Maxxis Forekaster Tire - Review
Maxxis has been cranking out fresh tire designs in earnest, and the Forekaster is a relatively new addition to the range. Billed as an aggressive cross-country tire, it competes with the likes of Schwalbe's Nobby Nic in both performance and appearance, with a rounded crown and staggered rows of small, sharp-edged, widely spaced tread blocks. The Forekaster is intended for wet or loose conditions, and the tread design plays well with wide rims in the neighborhood of 30 millimeters (inside measurement).
Forekasters are tubeless ready and are offered in a variety of options - sizes from 27.5 x 2.2, through 2.6 inches - and 29-inch from 2.2 through 2.35-inches, with the more pricey tires featuring their EXO reinforced sidewall protection layer. The tread is dual-density: harder on top to ensure a fast-rolling, long-wearing center tread and softer on the sides for grippy cornering blocks. The Forekaster 29 x 2.35-inch EXO model we review here is priced at $68.90 USD, and came in plus or minus 4 grams of the claimed 735-gram weight.
Details and Specifications:
• Use: Aggressive XC, loose or wet conditions
• Construction: Single-ply 120 TPi casing, EXO sidewall protection, tubeless Ready
• Size: 29 x 2.35"/ 60-622 ETRTO
• Tread: Dual-compound rubber, directional.
• Wide Trail casing: optimized for 30-35mm inner-width rims
• Weight: (claimed) 735g
• MSRP: $68.90 USD
• Contact: Maxxis
Options
![Maxxis Forekaster 29 x 2.35]()
• Use: Aggressive XC, loose or wet conditions
• Construction: Single-ply 120 TPi casing, EXO sidewall protection, tubeless Ready
• Size: 29 x 2.35"/ 60-622 ETRTO
• Tread: Dual-compound rubber, directional.
• Wide Trail casing: optimized for 30-35mm inner-width rims
• Weight: (claimed) 735g
• MSRP: $68.90 USD
• Contact: Maxxis
Options
Sharp-edged tread blocks and creative siping help the Forekaster find grip in both high and low-pressure situations.
Riding Impression
Summer most often means loose and dusty, and that was why I was interested in the Forekaster's tread design. I ran them on both ends of the bike, and on 30-millimeter-width rims. The actual width measured exactly 2.3 inches at 28 psi (nice work Maxxis). Mounting them up tubeless to DT Swiss aluminum rims was not seamless. They needed two blasts from my Topeak reservoir floor pump to seat up. Once inflated, however, the Forekasters sealed up instantly and did not need to be topped off.
Straight-line performance over hard surfaces is quite good, with minimal noise and very little rolling resistance. Mounted to 30-millimeter rims, there was no way that the Forekasters would tuck under hard, out-of-the-saddle pedaling, and the same was true for their cornering stability - rock solid. I attribute the tire's lateral stability to the wider rims, but Maxxis is well aware of that, which is an apt lead-in to the topic of grip.
Other than a handful of boulder-strewn stream crossings, I cannot comment upon the Forekaster's wet weather performance beyond the fact that they hooked up well enough to breeze trough the wet granite without a sense that someone had greased my tires. Nice enough, but what I was hoping for was a faster rolling design than the Maxxis Minion and High Roller II, or Schwalbe's Magic Mary - the tires that rule Southern California's sketchy dust and hard-pack gravel. In those situations, I am pleased to say that the Forekaster can be relied upon to find grip in loose dust or up steep rock faces, and its pointy tread can find enough purchase in gravel or shale to corner and climb without much concern for unplanned drifts or momentum killing wheel-spin.
Like its unrelated brother, the Schwalbe Nobby Nic, however, the Maxxis Forekaster has some boundaries which cannot be crossed without consequence. The rounded tread fumbles down crumbly off-camber sections that a flatter tread profile like the High Roller's can easily carve a line across, and when climbing up and around tight switchbacks, the front tire tends to skip and push unless care is taken to weight the front end. Reducing the tire pressure to the low 20's helped,
Other than a handful of boulder-strewn stream crossings, I cannot comment upon the Forekaster's wet weather performance beyond the fact that they hooked up well enough to breeze trough the wet granite without a sense that someone had greased my tires. Nice enough, but what I was hoping for was a faster rolling design than the Maxxis Minion and High Roller II, or Schwalbe's Magic Mary - the tires that rule Southern California's sketchy dust and hard-pack gravel. In those situations, I am pleased to say that the Forekaster can be relied upon to find grip in loose dust or up steep rock faces, and its pointy tread can find enough purchase in gravel or shale to corner and climb without much concern for unplanned drifts or momentum killing wheel-spin.
