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The High Roller III’s more aggressive tread pattern combines with Maxxis’ tried-and-tested carcass and compound recipe, resulting in simply excellent performance.
The ramped, closely spaced centre blocks of the High Roller II have been replaced by taller, chunkier knobs designed for increased grip in mixed conditions and softer terrain for the High Roller III.
A gravity-focused DH casing and tacky 3C MaxxGrip rubber takes the HR III’s weight to 1,403g, with this model costing £74.99 / $105.
Utterly predictable, it offers grip and control in spades.
The weighty carcass creates a damped and muted feel, and even the hardest riders will struggle to burp or deform it.
But it’s the breadth of performance that impresses most; the HR III excels on a wide gamut of terrain types.
Maxxis High Roller III 3C MaxxGrip DH Casing 29x2.4 specifications
The DH-casing version of the HR III uses two layers of Maxxis' toughest 60 TPI construction.
This is the most stable and damped carcass in Maxxis’ range. It’s enhanced with butyl rubber sidewall inserts (that run from the bead to one third of the way up the sidewall). These are claimed to also reduce pinch flats.
Maxxis’ 3C MaxxGrip rubber uses three layers of different-compound rubber to create the tackiest and slowest-rebounding formula.
Across the tyre, a hard base layer sits at the tread’s deepest point. The outer portion of the centre blocks is made from a medium-compound rubber, while the shoulder knob’s outers are made from the softest.
Its tread pattern has a two-two alternating centre-block design.
Designed to penetrate softer ground, these knobs are square and stout, with wide spacing between each, echoing the cut-spike design of the Shorty.
The siping also alternates, from horizontal to vertical.
The shoulder knobs are oblong and well-supported to improve cornering traction and make the tyre’s handling more predictable.
This 29x2.4in tyre measured 59mm/2.32in wide when inflated to 25psi on a 30mm internal-width rim. As the toughest HR III on the market, this DH-casing MaxxGrip tyre weighs 1,403g.
Maxxis High Roller III 3C MaxxGrip DH Casing 29x2.4 performance
Installation
Maxxis’ tough downhill casing is surprisingly malleable when you’re working it onto the rim, but it takes a lot of force to get that dual-ply casing to stretch.
Getting the first bead onto the rim is hard, but fitting the second bead is much easier and doesn't require tyre levers.
With just a high-volume track pump, it inflated instantly, creating an air-tight seal after just a few cycles of the pump. By 30psi, it had fully seated, popping into place.
For a downhill-casing tyre, the High Roller III is relatively easy to fit but, as expected, plenty of hand strength is required.
Profile and shape
The mid-spike design gives it a rounded overall profile. The centre blocks sit raised above the side knobs to focus grip but also reduce rolling resistance.
Its shoulder knobs angle outwards to help improve grip at higher lean-over angles and make the transition from grip to slip less abrupt.
Feel and grip
In soft terrain, the blocky tread digs into the ground impeccably.
Biting hard, it feels as if it’s hooking into the trail to create bountiful grip and control. Tracking across loose off-cambers is confidence-inspiring.
Leaning over in turns is met with precise and predictable changes in direction; there’s no slip or slide before it grips, and grip doesn’t drop off suddenly.
Instead, traction tapers towards controlled drifts, giving them an excellent feel.
Braking traction is also excellent. Even heavy-handed operation of the front brake doesn’t cause the wheel to lock; instead, it digs in and slows you down with dependable predictability.
While mechanical grip is high – the tyre chews into the trail – chemical traction is excellent.
On slippery roots and rocks, there’s limited deflection. The soft compound’s chemical traction adheres to angled obstacles.
Fire across a root or rock-infested line and the High Roller III tracks straight and true, holding your desired trajectory.
It’s super-predictable and calm, and an easy tyre to ride at the edge of your limits.
Switching to hardpack or greasy ground shows the MaxxGrip compound is still one of the best.
The tread audibly deforms as the rubber scrabbles for grip when you steer hard on a flat corner; sketchy moments of unpredictable understeer are few and far between.
The traction doesn’t drop suddenly off a cliff. The tyres initiate a slide smoothly and slowly, tapering into a drift.
The chemical traction, tread pattern and carcass feel create a predictable cocktail of control.
The DH casing is as tough and damped as you’d expect. Buzzy vibrations barely make their way to the bar, and bigger, sharp hits are rounded and smoothed.
This insulates unwanted feedback and helps you concentrate on riding hard.
Steering vagueness, burping and sidewall squirming don’t exist, even at lower pressures.
There’s loads of support, making the DH casing well-suited to hard chargers or lighter riders at much lower pressures.
How we tested | winter enduro tyres
All six of these tyres were tested back-to-back on both the front and rear wheels of our test bike.
Alex used the same 30mm internal-width rim for each of the tyres and inflated them to the same or an equivalent pressure, allowing for small differences in tyre volume (higher-volume tyres require slightly lower pressures).
Alex rode a wide gamut of terrain types – average trail-centre laps to get an idea of rolling resistance, down muddy, boggy and rocky and rooty descents to test grip, and on high-load, high-speed downhill tracks to test for carcass stability.
Tyres on test
- Schwalbe Magic Mary Radial Gravity Pro Addix Ultra Soft 29x2.5
- Maxxis High Roller III 3C MaxxGrip DH Casing 29x2.4
- Michelin Wild Enduro MS Racing Line 29x2.4
- Continental Argotal Enduro Soft 29x2.4
- Pirelli Scorpion Race Enduro T 29x2.5
- WTB Vigilante SG1 Tough/High Grip 29x2.5
Maxxis High Roller III 3C MaxxGrip DH Casing 29x2.4 bottom line
While the High Roller III DH Casing is weighty, the amount of damped control, steering support, and vibration muting available is more than worth it; Maxxis’ well-established recipe needn’t change any time soon.
Impressively, the mid-spike tread pattern is more versatile than you’d expect.
It excels in hardpack and grease just as convincingly as it does on softer, looser ground or over roots and rocks.
The combination of chunky, well-supported knobs, and a tacky, chemically tractive compound combine to create one of the most predictable and easy-to-ride mountain bike tyres on the market.
SQUIRREL_13162398
Product
| Brand | maxxis |
| Price | 75.00 GBP,105.00 USD |
| Weight | 1403.0000, GRAM (29x2.4) - |
