Hi,

I’m consolidating my OnOne 456 and Surly Krampus down into one a single hardtail.

I had intended to go for a 29er, as at 6’3″, it seems the right size and I love my 29er full sus.

However, I am wondering whether I should consider a 650B+.

The main reason I initially discounted it was that although I love the 29+ Krampus’ wheels on a “for the fun of it” ride, I have always found they take more effort on smoother surfaces, especially uphill.

This “one bike” will be my main commuter machine. My commute is about 30k round trip, half road, one blooming massive tarmac into rocky bridleway hill (way home) and a downhill course in the morning. The Krampus is undeniably slow for this ride compared to my 29er FS because of its wheels… hence my plan to go with a 29er.

However, this bike will also be my bikepacking and local XC (mix of rocks and woods) rig.

Which leads me to wonder about B+.

Everywhere seems to say “B+ = faster”, but that is for trail riding. I’m wondering what its like on smoother stuff like roads, rocky bridleways etc.

Is it noticeably quicker than 29+ (I guess it might weigh a little less?)? Any experience from taller riders about B+ vs 29er? I believe that B+/2.8 is smaller by a noticable amount compared to a 29er?

Whether I get 29 or B+, I’ll be getting lightish Nextie carbon rims on Hope hubs (compared to the stock Krampus rims and Knards). I don’t feel that trying a cheap pair of B+ rims will help my decision, as they will probably weigh a tonne

For reference, the bikes I am considering include the Sonder Broken Road, Sonder Frontier, Cotic Solaris Max, Stanton Sherpa, Sonder Transmitter Carbon (if I went B+).

I’ll test ride any bike before buying it, but just wanting some thoughts to guide what I end up looking at (and trekking somewhere to test!)

Any thoughts / experience?

Thanks!

Two sets of wheels an option?

Yep. Two sets of wheels and choose according to your route.

Works for me.

FWIW s 3″ Nobby Nic is about 16mm less in outer diameter than a 2.25 Ardent. That means you drop about 8mm in B&B height.

I’d prefer not to have 2 wheels really. I want to get some nice carbon rims, and I definitely don’t want to splash out on 2 sets of carbon rims! Also constantly changing wheelsets is going to get boring real quick, as this bike will get used most days for a mix of commuting and XC stuff, so would require quite a lot of changing.

Thats interesting to know the difference in height – I hadn’t realised it was quite that big a difference to be honest

Performance of MTB tyres on the road is largely down to what tyre you are using. I would guess a Nobby Nic would not be a good choice for road. If you are using same tyre on road and off road then you will need to find a compromise so depends where you want to compromise, i.e. slickish XC tyre for road bias or chunky/knobby tyre for off road bias

Sounds like you need two bikes.

On tyre choice, for reference, I find that an HR2 on the front and an Adrent 2.4 out back is a good combo for just about all my riding (commuting, bikepacking and trail centres)

650b really helps make the ride more comfortable on a hardtail over bumpier stuff, but I find my 2.8 Nobby Nics to be painfully draggy on tarmac. But then again, an aggressive 29 tyre would be as well. I think I’d pick a tyre suited for the fun stuff and just endure the duller part of the ride.

Or buy a cheaper set of wheels to try out 650b to see what you think of it before fully committing.

get a frame that will take either and you can try both.
you may wish to add the sc chameleon to your list.

B-plus is considerably slower than normal 29in wheels on smooth stuff in my experience. No way would I want to commute on them.

Start with the right 29er and at least you have the option of B-plus later if you soften your stance on having a spare set of wheels.

@chakaping – Ok, thanks – that’s basically want I wanted to know. Back to plan A!

What tyres you running on the Krampus? I’m running a pair of tubeless 29+ Chronicles and they’re pretty quick on hardpack, I can easily keep up with regular MTBs and I’m not a big rider.

@dovebiker: I’m running the lightweight Knards, ghetto tubeless. I think that its the rotational weight that makes it hard work on my commute (its a massive hill that starts off as tarmac and keeps getting steeper until it turns into even steeper still rocky bridleway)

I’ve a 29 HT and I’ve also a Solaris in 650b+ mode.

Definitely on the tarmac, the 29 has the advantage….but I wouldn’t say it’s that pronounced. Noticeable, yes….but I never end up anywhere on the Solaris thinking “Wish I was on the 29er”

I do run a light and fast(ish) tyre on the rear though. The trailblazer. But I have cranked out hilly 60 milers on it without issue.

Once you hit the bouldery downhill….then it will be a lot of fun too!

First 5 rides or so, I was on 27.5+ on the Hightower (2.8 Rekon). I thought it would be sluggish on flatter stuff, but it wasn’t as bad a I thought.

Obviously not as sprightly as a normal sized 29″, but not as draggy as you would expect.

Thing is, once I’d bought a posh set of 29er wheels, I can’t see me ever swapping them back. If I had room for a + hardtail build, I’d be keeping the wheels for that.

I bought a set of 29er wheels for my plus bike. Now I just want another frame for the 29er wheels for when I fancy a 29er ride rather than bothering to swap them

Ok, thanks all – thats really helpful. Kind of confirms what I thought 🙂