The "official" Muni Tyre Review Page

Unicycles and Equipment
62

Maxxis Minion DH 26 x 2.7
Measures out to 2.25" wide (outside to outside of knobbies) and 2.25" tall (rim edge to top of knobbies). Compare with a Intense DH 24 x 3 measuring 2.5" x 2.5". So a hair smaller all around.

I didn’t get a weight, but Maxxis says it’s 1320gm. I compapred it my Duro 26 x 3" and it did seem lighter.

How does it ride?
Well, my goal was to find a tire that was similar to the Intense DH. I wouldn’t say that the Minio is similar, though the Minion does has a consistent hard knobby edge like the Intense and Gazz Jr. The first thing I noticed with the Minion is how fast and light it seems, like quick even, so not sure if it’s because of the weight and volume or tread pattern.

In dry and wet conditions, traction was comparable to the Duro and Intense. I initially ran it high pressure (18#), then lowered it (14#), but found I was hitting the rim on hard impacts, so I put it at 16# and it felt good. I’m 200#. I could see bumping up or down by 2# depending on air temp.

Sidewall strength is higher than the Duro as evidenced by the tire holding an edge on off angles, esp when I’m starting on a sidehill. So less sloppy at low pressures than the Duro, though still not quite as firm as the Intense. The Intense and Gazz Jr really have the best sidewall design for muni, but sadly neither is made anymore :frowning:

In comparision to the TRY ALL Stiky, this tire has more width, more volume, and more sidewall strength, so I’d vote for the Minion over the Stiky.

The Minion didn’t seem to be any worse with crowns than other tires I’ve tried. Rebound was good, though the lack of volume compared to the Duro was telling; it is a smaller tire. The ride was good overall, though at times it felt like a tractor tire as it doesn’t have as clean a centerline as some other tires. Overall it is one of my new favorites as I felt like my riding was stepped up a notch by riding the Minion over the Duro.

The best thing about the Minion: They are still being made!!!

63

Sounds quite promising (although I’m pretty happy with the Duro for the riding I tend to do, and haven’t like the “sacred” Gazz 3" at all when I’ve ridden other people’s munis). Is that a rear Minion you’re testing? The front one looks like it wouldn’t be nice at all.

Rob

64

+1 DHF or DHR
one more question, is it the sticky compound?

65

@Nurse Ben: Nice review. Since I’ve been getting more experience riding with my Schlumpf KH24 MUni I’ve been thinking that perhaps I should experiment with a thinner tire than my current 24x3 Nokian Gazz. I love the Gazz and have a brand new replacement for when my current one goes. However I’ve noticed that riding in high-gear the advantages of having such a wide tire go out the window; it would be better (nicer?) to have a tire with a bit less rolling resistance. Anybody out there using a 24" MUni tire that isn’t 3" wide that does pretty good? I’m now starting to see Kris Holm’s logic with going with the 26" tire of less than 3" width…! :slight_smile:

66

I have the DHF 26 x 2.70 with wire bead. The DHR would work, though it might be slicker side to side…

I don’t know that a narrower tire is a replacement for all uses, they certainly don’t help with hopping, but for more of a rolling XC use the narrow tires work fine. The Minion is nice beause it has a stiff sidewall, like the Intense ro Gazz, so it can be run at low pressures, unlike MTB tires which fold unless you pump them up over 20#; at least at my 200# weight.

KH is a lightweight, that’s why he can get away with riding MTB tires, well that and he’s an exceptionally skilled rider :slight_smile:

Next thing I’ll try is one of the wider Intense 26" tires…

Hey Munisano, good luck with finding a narrower tire for your 24", they just aren’t making that size in many tires these days, which is why I ride a 26": Lots of rim and tire choices.

67

Are you calling the Minion, Gazz and Intense non MTB tires? If they weren’t made for Mountain bikes I don’t know what they were made for.

I temporarily used a Continental Gravity 26 X 2.35 on a DX32. It was really light and responsive with good grip. It was a decent XC combo but I missed the flotation of a wider tire and switched back to my Gazz.

68

Thanks for clarifying that - from just looking at them I would have guessed the front pattern would be horrible to ride, but nothing beats actually trying it!

On the subject of using bike XC tyres, I sometimes use a 2.1" Ritchey Z-Max on my 26er for really muddy XC races where the mud is sticking to the tyre and a lot of the bikers are using 1.5" mud tyres. It works well for that, although it does have to be run at higher pressure and takes more concentration to ride when half asleep. It’s not good if it’s rocky or very rooty. It’s what I used to use all the time when I was riding mountain bikes (which is why I’ve got one lying around), but on a unicycle I prefer something a bit fatter for general off-road use.

Rob

69

That was one of the first tires i ever used for muni. I purchased them for my bike, but i hatedthem because they didn’t have enough grip to bite through leaves or grip slippery surfaces. Suprisingly it wasn’t a bad xc muni tire. The sidewalls are fairly stiff, and they last forever. It has a nice stable profile that works well for narrower rims, but it’s lower volume than any of the other 2.3x’s i currently own.