Like its unrelated brother, the Schwalbe Nobby Nic, however, the Maxxis Forekaster has some boundaries which cannot be crossed without consequence. The rounded tread fumbles down crumbly off-camber sections that a flatter tread profile like the High Roller's can easily carve a line across, and when climbing up and around tight switchbacks, the front tire tends to skip and push unless care is taken to weight the front end. Reducing the tire pressure to the low 20's helped,
Most cross-country trail riders prefer a rounded tread profile like the Forekaster's. Its edging blocks are plentifully large, however, and it corners with authority in most situations.
Pinkbike's Take:
 | Give the Maxxis Forekaster a try if you are searching for a good all-around tire for fast-paced, technical trail riding. It's trustworthy when it lets loose, and I found it to be grippier in the turns than its closest competitor, lightweight, tough, and it rolls faster than its edgy tread pattern would suggest. |
Author Info:
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Select "tire finder"
Select "bicycle"
Select "26"
Admire all your choice.
www.maxxis.com/tire-search?category=117&rim=26
What are they?
CRC
Amazon
MEC
etc if you google search that tire.
or go to a local bike shop, here in Canada we have 3 main suppliers of maxxis to the shops.
#26aintdead
I run 26" too. I just buy whatever is available. Still works better than moan about what is not available.
No drama. Thanks Maxxis. We'll have the option of these too at some point I'm sure.
Let it be known it wasn't me who commented on a year and a half old thread
Info Here: www.maxxis.com/wide-trail-wt-design
Once conditions began getting really dry and loose the front would slide with aggressive cornering. By that time my rear was nearly dead anyway, so i moved the front to the rear and put an Aggressor on the front which has been a great combo.
the wide open areas between knobs have been prone to punctures, but nothing my sealant hasn't taken care of
The tire is great on muddy, soft, leafy and mixed terrain, lots of control, very light to get rolling and hopping though a bit of roll-over due to my narrow rim.
Con: wet/muddy angled rock slabs, those big knobs don't give much purchase.
I'll probably install an Ardent in the front to deal with summer conditions in Quebec.
I find I can push the bike harder into corners and technical sections when running a HR2 3C (front) and 2.4 Ardent DC (rear) combo... but the forekaster wins out in terms of weight and rolling resistance. Also climbing traction from the rear tire was good, which is crucial on a SS hardtail.
I'll post back after I get a ride in on the Forekaster tomorrow. I'll be putting an Ardent Race 2.35 on the rear, so losing about 3/4 lb total. I've used an AR before, so I know already know it has more than enough traction and predictable enough release for our conditions. The wildcard will be the ForeKaster.
@therage43 I should clarify this is mostly my issue in the rear, where I have also torn a double down in the first month of having it.
To be fair, I am a heavier rider (190lbs kitted up) but they get trashed very quickly when compared to my current choice, WTB. I'm running a 27.5 Breakout TCS tough fast 2.5 in the rear and the new Convict 27.5 tcs light high grip in the front. They have been a lot more durable, grip very well and able to withstand countless blows to the sidewalls. Not perfect but the best I've been able to find for our rocky terrain.
The Maxxis gets the nod for durability over the Nic, in longevity and in sidewall tear resistance. The Nic is slightly more voluminous. Rolling resistance feels similar on both.
In the 29x2.35 a 30mm id is the widest rim on which I'd use the Forekaster. If they come out with a 2.5 WT, it'll be game over for all other options for trail riding.
29/27 "minus" ?
I'll never use a tire that is under 2.5.
The 2.5 DHF is not a new tire, yet it is unquestionably the benchmark despite the rolling resistance tradeoff.