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OEM vs. Retail:OEM Maxxis tires are those that are pre-installed on a bike when it's sold to the consumer. Retail tires are purchased separately and can be installed on any bike.
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No Performance Difference:The white logo on OEM tires indicates that they are part of a specific production run for bike manufacturers. However, this does not mean they are of a different quality or performance than retail tires, which are yellow.
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Same Production Standards:Both OEM and retail Maxxis DHF tires are manufactured to the same high standards, ensuring consistent performance and reliability.
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Color Difference Only:The only noticeable difference is the color of the Maxxis logo. OEM tires have a white logo, while retail tires have a yellow logo.
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Maxxis's Head of North America Confirmed:The head of Maxxis North America has stated that the white logo tires and yellow logo tires are the same product and only differ in the color of the logo
Is there any reason to not believe this?
Do you have some "concern" about either type? If so, why?
FWIW, I've had both types and can't say I've noticed any difference. My only "concern" is to ensure I don't end up with different coloured logos on F&R tyres, as that would look stupid! 😉
No idea. But I have seen white Conti logos in the wild recently.
I’ve heard reps say there’s a difference, ever so slightly harder rubber for a given name, and I’ve never seen a pro use a white logo one. That’s enough doubt for me.
I haven’t bought a bike off the shelf for years, and prefer not to support retailers that exploit OEM purchasing channels. Do it properly.
I've no idea about the tyres, but currently I wouldn't trust Google AI for anything yet, it told me that the GRX cable pull ratio was 1:1 when I was trying to find out if GRX levers might work with a CUES rear mech; I gather that this is tosh.
Also, as far as I can see, Google AI tends to just lift a chunk of text straight out of the first page in a given search.
Having said that, a quick search throws up this page - https://www.worldwidecyclery.com/blogs/worldwide-cyclery-blog/maxxis-tires-with-white-logos-only-here-for-a-limited-time
on which there is a statement -
There is a rumor that I want to put to rest. I have heard people say that the white logo Maxxis tires are different from the yellow aftermarket tires, they are OEM only, and either they are blemished or not made to the same standard. This is 100% incorrect. Confirmed by the head of Maxxis North America, the white logo Maxxis tires and normal yellow logo Maxxis tires are made to the same standard, are the same tire and the only difference is the hot patch color.
I have no idea as to its veracity though.
Sometimes retailers swap tyres before supplying a bike at the customers request and sometimes at a loss. What are they supposed to do with those? Skip them?
Thanks guys.
I was handed 2 DHF which I’ve never tried and didn’t want to be judging a poor version.
I’ve heard reps say there’s a difference,
Well they would say that, they're trying to flog the aftermarket option.
OEM tyres are rarely the best versions available so people may be confusing a Maxxgrip with a dual compound, can you even get Maxxgrip with a white logo?
Way back when, tyres used to come in OEM standard and aftermarket standard, that was common across the board.
However, with so much tyre development over the last 30 years, that's no longer the case
All the tech is detailed on the sidewall. If a maxxis tyre says exo+ and max grip on the sidewall, that's what it is, the logo colour makes no difference.
It much better a real headache for them to track all the variants they make. Imagine doubling that just so OEM could have something different.
I believe OEM can also choose the logo colour but if you're buying in that quantity to cover a range of bikes, white makes more sense as it's less likely to clash with any of your colour schemes.
IIRC Benpinnick of Bird confirmed that for Maxxis, the tyres are the exact same, they just stick a different heat patch on. And either he or someone else in the industry confirmed that as an OE buyer you can spec yellow or white (though if true, I'd spec yellow on everything because there'll always be some people that believe that's better and worth more.
(the rumour that they're almost-but-not-quite-the-same makes little sense tbh, there'd be some sense in making 2 really different ranges like COnti used to with their quality range and their disastrous OEM stuff, but not in duplicating a bunch of your products but ever so slightly harder rubber, that'd be a huge efficiency loss.
There's so many variants of some of their tyres that you can get something that looks very similiar but is actually a different spec tyre, which definitely causes confusion. And last I checked there seemed to be some OEM models that were just not available except with complete bikes.
can you even get Maxxgrip with a white logo?
Yes, got a maxxgrip exo+ Assegai with white logo on my Hightower at the minute
can you even get Maxxgrip with a white logo?
Yes from me, too. I have a Minion DHR II exo Maxxgrip with a white logo.
can you even get Maxxgrip with a white logo?
Me three - bought a pair of Maxxgrip Exo+ DHFs with white logos from someone who was swapping them off a new bike.
Good for me as I got the pair for £40 😁
Why would maxxis do that? Buy a bike with white maxxis ride it. Tyres re rubbish "because the compound is akin to a Lego brick". Now as a buyer looking for new tyres are you going with maxxis?
Maxxis don't do it, but that's not to say it's crazy. Like I mentioned Conti used to do it. It definitely hurts the brand name overall but if you can sell a thousand tyres to a manufacturer does it worry you so much if it puts stome people off buying 2 tyres in the future? Like with so much in this industry the manufacturer buying power absolutely eclipses consumer buying power.
And the flipside is that a lot of people will just buy what they already have, so for everyone that says "manufacturer X is rubbish, I'll never buy it again" there's probably about as many that go "I will replace tyre X with another tyre x because that's the only tyre I've used" or "because I want the logos to match" or similiar.
Why would maxxis do that? Buy a bike with white maxxis ride it. Tyres re rubbish "because the compound is akin to a Lego brick". Now as a buyer looking for new tyres are you going with maxxis?
I agree, it would be crazy PP, but Conti did it.
