After more than two years of development, the Maxxis Assegai is finally here! Greg Minnaar's signature tyre is the essence of his 30 years of racing experience and Maxxis' expert knowledge from over 50 years of tyre production. "My idea was to design a tyre from the best Maxxis treads. I started in the centre with a combination of Minion DHF and Minion DHR II. The reason for this was that the surface of the DHF rolls well and holds great on hardpack, in greasy corners and on wet roots and rocks. The DHR II rolls much better and can brake more aggressively. Then I opted for an 'extra' lug, which gives you more support and a consistent feel when you put the bike on the outer lugs when cornering. This brings us to my favourite tyre - the HighRoller. The Maxxis engineers and I reshaped the side lugs of the HighRoller to have pretty much the same characteristics as the original. But with the support of that extra lug, you've got the ultimate wingman when you're racing hard into flat corners. I ended up taking the cleat height from the Shorty.