I have these on front and back of my carbon gravel bike after the stock tires both got holes that would not hold a plug-even the oversized mushroom head type of plug. These tires are great rollers and have good traction even on singletrack and gravel downhills. The only trouble I have is that they loose pressure rather quickly. I have pumped them up to 50psi and had them deflate to 40 psi in @2 hours...I read another review where a guy has this problem and turns out there were holes in his sidewalls, so I checked with soapy water, but no sign of holes, so...? I know there is plenty of sealant, too...
I've gone through a couple pair of Ramblers in the 40mm size. The first pair I was conservative and used the 60 TPI for the rear and 120 front thinking the tougher tire for the rear. Next set I got 120 TPI front and rear and the 120 TPI held up fine.
Looking for more volume my next set was the 45 mm size. 120TPI for both. They have been super tires. My normal ride is about 40 mile total. 25 on pavement to and from and 15+ miles mostly intermediate mtb singletrack but there's some extreme rocky difficult stuff too. Around here it's everything from nice packed clay to embedded rock to loose sharp rocks.
For plain old gravel and forest service roads they're superb.
They roll great on the road and are great off road. Not a lot of mud here, but are a bit slippery with the occasional rain. But what isn't?
I ride a Lynskey GR 270 w/ Stan's Grail wheels, 700c. The Maxxis size is true to size on my rims, 45mm mounted and aired, tubeless. Of the two 45mm tires I got, one was 494g the other 504g. That's for the EXO TR tire.
I wanted a lightweight gravel tire that was still durable enough and this one fits the bill. I ride my gravel bike like an off-roading Porsche and so far no flats. These are tubeless ready and that's how I have them setup. It definitely rolls fast on both the pavement and dirt. It has just enough grip to hit corners at speed and weave through single track without issues. The tires went on the rim with no issues. I even managed to pump up the tires with a floor pump without an air compressor to seal them in.
Easy mount, beads easy, good traction.
Rides good on or off road.
Got these installed new on a Lauf true grit. I've ridden the bike for a week (about 115 miles) and both tires have blown out on totally separate rides, necessitating tubes to get me home (one a top tread puncture that didn't plug with sealant the other a very small sidewall pinch that I didn't notice at all until I looked down and saw sealant oozing out of the tire). I'm not huge (180lbs), didn't ride these over fields of glass, and haven't had any issues with the other gravel tires I've used extensively the last couple years (mostly gravelkings), and while I run Maxxis on my MTB, I think these are the weakest gravel tires I've yet ridden on and won't be looking at Maxxis for gravel in the future. The rubber is very soft and the sidewalls weak from my very limited experience on them. If you stay on pavement, or hardpack, you may be fine, but I fear any rougher gravel may be too much for these in many cases. Playing with pressure, when at about 35-38psi, these were bouncy and slippery on loose gravel, and when deflated and run at 27-32psi, they are mush, but grip a little better as long as you're riding straight. It's unfortunate as I'm having to replace both tires on a brand new bike that wasn't cheap. I would not suggest these tires at all, but of course, ymmv.
A fair amount of weeping on the sidewalls using Orange Seal but once totally sealed, the tires run very smooth and fast on pavement and dirtgravel. Coming from a 32mm filetread, these in 38 add a lot of comfort. So far only a few hundred miles, been very happy with these tire!
Gravel in Ouachita Natl Forrest
I had an original set of Ramblers and found them the worst tires I had ever tried to mount tubeless. For reference between switching tires across three race wheel sets and three training wheels, in both cases for gravel and ultra mtb racing, I probably mount 15 tiresyear. I have a shop air compressor and prestaflator to make quick work of it.
After reading the reviews about the improved design I thought I'd try these again. Now, to be fair I have only tried to mount Ramblers on one wheel - Hed Belgium Plus. Mounting was easier, but not anywhere near as good as Schwalbe G One all around or speed, Kenda Flintridge, Panaracer Gravelking SK, or Compass Barlow Pass.
After mounting I always fully deflate to ensure the bead is set. Immediately these popped off. Back and forth until I finally got them to stay seated without air. Some are OK with a tire unseating like this but I'm not.
After that they held air. First ride reminded me how nice these are. Second ride epic flat on a course I ride every weekend and haven't flatted on in over 4 years. Just my time? And of course the bead popped off just to add to the fun. I think the Gravelkings will go back on. They don't ride near as nice but I haven't ever flatted on those or the Flintridges, riding in all conditions including lots of puncture inducing PNW rain.
