WTB Mutano Race 2.4
WTB makes tires for people who ride. They don’t make silly light race day tires that wear out too quickly, nor do they make really heavy tires that are not practical to pedal up a hill. They make fast tires with good grip at a reasonable weight. Hard to beat that.
The latest WTB Mutano Race 2.4 is no different. It weights 600 grams, which is very reasonable for an all mountain tire. The thing I love most about this tire is the small ridge that runs down the center of the tread. It means that if you’re on pavement or hard-pack you’re actually riding on a very narrow piece of the tire with much less rolling resistance than if you were rolling across huge knobs. If you ride road to get to your trailhead or if you’re racing and want to be rolling as fast as possible whenever possible, you’ll love the center ridge. But once you lead the tire over, huge knobs is what you get. Knobs, and lots of ‘em.
The tire has a fairly round profile which means that you’ll have to lean the bike a little further over to engage the side cornering knobs, and it also seems to mean that the tire rolls fast no matter what angle it’s at. Those are a few of the many reasons I decided to race this tire at the Downieville Classic XC race this year:
- At 600 grams its light enough to pedal up hill
- Fast rolling for the pavement & hard dirt sections
- It’s a 2.4 so it has enough air volume not to pinch on the rocky sections
- Strong sidewalls and casing so it does not to tear too easily
- The bead that can be mounted up with tubes or tubeless.
- Big cornering knobs for the high speeds descents
The only downside to this tire is that it does drift if you only sort of commit to a corner. If you really commit, it’s fine, but if you’re less than on-top of your technique than the tire can definitely get away from you. Therefore, if I’m not worried about being fast on the pavement or hard-pack, I generally choose a tire like the Bontrager XR4 that has better all around grip but rolls a little slower. However, for race day, when I’m not worried about sliding around in corners a bit and want a fast tire that I can still descend hard on, I turn to the 2.4 Mutano Raptor as my front tire.
Cost (MSRP) $50
Rolling speed: Fast
Grip: Medium
Durability: High
Idea use: trail riding / all mountain riding, XC Racing
Ideal bike: Hardtail on up to a – 6” travel bike
After a few more non-race rides I decided to put Bontrager XR4 tires back on my Mojo (5.5″ travel) since they’re easier to ride and have more traction. So I put my WTB Mutano Raptors tires on my hard-tail. Great decision! They roll fast enough that I didn’t notice their size on the flats and climbs, and once I started down hill… wow. MUCH more traction then I had with the XR2 or Crossmark 2.1. Therefore the Mutano 2.4 race may be my new go-to tire on my hard-tail with the Bontrager XR4 being the go-to tire for my trail bike. -David