Do they ‘do it’ for you or have you gone back to your previous ones?

Still running plus on the front and would on the rear with a bit more clearance, waiting to try some of the new 2.6 or wt tyres though. Grip is amazing.

Prefer Plus to Fat

fun but flawed.

Shirely just as 29er’s don’t do it for everyone, nor 27.5, and some ppl still prefer 26er’s, why would another tyre size unite us all?

PS. On the ‘one’ bike I tested, it definitely didn’t do it for me… but then there lots of plus bikes I’ve not tested, to decide they must all be crap.

proper shyte in a certain kind of mud.
proper fantastic on anything drier with some grip.
proper fast for a 3” tyre on the road.

Fantastic dry and tacky grip. Not great in mud. Also not a huge choice of tyres to choose from at the moment. Also need to be quite precise with air pressure. A couple of psi up or down can make quite a difference.

Now I have Nobby Nics front and rear I’m very happy. The FatBnimbles I had previously are definitely a dry conditions tyre. There are times 29×2.25 is better, there are times 26×4 is better. Every ride has some section when I’m likely to have the “wrong” tyres.

Meanwhile expect comments on floppy sidewalls and regular punctures from folk who can only repeat what they’re read elsewhere….

scotroutes – Member
Now I have Nobby Nics front and rear I’m very happy. The FatBnimbles I had previously are definitely a dry conditions tyre. There are times 29×2.25 is better, there are times 26×4 is better. Every ride has some section when I’m likely to have the “wrong” tyres.

Absolutely. One size or one tyre doesn’t fit all. I love how you can just plough through roots and rock gardens on plus tyres.

I bought them with an eye mostly on increased comfort, & on that front they have delivered. I never expected the trailblazer to grip that well, its got a continuous centre ridge for heavens sake. The lack of grip from the Knard didn’t get 29+ off to the best start, especially over here as they do struggle in mud. The frustrating wait for the Chronicle & Dirt Wizard served to piss a lot of folk off. I question whether those slating them have actually given them a fair go, test ride bikes typically have psi elevated to stupid levels. There must have been 25psi in the Krampus I test rode a few years ago.

NN 2.8 on front with trailblazer on the rear.
As above, in the dry and tacky conditions they are GREAT fun…lots of grip and you can plough over things that would normally be quite rough to get through IMO. However once everything gets sloppy like the current mudfest, forget it and go back to normal winter mode. Weirdly they are TERRIBLE in proper mud, they slip and slide allover the place.

I find that it depends on the consistency of the mud. If it’s thin and there’s a chance that you can cut through it, then a thinner tyre will often work better. If it’s proper boggy then a fatter tyre will often float across, whereas a thin tyre digs in and becomes stuck.

Compromise…..

I’m with Jambo – fun but with drawbacks, one of which is punctures as soon as you start hitting rocks with speed. I managed to properly snakebite a rocket ron, not even going that fast – two jets of sealant flying everywhere…

I LOVE my Trek Stache. I think 29+ is frickin awesome and I absolutely HATED Fat biking.

I think pressures and torque are the critical things for plus bikes. Running my 29+ at 10/12psi allows for trail centre hoodlemness. AT 7/10psi its great for general trail riding, but if dropped to 3/5psi, it can float on wet grass/mud. As you’re not digging in to the mud and with this propensity toward 1* drivetrains, it’s hard to get low enough torque not to have the tyres spin, but can be done if you’re careful. different riding style.

proper shyte in a certain kind of mud.
proper fantastic on anything drier with some grip.
proper fast for a 3” tyre on the road.

This.

Fantastic dry and tacky grip. Not great in mud. Also not a huge choice of tyres to choose from at the moment. Also need to be quite precise with air pressure. A couple of psi up or down can make quite a difference.

And this.

I find that it depends on the consistency of the mud. If it’s thin and there’s a chance that you can cut through it, then a thinner tyre will often work better. If it’s proper boggy then a fatter tyre will often float across, whereas a thin tyre digs in and becomes stuck.
Compromise…..

This too.

