Submitted by
Hairllama
a Weekend Warrior
from Nebraska Date Reviewed: June 22, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Many
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$29.00
Strengths:
Very fast rolling tire in dry conditions.
Weaknesses:
No cornering grip, no traction is loose conditions, dangerous in the wet.
Similar Products Used:
Weirwolfs, Ignitors, Mountain Kings, Crossmarks,
Bike Setup:
Mooto-X Ybb
Bottom Line:
Great for fire roads and more groomed trails. Stay away if your conditions change, or you have to change direction at speed.
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Submitted by
martini
a Cross Country Rider
from Viroqua WI Date Reviewed: December 30, 2004
Duration Product Used:
More than 3 years
Price Paid:
$20.00
Strengths:
FAST tire. Reletively light.
Weaknesses:
Weak sidewalls.
Similar Products Used:
Motoraptor, Notos, Mythos, Conti Vapor
Bike Setup:
SS disc, rigid/cx1 depending on mood
Bottom Line:
I love this tire. Its a great fast rolling tire in nearly all conditions. Except when it starts to get wet/slippery. Great volume, a a decent wieght. The sidewalls are pretty thin though, so watch it if you ride amongst sharp rocks. DON'T run them with Stans. In fact don't run stans with WTB tires at all. Just not a good idea. They're not made for Stans.
Bottom line, I've used this tire for three years for good reason.
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Submitted by
GlowBoy
a Weekend Warrior
from Portland OR Date Reviewed: December 30, 2004
Favorite Trail:
Waldo Lake
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$30.00
Purchased At:
Bike Gallery (Portland)
Strengths:
Um, tough casing? Excellent grip in loose dry conditions. Rolls fast - once you get it up to speed.
Weaknesses:
Poor grip and lots of mud packing in wet conditions. Extremely sketchy on loose-over-hardpack. Wire bead version is HEAVY! Loose bead, so be careful mounting and inflating it.
Sorry, wasn't impressed with this tire. I know lots of guys who love it, but it didn't work for the wet or dry conditions I ride in. I know it's not a mud tire, but just be warned it's exceptionally bad in the wet: I took it on a muddy Forest Park trail (where the mud is prevalent but NOT sticky) as an experiment, and it fully packed up in a single wheel revolution, something I've never seen happen before.
Also took it out for a couple of rides on varied terrain in Central Oregon. I will say this much for it: in loose, sandy conditions (common in that area) its grip and control are fantastic, and I can see why a lot of SW riders like it. But in dry loose-over-hardpack conditions, such as found in many sections of the Gray Butte loop, it was sketchy at best: very poor climbing traction, and downright scary on the front. At least it was reasonably controllable, but it started to break loose ridiculously easily, enough that others were noticing it and a buddy who borrowed my bike for part of that loop may have been soured on 29"ers forever.
I'd be wiling to write this tire off as "well, just another WTB tire that doesn't work well in the Northwest" but after seeing its poor performance in gravel over hardpack in the Central OR desert, I can't see why people would like it that much in dry conditions either. I think the tread is just too tight to work well in a lot of real world conditions. I know lots of people rave about this tire, and I really want to support WTB for its dedication to 29"ism, but I just can't in good conscience give this one a good review.
Another negative is that it's a very heavy tire for not really having full knobs - my wire-bead ones topped out just over 800g each. The flip side of that is that it has very thick sidewalls and appears that it would hold up very well among both thorns and sharp rocks - maybe that's why SW riders like it so much.
Also, be aware that this particular tire has been notorious for its loose-fitting beads, and for accidentally blowing off the rim. The Kevlar version is reportedly worse, but I had one blow off while I was inflating it, something I've never had happen before or since. Once it's on it should be OK, but pay more careful attention to bead seating than usual when you're mounting it.
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Submitted by
Padre
a Racer
from Costa Mesa, CA Date Reviewed: December 30, 2004
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Purchased At:
$30 @ The Path Bike Shop
Strengths:
Fast rolling, adequate traction, strong sidewall, high-ish volume. Great front or rear.
Weaknesses:
Yes, yes, the kevlar bead was a downer, but the wire beads are bomber. I usually get about 500 miles out of a rear. The only real weakness of the tire itself is wet conditions. But hey, it's not a mud tire.
Similar Products Used:
WTB Motoraptor
Bike Setup:
Rigid 29er SS
Bottom Line:
The tire is a great all-around performer. If it's muddy, I choose the Moto. But 90% of the time, the Nano is a great tire.
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Submitted by
Chris
a Cross Country Rider
from Salt Lake City Date Reviewed: June 4, 2004
Favorite Trail:
any and all
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Purchased At:
lbs
Strengths:
None- all the kevlar beads snapped before I had a chance to get much riding in.
Weaknesses:
The kevlar beads broke on all my Nano's and Moto's from WTB. This, obviously, is a major safety problem. See my review on the Moto 29'er.
Similar Products Used:
WTB Moto 29'er, Kenda Klaw 29'er
Bike Setup:
full rigid steel single speed
Bottom Line:
See my review on the Moto 29'er. Stay away from the kevlar bead because all 4 of my tires exploded both on and off the bike. The wire bead seems to be holding up fine.
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Submitted by
Wayne
a Weekend Warrior
from Honolulu, Hawaii Date Reviewed: July 11, 2002
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Strengths:
Free rolling tire with adequate traction in dry condiions, does not seem to be much worse than more agressive tires other riders are using when its wet. Good all around tire.
$
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