Piers ‘Slasher’ Mortimer takes the WTB Resolute with new WTB SG2 puncture protection out for some rocky rides in the Lakes.
WTB Resolute SG2
- Price: £54.99
- From: WTB
The WTB Resolute has been part of the huge range of gravel treads offered by WTB for some time now, but what’s new here is the SG2 puncture protection, available on existing tyre designs on anything over 37mm wide. The marketing promises “SG2 Puncture Protection defends all surfaces of a tyre providing an uninterrupted layer of puncture protection from bead to bead” . It utilises a flat nylon fibre at 120tpi to reduce the amount of rubber needed to fill the gaps between the fibres, in turn reducing weight, and as well as protecting from punctures it helps with air retention at higher pressures. The protection runs from bead to bead, and like the Ford Model T it’s only available in black. Other WTB tyres across the range are still going to be available in the 60tpi editions with the tan walls if you like that new school retro look.
The WTB Resolute 42mm SG2 are designed with squared knobs that dominate the tread pattern in a open moto style, which are low profile and run out to the side knobs topped with a row of tighter packed centre knobs.
While standard 60tpi tyres are £44.99, the SG2 lineup comes in at the slightly higher price of £54.99.
On The Trail
Coming in at 544g on my scales they are slightly heavier than a few others including the WTB Riddlers that I had been using. This is to be expected however, and WTB says that the SG2 protection adds 5-10% on to a 60tpi equivalent tyre, which is between an extra 15g to 50g depending on the tyre width. Popped up on a DT Swiss 392 with a 21mm internal rim they delivered a 40mm profile with that number taken from the widest point using a pair of Vernier calipers. Fitting was pain free and only required 75ml of Stan’s (other sealants are available) and popped up on to the rims with a tubeless pump inflator with the usual snap and shake the sealant around movements. Looking at how the tyre settled in after few days it didn’t stretch more than half a mm and stayed aired up with zero sealant leaking through the sidewalls or round the bead.
Here’s the launch video – it’s not Piers shredding! But check out the shoes!
You probably need a closer look at those shoes, don’t you?
Anyway, moving back to the WTB Resolute…
Lucky me, I live in the Lakes – but not so lucky for my tyres. Any tyre I use is going to get a hard time from all the rock and more often than not any tyre I own ends up in the bin before it’s properly worn out. A large slash or puncture hole that will not take a slug or will not take to being sewn up with dental floss or such like are the usual cause of death, not old age. All this in mind I pressured up to 45psi on the front and 55psi out back as I’ve found it has been a good compromise between losing feel and keeping the punctures away.
I purposely made a detour to some muddy trails with plenty of clay (as it’s normally peat we have to contend with in this part of the world) to see how they coped and was slightly surprised how well they kept going considering the low profile of the treads.
As I got into the more normal trail systems with long tarmac sections between the rocky bridleways I was able to roll along at a good lick and maintain a good pace without that feeling of riding through treacle that you normally get on a more open treaded tyre.
Once on the gravel and rock the compound coped well with the wet slate with no unexpected loss of traction and the well spaced knobs did a good job of biting in to the loose gravel stuff. The 120tpi casing was supple and gave a good feel for the trail. On a few blasts along some proper fire roads, as in the sort of terrain used in the Dirty Reiver, I had a jolly old time spinning along carving the turns and allowing the outer knobs to work for their money. Pushing my weight over the front loads of traction was available and I could only get the rear to break with lots of provocation.
The open tread pattern with a compact centre section worked well on the fire roads and tarmac, and the more open pattern towards the edges did quite a good job in the thick clay I found.
Now a dozen or so rides and 150 mostly off road miles in, wear looks promising and thete’s not one slash, hole or puncture – which has happened on every other tyre I have used in the past year. Air has stayed in and I have not had to top up much more than 5/10 psi before heading out, so if that’s the new SG2 puncture protection I am sold.
Overall
When I measured them up on my old school MTB / new school gravel bike the width was not far from those of the early 90’s. Ridden on the same stuff as back then, these coped quite happily. After experiencing a monster slash in my rear tyre at the Dirty Reiver last year and losing over 1.5 hours trying to fix it, I would happily use these for that event. Despite being a bit chunkier than I would normally use, I’d rather spend my time riding than fixing. Recommended!
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Who knew Noddy Holder liked riding gravel
Cannot find these anywhere? Are they available…