Hutchinson Wyrm Downcountry Mountain Bike Tire Hits the Trail with More Grip
An all-new Hutchinson Wyrm downcountry trail bike tire bridges the gap between cross-country and enduro – combining a lightweight made-in-France Racing Lab reinforced casing with bigger knobs for better grip in loose terrain. Slotting between Hutchinson’s Kraken and Griffus, the new Wyrm is meant to balance speed and control for that trail riding in between buff singletrack and going full enduro – rounding out the all-around, all-mountain-capable downcountry Hutchinson trail tire lineup.
Hutchinson Wyrm downcountry mountain bike tire
Call it anything from aggressive XC to lightweight enduro, Hutchinson hopes their completely new Wyrm trail bike tread will be a versatile tire across the MTB disciplines that most mountain bikers ride – closing the gap between their XC & Enduro MTB tire families. Run the new 2.4″ wide aggressive 29er Wyrm front & rear for mixed trail conditions – or pair it with a faster-rolling Kraken rear for dry hardpack riding, or the more meaty Griffus for looser trail riding.
What’s new?
The Wyrm is an all-new MTB tread design from Hutchinson, the second in their newest downcountry line-up since the XC Kraken recently got a bigger 2.4″ option. But now the Wyrm takes grip to another level with bigger shoulder lugs and a more burly but still fast-rolling center tread design. They call it a happy medium between the Kraken and the Griffus, but it doesn’t really share any lug shaping with either tire.
Instead, it’s an all-new design. Taller chevrons linked in groups of four lugs form the quick-rolling center tread with enough space in between each group to prevent too much mud build-up. Then two box rows of tall shoulder lugs offer plenty of grip for soft cornering, with inline sipes for a bit more deformation over hard objects in the corners.
Construction-wise, the new Hutchinson Wyrm shares the same tubeless-ready 66tpi casing and bead-to-bead Hardskin protection as the same size 2.4″ Kraken, paired with 3-compound XC Race Riposte rubber.
First Impressions
It’s still a relatively low-height tire compared to more aggressive all-mountain tires, and has a round profile for a smooth transition from straight-line rolling into those grippy corners. Having just arrived for us to test at a real 920g & 929g (together with some 845g 2.4″ Krakens), the new Wyrm seems like a tire best suited to dry trail conditions, but with enough shoulder grip for soft & loamy corners.
Generally, I tend to opt for a more aggressive tire for trail riding, but with dry summer weather taking over – and drought conditions prevailing in central Europe – I’m actually looking forward to how riding a faster downcountry tire will feel on my technical home trails. And paired with a Kraken out back, to see the mix of speed and grip.
Hutchinson Wyrm – Pricing, options & availability
The top Racing Lab version of the new Hutchinson Wyrm downcountry tire – made-in-France – is available now in both tanwall and all-black editions for 76€, at a claimed weight of 950g. Just 50g heavier, the Asian-made standard level Wyrm tire comes in black only for 46€ at a claimed 1kg weight. The downcountry Wyrm is 29er only, and comes in just a single 2.4″ width. Get it now through all regular Hutchinson MTB tire distribution channels.
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