 I purchased a pair of Maxxis Ignitor tires this spring for my single speed and
quickly learned to love them. My single
speed is a 29er but the tires are also made as a 26 version.
The Ignitor is made as a 29" by 2.1, a 26" by 1.95 and 26"
by 2.1. The 29er version weigh around
750 grams while the 26er version around 600 grams. Maxxis makes 26 versions that are UST and with
aa funky rubber compound and higher TPI called the Exception. The Exception weighs a bit less, around 500
grams. I liked the 29er version enough
to purchase the 26 UST version.
The tread pattern of the Ignitor is similar to another popular
tire series, the Continental Explorer and Vertical. The treads are dominated a series of well
spaced pentagon shaped knobs. Both designs seem to grab everything in a
predictable manner and exhibit good turning, braking and traction
characteristics. The rolling resistance is neither horrid nor grand, expected
and welcomed for a knobby tire. Maxxis improves
the knobs by having small terraces on some center knobs thereby increasing the
edge effect grip. Also some knobs are
connected with lower bars reducing the squirmy feeling I used to get with
Explorers.
The Ignitor seems to grip in almost all condition. I have run them in dry, mud, rocks, wet
leaves, gravel, sand and typical Central PA
rocks. The tire has exceeded in all of
the conditions by gripping well and not surprising me with odd or unpredictable
moves. The do not do great in thicker
mud, but few tires do. I have never ran
them in snow but suspect they will be OK, but not great.
Only one flat, a pinch flat that was my fault. I was running low pressure (<32 psi) and
not riding carefully along Bald Knob Ridge.
This demonstrates not a failure of the tire but of judgment. The tire has worn very well. At times I do
wish the tire road "softer", but maybe having them on a AL hardtail is the true issue.
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