Maxis Ikon Initial Tire Review

At first glance, the Maxxis Ikon tire looks like a Kenda Small Block 8 with larger knobs. That is, of course, essentially what it is, but that's not a bad thing. The SB8 is a good tire and an excellent tread design- why not make a similar tire that is a bit bigger and grip-ier and see how that works? Excellent is the answer, and too bad for Kenda that it wasn't them.

The Ikon is a race tire and Maxxis is clear about that, but it is designed to be a high-volume race tire and therefore only comes in a 2.2 size (26 or 29). It is a proper 2.2 also, not like some of those bull shit 2.2's that end up smaller than a 2.1 from other manufacturers.

The sidewalls feel appropriately thin, but not scary, and the whole tire feels very solid once mounted. It snapped right into place on the tubeless American Classic wheelset and with one dose of sealant, has lost very little air since mounted.

I'm riding on the 26x2.2 with the "EXO" sidewall protection. Of course it is not being used for racing, but for trail riding, and I have to say that it has held up well. I only have 4-5 good rides on it, but a number of other tires have shown trouble in less time than that. The traction these tire have is quite good. It is much better than I thought it would be, but obviously not up there with some of the burly trail tires out there. They roll fast though and are light as you can hope for on a tire like this. The published weight was 550 grams and mine came in at 560 grams.

If you are looking for a high-volume race tire, or a fast tire that can double as a light-medium duty trail tire- this is a good candidate. I don't know how long they will last on trail duty but if they can get through another 12-15 rides, I'd call that a fair deal.

Charlie S.