Now with the Kodiak 2.5″ers having been ridden for awhile in some varying conditions, I am ready to give my Midterm report on these knobular beasties. The Kodiak is a similar tire to the WTB Dissent in its casing technologies, but very different in its trail personality.

There are a lot of knobs with severely ramped support on the Kodiak tread pattern.

Some of my initial impressions of this tire can be found here. Since those rides things dampened up a bit here again. Not quite to the extent that we had with the Dissent testing, but close. Here’s what I have to say about this tire in wetter conditions.

In tacky dirt, the Kodiak grips really well. However; when the mud starts to get stickier, this tread isn’t quite as good as the Dissent at shedding it, nor as good at getting a grip on things. It isn’t bad, but the Dissent is just better at this. I keep going back to the higher crowned casing of the Kodiak, but this is where much of the problems emanate from in more severe conditions. Another thing worth noting, the knob supports are so “ramped” that the knobs effectively lose the edge needed to dig into loose soil, or in this case, slippery mud. The terrain rolls or slides past the knobs due to this and the way the crown of the casing angles them. Keep in mind this is on a Gordo. A narrower rim might make the crown effect of the casing even more pronounced, although I will have to try that coming up.

The Kodiak likes drier, hard packed conditions more so than wet or loose.

Even though the Kodiak doesn’t seem to work as well in the loose and greasy conditions, it rides over trail obstacles much like the Dissent does. At sub 20psi it is a very nice, comfortable ride on the Big Mama. This is a bit of a surprise since the volume of the casing is less on the Kodiak. Climbing was decent as long as things weren’t off camber, and then that dratted high crown casing would tend to want to slip out ever so slightly at times. Braking was great. Cornering was excellent in drier conditions and with lots of leaves on the trails, the Kodiak didn’t seem to get upset by them. I still get wandering up into the sides of ruts which I didn’t get with the Dissent.

Comparisons between the Kodiak and Dissent are unavoidable. They are both squarely aimed at the same demographic in 29″er mountain biking. I think it is starting to become clear that the Kodiak is more adept at dry, hard pack, or loamy to tacky dirt. Loose conditions are not its forte’. The Dissent tends to shine where the Kodiak doesn’t, and still does very well where the Kodiak does well. Volume goes to the Dissent, as does the weight, which is less on the Dissent, but both these tires are tanks in that department. So far, it would seem that some bikes may have a difficult time swallowing a Dissent, while the Kodiak will likely fit more bikes and forks. (Of course, narrower rims may alleviate this to some degree.)

The testing will continue, and I’ll file a joint report on comparisons between the Dissent and Kodiak coming up……….