WTB REINTRODUCING THE NEW “MOTO 29″er TIRE:On Test:by c_g
Here is some news directly from a WILDERNESS TRAIL BIKES press release:
“WTB’s founder and leading rubber designer Mark Slate has developed the latest evolution of the Moto series tires. WTB (www.com), the maker of some of our favourite saddles and some pretty innovative rims is making them available in 26″ and 29″ versions immediately to bicycle dealers worldwide. “The Motoraptor was a very successful tire for WTB,” says Slate. “With the development of the Tubeless Compatible System (TCS) and the advancement of Dual DNA rubber compound, it was time to modify the design to fit today’s five and six inch travel market. The Moto is the result of tons of testing and feedback from our world-class racers, and is the natural evolution in the WTB line of performance tires.”
“The Moto features double center blocks for traction in wetter conditions, spiky knobs to penetrate the trail surface, good transition edge knob placement for control where control is hard to come by, and a more open pitch to get a grip on almost any surface.” (c_g: A claim we gladly put to test 
.)
The changes over the older Motoraptor model are the lower profile and modified tread design, the dual compound DNA rubber, the Inner Peace sidewalls (all part of WTB´s TCS technology). The 29″ 1.9 model comes in a TCS version only and is said to weigh about 650 grams.
By the dimensions it seems to be aimed more at wet conditions, but we will see … just today we received a set of testing samples of the above said tires.
Stay tuned as report on our first riding impressions, soon.
RIDE ON,
c_g
Seems it’s like a spiky mud tire with its knobs cut, which is something I’ve seen numerous pros do.
^ World Cup DH MTB Race Pros, specifically.
1.9 is very skinny and seems more aimed at the XC race market but the 650 grams seems too heavy to race. The press statement says it was updated and aimed at the 5″ to 6″ travel market but how does that fit into the 29er market?
I’m confused!?!?!?!?!?
2.1 @ 650g built for todays 5 and 6 inch bikes? That press release was a mistake or someone is out of touch with what riders are looking for (IMO).
mistake on my part it’s a 1.9!!!
@Jacob, @SS: I believe most of the release is written around what the 26″er sizes are designed for. The 1.9 29″er Moto does not seem to fit these descriptions at all, I agree.
The original 29″er Motoraptor was a 2.1″er, so it wasn’t all that big either, and this seems to follow in that mold. c_g stated here that he feels it is a wet grounds tire, so we’ll see what he finds out.
I wish they would bring the Mutano 2.4 to the 29er line up. Loved that tire when I was riding a 26″ bike.
Good volume, fast rolling, and predictable grip.
It’s a direct competitor to the Bontrager MudX. I’ve loved that tyre for my sloppy XC rides.
Any update on these tires? I won a pair of 29 x 1.9 last weekend & wanted to get some feedback before I throw them on.
Thanks