WTB Trail Boss Tire Review (The All-Around Tire You Need)

The WTB Trail Boss tire quickly became one of my favorite tires. Although I had a bunch of great experiences on the tire, there were quite a few mishaps that set me back a few times. To brief you on the WTB Trail Boss Tire, it was created as an all-around tire. It features tightly spaced, blocky tread that minimizes rolling resistance until braking allows the knobs to truly dig in and supportive side knobs deliver traction when trying to keep the bike upright on off-camber surfaces. Given its name “Trail Boss”, it had a lot of weight to carry and WTB proved that it truly is a tire meant for all types of riding. My approach was a little different with this tire. People commonly run this as a rear tire matched with a WTB Vigilante up Front. I went Trail Boss both Front and Rear in the 2.4, with the Light/High Grip Compound. To my surprise, it worked out great!

Specs

• Color: Black
• Defined Color: Black
• Intended Use: Mountain
• ISO Diameter: 622 / road / 29"
• Labeled Size: 29 x 2.4
• Tire Bead: Folding
• Tire Diameter: 29"
• Tire Type: Tubeless Ready Clincher
• Weight: 830g
• TCS Light High Grip: a Lightweight casing with folding TCS aramid bead and Gravity DNA rubber (45a over 60a)

Initial test

The terrain I ride on daily is often loose over hard, sandy, dusty, and rocky. Luckily with the recent rains in Southern California, we finally had hero dirt. This let me get a good idea of how the tires performed in different areas and riding conditions. The traction was on point! I never felt as though the bike was sliding out from under me and was comfortable in flat corners. With the amount of space between the knobs towards the edge of the tire, I was easily able to lose traction when I wanted on technical loose sections. Rolling speed never seemed to be as sluggish as many other tires on the market and that was quite a relief.

Downfall

My only downfall with the tires was how easy they were to puncture. To my surprise, I punctured and cut the tire twice in the first week. The trails being ridden were a good mix of XC and slightly gnarly single-track. Sadly the cut was too big to be sealed up by the Orange Seal installed. With a little super-glue to keep me rolling, I set out on the trail again. Unfortunately, luck was not on my side. I punctured the tire again. With how fast and grippy the tires were, I still managed to get a PR with a quickly deflating tire.

Conclusion

The tire has made its mark on my list of favorite tires. The speed and grip of the tire are the result of perfect engineering. The light casing has proven to be quite fragile and I am curious to try out the tough casing. A little weigh never hurt nobody! If you are looking for a fast rolling tire with a ton of grip, I would strongly suggest checking out the WTB Trail Boss. If you ride over rocks quite often I would save the time money and invest in the tough version!