My current really bad weather tire is a 2.35 maxxis swamp thing. It has decent bounce for it’s size and it rides wet trails like it has tentacles. This tends to make it horrible on pavement :slight_smile: because of that, if i’m riding in heavy snow and ice around town, i’ll usually take something more road friendly.

70

Yeah I know, just thought I’d ask. FWIW, I invested into the sport BEFORE there were a lot of 26" options! :slight_smile: (My first MUni was a 26er which I had to piece part together with quite a bit of effort) Now the pendulum has swung the other way! That is all within a few years, a sign of how quickly our sport is changing! Still, I’ve got a slightly used 24x3 Duro, and a brand new 24x3 Gazz waiting for me so I should be good in the 24" realm for a while longer. After that I’ll look into throwing some more $$$ at a 26" KH frame and rim set. If I do that I’m pretty sure I’ll go with a narrower 26" tire. I’m really starting to think Kris Holm is on to something (surprise, surprise). Still I want a MUni set-up that is nimble and tight for the rough trail system I have to ride all the time; I think a 26x3 would be too much (more like a 28er). You wouldn’t think a couple of inches would make a difference but I can tell when I ride the tight and buff single track around here. I’d love to have a 29er too, but that would be a nightmare to ride around Monte Sano!

71

Got a few more rides in the Minion, what can I say, the tire is awesome! I was able to descend to hills I’d never made with at least one UPD, the bigger hill is long, very rooty, rutted, some drops, and I cleaned it no problem. The biggest thing I notice about the Minion is that it feels very light and it is quick, way quicker than any other tire I’ve ridden. Even my son liked the feel and he’s used to riding an Intense DH 24 x 3. I run mine at 16# for my 20# body weight, this works well for everything, though a lower volume would be less bumpy when I’m tires. Sticky tread, climbs anything, I won’t go back to the Duro or any other 3", I’m with Chris on the narrower tire thing, it works.

Did you all read about the new WTB Dissent? Loks nice for 29ers if you get the the HD version.

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Cool! I’ll have to pick one up! Sounds like the tire i’ve been looking for.

73

anyone know where to get a good 26 tire? my duro 26x3 is already showing wear only after 1 week of riding.

74

Have you read any of this thread? :roll_eyes:

The last few posts have been about the 26" Maxxis Minion front DH tyre. Apparently it works well. The only other tyre I’ve used on my muni apart from 3" Duros (which I like, BTW) is a 2.1" Ritchey Z-Max, which is nice and light and works well in mud (good frame clearance with a narrow tyre) but is really a bit too puny for anything but very light xc.

Rob

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If this is going to be the “official” MUni tire thread we might as well link to some existing MUni tire threads.

Wanted: 24X3 comparisons

Duro Wildlife vs Intense DH

Duro Leopard 26 X 3.0 tire

Of-course info in each thread is wider than their title since we tend to wonder off topic a bit here.

76

I wanted to get a minion but I couldn’t find any 24x2.5 or 2.7 so I got a holy roller 2.7. It’s has similar tread pattern to the minion but I think it’s made as a front tyre however a minion is a rear tyre. Not sure exactly sure what he difference but I think front tyres grip better round corners (because on a bike you’d rather your rear wheel slide than your front). I think minions are more of a dry tyre (lower rolling resistance, less grip, lighter) Whereas high rollers are an all round tyre.

Anyway I love my holy roller. It seems to grip everything pretty well except loose pine needles. I like having a 2.7 not a 3". I will probably get a 2.5 for my next tyrel. 3" is too wide, it’s just too heavy, the small amount of extra grip isn’t worth it, and in muni you never need that much air in your tyre unlike trials. You’re not dropping to flat concrete or anything flat even if you are doing drops.

77

:thinking: doing downhill means a lot of landing on aslope rough rocks, rolling and droping on / over roots and needle stones and to protect my rim and tube I need for technical sektions the same or more pressure than trialing.
http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/album.php?albumid=65&pictureid=370
http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/album.php?albumid=65&pictureid=367
the result of that downhill was a snake bite:(
http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/album.php?albumid=65&pictureid=377

may be other muni rider have other technics :roll_eyes: :thinking:

78

I got really high pression in my Muni tire, just because when I do drops I dont want to hit my rim, and I only have a 2.6" tire…

79

Didn’t you just learn to ride?

If you ride a Duro exclusively on asphalt, it’ll wear quicker, but in one week of riding you don’t have much wear.

Don’t worry about tire wear, a lower tread sticks better and it won’t hurt your riding until you get on some hairy trails with thick mud and nastiness.

My son has a full year of riding on his 24" muni and the Duro tire was used to start, still riding it and it looks fine.

80

I’ve been on the search for a tire that rides like the Intense DH 24 x 3", finally scored a deal on an Intense DH 26 x 2.7.

This is a discontinued tire from last year, but the mfg had some leftover, so I got it cheap. I shoudl have it in a week or so, will post a review at that time.

Still riding the Minion, it’s a nice tire overall, but it does have a little too much regularity in the cross cut lugs, so not enough centerline effect, which makes it ride “choppy” on firm surfaces.

If the Intense tire works out, I may try the FRO version, which is a lighter casing.

81

eric found a new tire :roll_eyes:

i will order it:D