High Roller 3 vs Maxxis Assegai: 15 Timed Runs

[RoJo]

Penultimate test in this series. Very surprising difference between the High Roller 3 and the Assegai even when run with the same MaxxGrip compound and similar DD casing!

Let me know your thoughts?


Raw data:

 

[RustyIron]

Please post the summary here. What is your conclusion?

 

[RoJo]

Please post the summary here. What is your conclusion?

Sure, here's the TLDR:

This video presents a detailed performance comparison between the Maxxis High Roller 3 and the Maxxis Assegai as front mountain bike tires (0:18). Using 15 timed runs at BikePark Wales split into eight specific sectors, the creator, RoJo DH, evaluates how each tire handles varying trail conditions.

Key Findings:

Smooth Sections: On flowy, less technical parts of the trail, the two tires performed almost identically, with only a marginal 0.06-second difference (0:51-1:05).
Technical/Rough Sections: As the trail became more demanding, the High Roller 3 struggled, feeling less damped and more prone to being deflected offline compared to the Assegai (1:12-1:40).
Cornering & Confidence: The Assegai consistently provided more confidence and grip. The High Roller 3 caused stability issues when pushing the bike aggressively, leading to a significant time loss (1:56-2:28).
Final Result: The High Roller 3 finished 2.11 seconds slower than the Assegai (2:28-2:32).
Potential Explanations for the Performance Gap:

Tread Pattern: The High Roller 3 features a distinct channel between center and side knobs, lacking an intermediate transition zone, which may not suit the rider's style (3:45-4:01).
Tire Width: The High Roller 3 is a 2.4-inch tire, whereas the Assegai is a 2.5-inch model; the creator suggests wider treads may be performing better on this terrain (4:12-4:22).
Pressure: The test was conducted at 23.5 PSI, and the creator speculates that the High Roller 3 might perform better at lower pressures, though notes that the Assegai would likely benefit as well (4:22-4:38).

Skip to the end of the video for leaderboard of relative timings (I have always compared one tyre versus another, to make it easier to compare across days, rather than reporting absolute laptimes which will be weather dependent).

 

[irie]

Southern UK: Last winter used rear High Roller 3's (DD, Maxxgrip) on both my and my wife's bikes (2022 alloy Trek Rails) inflated to 25psi. Worked great in damp/ wet/ muddy/ mucky conditions but absolutely NOT dry weather tyres. Also pretty draggy but that's to be expected.

Paired with front Shortys (DD, Maxxgrip) which work great in the above conditions.

As soon as it dried out a bit replaced the HR3's with Maxxgrip DD DHR2's and Shorty fronts with Maxxgrip EXO+ Assegais.

HR3's stashed in the garage for next winter but if reasonably dry won't bother with them. Oh, did I say they were draggy?

 

[RoJo]

Southern UK: Last winter used rear High Roller 3's (DD, Maxxgrip) on both my and my wife's bikes (2022 alloy Trek Rails) inflated to 25psi. Worked great in damp/ wet/ muddy/ mucky conditions but absolutely NOT dry weather tyres. Also pretty draggy but that's to be expected.

Paired with front Shortys (DD, Maxxgrip) which work great in the above conditions.

As soon as it dried out a bit replaced the HR3's with Maxxgrip DD DHR2's and Shorty fronts with Maxxgrip EXO+ Assegais.

HR3's stashed in the garage for next winter but if reasonably dry won't bother with them. Oh, did I say they were draggy?

Yeah, maybe just not soft or loose enough where I tested it. It was far from a glorious day starting 6C with a little snow at the side, but still fairly firm underneath. I imagine an Assegai rear would fill with mud during winter, but do you think the HR3 rear is noticeably better than DHR2 rear in this weather?

 

[RustyIron]

Smooth Sections: On flowy, less technical parts of the trail, the two tires performed almost identically, with only a marginal 0.06-second difference

Interesting. I would have thought the Assegai might have been slower on the smooth stuff. On the rough stuff, your results are as I would have expected. How does the High Roller recover after it starts to wash out? It's not that I'm going to give up my Assegai, but I'm curious.

 

[steve_sordy]

Interesting. I would have thought the Assegai might have been slower on the smooth stuff. On the rough stuff, your results are as I would have expected. How does the High Roller recover after it starts to wash out? It's not that I'm going to give up my Assegai, but I'm curious.

The key question is why are you not tempted by the WTB Vigilante?
I only mention this because I used to have a Vigilante Trail Boss on the rear of my last bike. It was removed from my grandson's new bike as it was too draggy for him. After several years hanging about in the garage, I gave it a try on my emtb as I was unhappy with the stock rear (Maxxis Aggressor DD). The difference was amazing and I've had one ever since.. Since then I have been tempted to try the Vigilante in favour of the Assegai, but always bottled it at the last minute. I was unaware of @RoJo's work at the time.
I have just changed my bike and the front is an Assegai, so it could be a while before I get to try a Vigilante and Trail Boss combo.

 

[Who’s There]

The key question is why are you not tempted by the WTB Vigilante?
I only mention this because I used to have a Vigilante Trail Boss on the rear of my last bike. It was removed from my grandson's new bike as it was too draggy for him. After several years hanging about in the garage, I gave it a try on my emtb as I was unhappy with the stock rear (Maxxis Aggressor DD). The difference was amazing and I've had one ever since.. Since then I have been tempted to try the Vigilante in favour of the Assegai, but always bottled it at the last minute. I was unaware of @RoJo's work at the time.
I have just changed my bike and the front is an Assegai, so it could be a while before I get to try a Vigilante and Trail Boss combo.