It wasn’t so long ago that the only way to tell the difference between the good and bad Continental MTB tyres was where they were made. All the made in Germany ones had black chilli “compound” whilst any made elsewhere were made of Teflon*.
* Possibly some other slippery plastic.
To add confusion there were loads of different black chilli compounds, some very sticky, some much harder, but all sticky for how fast rolling and long lasting they were.
This cheap OEM vs nice aftermarket product thing is a real risk for businesses that make both under the same brand. I’m pretty sure Maxxis don’t do that, as Ben @ Bird confirmed some years back. Eminence suffered from it in guitar speaker world because they made very cheap speakers for manufacturers who just wanted the cheapest possible. When they started selling non-OEM guitar speakers they had an uphill battle because to many guitarists they were the name behind that awful sounding stock speaker they’d replaced with a much better sounding one from another brand.
It wasn’t so long ago that the only way to tell the difference between the good and bad Continental MTB tyres was where they were made. All the made in Germany ones had black chilli “compound” whilst any made elsewhere were made of Teflon*.
* Possibly some other slippery plastic.
To add confusion there were loads of different black chilli compounds, some very sticky, some much harder, but all sticky for how fast rolling and long lasting they were.
This cheap OEM vs nice aftermarket product thing is a real risk for businesses that make both under the same brand. I’m pretty sure Maxxis don’t do that, as Ben @ Bird confirmed some years back. Eminence suffered from it in guitar speaker world because they made very cheap speakers for manufacturers who just wanted the cheapest possible. When they started selling non-OEM guitar speakers they had an uphill battle because to many guitarists they were the name behind that awful sounding stock speaker they’d replaced with a much better sounding one from another brand.
my thoughts exactly.
I stand reassured.
thanks everyone.
Google Ai says:
I've no idea about the tyres, but currently I wouldn't trust Google AI for anything yet,
A big problem with AI search results is the don't cite their sources - largely because they're plundering other peoples content without consent or license but also becuase they've got scant regard for how valid the information is - the goal of a customer facing AI service is to simply to be able to pass itself off as informative. Its not really of concern whether something is true, it just seeks to seem sufficiently true for the consumer to simply not look any further for an answer - and crucially, not follow any links that would take your eyeballs and your ad revenue to sites away from google. AI is just there to keep the lonely, disconnected people we'll all be in future company
Copy and pasting AI results into forum threads just means feeding bullshit back into the model.
you have a community of like minded humans here, who ride bicycles and buy tire, amongst them will be industry professionals. Why was your first step to ask ****ing HAL instead?
Schwalbe are a great example of how to make it work the other way- they did this so well in the 2010s, when they were a strong XC brand but really didn't have much in the middle, neither presence or market share or competitive products... Along comes 650b, and they saw the opportunity and went absolutely all-in and were pretty much the only brand producing enough stock to meet demand for new bikes, especially in trail and (eh, sort of) enduro bikes. Suddenly they were absolutely everywhere, probably about half of all quality bikes came with Schwalbe on at one point (and loads that were advertised with other brands came on Schwalbe anyway). Just a massive turbo boost for the brand, even though the tyres at the time were really not that good.
WTB have tried to do the same more recently I think and probably done well out of it but they don't have the advantage of the vacuum.
My only "concern" is to ensure I don't end up with different coloured logos on F&R tyres, as that would look stupid!
I'm not running a Reckon Race on the front, and I'm not throwing them away cos they don't match an after market tyre either 😁. Happy to receive donations of unmatchable white logo tyres 🍻
If my Maxxis logos don’t match I just sharpie them both out (if I can be arsed). Not bothered which colour I have, but I like them to match. I know it’s just me being picky but I can’t help it.
The new bike has white logos front and rear so that’s ok.
Kenda do some sketchy stuff for OEM that are a death trap compared to the aftermarket tyres with the same name. My hockey puck like tyres lasted two rides before being relegated to the far corner of the shed. If any brave soul wants to chance their luck they are free for the p&p. Will probably give them to the local bike charity where they will outlast the lifetime of the bike they are fitted to
If my Maxxis logos don’t match I just sharpie them both out (if I can be arsed). Not bothered which colour I have, but I like them to match. I know it’s just me being picky but I can’t help it.
I have an argotal front and a highroller rear on my hardtail. And mismatched rims. Fight me.
Is there any reason to not believe this?
Do you have some "concern" about either type? If so, why?
FWIW, I've had both types and can't say I've noticed any difference. My only "concern" is to ensure I don't end up with different coloured logos on F&R tyres, as that would look stupid! 😉
I ordered a pair of Maxxis tyres from Merlin last year so imagine my disappointment when the Assegai came with a yellow logo and the Minion came with a white one. Yellow Sharpie ordered, logo colour in to satisfy my OCD and a year later its only just starting to fade!
FWIW some manufacturers used to do a bottom bottom bottom spec tyre with the same tread, it was painfully obvious that this was the case as they had no labelling on them, but it allowed the manufacturers to hit a price point and still have a known tyre model/brand.
I haven’t bought a bike off the shelf for years, and prefer not to support retailers that exploit OEM purchasing channels. Do it properly.
You seem like a nice guy and I love your enthusiasm for supporting the bike industry, but... nah.
Have you seen the RRPs on Maxxis tyres?
Zero issues with white label Maxxis here, I’ve been buying my favourite rears as take off’s for £20 less than yellow ones on a shop hang tag, If I’m seeing the rear logo when riding I’ve usually got bigger problems than the colour, maybe white logos are to match better with the different colours bikes for sale?