Twenty Nine Inches has purchased a set of Maxxis Ardent tires to test and review. The Ardent is a new offering from Maxxis in its 29″er line of tires which also includes the Ignitor and the CrossMark.
The Ardents feature a width listed at 2.25″ and have a folding bead. The tires also feature a 60 TPI casing with a “70a” rubber compound. The tread pattern features “multi-edged center tread” with “sharp side knobs”. There is a low, intermediate set of knobs between these two sets of knobs on the casing as well.
Maxxis touts these tires as an “Aggressive, High Traction Tire for Demanding Trails”. The hanger tag also tells us that Maxxis recommends this tire be used for medium, loose, and wet trails. Maxxis also lets us know that the “key feature” of this tire is its cornering control. The tire is manufactured in Taiwan and retails for about $50.00 a tire.
Our samples weighed 690gm and 750gm a piece. The difference in weight between the two could be felt in the hand. Weight weenies may want to take their digital scales to the bike shop when looking at these tires!
We will have the Ardents mounted soon and will be test riding them on our local trails. A First Impressions post with width data and our initial feelings about performance of the Ardents will follow soon.
Run lower pressures than you are used to. I found the tires to work their best in the 25 -27 lbs range. Much higher and they slide.
My review can be found here:
http://www.mtbtrailreview.com/blog/maxxis-ardent-29er-tested/featured/
-198
Can’t wait to see them. They look pretty cool. Does that logo glow in the dark?
been ridin my ardent on the front for a few months now and I love it! I agree on the low pressure I’m a big dude and run mid 20′s w/ no problem…
good on corners- good on rocks w/ lower pressure only- and not that hefty
Big weight variance, especially for a random pair from one purchase. Makes me wonder which of the two is more like it was designed to be. Where are the times that whole retail boxes of tires were within mere grams?
Cloxxki: Yeah, I was a bit surprised by that as well. I weighed the heavier tire three times just to be sure! The really strange thing was that it happened again with the very next set of tires I purchased which I will post about this weekend. So this may not be as unusual as I thought.
At least I know which tire to put on the rear and which to use as a front!
You realize a rear wheel is much harder to accelerate and climb, right? And that heavy tires roll slowly, so better not be used on the driven wheel?
I think these variances tell us what’s happened to manufacturing tolerances.
I once had a Schwalbe in my hands that was 50g off. They had forgotten one whole part of the mnf process, having it end up with much less rubber on the casing.
This now beats mentioning weights for tires at all. To those who care (obsess), these two tires cover several weight categories in one
My experience w/ the prototypes was the sames with Robb. This is my full time front tire, and has been since I received the prototype on the Sultan – replacing a Rampage – I like it that much.
Why would it matter what end of the bike the heavier tire is mounted on? If you accelerate the rear wheel, as long as it isn’t slipping, the front wheel has to accelerate at the same rate.
Anonymous: If you could peel off “x” grams off your rear wheel weight, and if you could do that on the outer diameter of the wheel, wouldn’t you do that? The rear wheel is the heaviest component on most bikes, (especially 29″ers) and any weight saved on that assembly, especially on the outer diameter, where it matters most, is appreciated by most riders. Your mileage may vary.
I’m not going to jump into your weight variance debate, because when it comes to how it bites into the trail, it really doesn’t matter. For example, when I was railing the Ardent on the front end of my Salsa Dos Niner on the way to third place at the 24 Hours of Seven Oaks this past weekend (solo 24 men), I found it to bite into the loamy conditions with greater authority than the 2.55 Weirwolf LT I was running on my El Mariachi (my alternate bike for the race — both tires were running 25 psi, ‘getto’ tubeless).
I’ve found the Ardent is a great compliment when run on the front of the bike with a CrossMark on the rear. That’s what I’ve been racing with lately and it’s proven a fast, consistent handling combination on a wide variety of conditions. One thing I do notice is that the Ardent clears mud noticeably faster than the CrossMark, likely due to the more open tread pattern.
The good, solid, multi-stepped side knobs are hot though. You can really lean on ‘em in the loam. They stick like glue. The first time I hit a corner I knew this was a good tire, weight variance be darned
I haven’t used the Ardent on the rear yet, so I can’t comment on its performance in that role.
Cheers,
“The hanger tag also tells us that Maxxis recommends this tire be used for medium, loose, and wet trails. Maxxis also lets us know that the “key feature” of this tire is its cornering control.”
Maxxis left out hardpack and solid rock, but I’m not so sure about the wet part. This tire is all about cornering control. Works well front and rear, which is what I’m running for fall/winter then I’ll add a Crossmark (please make a 2.25!!) to the rear for the dry summer.
SSinGA: We’ll definitely be getting in some classic hard pack dirt riding on these to start out with. I stacked it up on a ride Sunday and I can testify, that ground is hard on my local trails!
Love these tires, Robb is correct though. I would lower the pressure a little bit and that will increase performance quite a bit IMO.
I like the new side logo sweet….looking forward to your review as well
Just did a quick measure on my production Ardents. Cruz weighed them on his ultimate digi scale before mounting @750g.
30psi on Stan’sArch rims
2.15″ at the casing.
2.23 at the widest tread block.
GT,
All I am saying in Post #8 is that regardless of whether the heavier tire is on the front wheel or the rear wheel, the tire still requires the same amount of energy from the rider to accelerate it. Whether weight is removed from the outer diameter of the front wheel or the outer diameter of the rear wheel, the effect is the same because in a straight line, both wheels have to accelerate at the same rate.
Going around a corner is a different matter. Because the front tire has to travel a greater distance, and it is forced to make a more rapid change of direction than the rear tire, the gyroscopic effect of the wheel would be reduced by having a lighter front tire. Thus, the rider would benefit more (use less energy) by putting the lighter of the two tires on the front wheel.
Vandal: I hear ya, but if I am removing weight, I still want it off my rear wheel first. It may be a totally mental thing, but I love the way a light, stiff rear wheel spins up, and weight off the outer edges of my wheels is always a good thing.
I always put the heavier of my tires on the back (given that I’m running the same tire front and rear). Given that the tire is heavier it likely means that the casing is also heavier and this will handle the extra weight of us bigger guys because the rear is generally where we pinch flat. Makes sense along with what GT is saying about turning a front wheel.