For rocks, sand and drier conditions they’re great IMO. For typical southern, clay-based mud or anything sloppy, they aren’t so great. But then they work like a boat – they float far more effectively than ‘regular’ tyres, so it does very much depend on where, how and when you intend to use them. For that reason I also have some 29er wheels with skinnier winter tyres.

I used mine for a couple of rides, then went back to proper 4.8″ tyres 😉

I went back to 29er after a couple of rides, b+ <for my personal riding, in my bike> had no worthy advantages, except that it looked badass, and a ton of drawbacks.

What it all came back to was 2 things… One was, they just didn’t feel very “fat”- I have a fatbike, I was looking for some of that feeling of bounce and glom, I guess 3 inches isn’t enough for that to really happen. (the difference between 4 and 4.8 is very noticable after all) If I had pressures low enough for that to happen, I bumped rims on rocks and cornering was a disaster. If I inflated them enough to fix that, they just felt like tyres.

The other was grip, or lack of… People say “more grip” but I actually don’t think it’s true, except in some circumstances. On rocks, sometimes- slow rock crawling and climbing, and fast trails without too many hard edges, they really did shine. But the harder the riding, the worse the tyres get, and by the time I was on something steep and a little bit slidy they just gave up completely. (and battering them through rougher rocks again needed more tyre pressure and stopped them really being very Plussy)

It reminds me of winter car tyres; my winter tyres are worse in summer; but roads are dry, visibility’s good, gripping a bit better in those conditions isn’t gamechanging. But gripping well in winter when there’s less grip and it’s dark and rainy, that’s a big deal. I want my tyres to shine when the job is hardest not when it’s easiest.

But you have to take into account the comparisons you make. Because you can’t compare a 3 inch Nic/Ron combo with a normal Nic/Ron combo, the only thing they really have in common is the name. Comparing drag and weight I ended up finding them fairly equivalent to my 2.3 minion pair, and that’s game over. Obviously grippier Plus tyres are available, but they bring with them more weight and drag, I’d probably end up having to compare bridgers with 2.5 minions or shorties or something…)

Scotroutes has one of my old tyres and is obviously getting on better with it! I’d still love to try 29+, and I enjoyed the experiment but I was glad to go back to proper tyres.

Meanwhile expect comments on floppy sidewalls and regular punctures from folk who can only repeat what they’re read elsewhere….

Actually they DO tend to pinch flat ridden hard on rocky stuff. The WTB Tough casings sort that out, but add a little weight. They also make people cranky…

I spent six months on B+, but (for me) it was neither fish nor fowl, so went back to a normal tyres on the regular bikes and added a 4.8″ fatbike instead. It’s probably a good compromise if compromises are your thing.

Having said that I do find myself looking at 29+ and wondering.

Actually they tend to pinch flat ridden hard on rocky stuff. The WTB Tough casings sort that out, but add a little weight. Meanwhile expect snide comments suggesting other people’s experiences aren’t valid from people who have trouble understanding that they’re not the only rider who’s ever used a plus-sized tyre… [/quote]READ.WHAT.I WROTE.

That’s a good point. If I was buying a fatbike now I’d go the full 4.8/5.0″ version rather than the 4″ I already have.

Now I have Nobby Nics front and rear I’m very happy. The FatBnimbles I had previously are definitely a dry conditions tyre. There are times 29×2.25 is better, there are times 26×4 is better. Every ride has some section when I’m likely to have the “wrong” tyres.

Meanwhile expect comments on floppy sidewalls and regular punctures from folk who can only repeat what they’re read elsewhere….

MY MISTAKE. SORRY ABOUT THAT. I’LL GO AN EDIT IT NOW!!!

🙂

2.8 High Roller 2s arriving in the UK this month. Should be fun.

I love 29+, had full fat for years, kind of meh about it really, but do like a fat front on my space frame. Had a singular rooster great bike, now getting a custom ti for plus action so for me its a win. Early plus rubber was pretty grim in most UK conditions. Knards were grim in slop and fatbnimbles were hilarious on the front in winter slop. Also as mention by takisawa up there, a lot of the negative stuff came from the early period where rubber was limited and folks were running daft pressures.

