MAXXIS MONO TYRE REVIEW

High Grip, Low rolling resistance, Low weight and hard wearing. These are the characteristics desired of all MTB tyres and it seems that every new tyre released these days claims to have them in spades. A quick check of the MAXXIS website shows the monorail to be no different offering “Racers take note: If you're looking for a fast, light tyre with a consistent, predictable feel from straight-line to corner, the Monorail delivers.” My Crossmarks were looking pretty shabby after a couple of 24’s and although they had always seemed to work fine, I felt that the Monorails deserved at the very least to be given a chance.

With respect to build quality, there were some issues with the sidewalls which are exceptionally thin due largely to their intended use as a race tyre I suspect. I managed to blow two out in as many rides, the first while simply commuting along the road. Thankfully, although the second occurred during a 4hr race the tube held firm and I was still able to finish albeit with a hernia like protrusion from my rear tyre. I would definitely not recommend running the non-UST version as a tubeless setup with a conversion kit though, nor would I recommend them as a general trail/all-mountain tyre. Thankfully, the LUST version seems to have a much beefier sidewall and a proper tubeless setup is more suited to this tyres intended purpose anyway.

I have to be honest that my initial impression on the trail too was not great. Having shod my shiny new GT with the tyres I headed out to Yarramundi and proceeded to hammer my way around the course. Admittedly my technical XC ability could be likened to attempting microsurgery with a hacksaw but it felt as though the grip just wasn’t as forthcoming as it should have been. They were definitely fast rolling in a straight line but I was hesitant to really fling the bike into the corners for fear of ending up wrapped around a tree. I was perplexed then to find that this tyre seemed suitable for neither the trail nor the race track. Just what was the point of this tyre again?

Once the searing heat had taken its toll though and I backed off into more of an endurance pace the tyres came into their own and I had somewhat of a revelation. Grip was now available both in and out of corners and everything began to flow like it should. Initially I thought that it simply meant that these weren’t the “race” tyres they had claimed to be but it turned out that they are actually so much more. At the slightly reduced pace I had more time to think about my riding and started actively applying the theory behind going fast. Conserving momentum and weight distribution were foremost in my mind and the tyres responded in kind. For the same perceived effort, the lap times were coming down and the point of the Monorail became clear. The ubiquitous Nevegals, and other such tyres provide the rider with copious amounts of grip in virtually all situations (though arguably at the expense of rolling speed) no matter how much of a hash the rider is making of the trail. While this has the effect of making you feel like a singletrack god, it does so at the expense of actual ability. In essence, you could be fooled in to believing you are much better rider than you probably are. The Monorail does not. It rewards technique and to get the best out of them you need to ride smoothly.

The choice in whether or not to slap on a pair of these tyres then becomes a question of your riding goals rather than your riding style. The Monorail is not a fit and forget arrangement like the average trail tyre. If you want a tyre that you don’t have to think about while riding, that will simply wash over your ham-fisted mistakes with mountains of grip and are not in the business of winning races then look elsewhere. However, if you want a fast racing tyre which rewards good technique and will challenge you to improve your bike handling abilities then I would suggest you give the Monorail some serious consideration. The reason I hope that the LUST version of this tyre proves more robust than the tubed one is because when the next 24 rolls around I’m confident that I wont be reaching for the Crossmark’s.

Words by Shane Taylor