So where might one get a set of these fine nichey objects from?

I have a the inkling of a suspicions of a faint idea forming in my turgid mind.

I should probably check the dimensions fit in the back end of the bike though first I guess…71mm apparently…

Listed on CRC, excpected 1st week of May iirc….

excpected 1st week of May iirc….

hmmmm, chinny reckon 😉

Who are WTB importers in the UK?

People are also using velocity Blunt rims…which are 35mm instead of 45mm…..but you can get 2 for the price of 1 Scraper rim ..

Who are WTB importers in the UK?

CRC 🙂

which are 35mm instead of 45mm

or 30mm compared to 45mm, if both are measured in the same way. Duallys would be closer, ~5mm less wide than Scrapers.

aye. I see there’s options with the B nimble on stock width rims too

http://dirtragmag.com/introduction-to-project-27plus-wtb-scraper-rims-and-panaracer-fat-b-nimble-tires/

Upgrade maybe?

http://twentynineinches.com/2014/09/02/wtb-trailblazer-27-5-x-2-8-tires-exclusive-b-review-intro-part-2/
some interesting info ..may help

cheers 1crack. Very interesting.

Who are WTB importers in the UK?

hotlines, who say most of their allocation has been pre-ordered so get in quick!

Happy happy, Joy joy!!

Tyres arrived from the US this morning. Not bad for being bought 4th May from http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261865151526 arriving on the 16th.

$121 for the pair, $14.32 p&p and $30.32 import duty & VAT payable at purchase through the eBay international shipping service. £113 all in. Yes, a bit over CRC prices, but they were in stock. I have no idea if I could get any from CRC even if they do arrive as scheduled on the 25th May. (And going with the pacenti rim’d wheels from SSC is a lot cheaper than risking £120 on some massive scraper rims)

Anyway, the best bit is they fit.

Comparing with Rocket Rons on Crest ZTRs, that come out at 55mm wide and 740mm diameter, te Trailblazers on Pacenti DL31 are 63mm and 723mm diameter. So I’ve lost 8mm BB height. Not enough to cry over.

Easy to mount tubeless, no sidewall leaks – properly tubeless ready. Really quite a bit lighter than I was expecting too. Unfortunately I fogot I have centrelock rotors on the XTR hubs and didnt buy any 6bolts to go on the new SSC wheels, and I only have one 6bolt lying around. Need to go and salvage off another bike so I can ride the new tyres tonight.

Nice fat profile. Perfect for the rigid bike.

Before:

And sufficient clearance in the Ti29 and Jones 100m truss forks.

We have some pre-ordered and have been told they’re imminent… but we’ll see!

Tyres are already here so just waiting for something to put them on. May go down the Velocity route if the Scrapers don’t appear soon.

You know what would be really good, would be a downloadable template… “Here’s the shape of this tyre/wheel combo we make, print it off on an A3 sheet and see if it fits in your frame”

Tyre profile looks alright on the normal rim.

Let us know how they ride then.

🙂

Have just swiped a rotor of Mrs Stoner’s 456 so will be out for a ride this evening. Going with 20-22psi to start with. Feels good on the driveway test track.

Ohh, didn’t know you could get 100mm Jones forks.

Yes – ride report needed, would also be interested to know what they are like with much lower pressures please – 12-15psi 😀

The Jones are ye olde Jones forks. Singlespeedstu bought them in victorian times originally. Not sure you can get them anymore.

Andy, I’ll go and drop the pressures now and go for a quick rag around the common for you. Im not going up on the hills with 12-15 tonight 🙂

I’m guessing my Joe Blow pressure gauge has an accuracy of +/- 10psi 😉

I pumped to about 16psi and it still seems pretty sound. In fact not nearly as squirrelly as I’d expected so I will probably leave them at that and just take a pump with me tonight in case.

Love it, been hunting a set down too, ended up getting them from i-cycle so they’re on the way, crc got a pair in yesterday and they went. Going to mount mine on the SSC Ryde enduro wheels, then build a bike round email lol.

Mid ride pint stop, phone review on the pub wifi. How’s that for hip, cool, down with the tweeters, bang up to date ‘ol me eh?

Rides a treat.
Can’t really notice much extra weight penalty over my pretty light rocket ron/xtr/crest 29er wheels. Certainly nothing like as gruesome as lugging old skool spesh purgatory and their ilk.

On SS the loss of 2% circumference is oddly noticeable but then I’ve ridden this loop on the old tyres with the same gearing for two years so it’s not such a surprise I’d notice.

With the extra give I now need not choose such a forgiving line, now walloping over angular granite lumps with abandon.

Road rolling resistance is negligible too.

Normally riding SS and rigid I spend 60% of my ride standing up, with these tyres I can spend far more of it now seated. And if anything some of the undamped bounce I’d expect seems to get soaked up in the undamped bounce from the Ti seat post, and vice versa.