I love these tires! I've just worn through my first set on my gravel bike (38c) after 2 years and a few thousand miles (mostly road, lots of hard-pack gravel, some singletrack). Set up tubeless, I have had really incredible puncture protection, traction, cushhhh, and comfort - I've really enjoyed the overall feel of these and would highly recommend.
I've experienced several puncture-events during my time with these, but these events have literally never resulted in a non-rideable outcome. The worst instance resulted when I ran over a nail that pierced the tire, and I experienced continual leaking for several days after removing the nail (I could still commute but needed to inflate it every 24 hours). However, topping off my sealant levels (Orange Seal) fixed the problem without having to remove the tire.
Setting up tubeless was a mild pain in the ass, but partially because I don't have an air compressor, the puncture protection and lower PSI is completely worth the hassle though.
I have had the 700x45 tires for over a year now and put a lot of sharp gravel miles on my bike. These tires have yet to let me down or leave me stranded! They do wear out though, I am on my second rear tire, but I think I got at least a couple thousand miles out of them.
Worth the cost for sure!!!
I love these tires. I ride everything from fast smooth gravel to rocky single track on these. They're dependable and pretty quick.
This tire is tough and grippy. The 50mm size is a lot better at the chunky stuff than the already great 45mm tire. The SilkShield is tough. I run this without an insert at 27 psi and it's grippy and comfortable. Sure it is not the quickest tire on the pavement, but I can let it ride on the downhills. A very fun gravel tire. It's my tire of choice for bike packing on the forest service roads in southwest Virginia.
While I had them, these were a great tire (the bike they were on was stolen so I only had a couple months of riding on them). They are great on gravel and roll really smoothly on pavement for a high volume gravel tire. They're not super light, but light enough for what they are designed for. I never had any punctures and they sealed up nice and reliably tubeless on Stan's rims. I'll get them again once I get my next gravel setup going.
I dont like this tire because it seem to roll good on the pavement and holes really well going up steep hills without slipping. Even know this is called the same exact tire is what I had stock on my 2018 TCX house sex giant the poundage rating is different, this tire maximum pressure is 60 where I think my old one was 80. Sense are usually run between 30 and 40 I dont think its really an issue just interesting that they may have change the construction in the last year or so.
I have been through 3-4 set of Ramblers in the 120 TPI black wall. The last set I wanted the skin walls. They look awesome. The skin wall is only available in 60 TPI, versus 120 TPI for all of the other sets I have ran in the past. I have had three cuts big enough that I had to patch the inside of the tire because sealant wouldn't seal it up. Maybe it's a coincidence, but the last set doesn't seem very durable. My other tires have been wonderful, very puncture resistant on Kansas gravel roads. I'm not sure if it's the thread count or something about a difference in the skin wall , but the cuts were on the tread which I assume has the same rubber compound. That said, I will probably buy this tire again, light weight and generally very durable. I love Maxxis tires.
Put a couple of these Maxxis Ramblers on my cross bike for gravel riding - mostly gravel roads, some jeep roads, a bit of single-track - with tubeless setup. Went on easily (onto Stan's rims, forget the model) and seated easily and wobble-free with an ordinary floor pump. Riding at 40 to 60 psi, depending on surface. Traction was good on all surfaces, both for going forward and on turns, better than the Conti Top Contact winter tires I was running with tubes before. Rolling resistance was adequate, not a problem. No flats so far. Holding air adequately well. Would buy again.
Our rides have some gravel but are mostly road. With 55 psi they roll fast. My E-bike and these tires enables this 83 year old biker to keep up with the retired kids in our club.
I've been running these for years in SoCal, riding everything from chunky rocks in the San Gabriel's to smooth single track. Easy to mount and excellent puncture resistance. No complaints, a great all-around tire.
I've been running these for years in SoCal, riding everything from chunky rocks in the San Gabriels to smooth single track. Easy to mount and excellent puncture resistance. No complaints, a great all-around tire.
I have been riding/racing on these tires since they first came out. Maxxis just keeps improving them. They roll fast on the paved sections but are awesome on the loose gravel roads. I ride a lot of single track with them and they are nice and grippy. Especially cornering in loose gravel.
