WTB Peacekeeper Tires
Diameters Offered: 29’’
Stated Width: 2.4’’
Versions Offered:
- “TCS Light” casing + “High Grip” rubber
- “TCS Light” casing + “Fast Rolling” rubber
Stated Weights:
- TCS Light / High Grip: 998 g
- TCS Light / Fast Rolling: 1,024 g
Blister’s Measured Width (on 28 mm internal-width rim): 2.36’’ (casing) / 2.50’’ (tread)
Blister’s Measured Weights:
- TCS Light / High Grip: 940 g
- TCS Light / Fast Rolling: 1,070 g
MSRP: $81 USD
Intro
There’s a dizzying array of tire options out there these days, with brands cranking out new designs for ever-more specialized use cases. While several brands and tread patterns loom particularly large, WTB has been a relatively quiet player in Mountain Bike tires as of late, despite a storied history dating back to the early days of tire design.
Design
Where a lot of brands have gone with convoluted naming conventions, I have to give WTB kudos for keeping it simple and intuitive. Their lighter Mountain Bike casing is called “TCS Light”, while their heavier-duty one is called “TCS Tough”; their compounds come in either a firmer “Fast Rolling” option, or stickier “High Grip” option. The Peacekeeper is only available in the TCS Light casing with either the Fast Rolling or High Grip compound.
Some nuances emerge in comparing across tires in their lineup when it comes to WTB’s “Slash Guard” puncture protection layer. WTB makes three versions of this bead-to-bead nylon layer: the lightest being SG (found on their XC tires), the heaviest being SG1 (found on their Enduro and Downhill tires), and the middle ground being SG2. That last SG2 option is what’s featured on the Peacekeeper, which WTB says adds puncture resistance while having minimal impact on weight and the tire’s liveliness.
The Peacekeeper is a high-volume tire, blowing up a bit larger than expected. I measured 2.36 inches across from each side of the casing, and 2.5 inches when measuring from the side knobs. The sidewall thickness feels fairly similar to Maxxis’ Exo+, perhaps being a touch stiffer than regular Exo.
Moving on to the Peacekeeper tread pattern itself, it’s easy to see the emphasis on rolling efficiency. The center knobs are all fairly small and of a similar tapered shape with small ramps. Down the true middle of the tire, the knobs alternate between a single elongated knob and a pair of smaller siped knobs with a small bridge between them; staggered transition knobs with small center sipes fan out from there, leading out to the side knobs.
The side knobs are, for me, the most interesting element of the Peacekeeper. While the center knobs are fairly low profile and look the part of a true XC tire, the side knobs are a bit taller and blockier, with a small L-shape hook at the leading edge. They each have a small sipe at the center, but angle slightly outward and look surprisingly aggressive. That turned out to be the case in practice, too, but more on that in a minute.
Before moving on, I want to highlight the weights of the two Peacekeeper models. The High Grip and Fast Rolling compounds sit on either side of the 1,000-gram mark, which is quite heavy for a tire that aims to please the XC crowd. It feels a bit more on point for a midweight Trail tire, and that weight definitely plays a major role in the Peacekeeper’s ride quality.
Mounting & Installation
The length of this section of any tire review is usually a case of “the shorter, the better”. In the case of the Peacekeepers, I was able to mount them up easily and quickly with a floor pump, and there was no weeping sealant or anything like that along the sidewalls. No mess, no hassle, and top marks for ease of installation.
I haven’t noticed any unexpected air loss throughout testing, though I have noted a couple of pinprick-size areas along the sidewall where sealant is visible. It didn’t pose issues in use and is fairly common with thinner casing tires in my experience, but worth noting.
On-Trail Performance
While the Peacekeeper looks like a lightweight XC or Trail tire in some respects, its higher-than-average weight for those sorts of tires had me questioning where it might fall in practice. The answer is a bit complicated, but also quite intriguing.