I like mine a lot. Through rooty singletrack I am a world quicker than on my 29er and they’re not as draggy on roads as one would imagine.

I’ve not suffered the puncture issues that people seem to mention. in 1300 miles of south downs flint, I had one mini puncture that sealed within seconds.

They aren’t great in wet clay though. and they throw up a load of shite into your face!

Meanwhile expect comments on floppy sidewalls and regular punctures from folk who can only repeat what they’re read elsewhere….

Or who got fed up with fixing holes in sidewalls.

Only ridden once on a Hightower demo ride. I didn’t like them. They give the appearance of massive grip, but its all an illusion and lack of feel means you can’t feel whats going on I didn’t like to commit to them too much in the bends – maybe something you would get used to. I was quicker all over the trail on traditional 29er tyres. Might be better on a hard tail or fully rigid, but I prefer suspension to do the suspension stuff and tyres to do the tyre stuff. Tyres don’t do a good job of being suspension. But then again I don’t run low pressures in my normal 29 inch tyres – high 20’s psi to low/mid 30’s psi depending upon conditions so I guess I was never going to like the numb squidgy feel of them.

Putting holes in nobby nics is not a plus specific issue.

I love them, on a hardtail i think they are a brilliant idea, more comfort and better grip on the rear as the tyre keeps in contact with the ground better.

I think once you put them on a full suspension bike the advantages become smaller.

Still not great in proper mud thought but amazing on rough rooty hard ground, but I think this is a tyre thing at the moment, i have 3.0 nics and they are pretty good want to try a more aggressive 2.8 minion or something like that. The tyres aren’t wuite there yet, same as when 29er tyres were new you couldn’t get anything other than XC tyres and gradually got better and so will plus

Was having fun on Nobby Nics but kept puncturing. Now on Minion DHF 3C up front and Rekon rear, and they’re better in every way. Roll better, grip better, run softer, no punctures (now I’ve said it…). Absolutely love the bike now that I can hit drops and rocks on it.

Daffy…. That seems crazy low pressure! If you don’t mind me asking how heavy are you?

I too love my stach 5. So much so that I sold my bouncer as I was just not using it. For swinley / Hampshire riding its just about perfect for me. Fast but due to the short wheelbase very manuveable and great fun.

I did buy some magnum pro squishy forks for the front end and chuck on a vee bulldozer which again has made me love the bike even more! But I flick between the rigid forks and the squish depending where I am riding and what mood I am in.

I tend to keep the rear up around 18 psi….(tubeless) any lower and I feel the squirm. The front is around 15psi.

I demoed a trek Farley fat bike and hated it. Slow, sluggish and a real effort to get moving. I totally get why people like them for beach mud sand but for a trail centre or singletrack? Na.

I probably would not bother with 650b+ as I don’t think there would be that much of a difference from 26″ with a 2.5 to 2.8″ wide tyre on (assuming on a decent width rim).

So I guess in my rambling I am trying to say the truth is… I love it. But only 29+.

Cant be arsed reading that lot so forgive me if im repeating anything. Im using 2.8″ Chupacabras on my Fuel Ex. One word – Brilliant. Four words – except in the slop. To be expected really. I was verrrrry sceptical about the whole plus lark – marketing bollocks etc. Indeed it may turn out to be thats all it is in the end. Anyhow i tried one and just loved it. Far less draggy than i ever expected,, stupendous amounts of grip if the pressures are right – i run about 18psi, just enough for the tyres to mould around things, not enough for the sidewalls to collapse, at least that i can tell.Even in the soft stuff still does really well. Obviously they arent gonna be much good in the thick mud, but what is apart from a dedicated mud tyre? I genuinely wouldnt go back to ‘ordinary’ tyres, im even contemplating a hardtail in 27.5+ as well.

