I don't get it, but I like it.
Written: Apr 22 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: better grip than expected. Great for intended use
Cons: Afraid of Mud
The Bottom Line: Great for intended use, but much more versitile than expected.
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| FlanderFlop's Full Review: WTB NanoRaptor |
Often I’ll get hooked on some bit of gear when I see someone else using it, and the NannoRaptor is just another example of this. A couple of year ago I was racing a 24 hour race on a two man team, on a pretty technical course in Ohio. Although the course was dry for the most part, there was quite a lot of gnarly terrain in addition to some fast stuff. My teammate was running NannoRaptors. They were not the tires I would have picked for the course, but my teammate seemed to be confident in them, and sure enough he went out and started turning consistently faster lap times than I was (may also have something to do with the fact that he is a stronger rider.)
So it was no surprise that it was not long before I had a pair of these tires in my arsenal, and they are now some of my favorite tires. True they are not great in mud, or really loose stuff, but for some reason they do grip a lot better than you would expect in almost any other condition. Perhaps it is just the sheer number of knobbies, but whatever it is I like it.
On the hard pack these are incredibly fast rolling. While they do not have a center bead as such, the line of center knobbies are so close together that it may as well have a center bead that allows the tire to roll smoothly. Also the overall low profile of the tire helps keep the rolling resistance to a minimum as well as keeping the weight down.
Also the large number of knobbies seems to help spread out the wear and tear on the tire. While many larger knobbies tend to tear and pull, these low profile knobbies not only support eachother, but are numerous enough to spread on the wear. I have been using these tires now for a number of years, and used them in a number of solo 12 and 24 hour events, and they are still looking pretty much as they did when I got them.
Although most of this was really no surprise to me knowing WTB and simply looking at the tires, the one thing that got me was just how much more traction I get out of them than I expected. I originally got them simply for races out in the South West where the trails are hard packed and fast, but now I use them in a much wider range of terrains including some pretty rocky and rooty conditions as long as they are dry. At the first sight of mud however they come off the bike.
All and all these are a well designed tire and a great one to keep on hand if you race in varying conditions, but they are probably not the ones you want to keep on your bike at all times unless you live in Southern California.
Recommended:
Yes
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