From the get-go, it’s pretty clear that WTB’s SG2 casing is a bit burlier than average for the segment, and the casing feels a good bit stiffer than some other XC tires I’ve ridden recently. While I often ride XC tires at slightly higher pressures (2-3 psi) than Trail and lighter Enduro-focused tires to prevent the vague, occasionally scary sensation of the casing rolling over under cornering loads, I ended up appreciating the Peacekeeper’s stiffer sidewall in terms of how it held up when putting more force through the bike while descending, and I had no issues with cuts or punctures during testing.
The tradeoff there, of course, is that the Peacekeeper doesn’t feel as supple or as fast rolling as lighter tires with thinner casings. Compared Maxxis’ Exo casing, for example, the Peacekeeper seems to translate a bit more vibration back to the rider. On longer days in the saddle or on rides on firmer, harsher surfaces, the Peacekeeper’s more substantial casing isn’t as forgiving.
Those are smaller details in comparison to the big question I had, though: how would the Peacekeeper’s low-profile center and larger side knobs perform in terms of rolling speed vs. grip? Quite well, it turns out. Those fairly low-profile center knobs lend good rolling speed, akin to something like Specialized’s Ground Control tire that we tried (and liked, as a rear at least) on the Specialized Epic Evo. While the Peacekeeper’s weight and stiffer casing keep it from feeling notably eager within its category, it does well when thinking of it as a tire for the Trail category — compared to a true XC-weight tire, it’s a bit slow.
When it comes to grip, though, the Peacekeeper does a nice job of balancing traits within the Trail category, while delivering more grip and poise than most XC tires. With its generous siping, the Peacekeeper’s small center knobs conform well to uneven terrain, providing ample grip both climbing and descending. I primarily rode the Peacekeeper in dry conditions, and while I was pleased with the braking grip on tap, it was the cornering grip that I found most appealing. Those outwardly angled side knobs provide lots of predictable support at higher lean angles, and though they are still smaller than those of most gravity-focused tires and eventually break away when really being pushed, they do so quite predictably.
I ended up running the softer High Grip compound up front and the firmer Fast Rolling version out back on my Trek Top Fuel, and while the High Grip tire certainly has more grip on wet roots and rock, the perceived benefits are a bit smaller in truly dry terrain where the Peacekeeper shines. The High Grip tire is lighter and still wore well, though, so I’d likely spring for that one as my go-to front tire configuration even if I lived somewhere more arid.
Speaking of wet vs. dry, while it offers great grip in the dry, I’m not sure I’d be reaching for the Peacekeeper in wetter conditions. While the High Grip compound in particular does pretty well on wet rock and roots, it just doesn’t have the knob height required to penetrate softer soil, and the Fast Rolling compound can get a bit scary on polished roots in particular. The side knobs still manage to dig in as the ground softens, but the low-profile, flat center knobs make braking performance fall off rapidly and abruptly as things get damp.
On a final note, while the tires have worn decently well through the summer, the Fast Rolling compound on the rear tire is starting to show some age. I haven’t experienced any knob tearing or uneven wear, but the sharp edges on the center knobs rounded off in a bit of a hurry, leading to a decline in braking grip. I’d say the wear rate is approximately on par with Maxxis’ MaxxTerra compound, but the Fast Rolling compound from WTB feels a bit firmer. The High Grip compound on the front tire is holding up well still, but it’s had an easier life than the rear tire has.
Bottom Line
There’s a large, diverse array of short travel bikes these days, and the Peacekeeper feels like a tire made for the moment. It’s a bit too heavy and sluggish to line up against true XC tires, but it’s unique as a fast rolling, fun, and surprisingly grippy tire for short-travel Trail bikes (or even on the rear of slightly longer-travel ones).
While low-profile tires often compromise in their side knob stability or casing sturdiness, the Peacekeeper stands out for how it rolls well, delivers surprising cornering grip and consistency, and stands up to fairly hard riding in rough terrain.