Well, it has been awhile since we were handed a Maxxis Aspen 29′er tire for testing, (mid-February, to be exact), so this post will be a combo of the “Out Of The Box” and “First Impressions” all wrapped up into one post. Since the Aspen is an XC oriented tire, it didn’t make sense to do any ride testing until recently, due to trail conditions. Now that spring has sprung, the rides have been piling up on this tire.
First up, a bit of background on the Aspen story from a personal standpoint: I was volunteering at a local XC race last summer when a rider I know of through the internet approached me and asked if I wanted to take a peek at the Aspen prototype. I was definitely interested, so I waited as he fetched the tire/rim combination, which was a tubeless conversion. The tire I saw then was big, rounded, and looked very interesting. Lots of volume, low tread, and from what the rider related to me, low weight. I was somewhat expecting to find the production tire slightly different, as things often are tweaked from proto stage to production. However; I wasn’t prepared for what I experienced with the Aspen I have.
Out Of The Box: The Aspen I have is quite a bit smaller than what I saw, even factoring in that I saw the prototype last summer. There isn’t that much I could have forgotten! The tire I held in my hand mounted up last summer was no where near this small. No way. Here are the measurements after several weeks of the tire being mounted tubeless on a Bontrager Race X Lite rim with the TLR rim strip installed at 30psi:
Aspen 2.1″: Actual casing width = 50.5mm Outer Knobs Dimension= 50.7mm Height= (approx) 48mm Weight= 530gm.
Compare this to some other tires in this category: (Casing widths given only) Hutchinson Python = 51.9mm, Specialized Fast Trak LK= 53.2mm, and WTB Vulpine= 51.6mm
As you can see, the Aspen is on the narrow side. For those trying to work out the inches thing, the Aspen I have is 1.99 inches @ 30psi on a 24mm wide rim. That’s two out of three recent Maxxis tires we’ve tested that have come out undersized. Hmm….. Well, so how does it perform? That’s what really matters.
First Impressions: The Aspen was mounted up tubeless and it took quite awhile to get it to seal up. The sidewalls on this tire are super pliable and thin! Of course, it is pretty light, so you have to expect that weight to come out from somewhere. Once the sidewalls sealed, I had no trouble maintaining air pressure. The tire seated up quite well on the TLR rim strip, by the way. (Note: Maxxis does not sell the Aspen as a tubeless ready or tubeless compatible tire in any way. Maxxis recommends tubes be used in the Aspen. Tubeless conversions void warranties and are undertaken at your own risk)
Once out on the trail, the nice, rounded profile of the Aspen seemed to allow it to roll decently enough. I wouldn’t say I was “wowed” by the lack of rolling resistance here, but it seemed on par with what you might expect from most tires in this category. I had this tire mounted on the front of a rigid El Mariachi single speed. The cornering feel of the Aspen is consistent from straight up to leaned over hard. Great transition feel here. The tire gripped well on hard pack and tacky trails alike. I found that it also did okay cornering on sand over hard pack until the sand got deeper than just a slight coating, then the tire would break away. The braking traction was very acceptable for an XC type of tire. Mud was dealt with in an acceptable manner, but it isn’t a great mud tire. The surprise for me with the Aspen was how well it floated over sand. The supple casing must help here, as the tire refused to cut in and I was pleased with that aspect of the tires performance.
So far, the Aspen seems to be a great choice to look at for an XC racer tire. I liked the cornering performance on hard pack and the performance in sand was outstanding for a tire this narrow. It is underwhelming in size, but it is lightweight, so that trade off for racing purposes seems to be worthwhile to me. I think it would also be a great rear tire, and in fact that is what I will be checking out for the Mid-Term Report which will be coming soon.
I recently got a pair of these, at approx. 550g each, they are heavier than what I’ve read others to weigh in at. They do seem narrow, I think they do stretch out if you leave them at high pressure for a while though.
I am currently using them on the back with an ignitor on the front. It is a great tires so far and I really don’t think it is narrow at all. In fact, it is on par with the Ignitor 2.1. Handleling has been good in corners and rolling resistance is very good. Due to the supple side walls I pump it up to 28 lbs rear (i am 145 lbs) because at 26 and below it was easy to bottom out and hit the rim. So far I have really only rode it in generally dry conditions so I cant comment on mud, wet rocks. That said, I have taken 2 1st place finishes so far this season on my tire combination and would not hesitate to use on hardpack, rocky/technical, loamy conditions. I have banged over shale rocks hard with this pup too. IF it got too wet though, I wld swap it out for the trusty ignitor on rear to be on safe side. Again, dry on rear, no worries.
Overall, fantastic race tire.
Mine were 518 and 496 grams. I checked my balance calibration too with certified masses. Maybe they got lighter recently?
