27.5+.....has the industry gone full moron?

[Damian Sanders]

The hilarious thing about all this is how much momentum 26+ is picking up. People are going to be fitting them to their 27.5 bikes, then end up deciding that 2.8"-3.0" tires are stupid, then they'll end up going back to 26 x 2.3" and 2.5" tires on their shiny new 30mm or 35mm rims. Maxxis is going to make a killing in this market with their wide trail series.

[Damian Sanders]

29+ FAIL:

http://forums.mtbr.com/26-27-5-29-pl...a-1041452.html

I ride hard and aggressive in Colorado, now that that's out of the way... I have a Krampus 29+ with a Fox Float 32 (100mm) that I like all the time but don't love full-time. I went from 29+ to standard 29 (Conti MK2 2.4) on the rig and enjoy the responsiveness, weight savings, and don't notice the BB dropping how ever many MM it's dropped.

I'm no longer sold on 29+ because the bike just felt like a dope, steamrolling through the trail rather than giving me the chance to think about placement, plus it just felt slow in the corners when I really wanted to charge on exit. Yeah yeah yeah, circumference and holding speed and yaddayaddayadda, I don't notice a difference and my Strava (harharhar) times have actually gotten much better, along with my trail skill and "sight". What I sacrifice in traction running 2.4 on a 50mm rim, tubeless compared to 3.0 on. 50mm rim, tubeless is negligible. When it's snowy I go skiing, I don't need a bloated 29er for snowy flats riding.

Here's my thing: do I want a KM 27.5+ because I can fit up to a 150mm fork (holy hell, yes!) without killing geo too much, plus the benefits of a bloaty tire for traction, and the benefits of the added maneuverability of a smaller diameter rim with overall less roundness to push?

Please confirm my assumptions, or blow my theory out of the water by convincing me to stick with the Krampus. Thanks.

[HankScorpio]

You have quite the vendetta against 27.5 or 29 inch wheels. Did a 29 inch bike wheel take your job or steal your girl?

[Groomer Gambler]

You have quite the vendetta against 27.5 or 29 inch wheels. Did a 29 inch bike wheel take your job or steal your girl?

Sorta funny how 29+ and 27.5+ gets so much hate. Like the Krampus - some people think it's the most fun bike they've ever ridden, others hate it.

My next bike will most likely be something Krampus-esque...I like the plus-size tires for grip and some cushion. I don't need a full suspension rig and I also like a bike that's versatile enough to carry some weight for touring. Not all of us are into super aggressive corning and ripping huge lines! Either our wallets can't afford full-suspension, carbon, or our actual jobs don't permit the risk of hucking terrain sketchy enough to get injured. In a way, I would view the Krampus as a rig that would let me send some marginal lines, without necessarily pointing er down a rock garden full speed with high consequence.

[gravitylover]

I'm really enjoying the Hayduke with aggressive 27.5x3 rubber. Not as sluggish as my fatty, can take similar straight lines through a lot of stuff and it corners great. I think it's a more fun and sporty ride than the Krampus. It's not a dh bomber though that's for sure but at this stage of the game neither am I.

[HankScorpio]

I was skeptical about 27.5+ too but plus tires have proven to be the weapon on choice for early and late season New England trails. You can't beat the grip when you're riding snow, slush, mud and dirt in the same ride. I'll be switching back to 29 x 2.3's for the warmer months but its 2.8's for now.

[jackstraw]

I was skeptical about 27.5+ too but plus tires have proven to be the weapon on choice for early and late season New England trails. You can't beat the grip when you're riding snow, slush, mud and dirt in the same ride. I'll be switching back to 29 x 2.3's for the warmer months but its 2.8's for now.

That's interesting. So you're on the new 650+ now, but your Hightower is set up as a 29er and you want to keep it at the 2.3. I don't have the riding experience you do with the different tire widths, so my mind is all over the place with what I want to do. I don't think I want to go bigger than 2.8. I'm going to hopefully try a 650+ Hightower next week and then decide on running a 29er with maybe 2.5 or the 650+ with 2.8.

