the NOT SO official 27.5+ thread.
- Thread starter jdog
- Start date
I had a white mtb one time. It always looked like someone pooped all over it.
great point - i have many more pedal strikes now - really unexpected ones. Sag seems correct too. When i swap in the 29r wheelset, i'll look so see if it changes.
On your particular setup, running a 29 x 2.6” virtually eliminates all pedal strike. You will also be apt crash a surprising amount as the endless traction you have come to count in has disappeared. It is faster for sure, but at a cost.
I have a friend in Cali who rides that TB with a 29er in the rear and 27+ up front. This combo is on paper faster rolling that 27+ and more grippy than 29. When you get that 29er wheelset, please try this setup at least one time.
I've thought about trying that, but figured it was a dumb idea. My 29ers definitely sit a little higher than the 27.5+ (2.35/2.25 vs 3.0/2.8). Maybe I'll give this a try sometime.
rick81721
Lothar
I was going to try the opposite the first time I switched from 27.5+ to 29: with a 29er on the front and 27.5+ on the back, it looked like a chopper.
Jim & Val
Active Member
I think it's a pretty great time to be involved with mtb...so many great options you can really choose what suits you best with few compromises. That being said and with the growing popularity of 27.5+, it makes me wonder why are there so few dedicated 27.5+ only bikes-in full suspension anyway. I get the versitility aspect of having 2 different setups with one bike but it seems like there's enough differences between the two, and and unique advantages to each, to justify 27.5+ as a standalone platform.
I think you will see more Bikes that can take both as we move forward.
After a recent meeting with Santa Cruz they stated that their most popular model is the Hightower. This bike can be had in 27+ or 29. As complete Bike the split has been about 70 / 30 in favor of 29” globally. This split varies wildly in different regions.
In our shop we went out of the way to purchase all of our demo bikes in 27+ on the models that come in both sizes.
Many people who took out the demo Bikes said they would not have even considered buying a plus bike, but after a demo they changed their mind or were at least pondering which way to go.
In our region specifically we never saw great acceptance of 27 (non-plus) In a way that it was embraced in other regions. We had super support for 29 for years while other regions really had very little.
Now it seems that the enduro world and Bike media in general have fully embraced 29, but locally it’s all we’ve known for some time.
With 29ers generally back on the rise, it’s fairly easy to design these bikes such that they can run 27+ as well. In fact it almost seems goofy not to at this point.
I think it’s easy to poo-poo 27+ as heavy and clumsy but it might just be what a lot of people should be on. .. at least non racer types.
There has been a shift as I see it in the last few years where high dollar bikes no longer are only being sold to racers. Now we see high end Bikes under riders who may never pin on a number. These riders may find value in different areas than racers do and the market has responded.
I’ll be the first to say that 29ers will be lighter and probably faster when chasing KOMs. But here is where it gets tricky: I’m having more fun, crashing less and riding in a different way on my hightower 27+ than on prior Bikes. That said I’ll likely build a 29er wheelset soon, just to play around with 29er again, but also to play with mixed size wheel setups as that is intriguing to me.
As someone who started riding on 26x1.95, each of the increases in tire widths has been one that seemed interesting at the time. The media outlets all seem to say that 27x2.6 is where this will all end,but I’m not so sure.
We have grown to accept this saying..
“Pick a wheel/tire size and ... Be a Dick about it”
qclabrat
Well-Known Member
That's exactly where I'm at now. I've been amassing a number of wheel sizes and two hardtails for my experiment. This will eventually move to FS, but 2 new HTs are affordable, the former is not. Was all giggles last year riding a fat bike, but after the snow melted, I realized a 35 pound bike was no fun and to get it down to 25 was cost prohibitive. Recently, I started with a 29+ (Neo/Hugo/Dirt Wizard)and to my surprise I really liked it. So much that it's been my go to bike the last two months even though it's an SS. I'll add gears on later, but just having too much fun with it now. In the coming weeks, I hope to finish up the 27+ (Hope/Ibis741/tires tbd) build though not sure what to expect. I rode my regular sized 29r FS last weekend and I just had no confidence riding it and it's got decent sized rubber (HansD&NN on Rise60), which I thought was pretty big already.
