The tread of a tire is made up of a rubber compound which contributes to the grip and rolling speed of a tire. Maxxis offers its mountain bike tires as a single compound, dual compound, or triple compound, with the latter two positioning harder or softer rubber in strategic regions of the tread to achieve specific rolling or traction goals.
MaxxSpeed: Maxxis' newest rubber compound uses a single layer of high-silca content compound which is claimed to give 25 percent less rolling resistance over the 3C MaxxSpeed while also improving wet weather traction.
Dual Compound: These are tires designed to last longer with hard rubber in the center tread with a softer compound for the shoulder knobs. Dual Compound uses harder rubber which wears slower and rolls faster making them a popular option as rear tire when grip is less critical.
3C Triple Compound: 3C uses a harder base layer and two different, softer compounds on the center and cornering tread. There are three versions of the 3C compound for XC, trail, and gravity.
Super Tacky: Maxxis uses a single 42 Durometer rubber compound throughout the entire tire. Maxxis has previously used this for their downhill tires although Maxxis' range doesn't currently feature any Super Tacky mountain bike tires.