At the end of the day it really doesn't matter because whenever I'm on two wheels of any size it's always a good time.

[Damian Sanders]

I was skeptical about 27.5+ too but plus tires have proven to be the weapon on choice for early and late season New England trails. You can't beat the grip when you're riding snow, slush, mud and dirt in the same ride. I'll be switching back to 29 x 2.3's for the warmer months but its 2.8's for now.

I'll hopefully get my new (29mm internal) 26" stan's flow MK3 / Hadley wheelset built up this weekend and be able to try the vee trax fatty's on them some time in the next week on spring conditions around here, I'm sure they'll work pretty good for puttering around on crap.

[Damian Sanders]

I'll hopefully get my new (29mm internal) 26" stan's flow MK3 / Hadley wheelset built up this weekend and be able to try the vee trax fatty's on them some time in the next week on spring conditions around here, I'm sure they'll work pretty good for puttering around on crap.

I've also got a variety of 26" tires on order, including a maxxis 26x2.5" WT Shorty exo/tr/3c, 26x2.4" WT DHR2 exo/tr/3c and a 26x2.4" DHR2 exo/supertacky. I'm going to try the shorty / dhr2 3c front/rear for wet spring conditions, and the dhr2 tacky / dhr2 3c for rough rocky trail riding. We'll see how they compare to the Trax Fatty.

But my main all around tire combo this year is looking like DHF 3C / Aggressor in 26x2.3 exo/tr. Also have a schwable nobby nic 26x2.25 gatestar/pacestar combo coming for fast xc riding on either my yeti or hardtail.

[Shredhead]

I was skeptical about 27.5+ too but plus tires have proven to be the weapon on choice for early and late season New England trails. You can't beat the grip when you're riding snow, slush, mud and dirt in the same ride. I'll be switching back to 29 x 2.3's for the warmer months but its 2.8's for now.

Even better than the 26 x 3.8" Minions?

[HankScorpio]

That's interesting. So you're on the new 650+ now, but your Hightower is set up as a 29er and you want to keep it at the 2.3. I don't have the riding experience you do with the different tire widths, so my mind is all over the place with what I want to do. I don't think I want to go bigger than 2.8. I'm going to hopefully try a 650+ Hightower next week and then decide on running a 29er with maybe 2.5 or the 650+ with 2.8.

At the end of the day it really doesn't matter because whenever I'm on two wheels of any size it's always a good time.

I have a hardtail and my Hightower - they both have the same Boost hub size, rotors and cassette so I can run either set of wheels on either frame. So I'll most likely run the 29ers on my HT and 27.5+s on my hardtail but I'll switch them up depending on conditions. I started the 3.0s but went to 2.8 Maxxis Rekons - the 2.8s are a nice compromise; they still roll fast and you don't get a lot of the negatives of "fat" tires. Its worth a try just to have option of tire size.

Even better than the 26 x 3.8" Minions?

The fat Minions had phenomenal grip but I just sold my fat bike. I rarely rode it on snow so it was hard justifying having that and 2 other bikes. Fat biking is still fun but I'd rather be skiing during the winter.

[Damian Sanders]

THEY ARE DROPPING LIKE FLIES.

I think I'm over the plus thing

29er rider here. Plus really caught my attention when I thought about bashing my way through rocks in PA. Bigger tires would be awesome. They were... for that.
Beyond the rock bashing, though, hauling that extra tire weight made the bike feel less lively. Yes, it felt stable. ...too stable.

Beyond my usual 29x2.3-2.5 I tried 26x4.0, 26x4.8, 29x3, and 27.5x3. They all have good points, but the "normal" 29er wins for most of my riding. If I decide I need more tire, I'll just go fat. Hauling the weight of plus, without the float of fat is just too big of a compromise.
Thank you bike industry for options.

