The MAXXIS DISSECTOR is a true classic among rear tires, and is renowned for its excellent rolling characteristics. It performs best on dry, hard-packed trails, where the finely profiled tread delivers maximum speed. Now, the Taiwanese manufacturer updated their popular tire, focusing mainly on the shape and arrangement of the knobs.
The most noticeable change are the side knobs, which have been redesigned from the ground up, which forgo the notches of the previous DISSECTOR version, and also have a wider contact surface. This aims to provide more control and more predictable cornering behavior. The familiar 2-3-2 layout remains at the centre, but the three central knobs are now spaced further apart. According to MAXXIS, this boosts braking traction and makes cornering transitions more predictable.
MAXXIS also recommends the new version of the DISSECTOR as a front tire on lightweight trail bikes. However, we’d only run it on the rear – unless you live in an area with consistently dry, hard-packed trails. As soon as it rains, things get sketchy up front, and frankly, we don’t want to be constantly swapping tires just to match trail conditions.
We already used the new DISSECTOR in our big tire comparison test, where several test riders ran it back-to-back against its predecessor for an entire day – using identical wheels, same casing, rubber compound, and air pressures. It also went through our complete lab test, where we directly compared rolling resistance. Additionally, we’ve been running the tire on our well-known home trails for the past five months, putting it through a wide range of conditions.
For testing, we primarily used the DoubleDown casing paired with the MaxxTerra rubber compound. The tire is only available in 29” and 2.4” width, tipping the scales at 1,190 g – just 40 g more than its predecessor. It retails for € 84.90. The tire is also available with EXO or EXO+ casing and with either MaxxTerra or MaxxGrip rubber compounds – though we’d only recommend the latter for front use. The firmest Dual Compound is only available in combination with the lighter EXO casing.
You can find out how the new MAXXIS DISSECTOR performed in our big comparison test by reading our in-depth review.
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Words: Peter Walker Photos: Peter Walker
