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WTB NanoRaptor 29 Tire

3/5 (11 Reviews)

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Product Description

Large volume versatile cross country racing and freeride tire
  • Excellent grip control
  • Features DNA Compound
  • Comp, 640g


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    Reviews 1 - 11 (11 Reviews Total)

    User Reviews

    Overall Rating:4
    Value Rating:5
    Submitted by Rad Rider 415 a Racer

    Date Reviewed: July 3, 2012

    Strengths:    FAST, Light, Hooks hard in Dry conditions

    Weaknesses:    Sidewalls wear through before tread on top

    Bottom Line:   
    This has become on of my favorite XC tires for riding and racing. It rolls fast enough for me and hooks up real good in the dry. When it is wet, it slides all over the rocks. It also fills up with mud when it's tacky and is a little sketchy then. But if it's dry, it's a tire you for sure need to go out try!!!!

    Expand full review >>

    Favorite Trail:   Mt. Gretna

    Duration Product Used:   2 months

    Price Paid:    $60.00

    Similar Products Used:   WTB

    Bike Setup:   Niner Air 9
    Overall Rating:4
    Value Rating:5
    Submitted by PeT

    Date Reviewed: April 26, 2012

    Strengths:    Inexpensive, fast rolling, durable, awesome rear tire for any type of terrain.

    Weaknesses:    Not a great front tire due to lack of knobs along the edge of the tire.

    Bottom Line:   
    As the first readily available 29er tire I've ridden more miles on it than any other 29er tire. Despite the availability of many 29er tires now, I keep going back to this tire on the rear of my endurance race rig. It's light enough, totally dependable and seems to roll better than anything else. I've even used it on a single speed riding in the Rockies, and it hooks up much better than you would ever guess by looking at its knobs (or lack thereof). Seated climbing in the dry rocky conditions of the Rocky Mountains is excellent -- never an issue. Despite looking narrow, it's really a pretty high volume tire (it's tall) and provides great cushioning at moderate pressures.
    Overall Rating:2
    Value Rating:2
    Submitted by rallymaniac a Weekend Warrior from Chicago

    Date Reviewed: November 20, 2011

    Strengths:    Very fast rolling tire in dry conditions. Rolls easily through sand with hardly any speed loss.

    Weaknesses:    Forget about cornering in anything mildly damp or wet. Sketchy on looser surfaces and leaves.

    Bottom Line:   
    I don't have confidence with these tires on. They are awesome when the conditions are right but anything other than dry hard packed clay and you're SOL.
    They have almost no grip in semi wet conditions and loose surface makes them sketchy.

    I will be looking for new tire to use for most of the season and only use these for dry racing conditions.

    Expand full review >>

    Favorite Trail:   most of them

    Duration Product Used:   3 months

    Purchased At:   came with bike

    Similar Products Used:   Panaracer FireXC Pro, Specialized Enduro Sport

    Bike Setup:   Motobecane X9 29er, Reba RL fork
    Overall Rating:2
    Value Rating:2
    Submitted by greenblur a Weekend Warrior from Austin, TX

    Date Reviewed: October 7, 2011

    Strengths:    Fast rolling . . . if its dry, hard and smooth

    Weaknesses:    No traction in anything wet, loose, or technical.

    Bottom Line:   
    These tires are supposed to be good in dry conditions. Well, its plenty dry in central Texas and these tires cannot hang. They don't grip well on the technical limestone features or the loose jagged rocks that are common in the area. I sent them to my Dad in Ohio and he reported that they work OK on dry, packed clay but are terrible in anything wet or damp.

    Expand full review >>

    Favorite Trail:   Barton Creek Greenbelt

    Duration Product Used:   Less than 1 month

    Purchased At:   stock on bike

    Similar Products Used:   Bontrager Jones, Kenda Slant Six, Kenda Nevegal, Maxxis Ignitor

    Bike Setup:   Salsa Spearfish, Race Face Atlas cranks, mostly stock otherwise.
    Overall Rating:2
    Value Rating:2
    Submitted by tims5377 a Cross Country Rider from Rochester

    Date Reviewed: June 23, 2011

    Strengths:    Real easy to get on rim (could also be a bad thing)

    Weaknesses:    slides everywhere in the smallest bit of mud, punctured 5 minutes into ride

    Bottom Line:   
    I just got my new bike and was super excited to get on it for the first time. I got down to the bottom of the first hill almost lost it in a little mud at the bottom, I went around a short easy loop (under 1 minute of riding) which was not particularly rocky or rooty, just hard pack dirt/a little gravel and heard the air blowing out of the tire. Something put a hole in this tire bigger than I have ever seen in any tire. Very disappointing.