Now give me an 11-46 8-speed and I'll be happy.

http://forums.mtbr.com/26-27-5-29-pl...g-1041921.html

[Dantheman]

Now give me an 11-46 8-speed and I'll be happy.

Guaranteed, if someone built it he'd complain that the shifting is jerky and the jumps are too big.

[Sandbox]

THEY ARE DROPPING LIKE FLIES.



http://forums.mtbr.com/26-27-5-29-pl...g-1041921.html

HAHA.... i really admire your vandet...errr.... passion on this! I've been riding for about 20 years and have only had 1 29" bike (my current bike, Trek Stache) and i really do enjoy it.

I do find it funny that ever time i walk into a bike shop i'm blown away by the tire options these days! i really thought when 29" came out that it would become the new standard like 26" was for a long time and that was it but obviously the industry is liking the idea of actually reinventing the wheel every couple of years and trying to generate sales.

Long rant over.... i will say i am not tire sized biased and really don't care and on my next bike whatever is more fun to ride is what i will buy

[Damian Sanders]

Guaranteed, if someone built it he'd complain that the shifting is jerky and the jumps are too big.

Or too expensive. Filthy ingrate.



https://www.sram.com/sram/mountain/p...block-cassette

[smartyiak]

Question: can one put 29" on most 27+? I know that some are designed for both like Pivot SB and SC HT, but I've heard of 29 wheels on SB5s, a Salsa, and C-dale Bad Habits, which weren't designed as 27+/29.

If no, what should one look for in a 27.5 that will allow 29? Rear clearance...anything else? What would rear clearance have to be?
Just curious

[beaterdit]

Seems like it should work but I have absolutely no experience.

That said, I think it's a cool concept. I'd like to have a mid fat for snow and mixed conditions that could double as a 29er XCish backup bike to compliment my long-travel trail bike. I'll be on the lookout for something. Got friends who are plenty fast and can have any bike they want, riding 27+ full time.

[handlebarsfsr]

Question: can one put 29" on most 27+? I know that some are designed for both like Pivot SB and SC HT, but I've heard of 29 wheels on SB5s, a Salsa, and C-dale Bad Habits, which weren't designed as 27+/29.

If no, what should one look for in a 27.5 that will allow 29? Rear clearance...anything else? What would rear clearance have to be?
Just curious

A 29x2.3 should be almost the same height as a 27.5x2.8. Depending on what the bike was designed around, you may lose a bit of bb height going to a 29" wheel.

[jono]

I think to do this you definitely need a bike that's designed as a +; the Bad Habit, for example, not the Habit. But it likely works on a lot of+ bikes, and as another example the Framed Minnesota 3.0 fat bike can be purchased with a set of 29" wheels for summer etc. So it would probably take, say, a 27.5 x 2.8, too, right?

[evasive_MT]

Seems like it should work but I have absolutely no experience.

That said, I think it's a cool concept. I'd like to have a mid fat for snow and mixed conditions that could double as a 29er XCish backup bike to compliment my long-travel trail bike. I'll be on the lookout for something. Got friends who are plenty fast and can have any bike they want, riding 27+ full time.

I almost bought a Rocky Suzi-Q for exactly that purpose before deciding to stick with the idea of a full fat bike for a wider range of winter conditions.

[jm2e]

Sometimes I think about going from 2.3 Minions to 2.5 Minions. On both my 26er AND on my wife's 27.5er. We're pretty much the most radical people we know.

[joetron]

Got friends who are plenty fast and can have any bike they want, riding 27+ full time.

Whaaaat?! Who?! Doesn't count if they work for Scott. LOL.

[kidwoo]

Whaaaat?! Who?! Doesn't count if they work for Scott. LOL.

Without even knowing the answer I'm just going to say this: it's probably krispy

[joetron]

Without even knowing the answer I'm just going to say this: it's probably krispy

Haha. Nope, Kris is currently crushing it on a Tallboy 3 in 29er mode. Sending most jumps at I St on that thing. The Flying Squirrel.

[kidwoo]

wouldn't surprise me if he had one in the closet though