Cyclone Maxxis CrossMark Mountain Bike Tire

Primarily used on the rear in the desert Southwest, but I have used it on trails in and around the Denver area in the past with very good results. Good all around tire for rear use, and would be good for front use for a faster (race) type setup. Seals up well tubeless using stans sealant with Arch and 355 rims. Cannot comment on other tubeless conversion. Wears well, climbs rock and off camber well, fast roller. The volume is a true 2.1. This tire corners much better than it's rolling resistance would indicate. It's only real limitation is when it gets real loose. While it holds it's own in the loose on the rear, you will have to reign it in a bit on the front. I prefer to pair it up with a bigger front tire for general riding (like the Panaracer Rampage), and to run it at both ends for race applications. The only tires I have found out there that roll faster give all of the speed up in the corners, and typically have fragile side walls. While this is not a mud tire, it does wet well enough to get by.Bottom line, I have tried many other tires for rear use and keep returning to the Crossmark.Other product tried include: Maxxis Ignitor, Specialized Captain 2.2, Specialized Eskar 2.3, Geax AKA, Geax Saguaro, Kenda Smallblock 8, Kenda Karma 2.2, WTB Weirwolf 2.4, and WTB Exiwolf 2.3.

Bought these based on some reviews I read on MTB forums. On the whole, I like these tires though I might change to something with less tread for the surfaces I regularly ride on.Traction seems good so far on most surfaces I ride on (pavement, concrete, dirt, crushed limestone), though like any tire I've used so far it gets a little sketchy on turns in soft loose limestone paths. I think this tire might suit me better if I start riding at some of the local bike parks.Ride so far seems good, I have no real complaints other than the amount of debris the gets kicked up by the tread blocks, but that's to be expected with this type of tire. Previously, most of my riding was on a Bontrager H5 which was skinnier and these seem to roll almost as nicely as those despite the more aggressive tread design and larger width. Comparing these to the Bontrager XR1 that I only used for a week is a night and day difference. The XR1's had me hating life itself everyday I took my bike out.

So first, the preliminaries. We live in Las Vegas, and generally speaking, are riding on fairly well packed, mostly dry trails. I ordered this tire on my mountain bike when I got it a couple years ago, and have been so happy with it that when it came time to replace the tires on my fiance's bike, they were the obvious choice. Here's the real selling point. If you're going to be riding nasty, wet, muddy stuff, these aren't the tires to buy. But if you're riding more damp to dry, semi-well packed to well-packed trails, and if you're riding your bike on the road, then these are absolutely the tires to get! With regard to road riding, they have a <virtually> contiunous center bead, so that they are very smooth and fast on the road. And off-road, they are more then capable. We're average riders, riding on anything from loose to well packed, damp to dry trails, and these tires perform flawlessly. I'm a big fan of Maxxis because of this tire, and would recommend it as the "go-to" tire for the above stated riding conditions, especially so if you're riding on the road with them as well. Perfectly engineered tire for their purpose.

This is a fairly lightweight tire, with low rolling resistance. It grips well climbing, and is predictable in corners. I only use it on the rear so when it does break free I don't go down, but it really does hook up well when needed. I would give it 5 stars, since it's a great tire for fast hardpack, although tire selection is a personal preference as well. I gave it 4 stars because I could not get it to seat while setting up tubeless (and no, I didn't have a compressor). I had my LBS do it instead, and its been great since.Overall, it really is fast, with good grip. Medium grip in corners, but seems good on rocks and roots. The wear so far has been great too, as I usually wear out rear tires quickly.

The only place CrossMark lacks a bit is in the mud. It probably needs a bit more space between the knobs, and the knobs are a little short. But I look at it as a summer tire. For that it is a great tire. I ride in hard-pack with some loose stuff on the top. It is great for that. It works very well just about anywhere except sloppy mud. I've always figured you need special tires for that anyway. I keep putting these on my bike and have a new one in the garage ready to go on right now! It is an excellent all-around tire, especially out West.

I hate to rate this tire this low but it has a few shortcomings that really reduce its usability.First off the weight is great as is the rolling resistance. It's a very fast and light tire for the width. Great to see a tire this light for this width which is true to the specs. Many ultra light and racing tires grossly exaggerate their width, not true for this one. Not that it matters, but it's a good looking tire as well.For the negatives, it is garbage in mud, which is expected on a tire with the tread pattern so not getting any deduction, just worth pointing out.What wasn't expected is that it's equally bad in loose dirt over hardpack. Virtually impossible to maintain traction on all but the lightest climbs. I even went ahead and reversed the direction of the rear tire which did improve traction some, but nothing what I would expect for a hard pack racing tire. I'm not sure what terrain people are riding on with these, but colorado single track is almost exclusively loose dirt over hardpack with a ton of climbing, and this is an awful tire for the purpose once the ride starts going uphill.

I take my older Trek 8900 both on pavement & dirt roads, some trails but don't ride in the mud. Get good traction from this tire. Comfortable ride, no complaints. Good all-around tire esp. for old guys who are just riding for some fun & exercise.