WTB Vigilante Tyres

Once a major player in the tyre game, WTB has recently been on a mission to reclaim their glory days from the 1990s. With a recent overhaul of their line-up, they’ve made a big push into tubeless ready construction (TCS in WTB parlance) and also shown a willingness to embrace every wheel size available. The latest edition to the stable is the all new Vigilante, a model that’s designed to bridge the gap between general purpose trail tyres and full-blown downhill rubber.

The tread design uses similarly spaced, shaped and sized square blocks with transverse siping, and the edge blocks are supported by quite deep buttresses extending down the outside of the casing. The overall design is somewhat reminiscent of one of our favourite all-condition tyres, the Hans Dampf, so even before rubber met dirt our expectations were high.

The Vigilante is only available in a 2.3 inch width, although it can be had in any of the three popular diameters and your choice of either a standard ($85) or a Team Issue ($95) casing. Both use a UST style bead to ensure simple tubeless setup, and both also use dual compound rubber, although they do it differently. The standard model has a normal 60a durometer centre tread with softer 50a on the edge blocks, whilst the Team Issue version has a 60a base layer with a very soft and sticky 45a rubber used for the entirety of the tread.

For our test we’ve been running the Team Issue model in the middle wheel size both front and back; the weight of 982g (actual) per end may be enough to send the faint hearted running for cover, but the Vigilante Team is made tough to tackle malicious trails and come out on top.

The construction of our two Vigilantes was very good, with a nice straight casing showing no deformities of any sort, and they both came in at exactly the same weight, just a whisker under the claimed figure of 985g—so here’s to consistency and accurate specs!

Setting the Vigilantes up tubeless with a track pump was pretty simple and straightforward, however as always your specific rim and tyre combination will determine how easy this will be. Since first inflation we’ve had precious little air loss, so clearly the TCS bead forms a good seal and the reinforced casing doesn’t seep air like some lightweight tyres do. The Vigilantes inflate to a true 2.3-inch width (57mm for us metrics) on a 21mm rim, so the 790g weight of the standard version is quite acceptable given how deep and aggressive the tread is.

Heavy Duty Assassin

What makes the Vigilante Team nearly 200g heavier than its less expensive sibling is the amount of reinforcing that has been added to the casing—it’s built to resist some serious abuse. Not only does it have WTB’s ‘Inner Peace’ rubber insert to stiffen the sidewalls and prevent cuts from errant stones (the geological variety, not Mick, Keith, and co), but it also has an additional nylon layer that extends from the bead all the way to the tread. You’re pretty much going to need a freshly sharpened switchblade to put a hole in the side of these puppies, yet despite their obvious durability the tread still remains relatively supple so rolling resistance and traction aren’t adversely affected. Speaking of traction, the Vigilante Team Issue uses some seriously tacky rubber; the sort that feels like it’s sticking to your hands when you hold the tyres, and that sensation continues when you put them in contact with dirt, wood, and stone, whether wet or dry.

The soft rubber compound in conjunction with the generous bag size results in prodigious grip in every circumstance we encountered, especially when running tyre pressures at their sweet spot in the low 20s (which the stiff casing is more than capable of withstanding). Transitioning from centre to edge blocks is a seamless affair, and although the profile is slightly squarer than some tyres out there, we found them to be very communicative when approaching the very high limits of their cornering traction, and easy to reign back in if they do break loose. Want to stop in a hurry? No problem for the Vigilante, it’ll bite down and dig in tenaciously, so you can carry speed just that little bit further before you have to throw out the anchors.

Climbing traction is also excellent, and during a brief stint on a ‘faster’ tyre we quickly came to appreciate just how easily the Vigilante chugged up steep climbs without a hint of slip or spin—heavy or not, a tyre that grips is definitely faster than one that doesn’t. That said, on easy terrain it certainly doesn’t roll as well as a less aggressive tyre, although it’s not as slow as you might expect. In any case, it’s not intended for easy terrain, but rather for when trail conditions are sketchy and traction is vital. We only got to use them in mud once, and although it wasn’t the stickiest of the icky, they did maintain grip and clean well—a dedicated mud tyre they’re not but they don’t shy away from a bit of dampness either.

We’ve really got nothing but good things to say about WTB’s latest offering. It’s exactly what it claims to be; a tough and capable tyre that can tackle whatever you put before it. If you don’t need the ultimate durability of the Team Issue, you can easily shed 200g with the regular version for, we suspect, very little loss in performance in. Either way, when the trail turns nasty and you need a tyre that’s got your back, you’ll be glad you’ve got the Vigilante on your side.

Dirt Works Australia (02) 9679 8400 / www.dirtworks.com.au