Opinions on WTB Velociraptor
 

Looks like a sweet set of tires (they are different front and back) and for $25 a piece, what a deal! Are they actually any good though? I've never heard of them.

http://www.pricepoint.com/detail/119...aptor-Tire.htm

they are great for less than ideal conditions like mud and snow but roll slow on hard pack. a decent all around tire.

Roll slow? Meaning I should go slow on hardpack, or they have poor rolling resistance?

So it sounds like it'd be great for the maine woods.

the guy at my lbs said they are a great tire for loose pack and rocky conditions. i have been meaning to get a pair of these for a while.

i would buy them for 25 bucks. cant go wrong.

he means that they arent the fastest on hardpack dirt.

I think they hook up very well, but they feel slow and heavy. I use the IRC Mythos w/kevlar bead. Fast and cheap! It really does depend on the terrain and conditions you are riding in. If it was all muddy and nasty the WTB would be a good choice.

I need something that can get through mud, wet/soggy dirt, and roots and rocks that are also frequently wet.

Most of the stuff I ride is very rooty and rocky, with a lot of leaves, brush, etc. It is sometimes wet, muddy, and sloppy. I have been riding these tires for over a year now and love them. They do have a higher rolling resistance than the Mythos XC's I used to ride, but I am not burning up the track anyway. I am a fairly slow guy, so these tires fit me well.

I recommend them, especially for $25 a pair.

Oh, they do NOT do well in sand, though. Thought I should point that out.

I went on a ride last year in a place that for some reason had a stretch of sand about a mile long. It was flat, but I barely got through it. I think these tires dig in way too well for that application...

They are basically Poser Panaracer Smoke and Darts, but still fall short of the panaracers by a huge margin.

Thats fine, here in maine sand is few and far between. You really don't see it at all unless you are near the coast.

Oh, now you're just being mean. For roots, rocks and maybe even reggae, I'd take the venerable Velociraptor 2.1 in a kevlar bead over the Smoke/Dart any day. Great tire, durable, hooks up nicely on loose and wet trails. In fact, I'm going to put some on my SS bike. So there! Ha! :p

The Velociraptor bas been around for like a decade.
For where I rode in CA, they werev there bets tire on the market (except for some folding specializeds I bought like 8 years ago and then was never able to find again).
They're really good and at one time were considered the best XC tire out there. IU'd imagine that hasw changed in a decade, but they're still very good.

They are the best mud/clay/all around crap tires I have ever ridden. The front is far far superior to the dart and the rear is about equal to the smoke in everything except deep mud where both velociraptors will blow the smoke/dart combo away. Also I found them to be as good as anything in sand.

I don;t however ride them anymore because I don't ride in those conditions. They were the best poor conditions tire around and may still be but I really can't comment on that.

I like them a lot. They are good general purpose tires that perform well in all conditions. If they were faster they would be less dependable in mud or loose conditions. I think they are great default tires.

Yes I own them as well and find them to be excellent in the loose dirt, mud but are slow on hard packed or paved trails. For the money and if thats the kind of tire you need, these tires are awesome. They also climb hills very well.

I owned Tioga Factory Xtremes before these and found the Tiogas alot faster on hard packed but didn't hook up as well in the loose mud and dirt. Good trade off for that kind of riding.

Dan

I don't mind if they aren't super fast on hardpack/road because a solid 65-70% of my riding is in loose pack. My legs are strong enough I'll just torch through anyway haha. Again, so long as I can go at a "normal" pace, its no biggie. I think I'll try these as soon as my Hutchinson scorpions wear out.