Pink Bike
PinkBike.com tested the Dissector and were impressed with its performance:
“I've had the Dissector mounted up to several wheels at this point, and in all instances it seated and sealed with a floor pump, no air compressor or magic spells required. That's no longer as much of a notable feature as it once was, which is a good thing – it's becoming increasingly rare to need to really struggle with getting a tubeless tire to pop into place.
The side knobs are well supported, which helps keep them from folding over during hard cornering, and I was able to push as hard as I wanted into the big bermed turns on A-Line and Dirt Merchant without any scary moments. It is easier to get the Dissector to break free compared to an Assegai or DHR II, but it's not a sudden, unexpected loss of traction – its grip limit is relatively easy to predict.
The Dissector worked well in the prime-time bike park conditions, but I was curious to see how it would fare when things were less perfect, so I've been pedaling around with it on the back of a trail bike for the last couple of months. It turns out it's much more versatile than I'd initially anticipated, with handling that's very similar to a Bontrager SE4. There's enough traction to keep it from spinning out too often on tricky climbs, and it doesn't get bogged down on mellow bits of trail. It feels more connected to the trail compared to the Maxxis Aggressor, with more bite and less vagueness in loose conditions.
The Dissector excels in the dry conditions it was designed for, but it turns out it also shines even when the sun doesn't. It's worth keeping in mind if you're searching for a faster rolling rear tire that can handle a wide variety of terrain and trail conditions.”
Mike Kazimer, PinkBike.com, November 2019
Flow Mountain Bike
“We’ve just received a pair of 27.5in Maxxis Dissector tyres for testing – one DH and one Trail. I’ve just fitted up the Dissector Trail onto the back of our Canyon Spectral AL 6.0 test bike, where it’s replaced the stock Maxxis Minion DHR II 2.40WT EXO 3C MaxxTerra. Weight-wise it’s a decent amount lighter (815g vs 929g), but fitted to a 30mm wide DT Swiss M 1900 rim, it carries a pretty similar shape measuring pretty much as claimed.
I’ve only had a single ride on the Dissector, so I won’t be making any broad conclusions here. However, I will say that it is a helluva lot quicker than the Minion DHR II it replaced, with considerably faster acceleration and rolling speed. That’s to be expected given the less aggressive tread pattern and those nicely ramped centre blocks. I’ll be getting plenty more riding on the Dissector over the coming months, and I’m also keen to try it out on the front of the Spectral to see how just how dependable its performance is on my local dry and rocky singletrack.”
FlowMountainBike.com, August 2019