In preparation for a muddy winter, I swapped my Wolverine 2.2 front tyre for a Bronson 2.3 TCS.  I took it out for a ride at Craigburn Farm last week, and I think I have new favorite tyre.

The normally dusty trails at Craigburn were fast, thanks to a recent rain.  With the Bronson on the front, I set several personal best times on some of the descents and had a lot of fun doing it.  On the down side, I was having so much fun throwing the bike around, I slashed the side wall on the rear Wolverine 2.2.  While the rip was too much for the sealant to take care of, a spare tube did the trick and it held for the rest of the ride.

What else?  WTB’s Tubeless Compatible System, TCS, actually works.  I was able to mount and easily inflate the Bronson with a floor pump and no sealant–  I added one scoop (~60ml) of Stans sealant after the bead was seated.  This is a huge improvement over the Ignitors, Crossmarks and Wolverine (non-TCS) that I’ve mounted tubeless.

I’ll be replacing the non-TCS Wolverine 2.2 with the TCS version when it wears out (or I slash the sidewall).  Speaking of which, the non-TCS Wolverine took three scoops (~180ml) of Stans to seal up and stop seeping air through the sidewalls.  The weight difference in the extra sealant makes up for a significant portion of the TCS weight penalty.

For those who care, my Bronson 2.3 TCS weighs in at 790g and measures in at 2.095″ wide at the casing and 2.280″ at the tread inflated to 28psi on Mavic 819 rims.  The Wolverine 2.2 weighs 590g and measures in at 2.120″ at the casing and tread at same pressure on the same rim.