Shorty Surfing with Antoine Caron - Video

Connected is a new Maxxis series showcasing tire choices for different riding styles and terrain.

Impossibly steep descents. Incredibly sharp rocks. Loamy drenched switchbacks.

This sounds like classic B.C. terrain but these same features are also found on the other side of Canada in Quebec. The mountain range that calls Mont Sainte-Anne home includes trail centers around Lac Beauport and Lac Delage with terrain similar to that found at the longest-running World Cup venue. Also calling this region home is Pivot-Reynolds Enduro racer Antoine Caron and for the final episode of Connected, he’ll rally his local Québécois chunder to show the capabilities of the Maxxis Shorty and Minion DHF.



Lac Beauport’s SuperG trail is littered with a variety of slick-rock slabs, wooden trail features, and loose-over-hard dirt, optimal for the Minion DHF 80% of the time. According to Antoine “[the DHF’s] knobs are not extremely high nor too far apart, but they are pretty large so they don't bend too much,” offering a positive cornering feel on the hardest trail surfaces in addition to “loose over hard, rocks, roots, you name it.”


Quebec is known for its frequent rain showers, so Antoine keeps a wheelset with Maxxis Shortys installed on-hand for a quick swap when the weather sours. The additional knob height combined with the 3C MaxxGrip rubber finds traction in the loosest conditions while buttressing on the sideknobs provides support when cornering on harder surface, such as the frequent slick-rock and wooden ladders. The Shorty truly allows you to have your poutine and eat it too.


Brutal terrain calls for burly components and Antoine trusts his Maxxis dual-ply DoubleDown and DH casings to hold up against razor-sharp rocks and repeated square-edged hits. The secret to these constructions is the added strip of butyl rubber located between the sidewall plies. This butyl insert increases Antoine’s cornering support at lower pressures and protects the rim on harsh bottom-out incidents. In these situations, the butyl insert serves as a cushion to protect the tire’s casing from the sharp rim, preventing dreaded pinch-flats.

The Shorty is available for 26, 27.5, and 29 wheels with EXO, DoubleDown (DD), and DH-Casing protection.

The Minion DHF is available for 24, 26, 27.5, and 29 wheels in widths ranging from 2.30–4.80" with EXO, DoubleDown (DD), and DH-Casing options.

Follow Antoine at @antoine__caron

Video and photos by Brice Shirbach