New WTB 29" DH Tires: Kodiak and Dissent

[Nurse Ben]

http://twentynineinches.com/2009/11/...t-impressions/

http://twentynineinches.com/2009/10/...t-impressions/

That Dissent looks pretty nice

I think the 29er as a muni just became reality!!

[OneWheelLess]

Have you found any good sources to purchase these tires?

[b.King]

Niner bikes is selling the Kodiak. Looks like it's out of stock right now though:

http://store.ninerbikes.com/Componen...B-Kodiak-Tires

[Nurse Ben]

Have you found any good sources to purchase these tires?

I don't ride a 29er, I just thought this would make some muni folks happy _

I wonder if KH will start spec'ing his 29er with a fatter tire to go with that fat rim!

[unigoat]

I've got a couple of rides on the Kodiak so far. Big, heavy, awesome. Preliminary testing has gone well. I've been waiting for this tire for a long time.

A bit of a longer review is here: http://www.speedgoat.com/blog.asp

It appears that a few are still in stock too.

[davidp]

Short: Heavy; rolls and turns surprisingly well on pavement; outstanding on the trail

Long:

I recently ordered a WTB Kodiak 2.5" tire for my 29er. Up until now I've only used the 2.35" Big Apple, which I found worked pretty well for a mix of road and dirt trails. My most common ride on the 29er is a ~4 mile loop through a local State forest that is about half paved and half off-road. The off-road portion starts out as a poorly maintained fire road and within half a mile becomes a sandy, rocky double-track trail. The Big Apple has pretty good volume but doesn't work for me (6', 160lbs) under 25psi. It also doesn't grip too well in the sandy sections and that combined with the rocks made me go looking for a tire that would be a better match for this ride.

I received the Kodiak a few days ago and mounted it. The first thing I noticed was the weight - according to my postal scale the tire weighs 1lb 3oz more than the BA 2.35. This thing weighs just a few oz less than my 24x3 Duro. The second thing I noticed was the sidewall thickness, which was a huge improvement over the BA and felt close to that of the walls on my 24x3 Berm Master. The Kodiak was a bit of a bear to mount on the KH 38mm rim and I can imagine it would be even tougher to get on the 47mm rim.

A quick test in my driveway using the same 145mm cranks I used with the Big Apple showed the weight was noticeable when getting going. Once moving the tire rolls really well on pavement. Turns are also very smooth. The extra weight gives the wheel more momentum and stability than with the Big Apple. I was running the Kodiak at about 20psi and that was too much to get a good bounce for hopping. Letting a bit of air out made it very easy to hop with no sidewall folding and still had no problems when rolling. Overall I was pretty impressed. I could quickly tell that I wanted more leverage with the heavy tire than the 145mm cranks were giving me and was glad that I had some 170s in the mail.

This morning I did my forest loop ride with the Kodiak and 170mm cranks and saw a huge improvement. Starting out I could feel the weight of the tire but once moving it works about as well as the Big Apple on the road - very smooth. I also noticed the extra length of the cranks causing my legs to move more than usual but quickly got used to it. Neither the tire or the cranks caused any problems on the paved portions of the ride and I was very glad to have both as soon as I reached the dirt. I usually stop counting UPDs on this loop when I get to between 7 and 10 before I'm halfway through. Today I was amazed when I made it back to house having only had 3. Spending more time in the saddle meant less time catching my breath to re-mount and I knocked about 4 minutes off my previous best time for the loop.

The Kodiak will also allow me to expand this ride by turning onto some of the single track trails in the forest. With the Big Apple and 145mm cranks I was always dead tired by the time I had finished the off-road portion and looking forward to getting back on the pavement. Today I actually wished I hadn't gotten there so quickly. I think that alone makes the tire worthwhile for me.