27.5 + vs 29 Interesting video

[Ron]

I can see both sides of debates. I'm still intrigued by a mojo 3 for fun on switchbacks.

 

[Ron]

It should be noted that the plus factor on 27.5's is already pretty much doa. (Except for true fat bikes)What we are really talking about is 2.6-2.8 tires on 35mm wide wheels. This puts about an inch delta between 29'r and 27.5 "mid-plus". This make matters more complex when u look at bikes that are supposedly 27.5 plus and 29 interchangeable. According to ibis and some others whose "plus" bikes are not really even "plus" capable. (The difference in height between a 3.0 tire and a 2.8 is considerable and results in changes to the BB, ht, trail and rake---see pivot 429 trail and Santa Cruz high tower ) the mojo 3 for instance is designed to run 2.8's wrapped on 35mm ID wheels.

 

[Tom K.]

Really enjoyable video on this topic:


Funny group of world-class pro riders.

 

[Tony S]

It should be noted that the plus factor on 27.5's is already pretty much doa. (Except for true fat bikes)What we are really talking about is 2.6-2.8 tires on 35mm wide wheels. This puts about an inch delta between 29'r and 27.5 "mid-plus"

Can you expand on what you mean by this? (I haven't been following the whole "plus" thing in fine detail ... partly because I've ridden a few and am pretty sure they're not for me as an everyday ride, even though they're a hoot in certain ways.) Does "plus factor" mean 3" tires or something, in contrast to your "2.6-2.8"?

 

[Ron]

So heres my take. Manufacturers wanted to have dual purpose 27.5+ and 29" bikes but to get that geo to work, you have to run a 3.0 tire to get the height that works with the 29" wheel. What the industry didn't get right is that riders have not warmed up to 3.0 tires for a number of reasons However, once you reduce the tire to 2.8 the height of the tire drops so much that your bb is effectively about an inch lower. Since modern BB geo is typically 13-13.5 you can see that wont work.(ibis's site has good info on all of this and the article i posted on tire width talks a lot about the 3.0 issue and why the odds are that the 2.6 will be the winner) . So.... the definition of plus is morphing as 2.6-2.8 is frequently referred to as the new plus. I just rode the Ripley LS with 2.6s and they are fantastic. Honestly the 2.6 rolls so well and they didn't feel portly or cruisy at all. They had insane grip and were so easy to get on edge. I violated drs orders today and did about a mile of singletrack with some slight climbs and flowy twisty stuff as well as a small rock garden. It was a short but good enough section to get a decent feel for the bike.

 

[Tony S]

to get that geo to work, you have to run a 3.0 tire to get the height that works with the 29" wheel. What the industry didn't get right is that riders have not warmed up to 3.0 tires for a number of reasons However, once you reduce the tire to 2.8 the height of the tire drops so much that your bb is effectively about an inch lower. Since modern BB geo is typically 13-13.5 you can see that wont work

Okay. Got it. Great explanation.

 

[Ron]

@Tony S I just put up a quick review on the Ripley LS and Intense Primer on my other thread.