    Expand full review >>

    Favorite Trail:   Dryer Rd

    Duration Product Used:   Less than 1 month

    Purchased At:   Came on new bike

    Similar Products Used:   bulldogs, velociraptors

    Bike Setup:   deadeye SS
    Overall Rating:3
    Value Rating:3
    Submitted by Hairllama a Weekend Warrior from Nebraska

    Date Reviewed: June 22, 2009

    Strengths:    Very fast rolling tire in dry conditions.

    Weaknesses:    No cornering grip, no traction is loose conditions, dangerous in the wet.

    Bottom Line:   
    Great for fire roads and more groomed trails. Stay away if your conditions change, or you have to change direction at speed.

    Expand full review >>

    Favorite Trail:   Many

    Duration Product Used:   1 Year

    Price Paid:    $29.00

    Similar Products Used:   Weirwolfs, Ignitors, Mountain Kings, Crossmarks,

    Bike Setup:   Mooto-X Ybb
    Overall Rating:5
    Value Rating:4
    Submitted by martini a Cross Country Rider from Viroqua WI

    Date Reviewed: December 30, 2004

    Strengths:    FAST tire. Reletively light.

    Weaknesses:    Weak sidewalls.

    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.

    Expand full review >>

    Duration Product Used:   More than 3 years

    Price Paid:    $20.00

    Similar Products Used:   Motoraptor, Notos, Mythos, Conti Vapor

    Bike Setup:   SS disc, rigid/cx1 depending on mood
    Overall Rating:2
    Value Rating:2
    Submitted by GlowBoy a Weekend Warrior from Portland OR

    Date Reviewed: December 30, 2004

    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.

    Bottom Line:   
    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.

    Expand full review >>

    Favorite Trail:   Waldo Lake

    Duration Product Used:   1 Year

    Price Paid:    $30.00

    Purchased At:   Bike Gallery (Portland)

    Similar Products Used:   Kenda Klaw 29", Bontrager Jones ACX 29"

    Bike Setup:   Rigid singlespeed Surly Karate Monkey w/Thudbuster
    Overall Rating:4
    Value Rating:5
    Submitted by Padre a Racer from Costa Mesa, CA

    Date Reviewed: December 30, 2004

    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.

    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.

    Expand full review >>

    Duration Product Used:   1 Year

    Purchased At:   $30 @ The Path Bike Shop

    Similar Products Used:   WTB Motoraptor

    Bike Setup:   Rigid 29er SS
    Overall Rating:1
    Value Rating:3
    Submitted by Chris a Cross Country Rider from Salt Lake City

    Date Reviewed: June 4, 2004

    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.

    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.

    Expand full review >>

    Favorite Trail:   any and all

    Duration Product Used:   Less than 1 month

    Purchased At:   lbs

    Similar Products Used:   WTB Moto 29'er, Kenda Klaw 29'er

    Bike Setup:   full rigid steel single speed
    Overall Rating:4
    Value Rating:4
    Submitted by Wayne a Weekend Warrior from Honolulu, Hawaii

    Date Reviewed: July 11, 2002

    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.

    Bottom Line:   
    1st tire tried on a 29er.I'm satisfied with it and I plan to continue using it.

    Expand full review >>

    Duration Product Used:   3 months

    Bike Setup:   29er hardtail.Modified Nashbar steel frame w/extended Judy fork.
    Reviews 1 - 11 (11 Reviews Total)

    Review Options:  Sorted by Latest Review | Sort by Best Rating

    29" nanoraptor rollout- Cyclocomputer setting

    I measured the rollout of my Nanoraptors and got an ungodly huge result of 2315. Cyclocomputers hav ...
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