I was at the SCK Motor shop when I saw many pieces of Maxxis MA-3D tire arrived at the shop. I asked the mechanic about it to know how good this tire is.
This MA-3D from Maxxis is better, IMHO compared to Duro HF-918 and Michelin during taking corners. This is due to the fact that it has the diamond shaped groove at the side of the tire. The grip of MA-3D is handled by this diamond shaped groove when the bike is slanted more than 45 degree. This gives riders more confident and lower attack angle. 60% of the center groove are designed for high speed riding with the usage of simple groove and a water channel groove in the middle for maximum speed in dry straight line. The groove also makes this tire a balanced characteristic during dry condition and works well through wet tracks.
I was thinking how long the diamond-shaped would last since the groove is not deep enough to be abused all day, but in the end, for normal ride, we don’t usually ride more than 45 degree to the left or right unless we are doing 100km/h on the round-about. So, based on my opinion, it can last as long as the tire center groove before you need to replace it.
It is not that Duro HF-918 or Michelin is not good, but in terms of cornering, MA-3D is much better doing laps. Michelin is a high quality tire that is very good on dry and straight line, but riders needs to be careful when using it for taking corners during wet condition. The thread and groove of Michelin and Duro are simple and looks more like slick tires for high speed dry straight sprint.
8 more pictures after jump
i’m using Maxxis-3D 80/90 for front tire,
and i’m confident with it …
member2 kata michelin & duro 918 fail in rain ~