Versions tested: Dual Ply Super Tacky (42A) 2.35 width front and rear, UST 60A 2.5 rear, Dual Ply 60A rear.

How much: currently £17.99 – £33.30

From: www.justridingalong.com

Why? Downhill specific, for getting down a mountain as quickly as possible. You can ride them uphill but it will hurt especially in the 42A soft compound.

First Impression: Very aggressive but not quite as wide as I hard expected. Totally bomb proof sidewalls and very heavy.

Yay: Grip: These tyres have it all, cornering, braking, off camber in the dry or when it’s raining. The robust knobbles won’t let go or flounder even in the soft supertacky compound and the sticky rubber will cling to the slimiest rocks. The 60A 2.5 rears seem to give roughly the same amount of grip as the 42A 2.35 versions but with additional cushioning and less drag, but more weight.

The Dual Ply sidewalls are thickest I’ve used and are the only tyres I’ve never punctured. They are so thick the tyres work tubeless with no problems and only the minimum sealant, and will support low pressures.

The UST tyres are significantly lighter but I found the casing to be significantly weaker, slicing through it landing on a sharp rock on the first ride. This was on a hardtail though, with suspension the landing would have been softened and the tyre would probably have been fine. It’s worth noting that the Dual Ply version survived a heavier landing on the same rock.

Although heavy the Minions are not too porky to ride up a few hills, and the rolling resistance is just about bearable (I expect the 40a slow reazy or 2.5 / 2.7 supertacky versions may be too much). The 60A compound gives a massive reduction in rolling resistance, even on the 2.5″ versions.

Nay: I couldn’t really find fault with these tyres. They were slightly hard to get on the rims, does that count? They are heavy and slow uphill but then that’s not what they’re for. The UST sidewalls are weaker than the Dual Ply, but weigh about 200g less.

Overall: If someone’s made a better all rounder heavy use tyre I’d like to try it.

Tested on : Kona Chute hardtail with Magura Wotans 160mm. Fitted tubeless using a NoTubes DH kit and 2 layers of velox tape onto Progress DH wheels.

Where : Raced and ridden in Wharncliffe and the Peaks.

author: Jon
date : August 2006