I've ridden plenty of different tyre brands over my riding career.
You name it I've hunted them down, tested them out formed an opinion, sometimes quickly, sometimes that opinion has taken quite a bit of time to develop. Opinions are like saddles sores, if you don't have one now, you'll have one soon enough.
I've ridden tyres that I know are fast and race ready (Vittoria CX Corso straight up comes to mind) however durability and lack of versatility lets them down as all rounders, Conties - I discounted a long time back, and each time I come back either to the Grand Prix or GP4000 just fail to win me back over. The Pirelli's are always very durable, and pretty quick, however good luck if you ever got a flat, it took an army of 1000 men AND a gorilla to remove what is arguably the tightest tyres in the both bike and Formula 1 racing.
In comes Maxxis to the rescue - I remember I was saved about 10 years back by a Maxxis in the middle of an Asian bike trip that refused to be punctured - and for someone looking for pure durability - I still to this day recommend the Maxxis Refuse as the toughest, hard wearing tyre in the market.
Enter the Maxxis High Road SL - specifically the 28mm - oh boy the comfort. What looks to be a slick tyre with no visible tread, straight-up feels more gorilla grip than anything else. Noticeably comfortable and softer to ride on, the physically-apparent softer tyre rubber seems to absorb the bumps and seams of Sydney's notorious rough-as-guts roads.
The jury is out as far as durability, and I've yet to race on them, but the responsiveness of the bike and grip in bunch rides, specifically kicks out of corners is right there where it should be. The Maxxis High Road SL doesn't skip a beat. Soft and sensual. Just the way I like it.
