Maxxis Minion DHF & DHR II Tire Combo [Rider Review]

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Maxxis Minion tires are a staple name when talking about grip on the mountain bike. The Minion DHF/DHRII has been the go-to combination for some time. Our friend, Patrick has been trying the very same setup. See what they think!

Overview

I have been running the DHF / DHR II combination for about three years now. I really like the cornering and braking traction I get from these tires. I’ve been running a 2.5 in the front and a 2.4 in the rear on my full suspension bike. Recently I decided to build up a hardtail primarily for riding in the rainy season. I got a NukeProof Scout 275, and I though it would make sense to put bigger tires on it to help take the edge off not having any rear suspension. The frame can handle up to 2.8 wide tires, and my rims have a 35mm inner width, but 2.8 just seemed excessive to me for the area where I ride. We don’t have any sand, snow or big mud bogs. Also, there would be a little bit of a weight penalty for going up to 2.8. I decided 2.6 would be a good compromise, front and rear.

The extra width added some stability and seemed to take the edge off of bumps, and I was able to run the pressure a little lower than I normally would with narrower tires.

As usual, Maxxis has several versions to pick from in the 27.5x2.6 size. For the DHF, they’ve got 3C/EXO+ (1010g), 3C/EXO (925g) and Dual (965g). I decided to go with the 3C/EXO version because it is the lightest. I pretty much never get flats in the front, so I don’t need the stronger EXO+ version. Having three rubber compounds (3C) seems like a good thing over the Dual compound version, although I’m not sure I’d be able to tell the difference. For the DHR II, they have the same options, although the weights are slightly lower (970/910/945g). I decided to go with the EXO+ version in the rear because I do get the occasional pinch flat.

I noticed a couple of strange things about the specs of these tires. First, Maxxis lists them as WT (Wide Trail) on their website, but the tires themselves do not say WT on them. I suppose it can be assumed that a tire as wide as 2.6 is intended for a rim with a 30-35mm internal width. Second, the 3C versions have 120tpi, whereas the Dual version has 60tpi. Normally they give their 120tpi tires the DD (DoubleDown) designation, but for some reason they didn’t in this case.

Final Thoughts

I have only been on one ride so far with these tires, but they behaved the way I expected they would. The extra width added some stability and seemed to take the edge off of bumps, and I was able to run the pressure a little lower than I normally would with narrower tires. I ran 20psi in the front and 25psi in the rear, but I think I can get away with dropping the rear pressure down a bit more.