide.

The Assegai has loads of grip and when you think your pushing the tire to hard.... more GRIP.

This tire just grabs and grabs and grabs some more. Every time I hit some spots that I've known to be problematic in the past, well this Assegai just laughs at it and grips on through. Have I mentioned this tire has loads of grip? It does!

Final Thoughts

I cannot emphasize this enough. No issues transitioning from center to side at all. It grabs well in the loose stuff better than every previous tire I have rode. I've found my new go to front tire.