The WTB Macro XC tire – will this race-ready rubber go straight to the front of the pack? I tested them to find out

WTB Macro tread.

While they produce some of the best gravel tires, WTB hasn’t introduced a properly fast XC tire into their range since the Ranger. The new Macro skips old-school skinny options and jumps straight into the fat, usefully tough but super fast 2.4in category. The result is a great rubber option for the rear and a fast one for the front in drier conditions too. Grip is binary, not progressive though.

Macro works well on wider rims like Hunt's Proven range (Image credit: GuyKesTV)

Design

While the Macro is an all-new tire, the tread pattern is basically a much smaller, much flatter version of WTB’s well-proven Trail Boss. To be exact the central knobs are only 1mm tall even when brand new, with the intermediate knobs at 2mm and 3mm at the shoulder. The sipes in the miniature blocks (maybe the Macro name refers to the lens needed to see them) are also centralized slots rather than full cut-through slots. 

These sit on a very rounded ‘SG Protection’ carcass with puncture reinforcing up the sides of the triple-ply weave. This comes in an all-black (tested) or tan wall format, but only in a 29 x 2.4in size. Apparently, there’s still enough depth in the tread to use a Tritec triple compound with a hard base, medium center tread and softer shoulders too. 

While it's not part of the tire design, WTB deserves a pat on the planet-friendly back for switching to plastic-free packaging on all their new tires.

The 2.4in blows up to 2.36in at 20psi but the rounded carcass means getting to the shoulder treads needs a serious lean (Image credit: GuyKesTV)

Performance

Focusing on fit, the Macro gets off to a good start with an easy pop onto both wheels we tried it on. At 2.36in/60mm on a 30mm internal rim at 20psi it’s closer to the stated size than most tires in this category, especially Maxxis. Unlike some tires - particularly Vittoria - feel is progressive and predictable at different pressures. By that, I mean that the lower you go, the softer and grippier it feels and the more it squashes and squirms under cornering load. It’s a consistent change though rather than there being a sudden psi point at which it folds and leaves you riding the rim and eating dirt. The carcass feels damped without feeling dull, so there’s no weird spring or drift that makes loose conditions more sketchy either. 

It’s an acceptable 760g average weight for its size and category and it’s not punctured or torn a sidewall. That’s a big improvement over our previous experience on ‘Light’ WTB carcasses. The ‘Fast Rolling’ Tritec compound doesn’t feel as plasticky as most race tyres either so while there’s very little mechanical grip it finds friction grip on a wide range of surfaces. The easy roll-in of the rounded shape means you can push harder than you might expect on consistent turns too.

Inevitably that means it doesn’t roll as super fast as the tread would suggest so you’ll be pedaling sooner in a pace line than riders on the fastest Schwalbe and new MaxxSpeed Maxxis. The carcass doesn’t have the obviously bright and lively feel of more sketchy ‘high energy’ Italian brands. Once the compound has let go, the minimal center and intermediate knobs don’t have the teeth to bite back in. The shoulder knobs are so far over that there's a big lean angle gap where there’s nothing holding you onto the trail but hope. That’s not so bad on the back where it just means some wild Speedway moments, but it can make staying on twisty singletrack a challenge if you’re running it on the front.

The WTB Macro tread looks a lot like a very well used WTB Trail Boss but the Tritec compound makes it grippier than you'd think  (Image credit: GuyKesTV)

Verdict

WTB’s Macro tire is a useful entry to the fast but fat 2.4in XC category, with more grip than you’d expect on consistent, solid surfaces in both dry and wet weather. It responds progressively to pressure changes with no obvious vices running soft or hard. It’s been tough for its weight so far too.

Once it does lose traction – either through lean angle, loose/soft surfaces or sudden braking/pedal/turn loads – there’s very little chance you’ll get it back though. As a result it suits riders with subtle skill and guile, or those with less aggressive aspirations rather than smash and grab, sudden direction change merchants. Pricing is top end too and faster than average wear on shallow tread means it won’t last that long.

Tech specs: WTB Macro tire

• Price: $76.95 / £75.00
• Size: 29 x 2.4in
• Options: Black or Tan wall
• Weight: 760g (average from two tires)