I aired these up on my Race X Lite (2010) rims absolutely no problems aired right away. So far I REALLY like them!
Just mounted these on my new American Classic Tubeless wheels. The calipers say 52mm casing width. Weight was 524g and 522g. I hope they make my SuperFly 100 fast! Mounted with no drama at all using Cafe Latex.
Mounted mine with a compressor on stan’s crest rims, and hold air well for a non tubeless tire. Mine looks the same as other maxxis 2.1s
If the conditions are dry these tires are fantastic as the supple 120 something casting confirms and grips roots and rocks as well as anyting I have ridden. Note: I wouldn’t run these on the front of a rigid bike since the tires are light and race oriented.
I have about 200 miles on mine – including one race….I would highly recommend.
If there is even a hint of moisture on the trails I would bail on these tires and run something with more grip.
5/5 stars for performance in the dry
4/5 for value
3/5 for a general trail tire (come on you can’t be pissed if you tear a sidewall, you know its a race tire pure and simple)
GT – you don’t mention it, but the Aspen is a 120 tpi tire (which is why they are nice and supple!).
This is my favorite racing tire so far. It has a superior grip / weight / comfort / easy rolling mix to any other racing tire out there and I rode quite a few of them.
Race King or SB8? Got the volume, but way too much weight and less grip. Bontrager XR1, 29-3 2.0″, 29-0, Schwalbe Furious Fred? Beats it on weight alone, but way too small to ride with lower air pressures safely, which makes grip, comfort and rolling resistance on bumpy terrain suffer. The only tire to come near this mix is the Raven 2.2″, which, according to my experience, has less cornering grip.
Perhaps the new Schwalbe Rocket Ron will be the new best compromise on softer and wetter soil, but for dry conditions, the Aspen is hard to beat.
Did the Dalby Forest World Cup citizens event (the ‘Dalby Dare’) on them and they felt great on the dry hardpack, dusty, rocky & rooty course. No problems and very confidence inspiring on any of the difficult (*) bits of the course and yes, I took the A-line on all of them.
(* They even gave them names… ‘Worry Gil’, ‘Medusa Drop’, check out the youtube footage, it’s good stuff
)
GT, the standard method of measuring tires is this: The tire is inflated to the max pressure listed on the sidewall and allowed to sit for 24 hours. After this time period the tire is measured at the widest point, either the tread or the casing. With regards to the Aspen 29×2.1, the tire should measure 52mm at the casing and 54mm at the tread on a 17mm internal width rim. 54mm is a true 2.1″
@Bryan H: Hey, thanks for chiming in Bryan. It’s great when someone from a manufacturer/brand gives us feedback. Much appreciated.
That said, I will say that I completely understand your suggestions and that the method makes sense from a maximum width possible from the Aspen. However; that isn’t reality with riders. Riders are going to pop these on their bikes, run them tubeless, (even though it isn’t recommended), and they are going to run pressures close to the range we do at Twenty Nine Inches. I have to be honest to that reality as a reviewer.
The Aspen I have is definitely a great tire, it is just not going to be a 2.1 on the rim I am running it on. As for the width, I am okay with that, but it isn’t anywhere as large as the one I saw last summer either. For a race/XC type tread, I think it is just fine as it is. As for what is marked on the hotpatch, well……..that’s par for the course with many tires we test.
Hey there, I noticed that the Maxxis site has 2 different 29er Aspens. One with 60 TPI Which is about 50 grams heavier and one with 120 TPI .
Wouldn’t the lighter 120 TPI be a nicer ride? Which did you test? Thanks for your imput and an excellent site. Tim
@Tim: The 120TPI casing should perform better, (theoretically), and it is the one we are testing.
Another datapoint: mounted the Aspen Exception (120TPI) on a Stans Crest rim–once stretched, the caliper reads a bit over 53 mm @ ~ 25psi. That’s 2.08+ inches…works for me.
The 2.25 Racing Ralph measures ~ 57mm on the same rim, @ 25psi.
Best tyre ever!
got mine here ->
http://www.nextdaytyres.com/Tyres/Maxxis/Aspen-29.aspx
I have an Aspen on the rear Ignitor front on Arch’s on a Sir with Fox RL29 and It has been on there a couple months and measures 54 exactly.
I also have an Aspen rear on a Flow on my SS full rigid Sir with a WeirWolf 2.55 on Arch on the front.
I like the Aspen very much on both bikes. I especially like the Aspen on the Flow on the full rigid bike. On the Flow rear I can run 25 psi and the wider rim gives even more “cush”. I am 175#. The Aspen on the Flow also measures 54 but the bead seat area is obviously wider and provides more overall volume. All my wheels are tubeless.
I have tried them in every condition except mud since we are in a record drought and have had less than an inch of rain in over 2 months (since I have had the tires).