Minion SS

I have tried the Kenda Happy Mediums and surprisingly really liked them. The Maxxis Minion SS is like a Kenda Happy Medium on steroids!

I get great reviews from my reliable buddy @rossage!
So I go and try to purchase one thinking it would be perfect for Kokopelli. No can find! So I contact Maxxis who quickly responds that 26'ers are out there and soon to be added to their site. I can't find one.

Does anyone know where I can find the:
Maxxis Minion SS 26X2.30 Foldable Dual SilkWorm/EXO/TR

 

I dunno where you can find one, but DAYUM those are heavy.

 

Yeah...well. We are talking Kokopelli. Day one is home of the shredded sidewalls...

 

A quick search yields nothing but 27.5 and 29 inch varieties. Depending on what you are running on the front may I suggest a Minion DHF for the rear? That's what I have been running for several months and it rolls extremely well and is bulletproof.

 

Dude! I just rocked them on a hardtail out at Palm Canyon. I thought, if anything, the sand wash would be the Minion SS Kryptonite but I cruised it. Tubeless, 23 PSI, no tears, no pinches, no flats....

On a side note: The Ardent 2.4s have proven themselves to be fast rolling and durable. They are NOT the Hans Dampf in the corners. You have been warned-adjust steering accordingly.
Tubeless, 23PSI, no tears, no pinches, no flats...

 

Try Maxxis Larsen TTs if you can find them in 2.30 or 2.35. I have used them in the past and they were surprisingly decent.

I don't think Maxxis makes them anymore but some online retailers still have them. Sorta similar to that minion SS minus the cornering knobs. They probably have a new tire that replaced the Larsen.

Otherwise I'd go with the Minion DHF. I've used that front & rear and it's one of my all time favorite tires.

 

I'd like to try this in 29er trim....but even they are pushing 900g+

Just seems a bit too much on the SS.

 

Hi there @rossage
You are running 23psi rear? What is your weight? I'm 220 and running 37psi in rear...

 

I am at 185 right now. Dont forget to add in your camelback/gear weight.
IF you are running tubeless you can probably go lower psi. try dropping 3-5 lbs each ride. Then, if you start hitting the rim or rolling/burping the tire you need to increase the pressure. If I was you, I would drop to 30 then start going lower from there. Good Luck!

 

Heya Mikie, If you go to the Maxxis website, click the Minion SS, then in the lower right click "Buy Now", it says they have them in stock to ship, $60 +shipping and tax. I haven't seen them in 26 anywhere else.

Doesn't seem like these are that heavy, 760gr for 26" isn't too bad, the 29s are 810gr with the silkworm thingy

 

I'm 210 and run 26 psi in back, which is pretty high - Minion DHR II, 2.30 tubeless. 27.5

You've got too much air back there Jaime! (depending on your tire model, of course).

 

205 here... And I run anywhere between 25-29 in the rear tire depending on the ride.

 

After my last couple of rides I'm thinking the Minion DHF is overkill for our current trail conditions. I'm tempted to try the SS on the rear.

To add I'm 230 w/pak and run 24-26psi in my 29x2.3 in the rear and 18-20 in the 29x2.5 front.

 

Hans dampf, tubeless, no wonder in todays ride I felt the tire too hard when landing a little jump here at the floop, and it made think.. do I need to let some air out?... Will try 30psi tomorrow here at skyline.. thanks @rossage and @herzalot

 

Hans Dampf work best at lower pressures. Try dropping down into the 25-27 psi range for the rear...may a few lower in the front.

At 205 I ran my 29 x 2.35 HD at about 18 psi up front. 20 psi felt like concrete, 17 psi felt too soft.

 

Hey! This is a Minion SS Thread! Get ur azz's over to the Hans Dampf world...

 

I have a Minion SS and Tomahawk being delivered today. I am currently running a Minion DHF on both F/R (2.5/2.3) and love them but figured it's time to try something new and lose a little weight. I typically run ~24 psi rear and ~21 psi front on my 29mm internal rims, curious to see what feels best for me with this new setup (~210lbs geared up). I'll report back here after some time on the SS, which should be soon since I will most likely be running them for the Rwanda ride.

 

I was running the same combo as you. I put the 2.3 DHF on the front and the new 2.3 SS on the rear. Looking forward to trying the SS this weekend.

 

Just installed the Minion SS 29 x 2.30 on the rear of my hardtail and tested it out this morning. Seems to have good grip, side lugs really hang in there. Tried to break the rear loose by side slipping on some embankments but it hung in well. Rolls well. Like the wider spacing of the side lugs. Not picking up and holding any gravel when I am going through the gravel roads by the railroad tracks. Hope it wears slowly since the center tread is so low already.

 

I've been running my SS for a few months without issues.
The wear I've noticed is on the front edges of the side blocks, probably from taking up the braking duties from the miniscule center knobs.
As it is wearing I noticed that you need to keep your weight back for braking and steep climbs. Not seated, just rearward.
I have picked up rocks in the rear knobs, sometimes they get airborne and hit me in the back!

 

Is anyone able to provide an update on their experiences on the Minion SS?

I've been thinking of running a DHF/SS combo when my tires wear out on my Tallboy LTc. Turns out my friend's tires are due for replacement before mine, so I'm steering him in the same direction. We're on the fence between the DHRII and the SS in the back for him. I already run a tire with short knobs in the back, so I'm confident with that type of set-up, but he's been sliding his back tire everywhere since it's so worn out. I don't want to recommend something that's going slide on him like that when it's brand new.

Pretty much all of his riding is local to OC (Luge/Old Camp, Santiago Oaks, Laguna, San Juan). Hawk at Oaks is probably the most technical trail he's been down, and I'll probably take him down Joplin, 5 Oaks, and Car Wreck sometime soon.

Interested in any comparisons from people who've run both the DHRII and the SS.

 

Lightly treaded rear tires are an acquired taste. They take a commitment to adjust your riding style to gain traction when it gets iffy. Safer to recommend the DHRII. Can't go wrong.

 

As I mentioned in the DHF thread, I replaced my Hans Dampf (front)/Bontrager XR2 (rear) combo with a Minion DHF/SS combo today. So here are my thoughts on the Minion SS so far.

The Bontrager XR2 2.35" was a minimal tread tire that I'd been running consistently since before the Minion SS came out. I like the minimal rear tread approach, but was curious to try the Minion SS with its much more significant cornering knobs, even though I knew I'd be adding a lot of weight in the back.

Here are the details for the other bike nerds:

• 29x2.3" EXO/TR version (no Silkworm)
• It weighed in at 807g - Both tires came in very close to their claimed weights, with the SS 12g over
• After leaving it at 45psi overnight, it stretched out to exactly 2.3" casing width, with the knobs slightly narrower - this is on a 26mm inner width rim
  • The old 2.35" Bontrager's casing was 2.425" on this rim
• I ran it at 21psi, the same as the slightly wider Bontrager I'd been running - I'm about 180ish geared-up.

As you would expect, on the trail the SS seemed like a really good match for the DHF. It felt like it rolled as fast as the Bontrager, but with maybe a little more climbing and braking grip, and a lot more side grip (cornered just as well as the DHF). The improvement in the front going from the HD to the DHF was much bigger than the improvement going from the Bontrager to the SS in the back, but it was still a pretty noticeable improvement. Since I was used to a low tread rear tire, I didn't notice any lack of climbing or braking traction. It will take a bit more riding and seeing how it wears to decide if the extra cornering grip in the back is worth the extra 0.3 lbs of rotating weight to me. I'm guessing it will be, especially as I trust the new tires more and learn to take better advantage of their grip.