WTB’s new Vigilante SG1 has boosted carcass strength and a reformulated rubber compound to give exceptional grip and damping on the trails, but it’s very heavy.
This latest iteration features an under-the-hood refresh, with tougher casings and a grippier yet faster-rolling rubber compound, but its tread pattern remains unchanged.
Tipping the scales at a whopping 1,570g, it’s one of the heaviest mountain bike tyres on the market. Its £80 / $89.95 / €74.50 price is about par for the course, however.
With a front bias, the aggressive tread pattern and reinforced shoulder knobs of the Vigilante put grip at the forefront, no matter the terrain.
Traction and control are amazing, and the damped feel combines with its weight to steamroller down the gnarliest trails.
They’re very tricky to install, but hard chargers will love their stability.
WTB Vigilante SG1 specifications
Using a dual-ply 60 TPI carcass, the newest Vigilante has been beefed up with an all-new SG1 protection layer. This extra layer sits beneath the tyre’s tread, boosting its resistance to slashes and tears.
There’s also extra protection at and above the tyre’s bead; another insert, called IP+, sits on and above the bead to reduce pinch flats, but its height also adds to the tyre’s structure.
The tread’s triple-compound rubber has been reformulated to increase grip and reduce rolling resistance.
Harder-compound rubber makes up the base of the tyre and its knobs to provide structure. The middle knobs are made from a medium compound, while the outer knobs are made from the softest rubber.
The Vigilante tread is aggressive. Its central one-two alternating pattern features sharply ramped, square knobs with alternating horizontal and vertical siping.
The shoulder knobs are grouped in clusters of three and are well bolstered onto the tyre’s sidewall.
Large spaces between the tread should help it clear mud quickly and penetrate softer ground.
Inflated to 25psi on a 30mm internal-width rim, the 29x2.5 model measures 62mm/2.44in wide. At 1,570g, the Vigilante SG1 Tough/High Grip is one of the weightiest tyres around.
WTB Vigilante SG1 performance
Installation
The relatively stiff and unmalleable casing combines with a heavy weight to make fitting very hard. Tyre levers are essential at all stages of installation; without them, I couldn’t get the Vigilantes onto the rim.
A tubeless inflator was required to get them to seat; their rigidity was too much for my high-volume track pump to seal the bead onto the rim’s hook.
The tubeless inflator made light work of it, however, and once they were holding air, they seated fully by 25psi.
Like the Pirelli Scorpion tyres, these were among the hardest I’ve ever installed.
Profile and shape
The flat centre blocks give a raised, level rolling and braking surface.
While the top of the tyre has a level profile, the side knobs are cambered aggressively outwards.
Their angled shape should improve grip at high lean angles and soften the transition from grip to slip, once you’re cornering hard.
Feel and grip
An immensely sticky rubber compound helps them cling to rocks and roots, running diagonally across the trail, reducing control-ruining steering deflection.
Maintaining your chosen trajectory through rock-littered sections of track feels natural and relaxed; grip is constant and predictable, and you’re never left second-guessing whether it’ll stick or slide.
On softer ground, the aggressive, widely spaced tread digs deep into the trail’s surface, helping you steer confidently across cambers and around turns.
Testament to its trail-tearing traction, mud is flung up from the tread as you change direction or brake.
Its mechanical grip is audible; you can hear the tread breaking the trail’s surface, chewing into and deforming around the ground.
As with the Pirelli, you point and it steers with no hesitation, drifting or vagueness.
Traction remains constant and predictable; the easy-to-manage bite is unwavering, no matter what you’re riding.
On the brakes, the theme continues. There’s plenty of bike-slowing grip and control; locking up requires very heavy-handed use of the brakes. Late braking, regardless of trail type, is consistently easy.
Transition to hardpack or greasy ground and the super-sticky rubber clings to the surface, adhering the tyre’s blocks to the most minute contours.
Understeering is limited to extreme scenarios; performance is impressive for a mid-spike tyre.
At 1,570g, it’s no surprise the Vigilante feels amazingly muted and damped over bumps, and it steamrollers its way down the trail.
Buzzy vibrations are all but gone and larger impacts seem to have less of a slowing effect on your bike; the tyre charges through holes and bumps undisturbed.
The carcass support is also unsurprising; steering feels accurate – even at lower tyre pressures – and it’s virtually impossible to burp or deform its sidewalls.
How we tested | winter enduro tyres
All six of these tyres were tested back-to-back on both the front and rear wheels of our test bike.
Alex used the same 30mm internal-width rim for each of the tyres and inflated them to the same or an equivalent pressure, allowing for small differences in tyre volume (higher-volume tyres require slightly lower pressures).
Alex rode a wide gamut of terrain types – average trail-centre laps to get an idea of rolling resistance, down muddy, boggy and rocky and rooty descents to test grip, and on high-load, high-speed downhill tracks to test for carcass stability.
Tyres on test
- Schwalbe Magic Mary Radial Gravity Pro Addix Ultra Soft 29x2.5 review
- Maxxis High Roller III 3C MaxxGrip DH Casing 29x2.4 review
- Michelin Wild Enduro MS Racing Line 29x2.4 review
- Continental Argotal Enduro Soft 29x2.4 review
- Pirelli Scorpion Race Enduro T 29x2.5 review
- WTB Vigilante SG1 Tough/High Grip 29x2.5 review
WTB Vigilante SG1 bottom line
The latest iteration of WTB’s Vigilante has addressed all the complaints about the previous generation.
Grip is exceptional across all terrain types, and carcass support, damping, and puncture protection are vastly improved.
Whether you’re riding flat-out hardpack DH runs or soft, loamy enduro descents littered with greasy rocks and roots, little throws the Vigilante off-line.
It's incredibly heavy and a nightmare to install, but if you’re a hard-charging rider, the extra weight is more than worth it for impunity from punctures and burps.
Product
| Brand | wtb |
| Price | 75.00 EUR,80.00 GBP,90.00 USD |
| Weight | 1579.0000, GRAM (29x2.5) - size medium/large |
