WTB Announces Their First Fat Bike Tire
PRESS RELEASE: WTB
Our all new Bailiff tire is designed for winter trail riding and checks all the boxes for your next snow-covered expedition. When the going gets cold, the Bailiff will be there to get you back home. Yeah, it’s our first snow tire – but four decades of tire design experience and hundreds of hours of testing in the northern latitudes have gone into the Bailiff to provide a class leading fat bike tire. Tall and openly spaced side knobs shed snow & dirt with ease to provide grip through all phases of cornering, while tight groupings of center knobs maximize rolling efficiency. The Bailiff features a 120 tpi casing to increase suppleness and minimize rotational weight, and proven TCS technology ensures the tubeless setup is quick and hassle free.
Engineered for Optimal Performance
The Bailiff tire is engineered for optimal performance, striking a balance between reduced rolling resistance and uncompromised braking traction. The tight grouping of center knobs minimizes rolling resistance, ensuring a smooth ride, while maintaining the ability to dig in for ultimate braking traction when needed. Additionally, the widely-spaced and strategically positioned knobs offer an extra bite in both soft and hard snow, enhancing braking power and cornering prowess.
Built for Winter
Bailiff’s cold weather specific rubber compound maintains grip in the most frigid temperatures, while the true 4.5” width provides a large contact patch for traction and float in varying snow conditions. The Bailiff has a class leading 312 stud pockets for ultimate traction in icy, rutted out trails. Adding to the tire's capabilities is our specially formulated fat bike compound, a variation of our High Grip compound. This formulation ensures that riders can maintain maximum traction even in temperatures well below freezing. The result is a tire that excels in diverse winter conditions, providing confidence-inspiring grip and control for a range of snowy terrains.
Supple Ride Feel even in Freezing Conditions
The Bailiff's tubeless-ready 120tpi casing provides a supple ride feel, conforms to all surface conditions, and minimizes rotational weight. Its snow-specific compound remains soft at extremely cold temperatures to provide unparalleled traction, even on the most frigid days of the year.
Studded version? Yup, we have that too!
Available with or without carbide studs pre-installed, all versions of the Bailiff feature 312 stud pockets for unbeatable traction on ice. From the soft snow to hard-packed ice, the Bailiff can handle all the rough and tumble terrain, just go for the option with 312 carbide studs to get traction in the coldest and iciest terrain. Not sure where to place the studs for your conditions? We thought of that, too. Check out our stud guide for our recommendations on stud placement for various riding styles and terrains. Our stud pockets are compatible with Terrene, 45N, and most other commonly found fat bike studs.
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Well pointed out and you're totally right. The Bailiff is only available in the 27.5" x 4.5" sizing.
That's a curious choice if you ask me. Fat tires last for ever if predominantly ridden in the winter... I'm still on my first set since buying a (then) top of line Rocky Blizzard.
It would seem to me those 26" wheeled guys will be the first group ready to replace and upgrade no?
@one38 winter (trails covered in snow and ice and essentially unridable without studded tyres) started on 14 November 2023 and, based on last winter, despite lower snow fall figures, will probably continue to the end of March 2024. That is a long time to not be riding outside and having fun riding.
Fat bikes have a far greater snow condition range than a conventional bike with studded tyres.
Riding outside is far better for the soul than pounding circles and making sweat puddles on Swift (or any other indoor platform).
If anyone ever sees me riding dirt on a fatbike you have my permission to shot me.
I spent about $1300 on the bike, another $125 for a dropper and I hope to never put another dime into it. It is from 2019 and the tires still look new. I have a carbon wheel set for my mtb that was almost as much as this entire bike. I have put about 1100 miles on it and 200-300 miles a year is plenty for me.
I don't see a market for them in 85% of the US but maybe I am wrong.
Also, as most bikers, I like the outdoors. But snow here in Canadian prairies has been shit for years ( I am ignoring shitty winter this year). The shitty snow for ski\snowboarding is actually an amazing condition for fat biking. And it's free once you invest in the bike.
Oh and yeah, I would hate all that road crap to get on my fancy full squish... simpler fat bike can take a beating and cost less to maintain its top notch performance and shape.
Speaking about market - there is almost no stock where I am in the winter... so a lot of people riding them here
Every bike type is getting wider tires and lower pressures. Even roadies acknowledge that wider tires with lower pressure is faster and more enjoyable. Fat tire bikes were just ahead of their time and they got pigeonholed into being "winter" bikes.
It looks small, I wonder if it measures out to a true 4.5"
I don't have deep snow, so I'm running Dillinger 4 studded, go the low TPI version on sale for $80 each.
Fat bikes are cool if you have the right terrain, my trails are relatively flat, so once they're packed a fat bike is super fun; it doesn't hurt that my fat bike is a full suspension Fatillac
I got the shimano c50 and love it, shimano xt/slx and a dt hub. The cake eater tires are amazing too.
Hope they run these on every oem instead of those Vee avalanches. I had a vee once and it was absolutely terrible… turned to plastic in the cold.
It would be nice if someone made a burlier fat tire for the in between seasons when there's exposed rock mixed in with the snow and ice. I've gotten 2 sidewall punctures on my cake eaters so far this season and I've been putting off mounting the wrathchildren because they self slice if you even mention the word rock near them...
You really think we don't know what is an Ice Spikers?! lol Thats some tiny tires that would only destroy our trails! Only good to start the season when not enough snow, a bit of ice, or if didn't snow for a couple of weeks and trails are rock hard !
BUT Development for these for sure started in covid boom times, where every niche product was promising. These times are gone, unfortunately.
First time I brought my mountain bike buddies fat biking it was New Years Day... we were up in Burke VT (Kingdom Trails) mostly on a ski trip but were too hung over to go to the hill in the morning.
Dragged our asses to the bike rental and had an ABSOLUTE BLAST. So many smiles, hangovers disappeared.
On second thought, maybe my regular biking would benefit from a similar "care less about the trends" approach?
We tend to book ski/fatty trips early every winter so that we can decide day of whether to head up the mountain for good snow or shelter down lower on the fatty trails away from the cold and wind.
Having our fat bikes with us has saved many ski trips that would have otherwise been low-fun days scraping down icy early season ski trails, vs ripping a groomed up XC trail and grabbing a happy beer afterwards.
And more and more places are machine grooming/packing the trails for winter.
A fat bike would certainly have been more efficient and less sketchy in many areas but it was rideable. So I would say it depends how they are groomed and by which vehicle. The heavy snow groomers will definitely make the stuff practicable on a mountain bike provided it doean't snow too much on top of it.
California isn't the only place in the world.
He speaketh of a term called postholing, or hikers that freshly packed fatbiking trails more challenging to ride, just by walking on them.