# wtb velociraptor 2.1



## 05kas05 (Mar 20, 2010)

i was looking to change the tires on my bike and was considering the velociraptors to replace the nevegals i have now.are the wtb velociraptor a good tire,i know they have been around for awhile.


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## EstebanRapido (Jun 4, 2010)

I have had a velociraptor on the front of my hard tail for about a month now. I'm not happy. They just are not big enough for me. Not all because they are too narrow, but they just don't have the air volume I am used to. The 2.2 tire I had on there before was over an inch larger in circumference which makes a big differance over the rough stuff. Still, I can't totally bash this tire. It really does cut well. At no point have I had an issue with sliding out unexpectedly. Also, it really isn't a fast roller. It's ll up to you.


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## 05kas05 (Mar 20, 2010)

thanks for the heads up i was interested in the fact that they have a different tread design front and rear.when i bought my nevegals everyone was pretty much in agreement that i should run a nevegal in front or rear but not both.i have them frt and rear but have not noticed any problems. they are by no means worn out i was just wanting to try something different.and i figured it never hurt to have an extra set of tires laying around just in case.we will see what happens thanks again.


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## One Pivot (Nov 20, 2009)

nevs are slower than hell out back. thats the big reason people dont recommend them in the rear. its a good front tire, lots of grip. 

try a IRC mibro 2.25. very very fast tire! good for the summer, bad when it gets wet. its so cheap its worth trying. beats the hell out of a velociraptor!


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## shenny88 (Sep 24, 2009)

ive got raptors on my bike, front and rear. They do cut and/or grab real well, but they are a slow rolling tire in comparison to others, probably because of how paddle-like the rear is. Thats the trade off you have to decide. I still like them so far.


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## Squash (Jul 20, 2003)

*The rear Raptor....*

is actually a slower rolling tire than the Nevegal. Tons of traction, but the heavily lugged squared off paddle like tread makes for a slow tire. A good tire if all you want is traction though. The front is another story. It's the one reason that I gave up on the Velociraptor years ago. They are about the sketchiest thing I've ever used on the front of a bike. If you tend to ride agressively the can be down right scarry. They tend to let go unpredictably at all but moderate lean angles and give very little warrning before they do. Not the best traits in a tire and not very confidence inspiring at all. Your Nevegals are actaully a much better tire. The Vraptor front does have good directional qualities, they track pretty good as long as you aren't being agressive in the turns and they do have good braking traction. But that's about all you can give them. There are deffinately much better tires out there though.

Good Dirt


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## kapusta (Jan 17, 2004)

05kas05 said:


> i was looking to change the tires on my bike and was considering the velociraptors to replace the nevegals i have now.are the wtb velociraptor a good tire,i know they have been around for awhile.


I had a pair about 10 years ago. They were a good choice back in the day (the late 90's), but there have been better options out there for about a decade now, IMO. Never liked the front (I thought it was sketchy), and the rear rolled really slow and I did not think the traction was good enough to justify it.


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## campisi (Dec 20, 2004)

kapusta said:


> I had a pair about 10 years ago. They were a good choice back in the day (the late 90's), but there have been better options out there for about a decade now, IMO. Never liked the front (I thought it was sketchy), and the rear rolled really slow and I did not think the traction was good enough to justify it.


Agreed. I used to run them on my old GT LTS back in the late 90's / early 2000's. I just threw a pair I had laying around in my garage for 8 years on my hardtail. They are damm slow! I'm gonna toss 'em in the garbage ... what was I thinking keeping those things around so long?!


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## dcc1234 (Nov 5, 2008)

*damn*

Just bought 3 FRONT of the WTB Velociraptor at Performance today for ~ $14.00 /ea. (They only had the front version in the store.)

I guess maybe I'll use 'em on the rear or return them- I don't want anything described as 'sketchy' on the front.


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## kapusta (Jan 17, 2004)

dcc1234 said:


> Just bought 3 FRONT of the WTB Velociraptor at Performance today for ~ $14.00 /ea. (They only had the front version in the store.)
> 
> I guess maybe I'll use 'em on the rear or return them- I don't want anything described as 'sketchy' on the front.


Three front tires? That's commitment. At the rate those wear on the front (very slow) it will take you 6-9 years to go through those.


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## Zero260 (Aug 31, 2009)

They are really great for climbing, loose/sandy dirt, mud. For everything else there are better options. I'm one of those people who love the raptor but I have learned what it is good at and what it is not. FYI they climb better that Spiderman


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## pfox90 (Aug 8, 2010)

My friend has them and says he likes the Nevagals much more.


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## dcc1234 (Nov 5, 2008)

*oh well, I guess u get what you pay for after all..*



kapusta said:


> Three front tires? That's commitment. At the rate those wear on the front (very slow) it will take you 6-9 years to go through those.


I just figured it was a bargain- so I snagged 'em. Hope its not too terrible to use these front designated tires in the rear-- at least that way I can be done with them in, what........ 3 years perhaps?

Or maybe I'll just return them because I'd rather spend more $$$ on decent equipment than have to 'suffer'

:madman:


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## FNG RIDER (Apr 2, 2011)

I can recommend wtb weirwolf 2.3's, Ive had them for the last 2 1/2 yrs.
they are good on dry loose, wet roots/rocks. not good in mud. roll good and you can run them low because of heavy sidewalls.. great for all mountain/trail riding.
2.5''s in the front would be ideal.


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## Surly Gentleman (Aug 9, 2010)

FNG RIDER said:


> I can recommend wtb weirwolf 2.3's, Ive had them for the last 2 1/2 yrs.
> they are good on dry loose, wet roots/rocks. not good in mud. roll good and you can run them low because of heavy sidewalls.. great for all mountain/trail riding.
> 2.5''s in the front would be ideal.


just put some weirwolfs [weirwolves?!] on the single speed i built. 2.55 on the front, 2.1 on the rear. air the front down to 25ish, keep the back around 30 and its been great on the loose sandy surfaces here in the front range. i need to play with the pressure a little but they're also pretty fast rolling on the pavement, pulling the kids behind. i haven't tried them on anything rougher as i don't have the legs for a single speed on a true front range trail yet!


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## FNG RIDER (Apr 2, 2011)

carlos9 said:


> just put some weirwolfs [weirwolves?!] on the single speed i built. 2.55 on the front, 2.1 on the rear. air the front down to 25ish, keep the back around 30 and its been great on the loose sandy surfaces here in the front range. i need to play with the pressure a little but they're also pretty fast rolling on the pavement, pulling the kids behind. i haven't tried them on anything rougher as i don't have the legs for a single speed on a true front range trail yet!


Kool! I have had them as low as 17lbs and high as 36. but usaully roll at around 30ish.


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## D3NN15M (May 8, 2011)

anyone tried running the front as rear?


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## BoomerBrian (Jun 27, 2011)

Anyone running the Nano Raptors?


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## darth biker (Jul 8, 2011)

i have velociraptors and for the most part do really well. one morning though when the ground was a little damp, the rear suddenly went out from under me on a slight s curve---wow!! totally unexpected and i ended up painfully doing the splits!


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## jeffj (Jan 13, 2004)

Velociraptors were pretty good here in SoCal 'back in the day', but there are plenty of great choices available now. The Velociraptors are 2.1" wide and we have so many more 'voluminous' offerings, they just don't make as much sense as they used to considering how slow they roll.

If you want the absolute traction monster that will roll considerably easier than the Velociraptor, try a Kenda Telonix in 2.2" on the rear, and pair it up with something like a Specialized Purgatory (Control) on the front.


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