If you’re thinking that headline sounds like a fancy way of saying I get it wrong sometimes then yes, you’re right and my rewrite of the Maxxis Severe tire earlier this week illustrates that perfectly. I rushed to get the initial review up faster than any other site after getting on the tires early and as a result I thought they were better than they were – as a potential fast trail tire. In my defense, they actually hung on pretty well during initial testing on treacherously wet, limestone trails in Italy where I rode them first.
Then again, that was on a Canyon XC bike with steep angles and flat bars. Plus, I was riding with a seriously screwed ankle (not the tire's fault) so there were other items higher up the ‘probably making things feel sketchy’ list. There was probably a ‘Maxxis rarely make a bad tire so it must be me’ element to my take on the slips and slides I was experiencing too. And then the trails turned from sloppy spring to drier summer and they proved they were just as blisteringly fast in the dry as they were in the wet. As they’re designed as a race tire that’s a pretty big deal too, so it all seemed to be good.
