Tires MICHELIN or Maxxis

Ridden both for XC racing and I have come to prefer the specialized tires over maxxis. I personally like to run ground control T5 upfront with fast track t5 in the rear as my base for my local trails and most race courses ( mid Atlantic area US) . If the course is hard pack and not super technical I’ll run fast track upfront with fast track or renegade in the rear. My I also found to get I got pinch flats more often on maxxis or side wall cuts through rock gardens. This is completely a personal preference but I’ve also felt more in control of the bike with specialized tires I mentioned

I have also ridden both. Like pretty much everyone else here said, it’s a matter of personal preference. I had a lot of problems with the 120 TPI Maxxis XC tires where I live because we have a lot of sharp rocks. I have been using the 60 TPI rekon race tires for the last couple of months and they have been great.

I ride a Maxxis Aspen up front and a Specialized Renegade in the back. Both are very fast rolling and I like the Aspen better than the Specialized Fast Track up front.

In my experience I have had way less flat tires switching from specialized to maxxis tires. Fast trak and ground controls were super unreliable for me. I’ve used maxxis rekon, ardent, ikon, and aspens. Will never go back to spec tires.

Michelin Defender, great sound and 80000 mile tread life warranty. But the Toyos are nothing but hot garbage. I was too cheap to replace them and they gave up the ghost around 35000 miles. I have 25000 miles on the Defenders and still sound the same as new.

Michelin is a good brand too. Went with those my last tire change and they’re still going strong ????

Michelin's! Great grip especially in rainy weather, which is a priority for me. Plus, they're surprisingly quiet for a tire with such good handling.

I run Michelin Pilot A/S3+ tires on my Toyota 86. I picked up a nail somewhere between Sacramento and Long Beach and the only reason why I knew about it was because I parked in such a way that the porter called it out when I got to the Queen Mary. The tire never deflated or showed signs of air loss. I still had it replaced, but the fact that the tire was safe enough to get me a replacement spoke volumes.

Maxxis tires give 40% on a $120 MSRP - so $48. Seems like a good gig for the retailer. However...Maxxis is the worst line to carry.

I fitted a Maxxis 2.50 WT DHF to my i25 rims. It squirmed and rolled like nobody’s business and cornering was downright scary. I doubt things will be much better on an i28 rim.