Maxxis Maxxcross SI Tires

What it is

• Maxxis' soft-intermediate terrain offering.

Maxxis has long been one of the top off-road motorcycle tire producers. With 8 different options for tires, they have every terrain covered. In the last few years, their tires have grown tremendously in popularity with off-road racing and riding after supporting the Big6, GNCC, and WORCS series’ with trackside support to any racer. They sponsor some of the top off-road race teams like the RPM Racing Team, the Precision Concepts Team, and JCR Honda who all utilize these tires. For this year’s edition of the 24 Hours of Glen Helen, both the DBT Jr. and Sr. teams used Maxxis tires leading them to their respective class wins. The teams chose Maxxis’ Maxxcross SI tires which is their most popular Intermediate - Soft Terrain tire. The SI feature anti-flex side knobs which are claimed to offer better straight-line stability. Maxxis offers the SI’s in a variety of different sizes and widths for all size motorcycle wheels.

How it works

• Durability is one of the best.
• Rear tire worked very well in all conditions.
• Front tire performed better in hard pack conditions.

In the off-road world, finding a tire that works well in every condition is very tough. A typical South West Coast off-road race can consist of rocks, sand, hard pack, silt, and even pavement. These terrains are all completely different from each other and can require different tread patterns to work well. Enter Maxxis’ Maxxcross SI tires and you have what we believe is a good all-around tire. They are designed for intermediate to soft terrain but still work well in other conditions. In the race, we ran 16 PSI along with Maxxis Heavy Duty tubes to avoid the risk of getting a flat tire. In typical riding or racing conditions, we usually run around 12-13 PSI depending on the conditions. We didn’t experience any flat tires throughout the race and we ran each rear tire for around 8-10 hours before swapping out for a new one. The front tire lasted all 24 hours.

The rear tire is a great versatile tire that works well in every condition we tested it on. The 24 Hour race course offered rocky canyons, hard pack slick single track and roads, bottomless silt, a well prepped MX track, mud, and pavement. Everyone on the team was pleased with the rear tire as it always provided a good amount of traction and resisted breaking loose under hard acceleration as good as anything we have used here before. In addition, when you wanted to slide the rear end around, it allows you to do so easily and with control. We found this to be very helpful in some of the tighter single track trails where we could easily make sharper turns with brake sliding. Likewise, at high speeds, the tires had excellent straight-line stability, even on the pavement. Also, when turning on the pavement, the rear end never wanted to step out or break free uncontrollably.

The front tire, like the rear, is a good tire for a plethora of different conditions. Although it works good in softer, loamier dirt, we found that it works best in the more hard pack and dry terrain which is contrary to what the name suggests. When the dirt was wet and softer, some of the testers noticed that the front tire wants to wash out instead of hooking up. But when the dirt was a little more slippery and hard pack, the tire seemed to find traction. Likewise, on the pavement sections of the race, the front tire hooked up great and it wasn’t too bumpy or bouncing around. In the rocks, the tire wasn’t deflecting as much as some other tires but instead went in a straight line along just like the rear tire. For GP style racing like Big6 and WORCS, some of our testers prefer Maxxis’ Maxxcross MX IT front tire since they feel it offers better grip in the softer soils.

Some of our more experienced and particular testers found that other tires work better when new. Also, they noticed some other tires work better under braking. However, they found that the SI’s wear consistently and they work as good as most other off-road specific tires.

The durability with the SI’s is one of its strong points. The Jr. team was able to run the front tire the entire 24 hours with very minimal cracking in some of the side knobs. Following the race, we continued to run the front tire even longer and all of the side knobs are still attached to the tire, some more so than others. The rear also lasts quite awhile as well. We were able to get 13 hours of riding in between the MX tracks and desert terrain (about 11 hours in the desert), and if it weren’t for an upcoming race, we would still continue to use the tire for trail riding and practicing. None of the knobs are chunking or even cracking but the center knobs are getting pretty worn down. When riding in the desert races, we prefer the Maxxcross IT Desert since it lasts quite a bit longer and still performs well. 

Lastly, mounting tires is never a favorite when prepping bikes. It usually results in some scraped knuckles, choice words, and questioning whether you want to even ride as you try to get the last part of the bead over. These tires, however, proved fairly easy to mount. They didn’t cause any trouble at any part of the tire and the bead folded over very easily on both the front and rear.

In conclusion, Maxxis’ Maxxcross SI tires are a very versatile set of tires that can be utilized in any condition. They are predictable and offer good traction while also being excellent on the durability side of the scale when compared to tires in this performance class. They aren't the cheapest tires out there but they certainly aren't the most expensive either. Additionally, the sponsor some of the largest off-road race series' with Big6, WORCS, and GNCC and often times they offer better track side pricing along with contingency payouts for running Maxxis tires.