Wednesday, August 20, 2014

One For The Album

B+ It's real! (Image credit C. Artmann TNI.de)
Just this past Friday I wrote about the "Plus Sized" mtb revolution. (No pun intended) How ever much I rant and rave about that though, some of you may not get it. It's like a conspiracy, a tinfoil hat thing, ya know......it doesn't exist. Or maybe you like the idea, but you just don't see it. You need a visual aid. Okay, look to the left here. That's real. It is being ridden. Click the image and read the tire hot patch.

That's what I'm talkin' about! 

This is a 29"er fork, for reference. The rim.....it is a new one from WTB. It is meant to go with the new tire, tubeless TCS style. However; this tire will fit down to rims with a 25mm inner rim width and work just fine.

Numbers? Sub-1000 gram tires, (just over 900, actually), and the rim? About the same as a Velocity Dually, (in more ways than one). When? Soon......they are real and will be available. How big? Depends on the rim width for over all width, but think 64mm-71mm wide. Diameter will vary as well, with the wider rim flattening out the tire more and the narrower rims making the diameter larger. Think about 15mm-20mm smaller than a 29 X 2.3" tire diameter. That's gonna lower your bottom bracket height a bit, so be aware of that. Costs? Don't have a clue yet.

Why? Because wider rims and bigger tires really do make a difference. A big difference. It is much betterer in a way that you cannot know about until you actually try something like this. Traction will be better. You will take corners faster. You will have more comfort and stability. One thing you will not have is a need for a new 29"er. These tires on the right rims will work in loads of 29"ers already out there. Sure, it won't work in a lot of them, but on many it will. It's going to be a big deal going forward.

I have a feeling this is just the start.......

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Is the overall diameter more in line with 4" fatbike? Is this a better option for summer fatbike setup then 29+ bike compatibility speaking

Guitar Ted said...

@Josh Schneider: The outer diameter is closer to a 4.8" fat bike tire, actually. It comes out to a bit over 31" on the Dually rims. (Thus necessitating the custom Alternator drop outs on my particular bike) A bike that can handle Surly Bud and Lou should be able to take a 29+ wheel set up.

Your second question gets an answer like this: "It depends". On something like the Borealis Echo, 29+ is brilliant. Definitely a great trail mtb set up. On my bike, it comes out as more of a "touring set up" than "playful mtb". Which is right for you? I do not know, thus, "it depends".

Unknown said...

Sorry I meant 650B+ compared to 4" fat bike instead of 29+. I thought maybe it would keep a similar BB height and fit the stays better than 29+ on most Fat bike frames.

Josh

Guitar Ted said...

@Josh Schneider: Well, that will actually be smaller than a 3.8" fat bike wheel, so here you will have a lower BB and otherwise a similar experience to 29+, theoretically. But hold that thought.....I'll have some real field experience with this idea really soon.