Much of what others have said really. Bit of a balance between light and floppy sidewalls. Only tried fully rigid 29+ but love it as much as any bike I’ve owned. Oodles of grip with Chronicles in the summer. Pretty rubbish in the winter. Pressure it critical, can lurch from “the same as any other non-plus tyre” to being so soft as to ding a rim. But, get it right and its a whole lot of fun.

I’ve just finished mounting some 2.5WT Shorty’s to see how they go as winter tyres. Even more mud clearance, no heavier than the Chronicles they replace, still come up nice and wide. I am expecting good things.

except in the slop.

This is the thing that puts me off, and there have been a couple of reviews in the mag that have said this too.

On my usual loop, we have what is euphemistically termed ‘an all weather surface suitable for horses’ and often the choice is riding in inadvisable weather or not riding at all…

except in the slop.

This is the thing that puts me off, and there have been a couple of reviews in the mag that have said this too.

For typical southern, clay-based mud or anything sloppy, they aren’t so great. But then they work like a boat – they float far more effectively than ‘regular’ tyres, so it does very much depend on where, how and when you intend to use them. For that reason I also have some 29er wheels with skinnier winter tyres.

HTH 😉

There’s an odd thing with B+ where the narrow pressure sweet-spot between being overly hard and slightly wallowy seems to coincide with the ideal scenario for the tyre blowing through its travel on a hard rock hit, and pinch-flatting the tyre.

If it were an air shock, you’d say it was too linear and it needed volume spacers to adjust the ramp-up. As I posted above, the WTB Tough version of the Ranger seems to have sorted this for me, the other option – if you’re feeling rich – might be the Schwalbe Pro Core set-up, which might also adjust the ramp-up rate of the tyre I guess, what with the additional inner tube taking up some of the total volume.

I have actually got some Pro Core lying around, but I’m frankly too lazy to install them right now… I also appreciate this depends a little on how and where you ride. I’m a Peak local and there are lots of rocks. If you ride on, say, the South Downs, it’s unlikely to be an issue I guess. If you ride sedately, the same may be true. Ditto if you ride full suspension rather than a hardtail, but I think the format actually works best on the latter. YMMV.

Otherwise, as above, the choice of tyres is a little limited, but improving.

Through rooty singletrack I am a world quicker than on my 29er and they’re not as draggy on roads as one would imagine.

I’ve not suffered the puncture issues that people seem to mention. in 1300 miles of south downs flint, I had one mini puncture that sealed within seconds.

They aren’t great in wet clay though. and they throw up a load of shite into your face!
(Just to say it’s about whether they do it for you or not rather than any disagreement) I ride similar places 90% of the time and having the options in front of me I’m still on big 29s after some time on B plus (WTB 2.8 and 3.0s). Plus is smoother over roots but I kept hitting the rim when riding anything rooty hard or fast at a pressure -about 14 PSI I think- that felt beneficial for low rolling resistance and comfort over the ~20PSI 2.4 Ardent 29 on 30mm rims. I dent my 29 rims from time to time also but much less often, could just be that I ride a bit less clumsily with the wheel I’m more used to.
No flats in that time, but enough soft ground bemusement to see plus as an option for dry, choppy summer trails rather than a year-round option. Not into it enough to build up a plus wheelset of my own yet. Overall I prefer the more precise edge of a 29 to the feel of a B plus tyre but that could easily change if I lived somewhere else. Like Spain : )

There seems to be a consensus that plus tyres are not good in the slop, but I wonder whether this is more a feature of the tyres that are available than the size. The same thing is often said about full fat tyres and my 4.8″ Jumbo Jims are certainly a handful when it’s muddy. But the 4.8″ Bud/Lou combo (which weighs a ton) grips really well in the mud. At least it does in the sort of mud we get up here. Maybe it still sucks in clay. I wouldn’t know.

There are some conditions when a narrow tyre can cut through, but they are rare. In those cases a CX tyre is probably best, but for everything else I think you just need the right tread (deep etc).

It only gets + at near true 3″

Most ‘2.8’ widths are no where near 2.8

2.8 Nobby Nic came out at 72mm on 45mm rims.

so 2.83…