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  • 27.5+ (plus) rubber; 3″, 2.8″ – calling fattie riders!
  • ta11pau1
    Full Member

    Pondering on a second set of wheels for my (yet to be built) hardtail (part of the brief for the bike was to replace my gravel bike as well as do normal MTB stuff) and aside from the ‘normal’ lightweight (1500g or so) 25mm id XC wheels/tyres, I’m very tempted instead to go ‘full on fattie’ and build a set of 40mm id rims and run a set of light(ish) 27.5 3.0 tyres, such as the Teravail Coronado:

    Usage will be local riding from the door here in Kent; so mellow byways (pilgrims way would be a perfect example for the locals), gravel fireroads, 30, 50, 70+ mile rides (there’s a 100 mile route I’d planned but never got round to doing…yet), gravel forest roads and mellow singletrack in places like scotland or the lakes, essentially anything you’d do on a gravel bike with a little bit of extra tech on top, being that they’ll be on a 150mm travel hardtail. Think bikepacking style riding (which I fancy doing at some point), not enduro trails, not even trail centres or anything technical – I’ll have a separate set of wheels for that. Oh and predominately summer use, so dry, dusty trails. Maybe some snow use if we get any more in the next 3 years.

    So, good idea? Bad idea? Is riding a fattie as much fun as it’s meant to be? 😀

    Posted 3 years ago
    boxwithawindow
    Free Member

    All my bikes are now 29+ plus bikes absolutely rail everything.

    Wide rims, big tyres and low pressures mean big smiles!

    Posted 3 years ago
    boxwithawindow
    Free Member

    These are a good place to start if you wanted to try B+

    https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/wtb-kom-light-i45-tcs-rim/rp-prod175844

    Posted 3 years ago
    ta11pau1
    Full Member

    Those KOM i45/i40 rims what got me starting to look at plus rubber, really good price and not ‘that’ heavy, 568g for the i40 light version.

    Posted 3 years ago
    cynic-al
    Free Member

    I like mine but for stuff a bit techier and bumpier than that (with the intention of going further afield which seems to get rarer and rarer). I have a 2″ tyre bike but keep that as single speed for variety.

    I’m not sure I would feel the benefit on the terrain you mention, but I see people loving fat bikes on that and smoother stuff, so each to their own, but they seem to have only the fat bike.

    Posted 3 years ago
    scotroutes
    Full Member

    Well, 3″ isn’t “fat” in my book. That would be 4″ and up.

    Now we know we’re discussing Plus sized wheels and tyres then I have to say that I’m a fan. The additional grip on loose surfaces is very welcome, they offer some squish on small trail imperfections and gravel and are very comfortable towards the end of a long ride resulting in a bit less trail buzz. I have Scraper i45 rims and currently 3″ Nobby Nics. That’s my primary bikepacking setup.

    Posted 3 years ago
    Northwind
    Full Member

    I’m just trying again- I built myself a set and put 3 inch schwalbes on them a few years back and bounced off it really hard, it was just worse, too much of the time. And what’s more, when it was worst was the exact times I want my tyres to be best. Love the rock crawling grip and the mattress feeling of landing jumps though. I definitely don’t hate it, but normal tyres are really, really good.

    Probably it plays a part that I have a fatbike with 4.8s on so some of what most people would be going “this extra fat tyre is cool and interesting” because it was a size up had me going “it’s barely any different from a proper tyre” because it was a size inbetween. I love my fatbike so you might think that I’d love a mini-fat but I think it just cancelled it out a bit.

    (Scotroutes bought one of my tyres and really liked it and the wheels likewise went to another STW that liked them so, ymmv)

    But I found some hubs in the spares box and I’m trying again, with 40mm KOMS, 2.8 Michelins because they look like they’ll have a bit more grip in the wet and a bit more sturdiness. Guess we’ll see how it goes. Have to say I expect little from the KOMs… I like WTB’s heavier duty stuff but I had the original kom and they were absolutely soft as shite, and not even especially light, not a good rim at all. But the 40mms were stupidly cheap so I thought I might as well.

    Incidentally, Decathlon have some incredibly cheap boost wheels with ringle Duroc 40s, not light but at £125 a pair, if you want to dabble.

    Posted 3 years ago
    TheGhost
    Free Member

    I have 27.5 plus wheels I occasionally use on my hardtails in the dryer weather. Inner rim width 40mm with 2.8 minions.

    The grip is great, as is the steamroller plushness, but you have to get the tire pressure just right. If you go 2-3 psi either way they become too bouncy or too draggy. It can feel like ploughing through glue sometimes but also magical when you find the sweet spot.

    I found 27.5 2.6s felt pretty much the same but with less drag, and a bigger usable tire pressure window.

