I have an early Blue Pig, and fancy running it as a 26+ bike. Currently running 2.4″ tyres and there’s half an inch either side at the back, so I figure a 2.8″ should go in alright. However, my current rims have a 19mm internal width – too narrow? The fork is a Pike , not checked that for clearance yet.

Thoughts? Will I be fine on these rims, will I be rolling the tyre off the rim all the time? Are there tyres that are just a bit narrower but still nice and large that would do better than 2.4″?

what tyres are you looking at? can’t really help but am interested

I’ve got some 26+ WTB Rangers in 2.8 to bung on some i41 rims when I get round to it, I think the recommended size is between 30mm and 40mm so 19mm might be a bit too skinny 😕

I’m on a set of Surly Instigator wheels in my 26 Rocket, so 50mm Rabbit Holes and 2.75 Dirt Wizards, great combo.

yep, i’ve been interested in 26+ too.
from what i’ve read and reckon, i19mm is too skinny, (unless of course you run tyres too hard to benefit from their size!)
i from around i29mm upwards. i35-40mm would be better

gibbonarms, is that a standard old 26″ rocket?
and are they standard fox 34s or the + ones?

Yep, its a 26″ Rocket with a Fox 36 26″ fork (also clearance in my 26″ 32’s). There’s comfortable clearance but not for thick mud. Weighs a ton, but is a pure hooligan bike in the hills.

Heading past styhead to Stockley Bridge last summer:

hmm. so 2.75 dirtwizards, and big old rabbit hole rims and they still fit in the foxes? blimey. good to know.
i’m a bit commited to rockshox at the moment, but food for thought. churs

Thanks for the thoughts all. Seems clear I’ll need much bigger rims! I’ve measured the axle centre to fork bridge underside, there’s 355mm there, so 710mm outside diameter is the point at which I would start scraping along. Gibbonarms, if you’re managing on a standard 26″ Fox 32 my Pike should cope as well?

Question is, what rims and tyres??

I’m not sure what my options are, but the purpose is going to be for burly downhill type fun rather than bike trekking etc. I’ve realised I can even use the same wheels as a semi-fat wheel set for my Banshee Spitfire (27.5″), so I’ll need tyres suitable for that. Those Dirt Wizards look a lot bigger than the pics of 26+ Rangers I’ve seen, and I’ve read people saying the Rangers are about the same as a 2.5″. Perhaps they’re The Ones!

Err… don’t suppose you’re in Edinburgh?

hmm. so 2.75 dirtwizards, and big old rabbit hole rims and they still fit in the foxes? blimey. good to know.

The DW is the size it is because surly took the biggest clearance fork they could (the Fox) and worked how big a tyre they could fit in it. Hence 2.75 on a Rabbit hole, and designed the Instigator 2 frame with clearances to match.

I’ve gone 26+ on the front of my 26″ SS. I tried tyre on normal rim and nothing happened. See below. Since then, I’ve built a Hugo wheel and got the sticker width from the tyre. So it’s all about the rim width.

I’ve been doing some measuring and the biggest differences between the X King and the Dirt Wizard are the cost, the tread pattern and the weight. Volume, not so much…

All measurements round the casing with digital calipers, circumference rim hook to hook with thread and tape measure.

Front “2.75” Dirt Wizard on Crest. 20 psi
Width (digital calipers) – 2.35 in
height from rim hook (d.c.) – 2.05 in
circumference (thread and tape measure) – 6.5 in

Rear “2.4” X-King on Crest 20 psi
Width – 2.33 in
height from rim hook – 1.91 in
circumference – 6.25 in

Dirt Wizard is 850g in the light weight version and costs £65
X King is 560g in light weight version, costs £35
Admittedly the tread is chunkier and is going to take a lot of that extra weight.

A 39 mm (internal) Velocity Dually is 610g
21mm internal Crest is 340g

So you may as well get a wide rim and whatever tyre you fancy, but don’t think the Dirt Wizard is THE way to go for an extra volume. I did see a chap running the 2.4in X-kings on Duallys and they looked pretty substantial!

See if you can find a bead-to-bead measurement of the rangers.

lots of info, and some shit banter here:
http://forums.mtbr.com/26-27-5-29-plus-bikes/26-tire-choices-1004306.html

I ran a 2.8 TBon a narrow rim, 19mm I think.
You just end up running at a higher pressure, to overcome squirming, defeating the object. 2.8 TB on a 45mm Dually is loads better, running at 12-14psi, even with my lardiness on board.

See if you can find a bead-to-bead measurement of the rangers.

A 26″ 2.8 Ranger is ~170mm wide, that’s with the tyre folded and still in its packaging. Does that help at all?

Okey dokey…

I’ve just stuck a 26 x 2.8 Ranger on an i41 rim. It blows up to 67mm across the knobbles and 60mm across the bit without knobbles if that’s any use to anyone at all.

I’ve got about 20psi in them to seat them and haven’t ridden on them properly yet but Hell’s teeth these things grip 😯 A quick bool about the back street and the front was very heavy to turn (grip, not weight). I can’t wait to have a proper radge out on them 😀

Where did you score the rim and how much?

sounds great kayla. useful info too. i’m still swithering between just going 26plus = just buying tyres, and 275plus.
was kinda waiting for the apparently coming 26plus maxxis tyres to appear.
but maxxis seem to have other priorities so i might be going 275 just to have the choice of tyres.

but yeh, what you describe sounds exactly what i’d be looking for in feel : )
keep us posted on the ride

Del- the rims came from Superstar about a year ago for £30-odd for the pair 😯 They’d bought a load of the wrong ones apparently and were clearing them out so I bought some as a cheap experiment. It doesn’t look there are any left now (or I can’t find them on their site 😕 )

edit- in other news the Rangers ghettoed up easily with a track pump and have stayed up overnight, which is nice.

Thanks for posting back. Sounds like you got a great result on the rims!
Not sure i can stomach the price of the surlys. 😯

Thanks guys. Jamie silo – I checked out the link, huge amount of stuff there indeed, including a link a similar rim thread. It all seems to point to getting some i35-i40 rims now, and waiting just a little longer to see what new 26+ tyres are just around the corner, using the 2.4″ minions that I already have for now. Kayla – very interested to hear how they go once you’ve, well, had a proper radge in them.

Re pressure – on that mtb thread I did see someone saying he ran his at 12-16psi, though he was about 165lbs himself.

Update – once again thanks for the info and thoughts everyone. I’ve now got to a point where the bike is up and running on a conventional wheel set, and I’ve got myself an unbranded i50 rim – I suspect it may be a Surly rabbit hole, certainly looks like one. Next steps will be get a i35-i40 rim for the rear, and start with one of the 2.4s I’ve already got on the rear – Minion, Trail King or Chunky Monkey. I’ll start with something like a 2.75 Dirt Wizard or 2.8 WTB Ranger for the front.

Clearance permitting I’ll then put the 2.8 on the back and get a 3.0 for the front. Then perhaps play around even more.

how you getting on?
any info on rims/tyres?