The most important facts in brief

The profile of the Shorty is not entirely new, but has been significantly revised and optimized. The grooved studs are designed to adapt even better to the ground and provide more grip and traction. New knob shapes and a modified arrangement promise better self-cleaning. It is currently available in 29 inch and as a 2.40 WT version. The 27.5-inch version will follow from August. As before, Maxxis is not positioning the Shorty as a pure mud tire. It is intended for deep and soft ground and should also offer good performance on dry sections.

First impression

The soft rubber compound promises good traction and the sidewalls appear robust without being rigid. The lugs are high on the side and slightly lower in the middle for better rolling behavior. The scales show around 980 grams for both tires.

The tires were ridden with tubes, as these were also on the test program. It was not possible to check how the tire performed in the tubeless setup. It goes without saying that you won't go off like Nino Schurter with such a coarse tread. On asphalt, the Shorty rolls quite acceptably. If you corner hard, it emits quite a lot of vibrations, otherwise almost none. On gravel, it feels a bit slower on the flat and uphill than on hard surfaces. Uphill, the traction is very high on wet and dry terrain, literally clawing into the ground or around roots and rocks. In very muddy conditions, it eats its way through the ground and propulsion is always guaranteed. The usually greasy mixture of soil and leaves hardly affects the handling. The Shorty can generally be steered very precisely on all types of ground. The mud has to be very slippery for you to lose control. Wet stones and roots are simply rolled over, unless the latter are large and slippery, in which case you will slip. Self-cleaning is very good, it only clogs up on very loamy soils, but not completely, you always have sufficient grip and traction.

Conclusion

With the new Shorty, Maxxis has made a good tire even better. Its preferred terrain is wet or at least damp. There it offers a lot of safety and control even in the most adverse conditions. On very dry surfaces, it delivers an acceptable performance, but can't quite keep up with other enduro or trail tires. The very good steering and braking behavior is what we like best. One wonders whether it has studs or teeth, as it really bites into the ground. The tire's inherent damping is impressive. It provides additional traction and extra comfort.

Recommendation

You are well advised to experiment with the air pressure. If you ride it with more pressure than usual, it still adapts well to the ground and provides better control and more grip on very deep ground.

Price: from CHF 59.90

Manufacturer/distributor

maxxistires.de / www.tst-gpr.ch