If you are looking for a tire that combines syped AND control in any XC conditions, then the ExiWolf series is for you. A ramped center tread and square-edged outer knobs combine to create a tire that is low rolling, yet grips the dirt in the corners. The open tread design and spiky knobs excel in loose conditions and provide the confidence to ride where other riders walk.
I'm a huge fan of WTB tires - they really wear well on our desert trails. I bought one of these as a rear tire when I switched to tubeless (I run a Weirwolf on the front) and after several months have decided that it's just a little squirrelly for the tight single track and loose rock I encounter most days. It's a great XC tire, and fine for smooth trails, but for anything more technical, I would recommend the WTB Bronson as a rear tire.
I recently got a new-to-me GT Avalanche from CL which came with 26 x 2.0 Forte Versa Trac hybrid tires by Performance Bikes. On pavement, the large center ridge offered plenty of speed but, conversely, offered no grip on any loose surface.
After reading a number of MTBR reviews, I opted for the Exiwolfs because of the positive feedback AND the price--$20 each from Niagara Cycles. I slapped them on, went back to the same rail path where the Fortes had me sliding and saw what a huge difference a good knobby can make. Later, I took them out to a nearby park for a more serious workout. It rained the day before, so there were a few mud puddles to glide over and, again, the Exi's performed admirably.
Climbing, cornering, stopping--this tire is a very solid all-around performer.
Submitted by
MTB Woody
a Weekend Warrior
from Western Washington
Date Reviewed: September 9, 2011
Strengths: Tread Pattern, Grip, Wear, Ability to hold a line
Weaknesses: Weight
Bottom Line:
These tires track better and climb better than my riding ability. They do very well in the root filled, muddy, and (when the sun does shine here) loose dirt conditions. These tires rarely loose traction on climbs or cornering, and when they do, it is often due to my riding errors. My next tires will be the Exiwolf Race so I can save a couple hundred grams.
These tires will help anyones confidence but it comes with a price of 750 grams per tire.
Similar Products Used: WTB Velociraptor, Specialized Dirt Master/Control
Bike Setup: 2000 Specialized S-Works FSR XC, Manitou Black Elite, Fox Float RC, and Mach 1 disc wheels.
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Submitted by
j&j_dad
a Weekend Warrior
from Berkley, MA, USA
Date Reviewed: May 22, 2011
Strengths: Cost, grip, low rolling resistance
Weaknesses: none so far
Bottom Line:
Bought the Comp version. Huge improvement in grip over the Fast Traks. Entering my second season of riding, my confidence levels were low. First ride with these tires changed that. Regardless of the riding conditions, I can hang with the group.
Work great on hardpack, loose sandy trails, rooty pine forests and road rides with the kids.
Submitted by
Vuco
a Weekend Warrior
from Zagreb, Croatia
Date Reviewed: March 3, 2011
Strengths: - hard rubber, last extremely long
- cheap (paid it 13$ new)
Weaknesses: - on the heavy side, my 2.1 was round 700g
Bottom Line:
Very cheap tire (13$ for a 2.1 with wire). Had it 3000km on the front wheel, with almost no wear (my rides are round 40-50km with 50% road, 50% forest trails. On the front it had an average grip. Felt wierd when i ran it under 2bar, felt like the tire would go off the rim, so I ran ti round 2.5bar which wasn't great for hard cornering and the grip was average like I said. Relatively fast tire on the road. Above average in the mud.
After round 3000km on the front, I changed it with a Schwalbe Albert 2.25 Performance. I've put the Exiwolf in the rear (since it had little wear), and there the tire shined. Almost excellent grip for climbing (even in mud). Rode it over winter on the snow, also great climbing grip. After 500km on the rear it showed some signs of wear. I would recommend it for a rear tire - cheap, hard rubber that doesn't wear a lot and great climb tire!
Also, no need to experiment with the pressure on the rear. Run ~2.3bar
But on the front, Schwalbe is much better. Larger tire, larger volume, better grip in all conditions. Where the exiwolf skidded, Schwalbe gets even harder grip. Although Schwalbe is a slower tire on the road.
Submitted by
rob mach4
a Weekend Warrior
from West Australia
Date Reviewed: January 10, 2010
Strengths: Very grippy, lots of confidence on loose ground
Weaknesses: Wear rate, prone to high wear rate
Bottom Line:
Great tire, can't complain. Boy I missed it when the front wheel had to go for a repair and I swapped the wheel with my Cannodale WTB rim fitted with a worn CST. Very grippy tire but wears quite quick. I've ridden ~450km and the wear rate on the rear (gravel, hard pack, rock riding) is such that I doubt I'll get another 450 before replacing. No other complaints
Submitted by
ChicagoBoy777
a Cross Country Rider
from Miami, FL
Date Reviewed: June 7, 2009
Strengths: These tires are amazing!! Best tires I have ever used for XC riding. Perfect for dry dirt trails. Great traction and control on corners. They ride very fast with confidence. Going on my second set of tires. I have all my friends switching out their tires because of how great these out perform the others.
Weaknesses: I can't think of one. I have heard that they aren't great on very wet and rocky conditions. I have rode very well in wet and muddy conditions without a problem.
Bottom Line:
This tire is the best!!! Can't go wrong with these. Again if you are riding in a place like Moab where it is pure rock, they may not the tire you want to use. But for those everyday XC riders, these are worth every penny. I roll with the 2.1's and they are PERFECT!!
