WTB Judge review: the perfect rear tyre for winter?

WTB have rejigged their casings and their compounds. We’ve had the new WTB Judge for a couple of months now. And it’s excellent. Pros Predictable Grip …

By ben_haworth

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WTB Judge review: the perfect rear tyre for winter?

Good to know. I still find 27.5/2.4 DHR2’s at 50% off every now and then so I stock up on them for when I’m Vorbodden to buy 27.5 boots by the bike industry.  They grip like a taxman in pretty much all conditions as well.  Which is noice.

FM! 1600g!?!!

1.6kg  lol

 

Winter tyre test for 3 months….  So tested from July to October?

I run Verdict and Judge combo. Been looking at replacing the Judge and wondering why I couldn’t find the fast rolling version. Seems they have stopped making it. The marketing team must have been like “it’s 1.6kg, don’t take the p*ss”

I’ve got a wheelset that weighs the same as that.

And a PAIR of XR4s that weight about the same.

It is, though, fantastic for proper trails. with verdict up front too. Caveat, bloody awful on anything trail centre (hard pack), and though i love the grip of Tough/HighGrip on the rear, man it wears out fast!

So tested from July to October?

Sounds about right for Yorkshire weather, yes.

@Benji, I want to know what they were like to fit? I’ve had some tyre lever-snapping WTB tyres in the past, especially with the tougher carcasses.

There’s also the Tough/highgrip without the SG1 cap which is 1295g claimed but seems to be the same tread and rubber. (and weirdly the Tough/Fast is claimed 1427, what’s that all about?).

IME the Tough carcasses are already pretty damn tough, and let’s be honest, even the Light carcasses mostly aren’t very light. I’m honestly not sure who the market is for the Tough + SG1 but damn sure it’s not me. But a super-dhr2? Yeah maybe.

Light / Tough
These are the two carcass types. Their names are pretty self explanatory.

Except the “light” isn’t very light (easily over a kilo and seems similar to Exo+), but otherwise I applaud the simplicity of their system, yeah.

Are Saddleback actually gonna be distributing WTB’s MTB tyres in the UK now then? It’s been really hard to find them for a couple of years. Luckily I’ve snagged a Verdict, and got a few Vigilantes silly cheap in the CRC sale. Both amazing tyres BTW.

@chipps They went on without levers at all IIRC. The rims they went on (Orbea own-brand things) are very accommodating though.

p.s. Mainly Lancashire. Not Yorkshire. 🙂

Is this current version still the same, very small volume 2.4?

The original was so low profile that it affected head angle and also your crank clearance on rocky terrain. Great tyre from a grip perspective but boy was it tiny..

FM! 1600g!?!!

Ttbf, that’s decent value at only £160 for the pair. If you look at it as grammes per pound. Or something.

Eventually everyone will need an e-mtb simply to be able to cope with the weight of the latest tyres. I’m not a conspiracy nut, but…

 

Spot the difference between the wtb and specialized butcher.

Knob shape

Very similar

Stipes

Wbt slightly longer

Knob chamfer on straighter central knobs almost identical.

Butcher

Casing: 60 TPI, Dual-Ply.

Bead: Foldable.

Butyl wrapped bead = 2Bliss Ready.

Compound: GRIPTON® T9.

650Bx2.3″, psi 25-50, approximate weight 1240g.

650Bx2.6″, psi 20-40, approximate weight 1250g.

29×2.3″, psi 25-50, approximate weight 1290g.

29×2.6″, psi 20-40 approximate weight 1315g.

Will it spin out on wet tarmac like other WTB tyres? I just don’t trust their compound in the wet, it’s awful.

I like that the similarities between the Judge and the Butcher are being shown when the Butcher was heavily influenced by the DHF.

The difference is I haven’t ridden a dhf for a year or two, but was fitting a butcher last week : )

I’m sure there is a few other tires that are very similar.  Possibly from the same factory?