Being road training time again, I figured I’d take a look at what road tires Maxxis had to offer (I’ve been riding their mountain tires for a while now with great success, but had never tried them for road). I found the Radiale on their site and was very interested to see what a true radial road tire would feel like.

Yesterday, I had my first chance to take them out for a longer ride. First impression once I was on the road? Holy sh*t these are smooth… like “Maxxis added Paula Deen-esque quantities of butter to molten rubber and molded these tires” smooth. If you’ve ever ridden a 25c or 28c tire with reasonably low pressure, you’ll know what I’m talking about. If you’ve never ridden a 25 or 28c tire at low pressure, think of riding on an old chip seal road, only to have it feel like very recently paved asphalt. Nice thing is, at 230g, they weigh less than most 25c tires. I hit a couple of very short patches of gravel during my ride, and they felt as expected- soft, smooth, and very nice. I’m looking forward to finding some sketchier stuff on Sunday when I go out for a little century action.

I can’t totally attest to their durability right now since I’ve only ridden them once. However, the tread feels very substantial when you pinch the unmounted tire between your fingers (unlike the “tube condom” feeling of an Ultremo or other similar rubber). I’m looking forward to getting them out again for sure.