I’ve been assembling my bargain bin 29er HT for a little while now, and over the weekend I thought I’d just pop my old 26″ wheels in the frame/fork before taking them apart to rebuild with the new 29er rims…

Obviously there was lots of clearance, which inevitably got me considering the possibility of building a second 27+ wheelset for the summer…

It’s a non-boost fork/QR frame but from a quick googling it appears a fair few people have done just this sort of thing and merrily crammed a 2.6-3.0″ 27+ tyre into pretty standard 29er frames and forks without being killed to death.

Having frequently rubbished both tweener wheels and plus tyres I’m obviously an utter hypocrite for even considering it, but maybe I should give it a whirl this summer before totally dismissing the idea… If the claimed benefits are borne out I’m thinking I can justify have a “Business” and “Party” wheelset on the cheap…

Has anyone else done this, I know there’s a few newer frames about that are now sold as 29/plus capable…

When I got brant to supply a custom frame I made sure it would suit both wheel sizes.

There’s a small difference in BB height but it’s never been enough to bother me.

I’ve a set of 650B+ wheels for my Solaris Mk1. I’ll swap them in and out at irregular intervals depending on how I feel – currently on the plus wheels. The wheels are the budget Alpkit Rumpus wheelset, sturdy rather than light and probably add 1Kg or more to the bike.

Yes, I did it on a 29er FS frame – it was a lot of fun, more ‘playful’ (frame and B+ wheels are currently for sale)

Ran B+ on my mk1 Solaris. I was limited to 2.8″ and had wheel run on my (Reba) forks.

Run B+ on my SolarisMAX and newgen Sherpa.

Ironically I’m moving to 2.8″….

Another chubby Solaris lover here, but clearance is not amazing with 2.8 and so riding in mud is infuriating with all the scraping noises.

But that’s ok, plus is much more fun in the dry anyway

Did it on my Spectral 29er, was an absolutle hoot on fast dry descents, but I could only get a 2.5 in the rear and 2.8 up front so not quite full plus.

The low BB and subsequent pedal strikes sent me back to 29 in the end, I ended up thinking it wasn’t as much of an advantage in FS flavour really, better suited to HT riding.

Swift here, 650b+ and 29r stock get regular use, depends on the riding and season.
Can rotate the EBB up a bit to mitigate against pedal strikes.

My Travers SS frame can take 650b+ wheels… I might try to borrow some for a little play – see how they ride…
I thought the diameter was as near as 29er territory? Maybe it’s a bit smaller?

DrP

I did some sums, the diameter for a 27×3.0″ is pretty close to a 29×2.3″.
While 27×2.6″ would sit ~11mm lower, which IMO isn’t a terrible thing.
Volume increase is the major benefit of course…

Then I suppose the other, other option might be 26+, for which I already have rims… Hmmm.

IIRC mine are around 16mm different with 2.25″ 29er tyres and 3.0″ Nobby Nics – so the BB is 8mm lower. The difference is obviously greater if you’re only fitting 2.8″ or 2.6″ tyres (though the latter don’t really count as Plus I guess).

I believe a 2.6″ is considered the bottom end of plusness these days interesting that the Diameter is so much less than I thought, is there any trade off for Rim width?
i.e. a tyre will have a rounder profile and perhaps sit “taller” fitted to a 30mm rather than 40mm rim?

I don’t mind a lower BB, in fact that’s part of the appeal, if you really truly have more grip and better ride/comfort in the dry then it might just suit fun days spend mostly descending… I can kid myself that the lower BB means XX% moar radness in the corners.

Possibly. My measurements were on 45mm (internal) Scrapers.

I put 3.0s in a remedy 29- worked fine mechanically, but I went back to 29er pretty quick. Still slightly tempted to pick up a blue pig 29 though and try again…

I put a 27.5” Dually in the back of my Niner. It could run a 2.8 TrailBlazer but not much wider. The TB is more tall than wide, it’s certainly more comfortable but lacking in the grip department. It has a continuous centre ridge, so that should give you an idea of its target market. I ran it about 16-18 psi.
If your anywhere near Lichfield your welcome to try it for size. It’s Singlespeed only though.
The Niner steel fork easily takes a 29”x3”, so I run that up front. It worked quite well. It had the silly roll over everything ability of 29+ but accelerated like a regular 29er.

