Review: WTB Resolute 650b & 700c

Ive been a WTB fan for years. I raced them for years, and I still use them on nearly ever single bike I own. To the point where our relationship is good enough that they sponsored the crumbs Vandoit! Ive tried countless tires over the years from nearly every brand under the sun and I always come back to WTB. Thats for a few reasons, every set ive used has been a breeze to set up tubeless no matter the rim or wheel size. The are readily available and affordable. Lastly they can keep you rolling on that oh so important gum wall life style.

To get serious, the WTB Resolute retails for $57.95 and is a wide spaced square knob tire, designed to be all weather. The knobs tapper from a wider spacing to a more narrow thinly spaced center line. Appearance wise they remind me of an older cyclocross tire, but modernized for the gravel side of things. All of that marketing is true when it comes down to how the tire rides. They works great both in the dry and in all the wetness Portland can offer. The TCS Light versions weigh in at 460g and 440g for the 650b. Both measure out slightly wider than 42 depending on the rim. The reason I mention that is ive used both of these and love them both. When I first used the Resolute I started with the 700c version and ran that tire for about 4 months on my Philosophy until a screw double punctured the rear. The tires seemed to have a ton of life left at that point. Leading into Landrun100 this year, a notoriously wet and muddy race, I decided sizing down my GTFO for more mud clearance would be wise. Dropping from a 650x50 to the 650x42 resolute definitely gave the bike a more cyclocross like stance and look. Luckily Landrun100 was dry, but still the Resolute kicked ass. Light enough to not be noticed, yet plush enough for the chunky stuff. I always love when I get zero flats on 100 mile days.

Now the old WTB standby tire was the Nano and everything about the Resolute is a Nano killer. It is lighter by around 80g, it rolls faster and is less noisy on pavement. It holds wet corners better both on road or off. Perhaps most importantly, in sticky mud, it does not clog up nearly as bad as a nano. Sadly I wont be going back to the Nano, but the game has simply been changed.