Tried to use a Trail Boss on the rear to pair with my Vigilante on front, on hard pack bermed flow trail it would skid with any sort of braking force before slowing bike, unfortunately I am a brake dragger so I had to swap to a Butcher Grid Gravity(27.5x2.6) which will actually slow the bike before sliding. Vigilante works well on front(29x2.6) in the same hard pack situations, but I am old so I tend to load the front with the rear brake rather than weighting the front to get bike to turn. In my mind I am going fast….

I have a Kenda Hellcat that I bought the on sale for like $30 that I keep hesitating to try out

 

[irie]

Yeah, maybe just not soft or loose enough where I tested it. It was far from a glorious day starting 6C with a little snow at the side, but still fairly firm underneath. I imagine an Assegai rear would fill with mud during winter, but do you think the HR3 rear is noticeably better than DHR2 rear in this weather?

If it's firm I'll stay with DHR2 rears. If it's muddy shite then HR3s. If it's in between and I think the DHR2 won't pack out I'll stay with it.

 

[steve_sordy]

Tried to use a Trail Boss on the rear to pair with my Vigilante on front, on hard pack bermed flow trail it would skid with any sort of braking force before slowing bike, unfortunately I am a brake dragger so I had to swap to a Butcher Grid Gravity(27.5x2.6) which will actually slow the bike before sliding. Vigilante works well on front(29x2.6) in the same hard pack situations, but I am old so I tend to load the front with the rear brake rather than weighting the front to get bike to turn. In my mind I am going fast….

I have a Kenda Hellcat that I bought the on sale for like $30 that I keep hesitating to try out

Maybe the compound of the rubber was the problem, becasue I've never had the Trail Boss skid out, not even on a hard dry trail. Well OK, maybe on the layer of sand on the dry hard trail, but that is slipping sideways not skidding out under pressure.

I did some research on the Trail Boss and found a 21-tyre shoot out on an American website. It was awarding best front tyre, best mud tyre etc. The Aggressor that I referred to earlier was voted "best rear tyre" and beat the Trail Boss into second place by one point. I had a closer look at the scoring system and the Aggressor had higher score than the Trail Boss for ease of fitting. The Trail Boss came out 2 points better on braking efficiency than the Aggressor, but was equal on all other points. I thought that better braking was more important than ease of fitting because I do the former more than the latter, so I felt very comfortable giving the Trail Boss a try, especially as it was essentially free.

I cannot advise you on the Kenda Hellcat. What are the specs?

 

[Montana St Alum]

My conclusion is that I'm really happy I'm biking in Utah, and not in Wales! I have my wife on the Assegai up front, just because it's so predictable. No matter the angle against the ground, the cornering grip is about the same. I always found that if you really had to grip on non-bermed corners in dry conditions, the DHF gripped better when really leaned over, engaging the cornering knobs, but my skill level is only good enough to occasionally feel that.

 

[RoJo]

The key question is why are you not tempted by the WTB Vigilante?
I only mention this because I used to have a Vigilante Trail Boss on the rear of my last bike. It was removed from my grandson's new bike as it was too draggy for him. After several years hanging about in the garage, I gave it a try on my emtb as I was unhappy with the stock rear (Maxxis Aggressor DD). The difference was amazing and I've had one ever since.. Since then I have been tempted to try the Vigilante in favour of the Assegai, but always bottled it at the last minute. I was unaware of @RoJo's work at the time.
I have just changed my bike and the front is an Assegai, so it could be a while before I get to try a Vigilante and Trail Boss combo.

NGL, I do love the Vigilante 29x2.6 Tough/High Grip. The volume means you can run slightly lower pressure without rim strikes.

That said wait until next Tues video release before rushing out and buying one

 

[Who’s There]

Maybe the compound of the rubber was the problem, becasue I've never had the Trail Boss skid out, not even on a hard dry trail. Well OK, maybe on the layer of sand on the dry hard trail, but that is slipping sideways not skidding out under pressure.

I did some research on the Trail Boss and found a 21-tyre shoot out on an American website. It was awarding best front tyre, best mud tyre etc. The Aggressor that I referred to earlier was voted "best rear tyre" and beat the Trail Boss into second place by one point. I had a closer look at the scoring system and the Aggressor had higher score than the Trail Boss for ease of fitting. The Trail Boss came out 2 points better on braking efficiency than the Aggressor, but was equal on all other points. I thought that better braking was more important than ease of fitting because I do the former more than the latter, so I felt very comfortable giving the Trail Boss a try, especially as it was essentially free.

I cannot advise you on the Kenda Hellcat. What are the specs?

Hellkat is a 27.5 x2.6 AGC casing. Feels robust enough to not pinch flat. Fairly open tread. RSR compound which should be their softest. We will see. At the same time I got a front to match in a 29x2.6 but in the AEC casing. Which is rated for EMTB but is only around 1000g and feels limber to me. RSR compound too. Might have been 20 bucks so couldn’t pass up. I will put the Kendas on rims I don’t really care a lot about.(my Original Husky branded wheels which have tired Butchers on them as of now)

 

[RustyIron]

The key question is why are you not tempted by the WTB Vigilante?

It looks as if it would be a little better in moister conditions than my dry local terrain. Reports are that it's a little slippery when leaned over hard. Really, my stack of new Assagai's will last until the end of the year.