Wednesday, October 17, 2018

It Has Been A While Since I've Done This

Big, beefy, and with some fancy new tech.
I've reviewed a lot of tires in the last thirteen years or so. My first set of tires that I ever reviewed were a pair of WTB Wolverines, 29"ers, of course. That was when I learned a lot about reviewing stuff from the guy that used to run the now defunct website called "The Biking Hub".

Anyway, I reviewed a LOT of 29"er tires  subsequently for "Twenty Nine Inches". Then when I got out of that gig and into RidingGravel.com, the 29"er tire reviews were over. Or at least I thought so.....

Of course, I still review a lot of tires, they are just gravel/all-road treads now. So, when WTB sent over their newest treads to be reviewed for "Riding Gravel", they sent a pair of mountain bike tires as well to see what I thought about them. It's been a while since I've paid any attention to what is going on in that corner of the tire world with anything other than a cursory look. I mean, I only have a few mtb rigs and their tires are fine for now.

I'll be honest- WTB mtb tires have been hit or miss in my experience. I love Nanoraptors, (don't they just call them "Nano" these days?) I really didn't like the Bronsons, they were scary to corner on! The Ninelines were fantastic for what they are designed to do. The Trailblazer 27.5+ tires were fantastic. The old Wolverines were dead and heavy feeling compared to newer stuff. And on..... However; since those days WTB has made some changes in tech. Big changes....

So, in the meantime, I have to find a bike to put these on and get to riding. While WTB isn't expecting a review of these, I probably will be chiming in on these here as I get along on them. I'll also be mentioning the Sendero 650B tires I'll be testing for RidingGravel.com as well.

More soon........

NOTE- WTB sent over the Sendero and Ranger 2.4" tires for test and review at no charge. I have not been paid nor bribed for this content and I strive to give my honest thoughts and opinions throughout.

6 comments:

Rydn9ers said...

Off topic, kind of, but when is there a new Riding Gravel podcast coming down the pipeline soon? It's been a minute.

Guitar Ted said...

@Rob E- "It's been a minute"- HA! That's an understatement! Well, I wish that the RGRR podcast was a more regular thing as well. Trouble is, it is hard to find time for Ben and I to make it work. Maybe I just need to figure out how to do it solo so it can be a more regular feature.

Thanks for your interest and for asking!

I'll try to make it happen sooner than later.......

S Sprague said...

I look forward to your comments on the Ranger 2.4. Looking for a new MTB tire for next season and this is on my list of tires.

Thanks for the variety!

Unknown said...

Loved the Bronson tires on my Specialized 29er - so much cornering grip they made a zipper sound! Maybe they just worked better, down here in the Southeast.

Guitar Ted said...

@Steve Foote- The zipper sound, you say? you mean the sound that comes right before you eat it in a corner? That sound?

Kidding- only a little! That is exactly what was so scary about that tire here. Our dirt gets pretty hardpacked, so tires don't bite into the earth here, they either grip dirt, or they bend the knobs over and skid out, which is what the Bronson's do here.

Derek said...

+1 on the request for more Riding Gravel podcasts!