27+ tire Still a thing?

[DougW]

Friend of mine is going to buy a used 27 with 27 plus tires. Wants to put on smaller tires for less rolling resistance etc, but I was wondering is this tire size still a thing? She pretty light weight so she could almost keep for winter fat tire biking.

[scmartin69]

Didn't most/some 27+ have clearance for 29" wheels? Might be a good summer option.

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[Shredhead]

She will probably love it. There are still lots of tires available and it’s a good choice for smaller riders.
45N makes a 3.0 Studded Wrathchild that would work for a lighter person in most snow conditions.


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[volklpowdermaniac]

I ride 27.5+ on my winter/wet/mud hard tail. I absolutely love it. Don’t get the hate at all. Grip for days and the size makes the roll over so much fun. Source: Stanton Sherpa with spec 3.0 tires. PNW riding.

[El Chupacabra]

I picked up a Surly Karate Monkey last year for cheap, used, with 27.5+ tires. Swapped the rear Surly Dirt Wizard 3.0" for a much faster rolling Specialized Slaughter 2.8 (was on clearance for something like $12), and it's fun in the right conditions. Fully rigid. Have thought about trying bikepacking with it, haven't gotten around to it.

[Velomayniac]

I had a 27.5+ hardtail, and it completely changed the game for me on hardtails. I probably wouldn't buy another hardtail unless it had plus wheels.

[Hughwindlip]

I have two Hardtails - one set up 29, one 27+

Both have their applications and when I know it'll get a bit rowdy I go for the +

Still have a bit of a want to have both set up 29, will probably do this summer as I suspect + rubber will become harder and harder to find.

Doctahawk - 27.5+ with 160 lyrik ultimate
Rootdown - 29 with lyrik 160 rc2 aka the kiddo bike

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[El Chupacabra]

^^^ Impressive. I like steel hardtails.

[VTskibum]

I run plus tires in late fall through our generally snowless winters. Fun in the right conditions, only issue I generally have is that to find the gobs of traction I have to run low enough that I will bottom out the rim pretty hard. Current rim has some serious dings in it. Swap out for 29x2.3 fast rolling for summer.

Maxxis Rekon, Spec Ground Controls have been pretty good tires. Think I got the ground controls for $13 a piece during the sale earlier. Seem fine so far


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[El Chupacabra]

Re: rim dings - I use inserts in the rear tires of the two hardtails I ride on real trails (a Kona Explosif and an On One Hello Dave). It lets me use a little lower rear tire pressures - like normal psi that allows for traction, not ultra low - without bottoming out on the rim.

Since the plus bike is rigid, I can't ride fast enough to ding a rim - it's too bouncy. And my SS shitbike has tubes still.

[singlesline]

I'm planning to get rid of it, but my 27.5+ hardtail (DB Sync'r) delivered lots of good times. Had next to zero choices when I bought it in early-COVID times, but it has been a fun bike.

I did ding the crappy OEM rim pretty good on Porcupine Rim when I did the whole enchilada...but otherwise it held up well to all kinds of riding.
Upgraded wheelset plus maxxis rekon+ tires really made it come more alive. It is pretty sensitive to pressure though...too high and it bounces around, too low and you're bottoming out and can feel the tire start to fold over in corners (never got around to trying a rear insert). Even at good pressure, you definitely had to be comfortable with the feeling of the sidewalls starting to give on corners.

Only planning to sell it because now that I have a bigger FS bike, I don't really see the need for it and I'd rather have a bike that's a little more speed/xc oriented for smoother trails. It's not a very nice frame/fork/group so it barely even offers a weight advantage vs the Ripmo.

That said, at 2.8" (both on the OEM Vee tires and the Rekon+), is it really that much different from all of the bikes running 2.6" tires these days?

[singlesline]

I just put a caliper on it and the Rekon+ in 2.8 seemed like it was 1.5mm, maybe 2mm, wider than a 2.6 Assegai or 2.6 Ardent Race when measuring the outer knobs.

Not sure I can do a fair sidewall comparison as I moved the Rekon+ to a 30mm ID rim while the other tires are both on 35 ID rims...

So maybe the answer is that plus tires are still a thing...they are just calling them 27.5x2.6 now. Don't see a lot of 3.0 (or 3.2) bikes out there, but at the tail end of the 27.5+ boom everything was 2.8...and now there are lots of 2.6 options.

[El Chupacabra]

I have a 29 x 2.6" Kenda Hellkat on one bike, on a i30 rim, and it's quite a bit narrower than the 27.5 x 2.8" Specialized Slaughter on a i40 rim. Very much an apples and oranges comparison between different tires from different companies, but I think the rim width plays a big role in it.

I don't think there's much point in 2.6" tires. Got it for cheap, but I'd probably just use 2.5 or 2.4 whenever available - that seems like the sweet spot for me, on i30 rims.