Taipei International: New products from WTB

The Taipei International Cycle Show is on this week and we expect to see a few companies trickling out details of new products.

First up is Wilderness Trail Bikes, which has unveiled new carbon rims, an aggressive 27.5+ tyre aimed at the enduro market, and its lightest production saddle to date. Let’s start with the carbon…

Ci24 carbon rim

It uses the same ‘4D’-drilled spoke eyelets as the KOM and Scraper series rims – the eyelets are drilled at opposing angles to avoid the problem of spoke nipples binding on the eyelet as they exit the rim – and WTB’s lightweight TCS (Tubeless Compatible System) tubeless-ready set-up, which we’ve already been impressed with on previous test wheelsets.

WTB says it’s been working on these rims for two years, going through multiple iterations of the design and refining it with assistance from its test riders, including Ben Cruz and Mark Weir. Interestingly WTB also accepts that carbon isn’t the be-all and end-all that you might assume it is from the enduro scene’s obsession, acknowledging that the material and its construction methods do have drawbacks and that aluminium is still the correct option for some riders. Product manager Chris Feucht explains:

“We added extra material where it needs it, we thought about the material’s characteristics throughout the whole process.  Carbon isn’t for everyone – once you ride it, you don’t want to go back, but understanding that distinction is important.  What we’ve done is make our Ci24 Carbon rims as strong as possible while staying true to that understanding that for certain applications or riders, alloy may be the better choice.”

The rims will be available from June this year. They’re available in both 27.5 and 29in versions, with claimed weights of 414g and 420g. No UK pricing is available yet but at $549.95 a pop expect them to compare favourably with other mid to high-end options on the market.

Bridger 3.0 27.5+ tyre

WTB already produces a 27.5+ tyre, the 2.8in Trailblazer, which we’re currently riding on the Scraper-equipped Kinesis FF29 Chubbie. The Bridger is a new 3.0in tyre, featuring “an open tread pattern composed of square shaped blocks designed for aggressive riding applications“. So, rather than 27.5+ being a halfway house for fatbike-curious riders, WTB looks determined to push it directly at the enduro market.

Feucht again: “Rather than stick within the confines of traditional plus sized tire applications, we are directly targeting aggressive riding.  We are offering the Bridger 3.0 27.5+ tire in a TCS Tough: High Grip option.  Sticky Gravity DNA rubber coating a full 2-ply casing begs for technical descents.  There is really no reason why this tire size isn’t perfect for aggressive riding applications.”

It’s available in two versions, both of them TCS compatible and designed for use with WTB’s TCS sealant. ‘Tough: High Grip’ has a double layer casing for resilience and uses WTB’s ‘Sticky Gravity DNA rubber’ for improved grip, and ‘Light: Fast Rolling’, which (surprise!) uses a single-layer casing to drop some weight and features a harder, faster-rolling compound. WTB suggests this gives tyres suitable for front and rear use; however, we’d also expect riders who value lower weight and supple tyre feel over all-out aggression to be going for the Light option at both ends. Claimed pre-production weights are 1,235g for Light and 1,510g for Tough versions.

Pricing is top-end: $76.95 for the Tough version, $67.95 for the Light, and availability is from August.

WTB SL8 saddle

Want to ride WTB athlete Jerome Clementz’s fave perch? Form an orderly queue for the carbon-railed, 146g version of the SL8, then…

The shape takes its cues from the existing Volt and Silverado saddles, with DNA padding throughout, and has been tested for the past year under the WTB enduro team, so is likely to be every bit as tough as its range mates have proved. As well as the $250 (!) Carbon version, there’s a mid-range Team model and $120 Pro option, too; all available from June.

wtb.com