Maxxis Launch the New High Roller 3

It’s always big news when Maxxis produce a new gravity focused tyre and the new High Roller 3 looks set to be a future classic, plugging the gap between the ultra popular dry conditions Assegai and their full mud tire, the Shorty.

For those who’ve been around a while, the High Roller name has almost legendary status, having been a staple of gravity mountain biking since not long after the turn of the century. Originally a downhill race tire it soon spread to bikes of all kinds, with the High Roller II taking over way back in 2011. That tire, which featured only small tweaks from the original design, was still winning group tests and awards as recently as 2021 after ten full years on the market. A fast but grippy all rounder, those High Rollers provided a great mix of rolling speed, braking traction and support and were found on everything from mid travel bikes to world cup winning downhill machines. Our own Mark Scott raced on them almost exclusively throughout his EWS career using them in every terrain the world offers. 

In recent years, the popularity of the original patterns has finally faded away a little, being largely replaced for all round use by the exceptional Assegai and DHR II tire combination that you’ll find on the bikes of many pros and amateurs alike. 

With its old niche now filled by those tires, the new High Roller 3 is a complete redesign, actually sharing very little with the old models except the name. Where the High Roller II was a general purpose all rounder, the new version is a more aggressive design. Hiding in plain sight, they've already been raced at World Cups over the last year with wins in the bag under Ronan Dunne, Marine Cabirou, Ellie Hulsebosch and Jackson Goldstone, who used them during his celebrated run on a greasy finals day at Mont St Anne. Check out his POV of just what these tires can do under the right rider.

Featuring a hybrid design, consisting of well spaced centre tread knobs and large solid side blocks, the new pattern is built to penetrate softer ground almost like a cut spike while retaining the secure cornering feel of a dry tire. For mixed conditions, fresh cut trails, muddy days and deeper dust the High Roller 3 will both clear mud and cut better than either the Assegai or Minion DHF while still rolling and supporting a rider in the corners more securely than any of the pure mud tires. As a UK enduro and downhill tire it’s a very promising looking option, given how often our trails are wet, muddy and mixed in their surfaces. 

Initially the tires will be available in DH and DD casings, with lighter EXO+ trail versions to follow later in the year. Coming in a 2.4’ width, both 29’ and 27.5’ wheel sizes are catered for, with all the versions using the super sticky Maxxgrip 3C compound. We’ve already got some trail time logged on them and so far they are performing exactly as promised biting tenaciously into softer ground while still handling well on the more hardpack trails. It’s early days, but it looks like these might become the default choice any time the rain comes, which in Scotland seems to be most of the year round this year!