WOLFPACK TYRES ARE HERE AS A GLORIOUS REMINDER OF HOW GOOD PERFORMANCE CLINCHERS CAN BE

Words and Images - James Raison

Full Beam Australia reached out to me a few months ago asking if I could test a tyre brand they were thinking of importing into Australia and give some feedback. I’d first seen the name in Eurobike 2018 coverage, then a couple of more times on World Tour bike videos. I was interested in testing them but couldn’t get my hands on a set. So, I was keen to get the opportunity to test two sets at once this year.

So, what’s the story with these fancy, obscure Wolfpack tyres?

WHO?

Indeed! Wolfpack is a truly perplexing company; largely vacant social media accounts, awkwardly translated website, and a very quiet World Tour presence. They’re a difficult brand to get information about.

Let me give an example from the 2020 Tour Down Under. In the media centre I asked one of the finest tech writers in the cycling world who’d just finished shooting every bike in the TDU service course; “who is on Wolfpack tyres again…?” I’d received my review tyres that day and was struggling to remember. All I got was a blank stare and “Wolfpack...? No idea.” He then dove back into his Lightroom gallery and started zooming in on tyres until he got to Astana’s bikes. “Well there you go! Wolfpacks. I didn’t even notice.” Wolfpack is a brand so niche and nerdy that even the niche nerds struggle to notice.

Hang in there a second though, because this brand has a foundational talent like no other.

A COMPOUND HERO

The man behind Wolfpack is Wolfgang Arenz. He’d be the first recipient of the lifetime achievement award - if there was such a thing - for the bicycle tyre industry. He’s a compound superstar.

Arenz is credited with developing these legendary rubber compounds: Continental Black Chilli, Specialized Gripton, and Schwalbe Addix. That’s insane. Without realising it I’ve probably done more kilometers on Arenz’s compounds than any other person/brand. I was a long-time Continental GP4000 user and have been through multiple Gripton-infused sets of Specialized tyres.

Reading between the lines of going solo after such a long and successful career, my speculation is that Arenz wanted to create a brand with full control of the process. Wolfpack then, are what happens when talent isn’t constrained by existing within the structure of a parent brand. So what has Arenz done with his freedom?

THE COTTON

Oh the joy of being back on supple tanwalls! No tubeless beads and no beefy puncture protection strips, just glorious road feel.

They’ve spent a few months on my Specialized Allez Sprint shod with fancy Bikebeat Uberflieger wheels. It’s a rough frame and high performance wheel. The perfect place to try a fast’n’supple tyre.

SPEC

Sizes: 24 & 26 mm
Weight: 220g & 230g
Cotton Casing
Price: $99.99 AUD

THE RIDE

The Race Cottons have a lovely ride quality. The supple sidewalls flex and conform to the road surface giving you a smooth ride. The only tyres that exceed these for supple goodness are the Specialized Turbo Cottons and Rene Herse Bon Jon Pass which have the unfair advantage of being 35 mm. I run them around 60 psi during testing because I love letting the tyres absorb every bump and vibration, letting you zing across the tarmac. These, and the Specialized Turbo Cottons, are the closest thing to tubeless ride feel without being tubeless.

My Specialized Allez Sprint is a harsh frame that will send every bump directly to your body. Tyres like this make it a smooth operator.

There’s serious grip in the rubber as well. They’re a tyre you can trust to hold their line through a corner rather than trying to float or wander wide out the other side. The smooth ride makes them poised and settled when the road is a little bit rough. The Autumnal conditions have given me a chance to test them in changeable and full-wet conditions and they’ve been excellent. They never surprised me with any skidding or slides.

Normally I’d consult my speed testing bible bicyclerollingresistance.com to see how the tyre fares on the testing rig but that’s not an option yet. So, anecdotal feedback it’ll have to be! The Wolfpack Cottons have the expected speed sensations from a supple clincher. I don’t expect they’d hit some of the absurdly low rolling resistance numbers of the recent tubeless tyres but Arenz has a solid CV of fast tyres so I don’t need specific numbers.

These are everything I want a premium cotton clincher to be from a ride perspective.

WEAR AND TEAR

There’s almost nothing to report here. Durability has been far better than expected from such a tyre. They’ve seen soggy winter and plenty of gravel road kms in their test phase.

A close inspection of the centre tread strip of the rear tyre reveals negligible wear and almost none of the micro-cuts I’ve come to expect. At roughly the same km count, the Specialized Turbo Cottons were already starting to flatten significantly, and the Vittoria Corsa G2 TLR had some significant slices through the centre tread. I’ve had zero punctures in the months of riding. The carcass is lifting slightly in one spot on the rear tyre. Not badly, but it’s something I’ll monitor. That’s really the only sign they’ve had a couple of thousand kms on them.

