The trend towards wider rims was always going to follow on from the advent of the larger wheel sizes, however until now we were always held back by most currently available tyres’ inability to truly fit semi-fat rims without distorting the profile of the tyre and ‘squaring off’ the side knobs. Being able to run crazy low pressures is no good if the tyre can’t engage its knobs as they were designed to do.
Maxxis are the first company to launch tyres specifically designed for wider rims in the form of their legendary Minion DHR and DHF, redesigned and re-released with a Wide Trail (WT) casing which is optimised for rims with up to 35mm inner width.
Both the DHR and DHF retain their tried and true tread patterns, with big, chunky knobs and a variety of compounds from hard-wearing to soft and tacky for ultimate grip. If you’ve ever ridden Minions then you’ll already know all about that. The DHR comes in a 2.4 width, and both tyres are available with 3C, EXO, Double Down and Tubeless Ready casings.
While the DHF takes it out to a 2.5… ‘Mini fat’? ‘Plus lite’? Whatever it might get dubbed, we are already big fans of the wide rim concept (and are busy sussing out Boost as we speak) and think this development in tyres could be a vital piece in the puzzle for those looking for a significant performance improvement without replacing bike, forks or wheelset.
Look for a full review of the WT Minions in Issue 66.
