Scott Genius 700 Tuned Plus
I remember the first time I rode a 29er bike. It was a Jamis SS, steel, and hardly the refined bike that a modern 29er is as far as geometry, weight, etc. Even so I was struck by how very different it was than anything else I had ridden over the past umpteen years. I knew this 29″ wheel deal was something exceptional.
Epiphany, as a descriptive word, comes to mind.
noun
- Epiphany is defined as a sudden and profound understanding of something.
An example of epiphany is when someone has been looking for their lost keys and suddenly has an idea of where they are.
That big wheel was a real game changer, not some small improvement that bicycle marketing folks would laud as the second coming, but a real honest to goodness leap forward in bicycle goodness. The 29er storm rolled in on big wheels and changed everything.
Then 27.5 crashed the big wheel party with folks like Kirk Pacenti and Giant Bicycles Co. tooting the horn of a ‘tweener’ wheel size, which although great for many folks, simply failed to impress me at all for the way I ride and what I want the bike to do. It sure sounded the death nell for the 26″ wheel though, already hit hard by 29ers, and with wide industry support it was clear that 27.5 was here to stay. Not an epiphany, rather a “better 26er” to quote an industry wise man that shall remain anonymous.
Point to ponder: One has to wonder if we would even have 27.5 if we had not gone all the way to 29″ first, then course corrected a bit and settled into the semi-middle ground that I agree makes more sense for bigger travel bikes, shorter riders, and arial acrobats? Maybe eventually we would have, but 26″ wheel bikes were so entrenched, who knows when that would have happened?
2.8″ Schwalbe Nobby Nic on a 40mm internal width rim…Scott Genius 720 Plus
Now we have Plus sized tires, both in 29 (29+) and 27.5 (27+). And while I have limited time on both sizes at this point, I am here to say that one of those sizes is going to remain a niche player for eternity and one will prove to be a mainstay wheel/tire size for years to come, carving out a very big segment of the MTB marketplace. One is ‘exciting’ and one is ‘interesting’.
Guess which is which.
Once again, it is epiphany time and the name of the next leap ahead in trail bike performance is called 27+. 27+ is the real deal, and it is just getting started. And yes, this means that I believe that 29+, as neat as it is, will not go away, but will never be a big deal either.
This weekend I had the opportunity to ride a very nice example of a well designed, well spec’d FS 29er back to back with a 27+ version of that bike; different spec, but equal travel, dropper posts, etc (Scott Genius 900 Tuned and a Scott Genius 720 Plus). The trails I was riding on were gravity fed ski area stuff in the Deer Valley area of Park City, so not a lot of pedaling was required, but the trail surfaces were pretty hammered – loose, broken rock over hard dirt, roots, etc. Generally scrabbly stuff. NOT hero dirt. The 29er did what 29ers do well…rolled over the crappy sections and roots like that big wheel does and really smoothed out the trail. OK, got that.
The next ride was on the slightly heavier (lower spec bike) 720 model Genius but in the 27+ version. I knew within the first 100′ that this was going to be good. Within the first 100 yards I bet I was going 25% faster, especially in the corners. By mid mountain I was wondering how I could get one of these for myself and by the end of two back to back runs, there was that word again.
Epiphany.
Specialized Fuse Pro 6Fattie
Riders all over the globe are gonna’ eat this up for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Looking at the numbers gives a bit of insight into why. You get nearly the same overall diameter when you compare a beefy 2.8″ (or 3.0″) 27+ tire on a 40mm internal width rim to a typical 29″ x 2.35 combo, so rollover is almost the same. I noticed a bit more ‘hang-up’, or I think I did anyway, when descending a trail with drops into holes, mid-switchback, as compared to a traditional 29er wheel. I wonder if that is coming from the increased deformation of the tire under pressure? Not sure. WIll we have to coin a new phrase, ‘tire sag’, when talking about bike attributes? Scott Bikes says that a 27+ wheel and tire combo is 250g heavier (per set) over a similar model Syncros 29er wheel and Schwalbe tire, like a Nobby Nic, so the weight penalty is not horrible. The contact patch is huge and, running at 13psi as a nominal number, it conforms and grips like crazy.
What happens when you add up all those numbers and facts and figures and get them onto a trail is a feeling of near invincibility, as traction for braking, cornering, and climbing is way up there into super-hero status. Think Fat Bike blended with a 29er and you pretty much have it, without the self steer and moon bounce of a full Fat Bike. And the agility is very good, I think equal to a typical trail bike 29er and is at light speed compared to a Fat Bike.
Room for even bigger Plus tires…Scott Scale 710 Plus
Add to that the fact that you can run a 29″ wheel and tire in a 27+ bike (as long as it is a Boost compatible wheelset…yes Boost is a must-do for a Plus bike) and the downsides begin to get pretty small in number. In fact, there are hardly any downsides although I suppose 27+ would be a bit off the mark for endurance or XC racing on smoother surfaces. No one is likely to say, “Hmmmm, I think I will trade my Epic 29er with carbon wheels for a 27+ FS bike”. Not unless you are undergoing a real shift in riding priorities.
This is just getting started and things like custom suspension tune for Plus sizing, getting BB heights right, and this and that are all being worked out. No surprise there, and the same progression happened in 29ers. Is there a ‘best’ for this tire size as far as suspension travel limits, geometry specifics, etc? Maybe so. We shall see.