Similar Products Used: Specialized s-type Champion
Bike Setup: 08 Stumpjumper, Fox 120rl, Fox Triad
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Submitted by
mightybrick
a Cross Country Rider
from St. George, Utah, USA
Date Reviewed: June 2, 2009
Strengths: Very stable, plenty of grip, fast rolling.
Weaknesses: Tread life maybe?
Bottom Line:
These tires are great for Southwest Desert riding. Very fast, very stable. These tires have never let me down. I have had these tires save me a few times when perhaps I was riding faster than I should have into in some hairy spots and the tires didn't give. They stick like glue to slick rock, which there is plenty of here. They hold quite well in loose over hard pack corners, and slip very little in loose climbs. We don't get much mud here, but with the little that we do, the ExiWolfs are adequate. Perhaps the only downside is the treadlife. I get about one year of riding, year-round, out of one set, IF I rotate the tires about six months in. I guess I can't really complain about that. :)
Bike Setup: Rocky Mountain Instinct, Rock Shox Recon 351 U-Turn, Hayes HFX 9 disc brakes, WTB Laser Disc XC Wheels.
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Submitted by
Indiana Andy
a Weekend Warrior
from Indianapolis, IN
Date Reviewed: December 12, 2008
Strengths: grip, profile, tread pattern
Weaknesses: wears a little fast
Bottom Line:
This tire is badass. I love the tread pattern and have gotten great grip in soft to sandy soil and on occasional roots and rocks. The only thing I can think of that is negative might be how fast the tire wears but hey this is a race tire with soft durometer rubber and thats also part of what makes it so good. Experiment with air pressures with this tire in different conditions - good stuff man. Seems to roll great when pumped way up. Either way; way aired up or at 30psi it grips like a mutha! Worth the dough and ill buy it again. Works well with my Weirwolf that i have up front.
Submitted by
Dan Cobb
a Weekend Warrior
from Rotorua, New Zealand
Date Reviewed: November 30, 2007
Strengths: Dry conditions (prob the harder non-race compound): dusty, light gravel, pine needles and grass. Good grip for climbing. Light and roll ok.
Weaknesses: Wet conditions - roots, smooth rocks, clay and (not surprisingly) mud. Notably the front tyre will slip out quickly. Small side blocks tend to flex on hardpack corners.
Bottom Line:
Please excuse my omission to say "only good for dry conditions are these tyres" for weaknesses in my review of my 2005 Amasa. These small block tyres were perfect for an enduro (fun?) which had pretty much all of the dry trail features mentioned in product strengths above. Even the serious guys held me up a few times when it came to going back down. For wet tree roots and clay - be careful! I would use these when conditions suit, otherwise as a rear tyre only.
Similar Products Used: Kenda Nevegal, Maxxis High Roller, Hutchinson Spider, Specialized Rhythm.
Bike Setup: 2005 Mongoose Amasa Comp - some stronger parts fitted eg Alex Supra BH wheels.
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Submitted by
David
a Cross Country Rider
from Nor Cal Bay Area
Date Reviewed: September 17, 2007
Strengths: Excellent cornering traction, excellent climbing climbing traction. Good strength to weight ratio. Rolls well. Seems to work well in most all conditions.
Weaknesses: Only weakness is if you purchase the non-race version. Traction is reduced on standard tire. I will say that a 2.1 race handles better than a 2.3 non-race.
Bottom Line:
Outstanding tires. They dig deep into corners. One look at the race version and you can tell why! The standard version is just too smooth. This is outstanding tire. I used it in a dry/loose/gravel/sand situation and it was above and beyond. Is supposed to work even better in moist/loose conditions. I can't wait. Purchase this with confidence!
Similar Products Used: Kenda Blue Grooves 2.35,2.1 - Pieces of poo Michelin 16 AT WTB Weirwolf
Bike Setup: Kona Kikapu, Manitou Nixon Platinum Intrinsic, XT Dual Control Hyd.
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Submitted by
Thops
a Weekend Warrior
from Manila
Date Reviewed: July 23, 2007
Strengths: ExiWolf tires’s deep tread offers consistent grip and lively handling. They climb like mad and allow for stable cornering, descending and late braking.
Weaknesses: None so far
Bottom Line:
These tires are worth every penny. They love to be leaned hard into turns and just refuse to wash out on anything but the loosest dirt. They seem to be impervious to the pinch flat demon and haven't lost a single knob.
YOU WILL REMAIN IN CONTROL OF YOUR RIDE at all times if you know HOW to brake effectively. Exiwolf brake exceptionally well and allow you to maneuver through gnarly terrain with ease.
Submitted by
cph
a Cross Country Rider
from sausalito
Date Reviewed: March 30, 2007
Strengths: Excellent cornering; relatively low rolling resistance; good traction when running tread in reverse direction on rear. Excellent in loose conditions, and good enough in the mud that you can run one tire year round.
Weaknesses: The only thing that I've noticed is that by running the rear in the reverse direction for more traction, tread life is significantly shortened.
Bottom Line:
Excellent tire for all around trail riding. If you are looking for more confidence in cornering, by this tire. Superb cornering stability and traction. If you are looking for a downhill tire, this isn't it. It is probably too light...wtb has plenty of others better suited to that purpose. I use it year round in dusty dry conditions and slimy mud. It definitely is better suited for the dry and loose conditions, but does surprisingly well in the slop. Looking forward to trying the new 26 x 2.3 size this year. Keep it up wtb.