Only negative so far is relatively minor, they have a soupcon more tendency to slip at the back honking up a gravel climb, I reckon due to the extra bit of undamped bounce unweighting the tyre when giving it the beans. Easily fixed with a little rearward shift of weight and a bit more subtlety.

I am looking forward to the descent right after this pint…

I got a pair of the Trailblazers in last week from Quest Adventure in Worthing – ordered them a couple of months ago though.
Here’s one fitted on the front and a comparison to a Bontrager 29×2.2 and Maxxis Ardent 29×2.4 on Arch Ex and Dually rims respectively.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/rDAiAV]L to R, Bontrager Jones 29×2.2 on Arch Ex rim, WTB Trailblazer 27.5×2.8 on Velocity P35 rim, Maxxis Ardent 29×2.4 on Velocity Dually 45mm rim. WTB is only 1mm wider than Ardent in this set up[/url] by Jones96er, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/smhai7]DSC_0157[/url] by Jones96er, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/rDoDoL]Jones 96er now with semi fat WTB Trailblazer 27.5×2.8 at front. 675 or 756 not sure![/url] by Jones96er, on Flickr

Quite an unusual tread pattern, hard to imagine what it might ride like.

I’ll lean it over on the way down the hill and let you know if it works chakaping. The central bar certainly does what’s it’s supposed to on the road and climbing.

Well I’m properly impressed. I’ve not changed anything on my bike for over 2 yrs, Ive been v happy with it, but I was always hankering after bigger rubber.

650b+ is a genuinely smart idea for enfattening standard 29er frames.

Handled brilliantly on the descents. Ragged it into corners a bit harder than I have done for a long time and grip was fine. No big unannounced breakaway, just a very steady and gentle two-wheel drift a bit earlier than I’d have expected hwen on the loosest, lightest gravel. Again probably down to the central ridge. Through the woods it stuck to the loam like glue – but then it’s that time of the year when slicks would stick to the firm ground.

And the fat just smooths out those annoying trail rattles – especially round these parts where stretches over the common are often over sun-hardened clay, pock-marked with cow/horse hoof hole set on the wet days that normally strain the wrists and blur your vision. Not any more.

I love them.

Only negative so far is relatively minor, they have a soupcon more tendency to slip at the back honking up a gravel

probably more to do with that constant centre ridge. I’ve always assumed the trailblazer was a Cali conditions/UK hybrid tyre with that tread pattern

Good to hear that they have good ride and predictable slip, I’ll be sticking mine on a full suss.

That’s it then, a Blunt & Trailblazer for back of mine, to go with the Knarded/Dually front. 😉
At 70mm mounted the Scraper is just just too wide, but a Blunt will work.
And there’s me thinking of chopping the back around to fit a 29+ in.

Thanks for the review Stoner.

Good stuff.

Wonder if On One have some plus-sized versions of their trail tyres in the pipeline?

Vee trax fatty are available in 27.5×2.8 on Charlie the bike mongers site.

@ Stoner – just for clarity what wheels are you running – specifically rims?

Having a quick measure suggests that a 650b+ would fit in the back of my Fortitude (my only complaint of the frame is its rear clearance) and could be a good balance to the Dually Knard up front.

Ho hum …. More expense 😉

these:
http://www.superstarcomponents.com/en/pacenti-tesla-evo-ultralight-wheelset-new.htm

Pacenti DL31 rims.

Not massively wide, so you dont get that fat carcass look with all the nobbiles running around the outside like a stegasaurus back.

But given the spare room in diameter you can afford to let the carcass go taller rather than fatter.

frankly a bargin at £260.

Dont forget to order some tubeless valves while you’re in there. I use 3x runs of electricians PVC tape rather than el-posho tubesless rim tape and it works fine. The valves work much better than my Heath Robinson DIY ones though.

My trailblazers turned up today, just need the rest of the bits to arrive so I can start building up the new bike. Weighed them and not a bad weight for the size.

weighed them and not a bad weight for the size.

And????! You big tease 😉

With the cable tie holding it rolled it comes in at 920g,so not bad.

I’ve been all the rage too of late:

Made quite a change to the Ti Fargo.

How do they measure up.

In terms of?

Width on the rim, in real world terms not manufacturer sizing.

Not measured them yet. Going to ride them for a few days then check, after two 40km rides they’ve already got softer as the sidewalls have a loosened up. Bigger than a 2.4 they replaced. Less than a Knard 🙂

The rim profile will make a huge difference. Arguably the Wide Lightning is the lower end of what you’d want to run them on being only 29mm internal. They feel…odd at low pressures compared to say .. a 29+ Knard. But they grip in mud, oh do they grip. Unlike Knards. Which are pants IMHO. They track like a tank though.