The big, meaty WTB Dissent 2.5 tires are still rolling along and here are my latest thoughts on the performance of these tires so far. You can read my first posts on the WTB Dissent here, and here.

First off, I continue to be amazed at how well the Dissent rolls on hard surfaces. That’s saying a lot since the novelty of the tire has worn off. I will never be afraid of having a tire this heavy if they all will roll this well. Just an impossibly smooth tire for its girth and weight. WTB really nailed the best possible combination of low rolling resistance and big knob size on this tire.

Secondly, while hitting wet, slippery rocks and roots may not suit this tire very well, it simply rules on a wide rim in the mud. The wide rim, (in this instance a Salsa Cycles Gordo) makes the Dissent flatten out in profile which in turn gives the tire a capability to float up on mud that rounder casings would cut into, get mired down, and grind to a halt in. Along with this the Dissent shows a propensity for shedding even some of the stickiest mud I could run across here. Maybe not a clay type mud, but a black dirt, silty, sandy soil is no match for this tread.

I usually run my mud tests alongside a creek that has trails that regularly get flooded. Riding on these trails isn’t a no-no, since it won’t be long before they are flooded again, and all traces of previous passages are rearranged beyond recognition. That said, we all should be very careful about riding wet trails, so take this part of the review with advisement. That said, the conditions for a mud test couldn’t have been better recently as vast parts of the trail were recently under water, which usually means you can’t get five feet in before you are done riding. Not with the Dissent though!

Here’s the example I am describing. The picture on the left is a section of recently flooded, wet, sticky, muddy trail. Normally I wouldn’t even get through this section without bogging down with most tires. The picture on the right shows the rear Dissent immediately after this section. Knobs still showing, and not much packing in. Amazing! This tire on this rim is the best mud riding combination I have ever used. Will it work in your mud? I can not say, but I’m betting that short of sticky clay, the Dissent will shed mud like a champ. (You can click on the pictures to make them bigger.)

The other really impressive trait, and again probably due to the profile of the tire on the wide rim, is the Dissent’s float on sand. This same creek trail gets drifted over in deep, fine river sand, which the Dissent just rolls right on through without any problems. Very impressive, and not surprising for a wide, supple tire like this. Now if the sand were granulated, or really loose, the width of the Dissent wouldn’t help at all, and you would be bogged down, but if there is any hint of the sand being wet, or holding together, the Dissent will float on over. I can’t wait to see how it does on packed in snow. I’m thinking it might work pretty well there too.

Finally, the Dissent is a pretty tough tire. I have literally given up even lifting my rear end up, or making any concessions at all for any curbs in my neighborhood. I simply plow right into them without even slowing down now. The Inner Peace anti-pinch flat protection works well. Now that isn’t to say that sharp trail rocks wouldn’t do some damage, but I have yet to get this tire anywhere near a trail with such features, so curbs and steps will have to do for now. I’ve no doubt that the Dissent will do well in that scenario. It also bears mentioning that even if you did manage to flat the Dissent, it will most probably stay on the rim, since the sidewalls are so stiff near the bead.

All the testing so far has been done with sub-20psi pressures and I have gotten below 15psi on one ride. The low pressures seem to be the ticket here, Better casing performance, great traction, and the aforementioned Inner Peace keeps you from pinch flatting. (Yes tubes here!) Other notes; The Gordo rims and the Dissent are a great match. I had to use three tire levers to remove the bead on the Dissent from the Gordo recently. They are also a bit of a chore to mount. The cornering traction is excellent. You have to lean it over with conviction to get the side knobs to bite, but when they do, they exhibit a ton of grip on the harder dirt and packed rock surfaces I tried the cornering tests on.

More trail testing will occur over the next few months as weather allows. I’ll chime back in with a Final Review after the New Year, but for now I would give the Dissent pretty high marks for its intended use.

Note:This product was provided to Twenty Nine Inches at no charge for reviewing. I am not being paid or bribed for this review. I will give my honest opinion or thoughts through out.