Maxxis Forekaster v.1 — 2.35x29

I realize that Maxxis is releasing their new v2 of this tire. This review is for the now-discontinued tire. Yay for me!

As I sit here trying to figure out how to write about tires, I realize that it is a difficult subject to approach without scientific data backing up our claims. Thus, this review is entirely subjective and I provide no data to back up my claims. only my butt-dyno.

There is subjective bias considering my perspective as a new XC racer. I have decided to break up the review into segments via tire pressure. I shall provide my thoughts and describe certain handling characteristics about how the tire behaves at each range of pressures.
For reference, I weigh 86 kg. at the time of this writing

8-12 psi

The Forekaster squirms at these pressures. However, the squirming tire deformation has the benefit of introducing slip angle to mountain biking. The Forekaster deflects and squishes into G-Out maneuvers on berms and facilitates both the rotation of the rear end and the extra grip from the front end. By lowering the pressures to this extreme, you do run the risk of rim strikes and damaging wheels along with de-beading and catastrophic deflation. The benefits are that the tire’s deformation elongates the impulse time of the force transmitted from the rider into the ground. This allows the rubber to maintain its grip and not shock the trail surface and induce slip, allowing for incredibly high overall grip and speeds at the risk of catastrophic failures. Use wisely — tire inserts are recommended.

13-18 psi

The Forekaster is at its happiest median in these ranges. The tire retains some of the slip angle ability of the lower pressures but retains its shape and sidewall more effectively, preventing an entire collapse of the tire and the resulting catastrophic failures. The knobs deform well over rock and dig in through loose and muddy surfaces. I use these pressures for all-mountain trail riding. From Santa Cruz’s Demo Forest to Pacifica’s Burnside, to Oakland’s Joaquin Miller Park, I generally ride in these pressure ranges for almost all situations. At trails like Rockville in Napa, any lower risks debeading and any higher pressures lack the grip on the granite rock surfaces.

19-23 psi

The tire begins to roll faster around these pressures with a very secure feeling. At these pressures, it’s full send all the time. It may not be the most grippy, but the overall experience is slightly slippier than 13-18, but with a pronounced improvement in rolling resistance. Good overall pressure for racing courses.

24-30 psi

These pressures are for hard pack and gravel roads, you will feel the knobs dic-tic-tic-dic along as you ride. I’d say it brakes the worst at these pressures. It seems to stiffen up the casing so much that the knobs stay proud of the casing and decrease the total contact patch.

Verdict:

Generally too much drag to use in a XC race, even on a wet and rainy race day. Good trail tire for mixed terrain rides, does well in the wet. Light duty trail tire.

Maxxis Forekasters viewed from the front. The chevron pattern is highly prominent and resembles Canadian Geese flying in formation