Update: Maxxis Aspen ST Tire Review

Back in April, Maxxis made the “Team Spec” edition of their Aspen ST XC race tire available to us mere mortals. Julia wrote up that launch , and spent a few weeks riding that tire front and rear on a variety of very lightweight XC bikes. She found them to be surprisingly capable for such a svelte tire, even in mud and on rootier trails, but they’re not the most practical tire for everyday riding. So when it came time to send I9’s Solix M wheelset back, the Aspen STs went into ‘hanging on the garage wall” retirement.

There is an unspoken rule at Bike Mag that I, Cy Whitling, do not get to review super lightweight XC gear. There are several reasons for that: I am not a lightweight person. I am not an XC person. A contingent of torn ligaments that all end with “CL” in my left knee means that I can’t use clipless pedals anymore, and honestly, riding XC bikes on flats is dorky. And Julia is actually fast. She regularly stands on XC podiums. So of course the more qualified woman should take review precedence over the more opinionated man.

But sometimes those dainty XC components call my name. They seduce me with promises of speed and efficiency. And sometimes, I answer that call. That’s the case with the Aspen ST. Maxxis is very clear that the Team Spec version of the Aspen ST is for racing only, and more specifically, is best suited for short track racing, the high speed World Cup discipline where every gram matters. I will not be lining up for any of those anytime soon, but I did get talked into a “race” on the 120 mm Trek Top Fuel. As I was doing my final once-over of the bike, equipped with sensible Specialized Ground Control tires front and rear, the Team Spec Aspen ST hanging on the garage wall caught my eye. What if I shaved some weight, gained some rolling speed, and also got a chance to experiment with tiny tires?

So, as one does, I made a big change for race day and swapped on the Aspen ST to the rear of my bike for 60 miles of the Chuckanut’s finest jank. At no point in the ride was I racing, but dammit, it’s as close to this tire’s intended use case as I could get, and I absolutely loved this tire in that context. It’s predictable and shockingly capable. Turns out, Keegan Swenson was out winning the Leadville 100 on the same tire this weekend, so that’s neat too.

Setup and durability

I ran the 29x2.4” Team Spec Aspen ST on the back of the Trek Top Fuel , mounted to a 30 mm wide rim, with an Octa Mousse insert at 24 PSI. The tire seated easily with a floor pump, and held air all day with no issues. I tend to run the Octa Mousse in the rear on most short travel bikes, mostly because of PTSD from living in the Tetons, where I pinch flatted too many XC tires. Here in the PNW, it’s there as a security blanket, but I’m pretty sure I could get away with not running it. Regardless, I had peace of mind that in case I flatted catastrophically, I could ride out at a reasonable pace on the insert, given the somewhat committing route I tackled with the Aspen ST (which is very much not recommended for big backcountry rides).

After 70ish hard miles on the Aspen ST, I haven’t had any flats or other issues.

Performance

I’ve spent a fair amount of time running Maxxis’s Rekon Race on the rear of a Transition Spur, and on the front and rear of a Kona Sutra LT. I have a reasonably good feel for how that tire performs in a wide variety of conditions, and I set my initial expectations for the Aspen ST around that. However, I was immediately impressed by how hard it was to get the Aspen ST to fully break away. It consistently had more traction than I gave it credit for, to the point where several times I attempted to slarve the rear tire sideways around tight switchbacks, only to be thwarted when it hooked up and wanted to carve the turn.

This is 100% “reviewer makes bold statements with no backup from science or facts” territory, but my impression is that the combination of rubber and higher TPI casing Maxxis is using on the Aspen ST give it more traction than just the knob shape and size would imply. It feels like a climbing shoe that conforms to and grips the terrain, not like a series of tiny shovels digging into it.

Up high, the trails were genuinely wet and almost muddy, with plenty of slick roots and rocks. Navigating trails that folks regularly shuttle on 170 mm bikes, the Aspen ST was never the limiting factor. Instead, the tire disappeared, and I noticed the short travel and less aggressive geometry of the bike much more than the racy rear tire. Similarly, negotiating the slabs and roots of the Ridge Trail, I found myself just riding moves, instead of doing the mental math of whether or not I trusted my tires. No weird sliding on wet, off-camber rocks, no scary skidding through chutes, just traction where, and when I needed it.

No, it isn’t a MaxxGrip Minion, but it’s so predictable. The tire does a great job of telegraphing when it’s at the edge of its traction, and losing said traction in a controlled manner. I never felt surprised by the Aspen ST – it never scared me, or made me feel uncomfortable, and that’s while riding a fair number of fairly scary trails blind for the first time.

The one place where the Aspen ST was (predictably) less excellent was deeper loose conditions, or a film of loose sand or pebbles over hardpack. Here it felt more skittery and exciting. That’s to be expected with cornering knobs the size of Tic-Tacs.

Do as I say, not as I do

Maxxis is very clear that the Team Spec Aspen ST is meant to be a race-only tire. It’s marketed for folks who probably have a super light set of race wheels and another set of everyday wheels shod with heavier, more durable tires for “training.” I am honestly astounded that I haven’t managed to flat or damage this tire yet. I definitely found rim a few times on rooty runnouts, and by the end of the day, my line choice was super questionable, and involved scuffing more than a few sharp rocks. Don’t do that. Run these tires when you’re trying to go fast on mellow terrain, in a controlled environment. They’re probably great for that!

But also, they make lightweight, snappy bikes feel that much more energetic. They’d probably be an absolute blast on a monstercross gravel build. They deliver a shocking amount of traction, and they’re also just plain fun to ride. So, you know, follow the rules. But also, I’m awfully tempted to throw another Aspen ST on the front of my bike and go rip the new dual slalom track on it!

Related: Maxxis Releases Aspen ST to the Public