Now, I will always caution people not to take one opinion as canon with tyres. That said, I am thoroughly impressed so far.

THE ROAD RACE

Wolfpack’s entry level Road Race clincher was the other tyre I tested and while it didn’t provoke the romance and fawning of the Race Cotton, it’s going to be more relevant to more riders because of its cheaper price.

The Road Race tyres spent their life on my steel Daccordi Furioso. Don’t let the retro steel fool you, this was a top-shelf racing frame in its mid-1990s heyday and it’s still plenty quick with modern groupset and wheels. It’s my second-most ridden roadie too and a natural choice to test the Road Race tyres.

SPEC

Size options: 24 & 26 mm

Weight: 210g & 225g

Ultra-fine Nylon casing

The ToGuard rubber compound
Price: $79.99 AUD

THE RIDE

Riding on the Wolfpack Road Race tyres is a similar experience to the Cottons above but with some reductions in outright brilliance. The suppleness and sidewall flex is noticeably reduced. But hey, we’re talking about a cheaper alternative so that should be expected. More apt comparisons would be to things like the Schwalbe Pro One, Vittoria Corsa G2.0, or Specialized S Works Turbo. Having ridden all of those aforementioned tyres, I’d take the Wolfpack Road Races.

On first riding I was struck by how familiar these felt to the Continental GP4000sII which were my mainstay tyre for years. I took out another bike shod with those Conti tyres to do a comparison and much of the sensation and feel is there. What Wolfpack improves on is the ride feel. They’re have more grip than that legendary Conti tyre and give more tactile feedback.

Again, there’s just so much road holding grip in the compound. They have a similar grip as the Vittoria Corsa G2.0 but with more feeling. They’re confidence-inspiring in the wet too. I loved the riding Black Chilli on damp roads and the Wolfpack Race tyres bring that again with added road holding. They almost feel sticky there’s so much grip.

The Wolfpack Road Race were a surprise for me. I was somewhat expecting to be wowed by the Cottons because I’m a sucker for that type of tyre. The Road Races were far from being the tyre you get because you can’t justify the expensive one. They stand on their own merits as an excellent tyre and a worthy competitor to some of the biggest names on the market.

WEAR AND TEAR

There’s even less wear and tear on the Road Race tyres than the Cottons. Negligible signs of wear, no cuts, and no punctures to speak of. It almost defies logic that the condition is still so good.

WHO ARE THESE FOR?

These Wolfpack tyres suit the neophytes wanting something different and are willing to open wallets wide. I don’t think the Wolfpacks are good value as such, but they are appropriate value. The Road Race is a premium product and the Cotton is extra premium. It was never going to be cheap. If you’re attracted to tyres that preference ride quality and grip above all else, Wolfpack tyres are for you. I don’t think that’s a large market segment but this isn’t a large brand.

In a sense, I’m exactly who these tyres are targeted at. I believe in buying quality tyres and have sunk money into eye-wateringly expensive product from Rene Herse (former Compass), Specialized, and others before tyre reviewing started dictating that I ride whatever gets sent. I would definitely spend my own cash on the Road Race tyres, then give the Cottons a go before probably switching back to the Road Race. The Road Race, I feel, gives better per dollar performance.

Let’s circle back to what I said above about Wolfpack being “what happens when talent isn’t constrained by existing within the structure of a large brand.” Effectively it means you get a small number of very good products with few variations. While other brands are making a tyre in 23, 25, 28, and 32 mm, the Wolfpacks here are 24 and 26 mm only. There’s also no tubeless road options at all, just clinchers and tubulars. While the rest of the industry is pushing hard into new technology and size trends Wolfpack is going back to perfect the humble, nowadays narrow-ish, clincher.

WRAPPING UP

Wolfpack has firmly designed around grip and ride feel with the Cotton and Road Race tyres. I think some will criticise their almost retro vibes within an industry that’s furiously trying to perfect tubeless setup. Personally I’ve had such a painful couple of years fighting with tubeless that these are a glorious reminder of how good regular clinchers can feel.

If you’re hunting for quality premium road clinchers, don’t care about tubeless, don’t demand 28mm or higher width, and are willing to spend the money then these Wolfpack tyres are excellent option. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed testing them.

Buy: These were sent for review by the newly announced Australian Wolfpack distributor Full Beam Australia. You can purchase a set in Australia from the Full Beam Australia website. It’s not paid and we don’t get an affiliate cut of sales.