WTB Velociraptor 26" x 2.1" Mountain Bike Tire, Wire Bead with DNA Compound, Aggressive Tread for Precision Control on Technical Trails and Rocky Surfaces

Well made and had no problem installing or pressurizing on my mountain bike. Note the direction of rotation before installing and consider new inner tubes while you're at it.

Perfect fit and should last for years

Fits perfectly on my 1999 Gary Fisher mountain bike and has great traction. A little bit wider than my old tire which makes my bike handle better.

After a couple long rides I'm extremely happy with the back tire I bought. It's thicker than the stock tire that came with my mountain bike and the tread patter really digs. I took it through softly packed sandy material and while my front tire sunk into the ground and didn't want to go forward, my back tire just kept digging forward. The bike was sunk about 2 inches down into this sandy material (up to the rims) but I was still able to push forward. That's no feat of mine. I damn near had a heart attack after a couple minutes of that...but the tire got me through it. I'm so pleased with it that as soon as I have the extra cash I'm going to purchase the front tire of the set. Now the downsides, if you can call it that, are the noise/vibration and installation. When riding on pavement there is a noticable and slight noise from the tire along with a slight vibration. You'll get that with any deeply treaded mountain bike tire but be aware of it if that's a deal breaker for some reason. Installing the tire was difficult at first. It had so much slack around the rim that I couldn't see how it would fit. After thinking it over I was able to get the tire snuggly fit to the rim. I had to inflate my tube most of the way full and tuck either side of the tire (on the rim side of the tire) inwards towards the rims. After tucking in the sides of the tire and inflation the tubes the tire fit perfectly. It's a great tire at a great price and I'm looking forward to buying the front tire.

I am a purchasing consumer, posting an honest review. I am not receiving anything in compensation for this review.WTB Velociraptor front/rear came OEM on my 1998 Gary fisher hoo koo e koo. I have ridden 1000s of trail miles on these tires over the decades and they have never let me down. Reliable, dependable, predictable performance every time. The only thing I don't do with them is deep mud / water. I am on rim brakes so I try and avoid that. Rears are basically a dirt paddle, fronts are like football cleats... so its a design that prioritizes traction and bite over rolling resistance. No joke, I snapped a chain on one ride when I simultaneously stomped+lifted too aggressively on my SPD pedals. I run a butyl tube on the rear and latex on the front. No issues with either type.

These are the best grippy rear tire and the best steering tire I've ever had The pleasure to deal with.These tires should not be 2.1 size they should be 2.35 minimum and up to 2.4 they would sell a lot more tires and then have a lot more usesMy rim is a double wall combat rims.Don't get me wrong they group extremely well I've had no washouts but the tires just too skinny

In a world where everyone wants to run 26+, not all frames support the larger circumference. For those older frames finding a decent rear tire can be a challenge. I was reluctant to buy this tire because I really wanted a 2.3 WTB Trail Boss for the rear but my chainstay clearance was too tight. After my first ride on some technical single track on this tire I’m officially converted. This tire does not slip. On anything. Rocks? No problem. Roots? No problem. This thing grabs like the track on an M1 Abrams Tank. I’m now running this 2.1 Velociraptor out back and a 2.5 WTB Vigilante up front for a mini mullet config. Perfect for my ride style. Just order this tire and rip.

Well, after over 5 years, I am back to buy another tire. I bought my previous tire in 2012. My existing tire is still ridable, but I run over some really nasty rocks next to steep dropoffs and it just feels good to have new tread up front. I tried running a different brand in the rear (Panaracer Fire XC). It had high ratings but I found out that I could not easily do a short controlled slide with the other brand. In a pinch I like to lock up my rear tire for maybe a 6" drift to enable a course correction. With the other brand a quick flick of my rear brakes would cause the tire to slide out too far and, instead of regaining control, I would tend to lose control. Also the other brand started losing its side knobs. I finally gave up on the Panaracer and replaced it with another Velociraptor. Found myself riding on a 60 degree incline to avoid a rut and my Velociraptors dug in and gripped the trail so I didn't slide into the rut. These tires are supposed to be slower rolling, but think about it- are you in a race where seconds count, or are you out for exercise. I've been out in the middle of nowhere and seen people bust a cheap tire on a sharp rock. You can count on Velociraptor to ride over anything, give you control as well as traction when you need it the most. As you can see in the pic, I have run the hell out of this tire, but it's still holding strong.