The High Roller II has been a staple of the Maxxis range for well over a decade, in that time it's garnered a loyal following and its fair share of racing success. The tire that was once a stalwart of downhill MTB racing (and ran on gravity-orientated bikes everywhere) has since been superseded by the likes of Maxxis' Minion DHF, Assegai, and Shorty.
Maxxis has now officially revealed the successor in the High Roller lineage. The new MK III version features a redesigned tread pattern and a new purpose to bring it back up to date with the best mountain bike tires.
The latest High Roller is still firmly routed in downhill racing and has already seen World Cup Downhill success being ridden to victory by Jackson Goldstone at Mont Saint Anne.
The High Roller III features what Maxxis is calling a hybrid tread design that is aimed to offer a halfway option between a wet condition penetrating mid-spike like the Maxxis Shorty without sacrificing cornering control and traction on hard-pack dry conditions that you get from an Assegai.
To achieve this the Maxxis has opened up the center tread pattern. Gone are the aggressively ramped tread pattern of the High Roller II which switched between two tightly packed center knobs and two horizontal lugs. The High Roller III has a far more blocky center tread with horizontal and vertical sipping which will help the lug deform. The supported shoulder knobs look relatively unchanged from the previous generation tire to ensure cornering traction.
The High Roller III will initially launch in a 2.4in width featuring MaxxGrip and a downhill casing for 29 and 27.5-inch wheel sizes. The Double Down High Roller III is expected to be released in early fall/autumn, and while Maxxis has confirmed that there will be an EXO+ version, there is currently no confirmed date as to when it will be available.
The High Roller III will retail for £74.99 for the DH casing and £79.99 for the DD casing. The RRP for the EXO+ version is still to be confirmed.
Our take
The High Roller line has been one of the most successful downhill tires, although recently the classic tread design has fallen out of favor. A vague transition between the center tread and shoulder lugs meant the High Roller II needed a more aggressive cornering style to get the best from it – unlike Maxxis Assegai and Minion DHF which offer super predictable cornering performance as you lean into a turn.
The new design of the High Roller III could reinvigorate the High Roller line, especially for riders on typically wetter trail conditions, such as the UK. The new tire looks like it could be a great choice for damp trails that don't need a mid-spike tire to fully penetrate the surface, but are still sticky enough that a tighter tread pattern will become clogged.