Salsa Cycles Pony Rustler Carbon X01
However, if the Scott Genius 720 Plus I rode is any indication of what we are in for, and I suspect that it is, then it will be one heck of a fun ride. In fact, if I were shopping for a trail bike in the next year, and I rode in places where the terrain is chunky or very loose, I would be very hesitant to buy anything other than a 27+ bike, although you always have to take into consideration all the factors specific to your needs. But I bet the vast majority of everyday Joes and Jills who load MTBs into pick up trucks and onto racks, meeting at trail heads all over the country…if they were unloading and pedaling off on 27+ bikes they would be smiling a lot.
Fun stuff, this epiphany business.
…and the hits just keep on coming.
But I can see tires as the next development area. A few as coming out… and a rounded profile 29 on a 40mm rim with half the sidewall height of the 29+, how would that handle?
There’s space with Boost for more than what’s out in regular 29s.
@Eb1888…you could run into clearance issues with something like a 2.5″ 29er tire on a 40mm wide rim unless you built the bike to be good with near 29+ room in there. And there is no way to make a bike tire wider without making it taller unless you construct it like a car tire.
With 27+ you get near 29er height and all that volume too without great compromises in frame design.
Boost is more about chain line than tire/frame clearance, but it works out for both.
gg
Grannygear,
What a great piece- engaging and well crafted, a pleasure to read.
As an observation, I’ve always found it ironic that some in the 29’er camp have been just as dogmatically opposed to 27.5 inch wheels as many in the 26’er crowd were towards 29 inch wheels.
I’m a 29er hardtail guy, but at some point I’ll most likely conceede to age and go with a full susser. That being said, the 27.5 plus thing makes alot of sense, whether hardtail or full suspension.
I’ve always been skeptical about a full suss 29er’s and my 2.5 inch Weirwolf tire is about as fat as I want to go on a 29er (the 29er+ concept seems like a swing and a miss IMO).
A 27.5+ full suss makes alot of sense. And frankly, a 27.5+ hardtail seems pretty groovy too. Can you further qualify how smooth the 27.5er+ hardtail was?
Thanks.
P.S. FWIW, The “Fun Captcha” is not fun. There’s got to be a better way. I tried to post a reply several weeks ago but gave up after repeated tries to get past this mechanism.
@Moondoggy…Thanks. I enjoyed writing it. It was smooth, for sure. Was it waaaay smoother than a nice steel or Ti 29er with wide rims and a biggish tire? Maybe not, but that seat post was cruel and unfortunately not all that unusual in this biz. Harsh.
But little stuff pretty much just disappears under those 13PSI tires and there is more potential for tire ‘squish’. SO even if it is not a lot smoother, it is at least equally smooth with more room for grace before you start banging the rim on things.
Make sense?
Sorry about the Captcha. I am weighing moving back to Askimet, but that means dealing with a lot of SPAM compared to this way.
gg
How many milimeters can a 27.5×3.5″ tyre have? What frame can house such a monster? Schwalbe does make it?
It is as tall as 29×2.5″?
What about the comparison of say… a 29er with a wider rim; example ibis 941 vs a 29er+ or even a 27+? Just curious where the benefits shine and or cancel out? My Honzo with 941 rips, but even tat feels really “wide” sometimes. So where does a 27+ and a 29+ compare in weight and size?
@Jon…You ask good questions and I am not sure those things are figured out yet. But a 2.3″ 29er tire, even on a 941, will not be 3.0″ wide and it will not have the volume either, but it might be lighter and still give you, oh say, 80% of the bennies of 27+?
And what travel is best for 27+ or is there one? Lots of things to work out. One thing that will kill Plus though is if the the wheels and tires are sluggish feeling. Schwalbe is really good at making light tires, although perhaps at a slight loss of durability. But cheaper Plus bike will NOT have pricy tires on them. They might suck a bit in that sense. We shall see.
gg
I’ve ridden several 27+ bikes and they all feel sluggish and dead. Sure they have plenty of traction and a cushy ride but they just don’t roll very well.
IMO the 27+ movement will fade by next year at this time. At that point the industry will then begin to push 29+ as the latest greatest new idea. Interbike 2016 will have full sus 29+ bikes from major brands. Probably will have another new hub spacing “standard” as well.
yes yes yes, but then this is clearly confirmation bias.
Make it electric, include a set of 29 wheels for variety and I’m all set!
I just rode the Specialized FSR Comp 6Fattie, a 27.5 x 3″ tire, 6″ full suspension plus bike and I thought it sucked compared to my 2010 aluminum Epic Comp with Ardent 29 x 2.4″ tires that weighs about 29 pounds. The bike just seemed a bit unresponsive and dead and had some annoying auto-steer. However, I have ridden a couple of hardtail 27.5 plus bikes, the Specialized Fuze and Durango Hooey, and I thought they were excellent. The plus hardtails really took out a lot of the sting compared to a 29er hardtail and they seemed quite nimble, playful, weighed a few of pounds less than my current bike and compared favorably to my Epic. I think the plus bike hardtail could be a reasonable alternative to the short travel 29er. But, I think the bike industry still needs to do a lot sorting out of frame design, geometry, rim width, tire design, etc. before these bikes reach their maximum potential.