Maxxis Bighorn 2.0 Review

I figured I would do a little review on the Bighorn 2.0's now that I have a little over 1000 miles on them. I'm pretty critical about tires so if there's something I don't like or really like about them you'll read about it in here...lol

Here's a few specs that I got on the tires after I got them mounted up.

Sizes - 26x9-12 Front; 26x11-12 Rear

Weight - 21lbs Front; 28lbs Rear

Height @ 5psi - 26 1/4"

Original Tread Depth- 25/32"

Tread Depth @ 1k miles - 21/32"

Maxxis claimed 21lbs for the front and 25lbs for the rear. I weighed them on a doctors office type scale and the rear came out 3lbs heavier then they claim. No big deal though, they're still a fairly light tire compared to most.

Wear:

I think they're holding up pretty good. 4/32" over 1k miles isn't bad in my book. Will they wear as good as a Bighorn OG?? I don't know for sure because I've never had them but from what I read they should be pretty close. I think 3500 to 4500 miles, depending on where and how you ride, wouldn't be a bad guess though.

Durability:

Surprisingly they're holding up great. I had to plug one rear tire because of nail but that's it. When I first got them I thought I was gonna destroy them because they have really soft sidewalls (more on that later). There's been ALOT of times I thought I cut one but when I stopped to check, NOTHING!! One time in particular was when I carried the front end off of about a 3ft rise in the trail that started a downhill run. I was just starting to bring the front end down and there was a basketball sized rock right in my path. I landed the front tire right on top of it. I thought for sure I had a flat tire and a smashed rim but when I hopped off to look there was nothing wrong with either one. Now, even with that being said, I still don't trust them too much. With how soft they are they're just not very confidence inspiring. There's no rim guard either. Mounted on a ITP SS212 there's about 1/4" on the lip of the rim showing all the way around so the rims get dinged up real easy.

Ride/Handling:

These tires ride great. They are the best riding tire I've ever had so far. They soak up small bumps and rocks like they're not even there. On the pavement they don't shake,shimmy, or wobble one bit which is a big plus. Sometimes we'll have to ride the roads to get to the next trail and there's nothing worse then a tire that will rattle your teeth out going down the road.

The handling is where I have the biggest gripe with these tires. Some things I like about them and some things not so much. The things I like: When going up a fairly rocky trail at higher speeds they hold thier line real well. They don't get that really loose feeling. Cornering is where I don't care for these tires too much. The sidewalls roll over too easy when cornering hard and especially when you're breaking coming into a corner. They're a little scary on off camber downhills because of this too. To try and correct some of this I run 7psi in the front tires and 5psi in the rears. It helps but its still very noticable. Maybe with a 25" tire or 26" on a 14" rim they wouldn't be so bad?? But on the upside, they stick to the trails like glue. These things are very responsive and turn on a dime with little to no pushing. High speed trails they track straight and true with very little nervousness. I'll chalk the nervousness up to the 700's front end though because on my 660 there's virtually none. My 660 is down right now so I threw them on my dads 700 until mine's back on the trail.

Traction: In my opinion

Hardpack - 8/10
Soft Dirt - 10/10 Thats where these tires really shine.
Dry Rock - 9/10
Wet/Slick Rock - 8/10 They hook almost as good on dry as they do wet rocks.
Snow - 9/10 Awesome snow tire!!
Mud - 6/10 They're pretty good in watery mud where they can clean out easy but as soon as you get them in some thick stuff they clog right up.

Overall - 7/10

Some things I love about these tires but somethings I don't. Will I buy them again?? Probably not. Not because they're a bad tire or anything but because I'll be looking for something a little more aggressive next time around. But there's my take on them. Hope everyone enjoys the review and could get some use out of it in the future!!