Maxxis Assegai Tyre - Black

The Maxxis Assegai — World Cup Champion Greg Minnaar's signature tyre!

While this tyre may not make you ride quite like Greg Minnaar, it's going to absolutely rip up those downhill runs with more grip than you ever thought possible.

Some of the best aspects of various tyres such as the DHF, DHR 2 and even the original High Roller have been combined to make this monster of a tyre that excels in all areas - other than fast rolling. If you are looking for that then this likely isn't the tyre for you. This is the kind of tyre that is going to do it's best to find grip anywhere!

The Assegai features tall and well supported side knobs that bite aggressively into corners and provide grip on wet rocks and roots. An extra lug/tooth has been added between the centre and side knobs to give a more consistent transition when leaning the bike over. The influence from the DHR 2 ensures that hard braking is taken care of too.

The Maxxis Assegai takes its name from the traditional Zulu spear, an apt symbol for its precision and aggression on the trail. Designed in collaboration with World Cup champion Greg Minnaar, this tyre is purpose-built for riders who demand maximum grip and control across all conditions.

Featuring tall, reinforced knobs, the Assegai excels in dust, loam, wet roots, and slick rock, providing consistent traction and confident cornering. Unlike other tyres that favour specific surfaces, the Assegai is tuned to perform fast and reliably everywhere—from loose berms to hardpack, from bike park laps to technical downhill runs.

Available in multiple compounds (including 3C MaxxGrip for ultimate grip and MaxxTerra for balance), and a range of casings like EXO+, DoubleDown, and DH, riders can tailor the Assegai for trail, enduro, e-MTB, or full-blown downhill use.

Features

• Signature Design by Greg Minnaar – Named after the Zulu assegai spear, symbolising precision and aggression
• Versatile Performance – Outstanding grip across all trail conditions: dry, wet, loose, or rocky
• Tall, Supportive Knobs – Penetrate soft terrain and maintain control on roots and off-camber features
• Tunable Construction – Available in MaxxGrip or MaxxTerra compounds with casing options for every discipline
• Tubeless Ready & Wide Trail (WT) Optimised – Designed for modern wide rims (30–35 mm)

New DH Casing

This New DH Casing achieves improved compliance over chattery rocks and roots, better support under high cornering loads & impacts, and more durability… because flat tyres are never fast.

For the rest of us, this all translates to increased confidence bombing through technical sections of trail, less risk of a tyre or rim failure, and getting to the bottom of the mountain feeling less beat up and ready do it all over again.

New DH Casing Features

• Progressive casing stiffness that allows pressure to be set for performance versus sidewall stability or rim strike prevention.
• Allows lower pressures (2-3 psi less than previous gen DH casing) which results in slower tyre rebound and more planted, damped feel.
• Improved puncture protection.
• Comparable weight to previous DH casing.
• Dual ply 120 TPI casing
• MaxxGrip rubber compound
• Tubeless Ready
• E25 & E50 Rated
• Comparable weight to previous DH Casing
• 20% increase cornering support
• 24% increase in sidewall puncture resistance
• 28% increase in tread puncture resistance
• 28% increase in pinch cut resistance

New MaxxTerra Compound Option

The next generation of MaxxTerra performance and durability is here!

They did the work in the lab, so you can put the new MaxxTerra to work on the trail.

Thanks to an all-new rubber formulation, New MaxxTerra delivers breakthrough levels of durability, and increases traction across conditions, all while giving up nothing to rolling efficiency. New MaxxTerra equals more laps, more adventures, and more fun.

New MaxxTerra Features

• No loss in rolling efficiency
• 15% increase in traction
• 26% increase in tear resistance
• 27% increase in puncture resistance
• 30% increase in durability / longevity
• 51% increase in stiffness
• 89% increase in crack resistance

Ideal For

• Gravity riders, enduro racers, and e-MTBs
• Front tyre setups where grip is the priority
• Mixed terrain and aggressive, all-condition riding

Who's this for: Riders who prioritise grip above all else, even at the expense of rolling resistance. This is a beefy tyre that will instil confidence on the steepest and roughest of terrain.

Suggested terrain: Greg made this tread pattern to be incredibly versatile and be able to tackle anything a World Cup DH course can throw at you. Therefore this tyre will excel in anything save for hardpack, where it is overkill.

Which wheel: Greg uses it front and rear for his downhill bike, however most people will find it a bit slow for the rear tyre.

WT (Wide Trail): All Assegai models use Maxxis' WT tread pattern.

Rim width: Maxxis state that WT tyres only work with 30-35mm rims but many World Cup DH racers run 2.5" WT rubber on 25mm rims (EX 471's) and can blast corners apart without any problems.

Confused about compounds and casings? Not sure what you need? Check out our Ultimate Guide to Maxxis Tyres!

Weight:

• 27.5, DH, Maxx Grip - 1254g
• 27.5, DD, Maxx Grip - 1225g
• 27.5, EXO+, Maxx Terra - 1050g
• 27.5, EXO, Maxx Terra - 1005g
• 27.5, EXO, Dual Compound - 1090g
• 29, DH, Maxx Grip - 1334g
• 29, DD, Maxx Grip - 1305g
• 29, EXO+, Maxx Terra - 1125g
• 29, EXO, Maxx Terra - 1075g
• 29, EXO, Dual Compound - 1220g

Pros: Insane amounts of grip and support in a wide variety of terrain.

Cons: Quite heavy. Slow rolling in smooth and hardpack trails.