Maxxis claims new High Road SL is their “fastest and lightest road tyre ever”

The Maxxis High Road SL race tyre features Maxxis’ new HYPR-S compound and claims to decrease rolling resistance by 12%. The SL saves weight over the original High Road for race use only.

Maxxis has added to its range of road tyres, releasing the High Road SL, a lighter and supposedly faster version of the High Road. The new SL version saves weight while claiming to maintain grip levels, though Maxxis says that you should limit usage to race day.

Review: Maxxis High Road Tyre

After finally getting his hands on a pair of the original High Road early last year, Stu was impressed by the grip levels in wet and dry conditions, though he did feel that for a race tyre, the ride wasn’t that supple. 

As Maxxis has become the sponsor for the Israel Start-Up Nation World Tour team, there will have been plenty of demand for the usual pro cyclist requirement of faster, lighter and grippier. 

The main claim is a 12% reduction in rolling resistance which Maxxis says is down to the new HYPR-S compound. This, Maxxis claims, retains exceptional cornering grip, though the shoulder tread pattern of the High Road has been ditched for a fully slick design.

The new SL increases the thread count of the casing from 120 threads per inch (TPI) to 170. Increasing the casing’s TPI should lead to a more supple tyre with Maxxis claiming that “riders will experience more comfort and control.”

Maxxis’ K2 puncture protection that featured in the High Road is also present in the SL version with Stu finding that it worked very well through 500 miles of testing at the end of hedge trimming season.

Review: Maxxis High Road Tubeless

Maxxis says that due to the “extremely lightweight” design and “limited puncture protection”, the High Road SL is recommended for race-day only. The tyres, they say, are “designed to be fast, not to last.” We’ll be sending them out on the not-so-smooth local roads to see how they hold up.

The new High Road SL is available in clincher and tubeless form in both 25mm and 28mm sizes. The clincher tyres available now and will cost £49.99 each with the tubeless model expected in “summer 2020.”

Freewheel.co.uk