I have been running a set of plus in my Smuggler 2.8 up front 2.6 on rear Nobby Nic on Easton Arc 30 rims they are quite fun as a change to 29ers, low B.B. so corner well only run them at Bedgebury

I run 2.8 on hope 35mm wheels on my prime for a change from my normal cb 29ers. I really like the difference and when I’m in Wales I ride one day with one set and the next day with the others. To me I feel faster on the 29ers but it seems to be slightly more agile and more fun on the 2.8’s. (probably unsurprisingly)

27.5×2.8″ on 35mm Halo Vapour rims on a 29er Codeine with 29er Pikes. All non-boost.

Go on then, I’ll post a photo….

[url=https://flic.kr/p/WE2bdE]IMG_20170705_144704837[/url] by ir_bandito, on Flickr

This is bollocks (wrong photo…) 😳

I’m not at home atm but I try and remember take photos of a 29er 2.25″ ardent next to a 3″ Ranger or Trail Boss….

excuse my ignorance – but what real advantages have you found to 650b+ over 29?
I’m assuming the plus means grip, cushioning etc – but overall what impact does it have on performance, does it change maneuverability etc?
cheers

Oodles and oodles (apologies for the technical terminology) of grip.
Equals approximately 1 shit-tonne of fun.

No, but what about 29+ in a 27.5/27.5+ frame 😉

I’d stripped my Krampus down to service and replace some bearings and thought I’d see if the wheels would go in my DMR Trailstar. They do!
Yet to be ridden, but it should be a barrel of fun……excuse the crappy photo, the garage is not well lit at that end!

Well a GIS turns up a few images:

Doesn’t look to be too much in it, but there’s a fair few variables to consider frame clearance vs tyre width, rim width…

this is a useful illustration IMO:

Although I think I might put this to one side for now anyway, having thought I could just use my ancient Hope Bulb rear hub for my new 29er wheels, I noticed there’s a clash between the tip of rotor bolts and the frames brake mounts, so now I need to find a new rear hub and then decide if it’s really worth keeping the old bulb or flogging it on for some retro-bike nerd to appreciate…

Cheers anyway all..

That must be a 3in tyre next to a 2.3in 29er?

I wouldn’t bank on fitting more than 2.8in in your bike.

I might even do a side-by side snap for you later.

current commuter 29+ front 27.5+ rear

Well now I’m toying with 26+ as I already have some (otherwise worthless) 29mm internal 26″ rims that should be adequate (if not ideal), 26×2.8″/3.0 Rangers don’t seem too pricey…
That’ll be a nice low BB… 8)

After much deliberation I’ve decided to build up some 27.5 “mid plus” wheels for a 29er – I’ve gone for relatively narrow 30id rims – what gives better grip a tough casing 2.6 front / 2.4 rear at lower psi vs a lighter weight higher volume 2.8/2.6 – My head tells me go for slightly skinny tough sidewalls at low psi but my heart says 2.8ish – I haven’t much experience of really big tyres but I’m worried they’ll be a bit rubbish for jumps.

I’d be tempted to go 2.6.

I’ve ordered a plus hardtail, and it comes with 2.8 Maxxis tyres on it, unless it really works for me on all surfaces, my intention is to go 2.6 eventually.

My experiment with 2.8s on my FS previously didn’t throw up any issues with jumps tbh noltae, only issues were rock gardens at speed and the need to be pretty pedantic about tyre pressures.

Anyone know of a good 27.5 x 2.6 which isn’t too draggy but still has a tough casing? – think I’m done with thin casing low pressure . .

Just in case anyone is interested, here’s a 29in wheel next to a 27-plus…

29in is a 2.3in WTB Vigilante, plus is 2.8in WTB Ranger.

I took care to line them up correctly. Best way to get a feel for relative BB heights is to look at the axle centres on both.

but you’ve used a concrete thing that slopes upwards which kind of skews the actual perspective 🙂

Noltae, I’d be looking at spesh and wtb tyres, whatever tread and casing suits, they both have a few options IIRC.

Yep, Mk1 Solaris with 120 Boost Yari.

Two wheel sets, one i25’s with 2.3 Vigilantes and one i35’s with 2.8 Trailblazers (front soon to be 3.0 something or other toothy and sticky)

On the BB drop, feedback on the Cotic Tiders forum from SolarisMax demo riders indicates it’s not uncommon for the lower BB in plus mode to be a firm favourite, preferred over the design height as a 29er.