The all-new Aspen from Maxxis has two distinct personalities. On the one hand, it’s a lightweight, fast-rolling cross-country tyre, and on the other, it’s a high-volume, sticky trail demon that’s most at home railing corners.
The Aspen combines tacky 62a rubber with Maxxis’s Exception casing to provide grip via large side knobs, similar to those on their High Roller tyre. The high volume carcass adds to the aggressive feel too.
When out on the trail, the Aspens roll extremely quickly but never feel skittish. As soon as you get into a turn those side knobs hook up like Velcro, inspiring confidence. Their feedback is good and you always feel on top of what the tyre’s doing.
When climbing, they dig in well despite their shallow centre tread. The round profile might not be to everyone’s taste, but on fast, flowing trails, the Aspens are some of the best tyres out there.