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WTB Exi Wolf 29 tire review
Almost all of the 29”er bikes out there owe something to WTB, which introduced the very first 29″er-specific two-inch plus fat tire way back in 1999. WTB’s early commitment to the format with the Nano Raptor help ensure the survival of the big-wheeled mountain bike. Since then, the marketplace has started to fill out, as more options become available for the intrepid 29″er rider; one of the more recent tire additions to the scene is the WTB Exi Wolf 29”er tire.
The Exi Wolf gives the 29”er rider the type of large volume, all-mountain type tire that simply wasn’t available before its introduction in 2005 and, since then, the tire has found a wide audience with manufacturers of 29 inch wheeled bikes.
Look for many of the new 2007 29″ wheeled bikes to be sporting these treads.
Product specifications
The Exi Wolf is formally slotted into the all mountain category of WTB’s tire lineup. It features a claimed tread width of 2.3 inches, a folding Aramid bead, and WTB’s DNA rubber compound. The entire package weighs in at a claimed 825 grams per tire. The tire’s width puts the Exi Wolf at the wide end of the spectrum for 29 inch rubber.
MSRP: The suggested retail price for the Exi Wolf 29”er tire is $52.00. Street price on these tires can range anywhere from 25- 30% lower than that.
Manufacturer’s website: www.wtb.com
The set up
I mounted these tires to Salsa Delgado Disc rims, which measure 29mm wide. These are not tubeless tires, so I used a standard 26 inch presta valve tube with these tires (and, yes, that works just fine, thank you very much!).
The wheels and Exi Wolf tires were then mounted to an Inbred 29”er with rigid front forks for the test period, which lasted about nine weeks. Tire pressures ranged from 40 psi to a low of 25 psi during the test. Terrain was anything from buff, compacted single track, loose over hard pack, tacky black dirt, mud, sand, grass, pavement, and gravel road. Some of the single track featured roots and embedded stones.
Mounted on the Salsa rims, the Exi Wolf measured out to be 2.25 inches wide using the outermost portion of the tread as measuring points. This was after several days at 40 psi.to account for any stretching of the casing. The weight of the two tires sent to me was 815 grams and 820 grams.
The Good
Sharp looks. The tires mounted easily onto the Salsa rims with the 26 inch tubes inside. 29 inch tires tend to mount a bit too easily and these were par for the course. Once on the bike, they looked really good. The increase in width and volume over the Nano Raptors that were previously on the bike was quite evident.
Tread pattern. The tread pattern was made up of several angular shaped, smallish knobs. It was reminiscent of a Hutchinson Python, which was promising in my view. The overall profile was rounded, which I prefer over squared off casings.
The not so good
Weight. The weight of the Exi Wolf tires is definitely noticeable. From the time you heft them in your hand on the hang card to the first time you roll them out on a ride, it’s noticeable. To be fair, this is an all mountain tire, and as such is going to be a bit more on the portly side than a full on XC race tire. The lack of any side knobs is also readily apparent when you look at the tread pattern, something that doesn’t bode well for extreme lean angles and off camber traverses.
Scoring
First impressions: 7/10. My initial impression upon opening the shipping box was good. WTB uses a hang card to display their tires instead of a box, which saves on packaging. I like that they didn’t use a box. It also allows you to get a look at the tire if you shop at a bike store.
The weight of the tire was noticeable upon the first ride and the sensation that these tires were heavy really never went away. Also, I felt that they produced a bit more rolling resistance at first, even though they were some of the quietest tires on pavement that I have ridden with a full knobby casing.
Performance: 30/ 40. The short story is that the Exi Wolf is an all mountain tire with a XC tread pattern. The schizophrenic nature of the tire makes it hard to decide what to do with it. On one hand it handled all the nasty roots, rocks, and rough housing that I threw at it, but the tread pattern left me wanting for something more aggressive when the going got nasty. Other times the fast nature of the tread and the shock absorbing nature of the voluminous casing left me unsatisfied because of the tires heavy weight. It seems that the tire is best suited to lower pressures and tacky, sandy, or buff single track.
The lack of any significant side knobs made the Exi Wolf a bit sketchy in the off camber situations. Also any time the terrain got demanding in the form of loose over hard pack, rocky, or really rutted terrain, the lack of side knobs would put a bit of a damper on the ride. I found that the Exi Wolf didn’t mind soupy mud, but anytime the mud firmed up at all, the tire treads became ‘clogged up’ to the point of being useless.
The perfect terrain for the Exi Wolf is probably best described by one of my last rides on them. Fast, swoopy, buff and tacky dirt single track. The Exi Wolf comes alive on trails like these. It digs in and gives huge amounts of bite for steep climbs and corners like a cat, as long as you don’t lean it over too far. The Exi Wolf tends to break away suddenly, and without much warning then. Again, I feel it has to do with the lack of side knobs
Durability: 20/20. The Exi Wolf has one tough casing for a 29 inch tire. Granted, it’s not in the same league as a lot of 26 inch tires, but it’s a lot tougher than most and at the top of the heap for 29 inch tires so far. I can not find any significant damage to the tread blocks or outer casing after nine weeks of abuse. This includes glass strewn streets on my morning commute to work as well as gravel road riding, which will tear up a soft tread rather quickly. WTB rates the durometer of the DNA rubber used in this tire at 60a. I say its one tough, long wearing rubber compound.
Pricing: 15/ 20. The Exi Wolf is a fine quality tire and I can not fault it in that way. I did knock off a few points here because at $104.00 for a set, you should expect a full on XC tire or a full on all mountain tire. The Exi Wolf is a mixed bag and at this price, you can’t afford a less than perfect tool for the job.
Wild card: 9/10. The Exi Wolf gets a higher mark here by default because there is no other high volume, full tread tire to rival it…yet! I expect that to change in the near future but, until then, the Exi Wolf is really the only game in town for single speeders, full rigid riders, or all mountain riders that use the 29 inch wheel format.
Overall: 81/ 100. Very good.
Summary
The Exi Wolf is the only high volume, fully-treaded tire on the market for 29 inch wheels. It features a tough casing and long wearing rubber, but has a lack of side knobs and a slightly heavy weight that make it a bit of a conundrum.
If and when an equally voluminous and more aggressively treaded tire appears, the Exi Wolf will be dethroned as the king of 29”er fat tire world. Until then, it’s your main weapon of choice for all mountain riding on big wheels.