    My preference now is 29er 2.5 Maxxis on 35mm inner width rims. Loads of grip, they roll faster, and have a bigger pressure window.

    I’ve also found that tire casing plays a big part. If you go for a more flexible casing you can up the pressure for faster rolling performance, and still have softness.

    Posted 3 years ago
    nixie
    Full Member

    My experience with light plus tyres has not been good. The sidewalls (WTB) are to fragile and also leaked sealant. The tough versions of the same tyres are much better.

    Posted 3 years ago
    tuboflard
    Full Member

    I’ve got 29+ on the singlespeed (Singular Rooster) with Velocity Dually rims and Maxxis Minions in 3” guise front and rear. These will be coming off soon and replacing them with Teravail Coronado’s in 2.8” for summer. The bike rolls really well given the size of the tyres and surprisingly quick across everything except really rocky chunder and technical trails.

    If starting out on plus wheels I’d go with 2.8”s, got a set of these on my Cotic RocketMax and also on the front of the BFe, a better all round compromise for trail riding especially if running suspension.

    Posted 3 years ago
    ta11pau1
    Full Member

    Cheers all – I already have the hubs so with those WTB rims I could build up a wheelset for about £120.

    Hardtailparty said the same about running higher pressure on the coronados, he runs them in the 20’s psi and they still feel soft.

    Apparently they’re a ‘big’ 3.0 too so with i45 rims I’d probably need to test clearance – I can fit a 29×2.5 so you’d think there would be room… They don’t do the Coronado in a 2.8″ 27.5 unfortunately.

    Any other 2.8/3.0 tan wall, fast rolling tyres I should consider? Rekon+ maybe?

    The additional grip on loose surfaces is very welcome, they offer some squish on small trail imperfections and gravel and are very comfortable towards the end of a long ride resulting in a bit less trail buzz.

    These are the exact reasons I’m looking at plus tyres 😀

    Posted 3 years ago
    tuboflard
    Full Member

    I really liked the Maxxis Chronicles in 29+ so if they do them in 27.5 I’d take a good look at them. Nice and sturdy, not one flat in four years riding on them before they finally wore out. Not sure they do a tan wall though I’m afraid.

    Posted 3 years ago
    scotroutes
    Full Member

    I don’t mind tan wall. I have some 650×47 Horizons and Byways and a friends 4″ Nates look awesome. I’d not let that colour limit my tyre options though. Some things are too important to be dictated by aesthetics.

    The fastest rolling Plus tyres I’ve used are FatBNimbles. They are also very light. However I found they lacked grip when it was at all sloppy. They’d be a great choice for gravel, beach, road, light woodland stuff etc. It says 3.5″ on the sidewall but they’re actually no wider than my 3″ Nobby Nics.

    Posted 3 years ago
    ta11pau1
    Full Member

    Yeah call me a tart but I think tanwalls on a gravel/bikepacking style bike look great. Regular MTB tyres, tan wall? No thanks.

    Plus I’m sure tanwalls are more supple than regular due to the fewer layers of rubber?

    Posted 3 years ago
    TheGhost
    Free Member

    RE Hardtail Party.

    I’ve also got a Ti Middlechild which I ride plus/mullet most of the time. Its smooths the trail amazingly well, even with 29er 2.4s. With 27.5 2.8s its super smooth but with a hint of ebike. Nice.

    Posted 3 years ago
    honourablegeorge
    Full Member

    @TheGhost – where did you source the frame from?(or are you in the US)

    Posted 3 years ago
    ta11pau1
    Full Member

    I’ve also got a Ti Middlechild which I ride plus/mullet most of the time. Its smooths the trail amazingly well, even with 29er 2.4s. With 27.5 2.8s its super smooth but with a hint of ebike. Nice.

    Nice!

    These will be for my Titanium, Pinion build – link below. Main wheels will be 29 x 2.4 aggro trail/enduro tyres (Vittoria Mazza).

    New Bike Build – Titanium & Pinion Awesomeness!

    Posted 3 years ago
    TheGhost
    Free Member

    @ta11pau1 – that Nordest looks great. I like the look their frames.

    Posted 3 years ago
    TheGhost
    Free Member

    @honourablegeorge – I’m in the UK. I got my Middlechild directly from RSD last april. Alex the owner is a great guy.

    Posted 3 years ago
    cjr61
    Full Member

    Posted 3 years ago
    cjr61
    Full Member

    I’ve got a pair of 27.5×2.8 Rekons ready to try on my 29er…

    Posted 3 years ago
    Northwind
    Full Member

    ta11pau1
    Full Member

    Plus I’m sure tanwalls are more supple than regular due to the fewer layers of rubber?

    I think most these days are basically the same as the normalwalls, just with different colouring.

    Posted 3 years ago
Viewing 22 posts - 1 through 22 (of 22 total)

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