Have Plus Bikes Died a Death ?

Four or five years ago it was all plus bike this and what plus tyres for that…..

I cant remember the last time I saw a plus bike thread on here and outside of a niche section of the bikepacking market I don’t think they really exist anymore. Have they died a death?

The industry is pushing towards 29ers running 2.6″ tyres over the 27.5 plus from 2 or 3 years back. The Genesis Tarn, Kona Unit and Marin Pine Mountain have gone that way.

That said I have a plus bike and still ride it, and the Trek Roscoe is popular.

So I’d say it’s not dead yet, but it’s not as popular as it was. I still like them on hardtails.

I’m using 275plus tyres in the back of both the hardtail and the fullsus. Both have 29er 2.5/2.6 front wheels though… as they work better than a 275plus on the front at, well, everything the UK throws at us.

The “industry” will simplify that to 29er 2.6 both front and rear so as not to confuse people, but I still prefer the slightly smaller and fatter rear for lots of reasons, especially on the hardtail.

I have owned a couple of plus bikes. a jones and a surly ecr.
one thing I can say I found is that they seem like hard work pretty much all the time.
back on a 2.3 shod trek 29er, and it is very easy to ride compared to either of the plus bikes.

Think it’s been absorbed into bikes having 2.6″ tyres, going from a 2.3 to a 3 is quite a jump, going from a 2.6 to a 3 less so.

I’m rolling 27.5″/2.1″ on the back and 29″/2.6″ on the front. Seems good to me!

As a fat bike owner……

Almost as bad as a fat bike everywhere, without the childish appeal. Whereas CX (and gravel) bikes are the new n+1 and actually work in a useful way.

Plus bikes certainly seem to have their place on E-bikes though by the looks of it.

Whereas the trend for ever increasing tyre widths gives normal bikes some of the advantages of DH tyres, with less of the associated weight. But still confined to the types of riders/bikes who would have been running a Supertacky 2.5 (more like 2.3) Minion/Highroller on the front of their bike 10 years ago, those that are happy to sacrifice a bit of climbing speed for a bit of cornering grip.

Got 2.8s on my ebike, running them around 20psi in Leogang worked wonders for my arthritic shoulder on the braking bumps.

Don’t most of them Electric Bike things have + sized tyres? (not to mention the riders (arf!))

Don’t most of them Electric Bike things have + sized tyres? (not to mention the riders (arf!))

Nonsense, we all know that riding an e-bike requires just as much effort as a normal bike, you just go faster and at the same time that normal bikers are capable of going just as fast so the limit is pointless. It’s Schrodinger’s electrical assistance, and they’re just big boned.

and they’re just big boned

… not to mention their downtubes 😀

Still have a Plus bike and, yes, it’s my main bikepacking mount. As with everything else, it’s a compromise. On tarmac, thinner tyres will be easier. Once the going gets soft, plus tyres gain a bit of ground. Once it gets very soft, you want fat. Just got to decide which bike for which route and accept that fact that on almost every ride I’ll be thinking “another bike would have been beterrer around now”.

… not to mention their downtubes 😀

Is that a 36V lithium ion battery in your downtube or are you just happy to see me?

I’m building a set of wide rims at the moment for my scandal so I can run 2.6 to 3 inch tyres on it. Currently set up rigid with a genesis tarn fork. I can’t wait to try it.

3 sets of wheels as per scotroutes comments.

Once they realised they could use 2.6s to get the same sales hype without really having to change anything, and that you could create a 2.6 tyre by taking your existing 2.5 and using a little bit of tippex, it was all over.

Conversely, I run plus wheels on my Mtb, and it always feels easier to me than 29ers… more grip down (at my average skill level) and quicker accelerating up… I think I probably also prefer the lower BB?

I’m not against big tyres, I have a fatbike which is great fun, but I just couldn’t get on with plus tyres, I had some 27.5×3 on my ebike, so not sure if the extra bulk of everything had an effect but just couldn’t seem to find a tyre pressure I liked. Anything below 20psi and it felt like the tyre would come off the rim, more than that and it felt like I had solid tyres. That and they were garbage in any type of mud, just skating over the top. Changed to 29×2.35 and they were better, but could do with improvement, now on 2.5WT tyres and that seems like a sweet spot, so I guess I’ve settled on 2.4-2.6, with reasonably wide (24-30mm internal) rims.

A long way from trying to squeeze 2.1 tyres on 17mm rims into the back of my first bike, that’s for sure…

I have a +29er Longitude shod with 2.2s. Bought it for wide-ranging build/spec options, yet I can’t think why I’d spend the best part of a ton on big draggy tyres unless was hammering regular rock and root gardens? But then sidewalls could be a weakness? Mud OTOH likes narrow nobblies. I’d think 2.6 max would be sufficient for most work. Otherwise fatbike for snow and sand. Am I missing something?

