Durability
In the prior picture showing the old vs. new SS, I had around 30 rides on the new version (and about 10 on the old one). Most of those rides were in relatively easy conditions (loamy dirt), but I have at least a handful of rides on lift served DH trails that are a lot rockier – those are the same trails that tore up my Maxxis Griffin pretty quickly.
I haven’t had any issues with tearing the casing, and I’ve had a few instances where I landed weirdly on the edge of a sharp rock. The casing got scuffed up, but thus far no slices. All in all, I’m pretty impressed with how well the Minion SS is holding up.
Bottom Line
The Minion SS isn’t for everyone, and I certainly wouldn’t call it an all conditions tire. If you’re riding where it’s frequently wet, or if you’re just not comfortable really committing to corners and leaning the bike over, this probably wouldn’t be the first tire I’d recommend for you.
But if you’re looking for a fast rolling tire that can still trench a corner, the Minion SS does just that, and it does it really well. That’s a pretty tough combination to argue with, which is why the SS is one of my favorite rear tires for dry conditions.
Thoughts on a fast tire for a 35MM internal rim? Sounds like the Minion SS is too small.
Yeah, I’d say the SS wouldn’t work as well on a rim that wide. I’d take a look at the WTB Riddler. It’s rolls a bit faster than the SS, but definitely doesn’t corner quite as hard. But it comes in a 2.4, which should work better on the wider rim.
Having run it on a WTB ST i25 rim, I’d say that the cornering knobs being in constant contact with the ground doesn’t really go away until the rim internal width is within the 22.5-23mm range. The paved transfer sections i run seem to be contributing to the accelerated shoulder knob wear, but me being a fat arse and riding hard in rocky desert terrain is the rest of that explanation.
For dry terrain, there is a LOT to love about the pairing of a DHR2 and SS Minion combo, as the braking edges of the DHR2 help make up for the straight line braking traction deficit of the semi-slick, and once leaned into a turn they both play along nicely. My particular setup I’ve ran is an Asym i29 out front with the 2.4WT DHR2, and the narrower ST i25 out back with the 2.3 SS, and this is pretty good for four corners riding. I’m only about 400mi in beating on this tire, a non-trivial portion of that is paved surface use, but it’ll be toast in about that distance again. Been quite good for meeting expectations, and there are a few cases where the rear tire grip has notably out-stripped the front in some conditions (mostly slabby granite or outright hardpack).
I think they should be working on a 2.4-2.5 WT variant, and benchmark that on 29-30mm IW rims, as that’s basically the answer. I’m going to be replacing it with a Specialized Slaughter Grid, just because the corner knob drag would drive me nuts on a 30mm IW rim that I’m moving to… Might try the Riddler, but I can’t get those locally, and the 29×2.4 is a bit of an odd duck to carry… the Aggressor in DoubleDown might be worth it’s own look as well.
Thoughts on DHR 2 front and SS rear for Missoula area? Seems like they would play well together in fast, dry conditions.