Also looking at 2.6 tires, which many claim to be the game changer for them. Which means that I also have two more 29r wheelsets with 40 and 30mm internal widths. For the 27.5 options, I have 2.5" tires and after that 2.8 and 3.0. There's so many damn combinations, I need a spreadsheet to track the combos and reviews. I'm a bit of a scientific method geek, so there will be a protocol and test procedure of sorts. You're right, we are lucky with all these choices but also doomed in the wallet. Regardless FUN
tonyride
Don't piss off the red guy
I'm kind of in an experimental stage as well. Since both of those bikes are 1x11 SRAM driven 27.5+ with boost front and rear the wheels can be swapped out. Also I got a free set of wheels (long story) so I can pretty much go nuts with that set and try all sorts of combinations. The bikes came with 2.8" wide tires. Using the spare set I slapped on a pair of 3.0" tires and tried them out. I rode different trails with varying tire pressures to get a sense of them using the hundreds of miles I've had on the stock 2.8s at all the places I ride as a baseline for comparison. Not a big fan of the 3.0s. Granted I've only tried one brand and model (WTB Bridgers) but I think my criticism is more with the girth rather than the treads. I recently got a pair of 2.5" WTB Convict Tough (High Rolling up front and High Grip in the rear). So far I've only had 1 ride on them in leafy conditions on the full squish. The tires are quite knobby and had adequate traction but grip was definitely lacking on turns compared to 2.8s as expected. I lowered the tire pressure a couple of times during the ride with some positive results but the difference is still quite noticeable. Given the current season my experiment has pretty much halted until after the spring thaw. My main goal is to hit Mountain Creek with the 2.5s on my FS and see how that compares to the same bike at the same place with 2.8" Ikons. Plan is to also slap them on the HT and throw it around 6MR and play with tire pressures. I got rotors and a cassette on the spare wheels so swapping them around will be at pit stop speeds. Then I can play around with different size front and rear on each bike at different parks in varying conditions. Filling out my spreadsheet is a good reason to ride. My excuse is I'm doing it for science... since I am a scientist in some form.
qclabrat
Well-Known Member
are you planning any experiments with 29rs?
tonyride
Don't piss off the red guy
I actually sold my last 29er earlier this year. It was a Giant Trance X 29er 0 that I ordered from Jason at his previous location when it first came out. I also had an XTC 29er and I enjoyed them both for a few years but when I demo'd a plus bike at Dirtfest a couple of years ago I just fell in love with it and my skinny 29er just never felt the same since. Soon after that demo I got a deal on my current Diamondback Catch 2 and I just fell in love with it. I still rode my 29er from time to time and each time I got on it I forgot how great that Trance X was but I still gravitated right back to the 27.5+. About a year later I realized that my 29er was just sitting in my garage collecting dust and the only time and reason I rode it was because I felt bad leaving it there because it was such a nice bike so I finally decided to sell it to a friend of mine who now loves it... whenever he gets to ride it. Since I love the 27.5+ setup so much I took the funds from the sale of my Trance and applied it to my Plus HT which is more appropriate for less technical parks like the ones I mentioned. So finally answering your question, no. I won't be comparing 29ers in the foreseeable future. I did try a 29 + (Stache 9 I think it was) but I felt that was just too much wheel and tire for me. Might be perfect for some but for my riding style and level I think 27.5 is the right size for me.
I rented a Stumpjumper 27+ for a week while I was out in Sedona and rode the hell out of it. I really liked almost everything about it, but one of the slight annoyances was that I was seemingly getting more pedals strikes on rocks that were not as tall as Northern NJ, even with 170mm cranks. Although it's not enough to make me not want to have one.
But I wonder if I was riding a 27+ dedicated bike, the BB height would have been made a bit higher to compensate for the slightly "smaller" wheels.
But I wonder if I was riding a 27+ dedicated bike, the BB height would have been made a bit higher to compensate for the slightly "smaller" wheels.
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Specialized sells an extended shock mount to raise the BB to eliminate this. I have also found that the higher end models that come with the Ohlins rear shock don't have this problem as they sit higher in their travel even when properly sagged.
Paul H
Fearless OOS Poser
Could be... I do have less pedal strikes on my Talon when compared to the Trance. But I also think the Trance does has a lower BB.
not sure - feels like i make more contact with tallboy in 27+ mode than i did on the Anthem 26r. both had 175 crank arms.
And it is not always when compressing the front (130 vs 100 travel) - perhaps running the plus tires at 14psi, there is more give?
I have the 29r wheel set all ready to go, when we get the next dry/frozen day.