Photo from NSMB.com
WTB has revamped their tire lineup for 2015, and NSMB got their hands on a set of the new Trail Boss and Riddler tires to test on the trails of BC’s notoriously rugged north shore.
“If [WTB’s] tires approach the quality of their saddles, they’re probably worth checking out.”
From NSMB.com:
Both tires feel well made, with a tight fitting folding bead, tread that lines up evenly, and a fairly stiff robust feeling casing. Installing the tires on my rims, Stan Flow EX, was on the tighter side, and they inflated easily with a floor pump on a tubeless setup (YAY!).
The Riddler is intended as a fast rolling rear tire, but with more aggressive side knobs to complement use with a more aggressive front tire…The first thing you’ll notice…is how fast and quiet the tire is. This isn’t much of a surprise considering the short and numerous center knobs, but it’s faster than I expected. Unsurprisingly there are compromises and that fast rolling characteristic comes at the expense of braking traction on any surface that is remotely loose. I spun out easily in loose conditions when climbing, and the firmer rubber down the center provided weak traction on wet rocks and roots. The upside however is the Riddler maintains gargantuan speed on anything where you can let the brakes go. The braking traction may be sub-par, but the cornering traction was surprisingly good…These qualities summed up to me feeling comfortable riding the Riddler aggressively, knowing that exceeding the limit wasn’t going to result in a sudden and dramatic loss in grip.
The Trail Boss is a neat tire, it appears to be aimed as something right between a semi-slick and an aggressive tire like the Schwalbe Magic Mary or WTB’s Vigilante… I ran the Trail Boss both as a front and rear tire, and in the right application I thought the Trail Boss was great at both. This is a versatile tire that is a jack of all trades, master of none. If your trails are predominantly hard pack, and less steep the Trail Boss offered up good braking and cornering characteristics as front tire. Paired with a Riddler on the rear the bike accelerated quickly, and maintained great speed. I can see some folks running the Trail Boss front and rear; with the High Grip version up front and the Fast Rolling variant out back. For more aggressive trails, like around these parts, I preferred running the Trail Boss as a rear tire with an aggressive front tire like the Magic Mary or WTB Vigilante. The Trail Boss rolls well, offers adequate braking traction, transitions easily from braking to cornering, comes in good compounds, has a sturdy casing and seems to lose grip in a graceful manner. All reasons that add up to the Trail Boss possibly being my new favourite rear tire on the trail bike.
“Overall I’m impressed with both tires. I think that WTBs range of the Vigilante, Trail Boss and Riddler offers a good mix of intended uses and can be paired up in different ways to best suit your local trails.”
Read the full review at NSMB.com.
Learn more about WTB’s lineup of tires and saddles at wtb.com, and check out the Riddler (MSRP: Tough casing $96 CAD, Light casing $87 CAD) and Trail Boss (starting at MSRP $52 CAD) at your local WTB dealer.