Industry has moved on to chase sales from the next ‘best thing’, which at the moment is E-bikes and Gravel bikes. Soon there will be another ‘best thing’ to chase sales on. Thats how the economy works sadly.

It was scientifically proven that 27.5+ tyres are faster off road than 29ers.

I bought a Rooster for bike packing – never really got on with it – plus tyres were slow on road, offered less comfort and control than a decent pair of suspension off road – in the end I moved it on and bought a 100mm 29er Hardtail which for me has fewer comprises

I’m still rocking 26×2.4. I see no need to improve on perfection! 😆

Immigrating video

Presumably then all downhill racers and enduro racers are in plus three?

I have a plus hardtail. It’s great fun for larks in the woods. I didn’t like it as much as a 29er.

tomhoward

Subscriber

I’m not against big tyres, I have a fatbike which is great fun, but I just couldn’t get on with plus tyres, I had some 27.5×3 on my ebike, so not sure if the extra bulk of everything had an effect but just couldn’t seem to find a tyre pressure I liked.

Yeah, I really thought I’d like it- and I was lucky that my 29er full suss can take 3.0s without much fuss so it was easy to try. I love my fatbike but for me the plus tyres were just an awkward pointless middle- not as interesting or fun as far, not as good as 29er (to get a tyre that’s tough enough for the riding I do, and grippy enough in soft conditions, you end up with a 3 inch tyre that weighs as much as and rolls as well as a paving slab)

All the cool kids are on rigid, singlespeed, alt-barred sixty plusters these days.

I bought one years ago when it was a thing. A Cannondale cujo. I liked it but it was heavy and hard work on the climbs.
I now have a rigid plus bike which I think is a good slot for plus tyres. A bit more comfort for the Long haul. I don’t ride it to set any KOMs, I just ride it and enjoy being out on it. It’s my off-road bikepacking rig/utility bike.

Both my main MTBs are plus. Running a 27.5 Rocket with 26×2.8s and my Transmitter has 27.5×2.8. I like the look and feel of the big tyres. Can’t see me swapping until I can’t get decent tyres any more.

2019 08 02 bike 080 01 by Rob P[/url], on Flickr

2019 11 10 bike 138 07 by Rob P[/url], on Flickr

I like that what is it? Any more pics?

My MTB is a plus hardtail (2.8”). It’s got almost the grip of my fat bike in normal circumstances but handles like a normal HT the rest of the time.

I love it; I’m surprised everyone doesn’t ride one.

 I’m surprised everyone doesn’t ride one.

Some folk still believe that you can judge a whole category of bikes by riding one and a whole category of tyres by riding one of that size. Weird, innit?

I’d certainly agree that plus tyres were a bit shit until the 2.8 Minion arrived

Scotroutes, that’s your old Philcentric BB up there, still going strong, still not been touched since it was built up.

Woo!  It weren’t cheap but that’s still not a bad service interval 🙂

Nope. They’re still great.

My Evol rocking the Lakes

67526833_10157636297181474_2231192255656361984_n by Richard Munro[/url], on Flickr

My Stooge loving the bags

55944883_10157303374096474_9088512383042715648_n by Richard Munro[/url], on Flickr

Still have a Plus bike and,it’s my main bike 3.0

I see the usual 2 idiots can’t help but try and steer the thread onto thier favourite subject.

Still think + tyres are great fun on a hardtail and agree with george that + minions are a brilliant tyre.
My hardtail will take both sizes but always seems to have the + wheels fitted despite my 29 wheels being a lot more blingy and lighter.

Some folk still believe that you can judge a whole category of bikes by riding one and a whole category of tyres by riding one of that size. Weird, innit?

And that what’s suitable for riding bridleways in east Anglia is good for riding tech-gnar stuff in Wales. 😁

My Plus bike is great fun. Immense grip on tech tracks, but sluggish on long xc rides or tarmac. I don’t ride it on xc rides or tarmac if I can help it!

I’ve a plus mk1 SolarisMAX built up for bikepacking duties. Until I got the FlareMAX I also had a Sherpa in plus guise built up too.

I also have a 29er hardtail (I may have posted photos of this, and all the above before…). I love both of them. The 29er feels faster but the plus comfier. Now it’s winter in Scotland I’ll put the HR2/Minion wheelset off the Sherpa on be able to ride the slop and the snow.

I’ve some 29×2.6 spec tyres to put on the hardtail when my new wheels arrive though, I’ll see how that goes… 🤪