Troy Brosnan: Dissecting the Maxxis Dissector

Words and photos: John Law

During the Australian launch of Maxxis’ new Dissector we had the opportunity to sit down and have a chat with Troy Brosnan – the man whose signature is on the tyre – about the process of designing the new tyre and his favourite things about it. You will of course be able to read our full thoughts on the new Dissector in issue #179.

First up, who is the tyre designed for?

"Well it’s a pretty versatile tyre, we wanted to create something with a balance of fast rolling speed, cornering grip, and build in a progressive breakaway. It’s aimed at Downhill racers and park riders that find dry, dusty conditions. With the lighter casing options it works well for trail and enduro riders too."

How did you and Maxxis come up with the tread pattern?

"Well the tyre is a mix of some existing tread patterns that I like, but with a couple of new features like the siping for braking grip, and the alternating C-Shaped side knobs."

You mentioned a mix of patterns when into the Dissector, can you tell us what they are?

"The Dissector is sort of a bastard child of a Maxxis Rekon, Maxxis High-Roller and a Specialized Butcher. The centre tread is pretty much borrowed from the fast rolling Rekon, with High Roller II transition knob."

So the Dissector tyre uses Specialized knobs too?

"Yeah, well I really got on with the Specialized Butcher when I was riding for the brand, and the side knobs seemed like a natural choice for this tyre because of their grip and progressive breakaway."

The Butcher.

What does a tread pattern prototype look like?

"If you’ve ever been to a bike shop and had someone show you one of those key-rings with cut-outs of different tread patterns, that’s pretty much how Maxxis showed me the prototype mould. From there, it really only took one or two tweaks of the treadblock positions and we were happy for the first real tyre to be made."

You’ve been riding the Dissector on your bikes, but under what conditions?

"I’ve only been riding the Dissector under testing and training conditions, unfortunately there hasn’t been a World Cup that has called for such a fast rolling tyre yet."

And what bike have you been riding the tyre on?

"I’ve been riding it on my park bike for testing as both a front and back tyre, I’ve also been riding a set on my trail bike. I find it works best as a rear tyre when matched with something like a DHF up front for park use, but on a trail-bike they actually work really well as a pair."

I loved how progressive the Dissector was when I first rode it, but what’s your favourite attribute?

"I think that’s probably its best feature, it’s obviously a fast rolling tyre too which I like, but the progression it offers when it starts to slide is just awesome, the slip-angle is just so controllable."

And if you could only use one tyre for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?

"Honestly Maxxis have done a wicked job with the new Dissector, but I think if I could only choose one tyre it would still have to be a Minion DHF. They’re just that bit more versatile and hold up better in the muddy conditions, although the speed of the new tyre would be pretty sweet to have."