All Arround MTB

This well-padded number could be a good choice for those who don’t like to wear bibs or liners. The thick, soft foam padding means little sit bone trouble, even on bumpy rides with no chamois, and thanks to the deep pressure-relief groove, we didn’t have any perineum pain on flatter ground, though things got complicated on steeper terrain. When leant forward for climbing, the pronounced lump in the nose can become very uncomfortable, putting pressure right where you don’t want it. We pointed the saddle down to compensate, but the upturned rear then poked us in the glutes on flatter ground and got in the way a little when descending. Some of our testers get on well with this shape, but if you do a lot of steep scrambles, we’d look elsewhere. The thick padding makes it hard to clean too. Weight 264g Price $60

WTB’s new Convict is a suitably thuggish-looking tyre designed for max grip in all conditions. There’s a lot of growl from the big, split, one/two/one block treads on smoother surfaces but matching mechanical traction where they can dig in. The rank of supported split-top side knobs does the same when you get it leant over too, and it’s potentially a promising tyre. Where WTB’s offerings still fall down compared to the best of the current aggro tyres is the carcass. The ‘Heavy Duty’ version is nearly 1,300g and as solidly wooden and uncommunicative as old DH tyres, even at low pressure. While the ‘Light’ carcass saves a couple of hundred grams, it’s still over a kilo and is prone to squirm and collapse if you drop pressure too low. This means the Convict isn’t as controlled as similar weight, welldamped tyres like the Mavic Charge, e*thirteen TRSr and Schwalbe Magic Mary when the riding gets radical. Price $75 (Tough/High Grip version)

We’ve had the Fast Rolling and High Grip versions of WTB’s Breakout for a while and it’s a decent front or rear all-rounder, if not a tyre we deliberately hunt out for particular situations.

The cut out High Tail may have originally been designed for downhill bikes where tyres can buzz the saddle on full compression, but it’s weight and comfort means it adapts well to trail use.

WTB's chunky Vigilante is a great -Jl all-rounder tyre, particularly if you're into tubeless running. The tread pattern uses wide placed split top blocks that grumble a bit on the road but it accelerates okay despite its big size.

Since saddle comfort is mostly about fit, it’s tough to review them. What I find comfortable might feel horrible to you, so we must stress that finding the right saddle usually requires trying a few out. The Volt is now offered in three widths to increase the odds of a good fit (I liked the 135 millimeter).

AT 1,112G, THIS soft-rubber version of the Vigilante with WTB's new Enduro casing really is hefty, meaning you'll probably want to run it tubeless. Luckily the Tubeless Compatible System bead makes fitting it a breeze.

WTB'S HIGH TAIL saddle has been designed with input from suspension specialist Dave Weagle and features a strikingly concave rear end designed to prevent rear wheel buzz when you're running the seat down low on a long-travel bike.

WTB'S ENDURO INSPIRED all-rounder has consistently impressed us.