Maxxis Minion DHF and Rekon Combo [Rider Review]

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When it comes to tires, the amount of combinations one can come up with can be endless. Our friend, Shan, is running a DHF and Rekon setup for a grippy front end and a faster rolling rear. Check out what they think about it!

Overview

I was looking for a summer tire combination for front and rear. My selection for the front was that it had to be large volume (2.6), super grippy (3C Compund), and light casing (120 tpi). I am a tried and true user of Maxxis DHF for front and have even ran double DHF front and rear with good success. The Minion DHF 29x2.6 3C 120 TPI EXO checked all the boxes for me. The 29x2.6 120tpi 3C EXO actually weighs less compared to 29x2.5 60 tpi 3C EXO according to Maxxiswebsite. I also figured I could run the lighter casing (120 tpi) as I am using it as a front tire as my summer tire. As usual with Maxxis Tires, the tire mounted up perfectly and tubeless is a breeze with this tire as well. This tire was mounted on a carbon hoop with 31mm internal measurement. I have never run anything wider than a 2.5 in the past but curious how a 2.6 would perform on the front as it has more volume. I did not measure the width with a caliper but it looks massive on my rims, which is what I was going for (more grip). On the trail this thing rails corners and for me the wider tire does definitely provide more grip especially when cornering. Feedback on the trail is exactly what I was looking for. It does not dumb down the feedback from the trail with little more volume and is still just as sensitive in my opinion as the 2.5 width.

It hooks up like no other front tire I have run to this point.

Also, just as a side note the rear tire I chose for summer use is the Maxxis Rekon 29x2.4WT 60 tpi EXO Dual Compound. This tire combination is a killer summer tire combo for the Southeast where I will be mainly riding during the summer months. I would not only recommend the Minion DHF 29x2.6 3C 120 TPI EXO but paring it with the Maxxis Rekon 29x2.4WT 60 tpiEXO Dual Compound. This combination is light, grippy, and the Rekon is an incredibly fast roller compared to the Minion DHF 29x2.4 60 tpi dual compound I was running previously.

Final Thoughts

I prefer running the 3C compound on the front and dual compound on the rear. This provides extra grip for the front tire without wearing too quickly but provides ample grip compared to a dual compound. Dual compound does provide more tire life however it does compromise grip to a certain degree. Also, the channeling knobs on the DHF provide minimal dead zones while cornering. You can feel the grip in any cornering angle verses feeling some dead zones like other tires I have run.