Editors’ Choice 2024: WTB Judge & Verdict tyres

WTB have rejigged their casings and their compounds. We had the new WTB Judge and Verdict for a few months now. And they’re excellent.

Benji: “I’ve been a longtime fan of the previous WTB Verdict Wet as a winter slop front tyre but the brand’s recent rejigging of their casings and compounds has made me make the switch to the standard (faster rolling) Verdict paired with the new Judge tyre on the rear. In many ways, it seems really simple. Just take a pair of 3-season tyres and make them knobblier, right? Kinda, yeah. There’s a little bit more to it than that (winter tyres benefit from being a bit squarer in profile, for example) but let’s not go too far down that rubbery rabbit hole. This pairing grips well, clears well, lasts well, and rolls well (considering). In a market understandably dominated by Maxxis and Schwalbe for general duties, WTB is the new boss of winter ‘n’ wet.”

• Brand: WTB
• Product: Judge (29×2.4in, SG1 Tough, High Grip)
• From: Saddleback
• Price: £80.00
• Tested by: Benji for 3 months
• SQUIRREL_TEXT_13139659

Here’s our original review of the new WTB Judge (and details of the range revamp) below…

Pros

• Predictable
• Grippy in corners and straights
• Decent rolling resistance

Cons

• Expensive
• Not light
• Er… boring hot patch?

My never ending search for a winter rear tyre… has ended. It’s relatively easy to find various good front tyres for winter. Not least the excellent WTB Verdict in fact. But when it comes to rear tyres that do the job in winter, there ain’t any. Not since the original Maxxis Shorty (RIP) got discontinued anyway.

Sure, you can run a full mud spike on the rear but you have to pay the price(s) of sketchy performance on rock, not that amazing braking and immense drag.

The nearest thing to a decent rear winter tyre up until now has been something paddle-y from Schwalbe. Either the Big Betty or possible the Eddy Current Rear. Betty lacks bite. Eddy is draggy AF.

In many ways, the WTB Judge is kinda obvious. Take my favourite three-season rear tyre (Maxxis Minion DHR II review here) and turn the knobs up to 11. Add a decent casing so you can run it relatively low pressure without issue. And make it out of rubber compound that doesn’t scream at sight of wet rocks and roots.

The Judge is far and away WTB’s most aggro rear-specific tyre. This ain’t no Trail Boss. The central strip of knobs is broadly paddle themed but there’s alternate forward-facing knobs (and sipes) that appear to be geared toward steering/cornering duties. The alternating pattern also has the benefit of putting a decent amount of dead space in between all of the knobs.

Although WTB quite understandably suggest pairing the Judge with a Verdict up front, I’m interested is trying a Judge up front (as well as rear). I’ll let you know how I get on with that once I get hold of another Judge.

In terms of WTB’s nomenclature and acronyms, for those that may not be familiar with WTB rubbers:

SG1

This takes WTB’s existing ‘Tough’ dual-ply casing and adds under tread puncture protection beneath the entire tread. It also features IP+.

IP+

WTB’s apex bead protection which has been tripled in height. More protection against damage but – significantly – also increases the sidewall stability.

TCS

Tubeless Compatible System.

TriTec

The use of three different rubber compounds in one tyre. The new version TriTec is a blend of natural and synthetic rubber with a new balance between carbon black and other reinforcing agents. Essentially dry condition traction is broadly the same as ever, but if moisture is present, the new TriTec should grip better than previous.

Fast Rolling / High Grip

These are the two different general combos of rubber. Fast Rolling is firmer rubber. High Grip is softer rubber.

Light / Tough

These are the two carcass types. Their names are pretty self explanatory.

The specific tyre we’ve been testing is the WTB Judge 29 x 2.4in TCS Tough High Grip TriTec SG1 IP+. Not that you’d know all of that bumf from the sidewalls of our embargo edition tyres; you can barely make out the ‘WTB’ lettering (see pic above).

Even the production WTB tyres are rather sedate in graphics. Which a lot of folk will like. I personally like a bolder hot patch.

The SG1 & IP+ casing is the biggest update to WTB’s range of enduro/gravity tyres in my opinion. The new casing makes the ‘Tough’ designated tyres precisely that. Tough. Tough in terms of not being delicate but also much more stable under tough/rough riding. You can these tyres at under 20psi and they don’t fold over or squirm.

The new casing also has a knock-on effect to the profile of the tyre. The new WTB tyres mount up a lot less round-profile than previous WTB tyres. Whilst they haven’t gone the full ‘Lego tyre’ square, it’s a significant change and one that I think works well in loose conditions, especially on the rear. Better camber penetration. Better braking. Better when loose climbing.

The Judge is so grippy that in dryish conditions you may actually find it an issue. It is virtually impossible to get this tyre to slide/drift. Which is something you notice with alarm on super-tight turns that require the back end to step-out in order to make it round. But that’s when it’s dry ie. not winter in the UK!

Clearly the new SG1 casing comes with a price. Both literally (yes, it another eighty quid tyre) and metaphorically; the other price to pay being weight. This WTB Judge weighs in at a hair over 1,600g.

Now then. Weight doesn’t really matter on mountain bikes… Apart from with wheels and tyres. Dang.

Personally, I’m prepared to pay the price for the resulting performance on technical, loose, damp terrain. In my experience, winter riding is pretty slow going anyway and attempting to ease this with lighter tyres doesn’t really work. Not without making the fun stuff unrideable when you finally reach it.

If you’re not prepared to accept the weight, I’d recommend looking at a non-SG1 Fast Rolling WTB Judge. You’d lose a bit of square-ness to the profile (reduction in stability, braking, climbing) but er, that’s the metaphorical price you pay.

The new TriTec rubber compound is less of a stark difference to what came before. Having said that, it’s still noticeable how much more predictable and less step-out/slide-out the new WTB tyres are on damp rocks and even roots.

Overall

Finally there is an aggressive enduro-y rear tyre that can cut it in UK winter. The tread and compound find all of the traction yet don’t squirrel about on hard surfaces. Excellent climbing and braking performance. The Judge clears mud well also. The new SG1 casing can be run at suitably low pressures without any issue. They ain’t light but they roll impressively well all things considered. Expensive.

The full range of new WTB SG1 tyres

Judge, Verdict, Vigilante and Trail Boss.

This product was selected for our Editors’ Choice Awards 2024

In the Editors’ Choice Awards we highlight our standout bikes and products from the past year. These are the bikes that we’d like to have in our sheds. These are the components and clothing that we still use long after the nominal test period has expired. This is the good stuff.

To make the cut, each thing must have proven itself out on the trails. They’ve got to have been reliable and ride-enhancing. We don’t do technology for technology’s sake. Nor are we overly swayed by showy, high price tags and bling materials. That said, we don’t prioritise anything solely because it’s cheaper than its rivals. Nor do we penalise a genuinely great product if it is conspicuously expensive. Performance is what matters in Editor’s Choice.

This was a star performers of The Class of 2024.

Review Info