WTB Nano 40 TCS Tires: Checkpoint


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tubeless
The WTB Nano 40 TCS on a HED Ardennes+ wheel

It has been some time since the last update on the Nano 40 TCS tires here, but I have several miles on them now and I have tried them on another wheel set to see how they might mount up on non-WTB rims. The last update here can be seen if you click this link. That will take you back to see how I felt the tires worked tubeless on WTB rims and there is more there as well. Right now, let me give you a quick idea of how these tires have worked on another wheel set and then I will give an updated ride performance viewpoint.

WTB tires
These tires were mounted to my Black Mountain Cycles bike.

The Nano 40 TCS tires are based upon a UST type dimension, so Stan’s wheels may not be a best fit for them. I chose to try the Nano 40’s on my set of HED Ardennes+ wheels, which were designed with tubeless use in mind. I used a Velocity USA “blue” tape and the Nano 40 TCS tires aired up with a weak floor pump easily. I have been able to run upwards of 50 psi and as low as 30psi with no adverse affects on “normal” gravel riding. Air retention has been really good for me, but remember- air retention has as much to do with your sealant as it does with the tire/rim combination. The sealant I use, which is not available commercially, has worked very well for retention of air, not to mention sealing punctures. So, if you aren’t seeing great results in terms of air retention over time with any particular tire/rim, it may be time to think about the sealant you use.

Finding out that the Nano 40 TCS tires worked well with the HED Ardennes + wheels was a good revelation, as the wide rim gives these tires a great, puffy profile, and the ride comfort has been really good. Rolling resistance is slightly better than a tubed Nano 40, but the level of comfort is greatly increased. You can easily feel that the tubeless Nano 40 is smoother feeling over the chatter and bumps.

tubeless
Grinding away on tubeless Nano 40’s somewhere in Iowa.

The tread pattern works well on dirt too. You can really get a nice bite on dirt tracks in the corners with this tire and the tubeless nature of the set up allows for even better grip than I experienced with the tubed Nano 40’s. The tubeless set up also makes for a slightly less buzzy feel on pavement, but you still can feel that this tire has some serious tread. Gravel riding is very good with this tire as it also damps the vibrations well due to the tubeless set up, and the tread pattern along with the tire profile both work to lend some stability to the ride.

So Far…. Great tubeless performance, but a tad heavy for this size tire. They hold air really well and the Nano 40 TCS seems to roll very smoothly. They work on non-WTB rims from HED, and likely on others as well, but may not fit very good on Stan’s rims. The ride performance has been very acceptable with a noticeably damped feel compared to tubed tires.

Stay tuned for the “At The Finish” post on these tires

NOTE: WTB sent over these Nano 40 TCS tires at no cost to RidingGravel.com for test/review. We are not being bribed nor paid for this review and we will strive to give our honest thoughts and opinions throughout.

Discuss and share your questions or thoughts about gravel bikes, gear, events and anything else on the Riding Gravel Forum.



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Author: Guitar Ted

Guitar Ted hails from Iowa. Home of over 70,000 miles of gravel and back roads. An inaugural member of the Gravel Cycling Hall of Fame and Co-creator of Trans Iowa in late 2004- Guitar Ted has been at the forefront of the growth of gravel events and riding since then. Creator of Gravel Grinder News in 2008, he produced the premier calendar of gravel and back road events. GT joined forces with Riding Gravel in late 2014.

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16 thoughts on “WTB Nano 40 TCS Tires: Checkpoint

  1. Have had them mounted on stans rims tubeless since February and rode them at DK200 with no adverse effects. Probably close to 1000 miles on them.

    1. WTB Nano 700×40 TCS mounted on Stans Alpha 400. 6’0″ 220 lb rider running 40 ish psi. No problems with set up and they hold air well.
      Great riding tire for the dry-rocky southwest.

  2. Been riding these for about 1 month now on Stans Iron Cross tubeless rims @ about 40-45psi, ride is awesome for me @ 6’5″ / 260lbs.

      1. Yep WTB TCS Nano 40 Running light. Will be riding these across Iowa for RAGBRAI 2015 including the new gravel loop in honor of Steve Hed.

  3. From the Stan’s tire page, ” Not Recommend Tires. WTB TCS and UST 29 inch tires are too tight for Stan’s Notubes rims and NoTubes licensed rims such as Sun Ringle Black Flag.”

    I realize folks are running them on Stan’s rims but my question is how easy can they be worked on in the field if you need to install a tube? I think the lack of compatibility keeps people from trying tubeless regardless of the advantages.

    1. There are Nano 40’s AND nano 40 TCS tires. One would work fine on a Stan’s, the other maybe not so much.

      People often get confused when a company offers more than one version of a tire model. Tubeless ready/UST will fit different than a folding tire, despite both having the same tire model name from the same brand. This is due to the more stringent tolerances and different bead on tubeless ready tires which is usually “tighter” fitting than the folding bead tires.

  4. Didn’t you have a set of A23’s on this bike at some time? Any idea how these tires would work with that rim?

      1. I have Blunt SL’s as well and have had these tires mounted on them for a month or so. They’ve been great. They mounted easy and I haven’t had any issues with them holding air. They lose a few psi over a weeks time but it just takes 30sec for me to fill them back up. Not a problem as far as I’m concerned.

  5. Nano 40 has blew off my Iron Cross rims while JRA. Worked great for a few hundred miles. Picked up a pair of TCS Nanos to try now. This is the second tire to just blow off this rim. Notubes claims its all fine.

  6. Just for the record (bit late to the party I know) WTB Nano 40c TCS will not fit on either my Stans Crest or Arch rims without herculean efforts that do not leave me confident of being able to remove and mount in the event of a trailside repair.

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