Hi Melanie,
I am doing Maui for the first time - and am needing some tire advice. I live in coastal BC and generally run Kenda Nevegals. I will use a UST tire with sealant for sure in Maui, but do you recommend a specific tire? I am thinking of Crossmarks, unless you think Nevegals would work there. I am prioritizing anti-flats vs. light weight. Also, how steep is the plunge? Everyone talks about it as gnarly, I've seen the video from last year and it didn't look that bad, but I'm thinking the tv might not make it look as steep as it is. Any advice?
Thanks!

From a BC boy's perspective, Maui is not that gnarly. What is tricky about the "Plunge" descent is the fact it is littered with large loose lava rocks which make it unpredictable. If you are comfortable riding while your bike is all over the place you should be fine. It isn't that steep, it is just fast and loose.

I would choose a heavier tire rather than the lighter one for that course. The lava rock is super sharp so lighter tires end up shredded. I think the Maxxis Crossmark is a great choice for Maui. It is the right combination of tread coverage plus low rolling resistance. Can't go wrong with that. Load your tires full of stan's and you should be good to go.

Wow - thanks for the quick reply and the advice (BTW I'm a BC girl ). I tend to be a bit heavy on the brakes and definitely want a tire that will hook up (and give me some protection against flats). I love Nevegals for riding here but I think I'll get a set of Crossmarks and give them a try. Thanks again, it's great to see a pro athlete taking time to give advice in a forum like this. Cheers.

Cool... a BC girl!

First disclaimer.... all of my advice for Maui is _base_d on dry conditions. Given that it nearly NEVER rains on that side of the island... the odds are it will be dry. That said, crazy rain went through before the race last year and has been seen after the race in other years so you just never know if we are going to get the "wet" year. If that happens I would change the plan drastically to have a tire that has widely spaced knobs for clearing cakey mud because that is what we will deal with.

6 of the last 6 years have been totally dry.

So, dry, loose big rocks is what you are looking at and the Crossmark or Crossmark rear, Larson front combination is ideal. In that stuff you want to stay OFF the front brake as much as possible.

Hope to see you racing Buntzen Lake, our Offroad Triathlon National Champs next weekend

I'll be there... doing the short course as I have a knee injury and can barely run at the moment. That's a good point about possible rain, better throw some knobbies in the bike box just in case. Do you know if you can buy Big Air's in Maui 'cuz you can't fly with them?

Sorry... more on this tire thing and I know you get these questions a lot! What do you think of Ranchero's for Maui? A friend of mine swears up and down those would be the best to prevent flats but I am not sure they'd be good in the loose rock. Any thoughts? Thanks again!