[Closed] 27.5+ 2.8 tyres - anything with a sidewall not made of cheese?

At 2.6 you're in the vanguard of the latest niche without having to buy expensive tyres. Result

Haha excellent! Although I think I need to hang it all off a steel frame as long as a farm gate for maximum kudos 😀

@Alex - so how was the Rekon as a front tyre then? I've used one out back and thinking of sticking it on the front now it's drier instead of a NN.

I am starting to become a fan of WTB tyres

Aye, as long as weights not a huge issue, they are bombproof tyres, I'm definitely a fan.

I'm a fan. It seems a good hybrid of grip, weight and toughness. I've ridden one as a front on my Cotic for six months in the forest, Malverns and trips to BPW and Antur and never felt the urge to swap it fir anything else. Seems reasonably durable as well. Not sure it's worth the money but it's the best plus tyre I've ridden.

Ta for that. I actually think that the NN 2.8 is surprisingly good up front, better than the normal-sized versions I've tried, but Maxxis has its rubber compounds dialled in a way that ime Schwalbe simply doesn't. I can feel a tyre-wrestling match coming on...

Once we're back from Spain, I'll switch the Ranger for a NN I think. But leave the Rekon on the front..

Off the back of Alex's glowing reviews and chatting to Si from Pedal and Spoke on a recent coaching session, I've just bought a pair of Rekon+ tyres.
I'm off to Wales mid May and will be doing a day at BPW so hoping they don't explode while I'm there, but I'll make sure I pack the Nobby Nics just in case.

I hope so too otherwise I'm going to feel terribly guilty about someone spending that much on tyres 😉 I'm taking a spare one to Spain but hopefully it'll stay in the bag.

I did manage to partially roll the ranger off the rim, Felt it but it didn't lose air but was flat in the morning and needed a burp on the compressor to reseal the bead. Stuck a bit more air in it now.

After much testing/dicking about I'm pretty much set on 16 in the front and 18 in the rear. You can run them lower and they feel great esp round trail centres, but not worth the risk of a burp/pinch.

Also did you have any issue with plus tyres in the BPW uplifts?

Nope. Best to get to the front of the trailer tho as they have a couple of wider hoops for fatter tyres. The drivers will move stuff around for you as well so it's a non issue...

Thank you schwalbe. Just scrolling through their new tyre line up and see there's a 2.8 Magic Mary apex in soft and speedgrip

[url= https://www.schwalbe.com/en/offroad-reader/magic-mary.html ]Schwalbe[/url]

Muggomagic - I've seen you're interested in wider 650b+ rims, can't PM you for some reason. Drop me a message, I've got Hugo 52's on Hope Pro 4's I'm debating selling.

On topic - I've been happy with a Specialized Control casing on the front, but have gone through the sidewall on the rear version. Recently picked up a GRID casing for the rear. I've not tried it yet, but they're generally MUCH better.

Had my 1st ride with the Rekons yesterday. As soon as I got them out of the snazzy little bags I could feel just how much sturdier the Rekons felt. When you hold them, they keep that nice round shape, where the Nobby nics just droop down.

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They were super easy to mount and both went up with just a track pump and I didn't even need to remove the cores. Once I fitted the 1st one I lined it up against the Nobby Nic still on the other wheel. It's fair to say there is a lot more than 0.2" between the tyres.

Fair bit of difference in the overall diameter and width
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They are mounted on a set of roval 29mm ID rims and the tyre profile looks really good. A lot more like a standard tyre. I think the rims were a bit narrow for the NN.
I set them up at 18psi rear and 16psi front, which is more than I would usually run in them, but I wanted extra in to cover any potential air loss from bedding them in. I will drop them to 15psi rear and 12psi front which is around the same as I ran the NNs in the dry.
First thing I noticed was how they felt a lot more like normal size (2.3) tyres. No noticeable squirm and they felt a lot quicker to accelerate. I felt a lot more confident in leaning the bike over too.
They didn't have that same kind of monster truck feel that the NNs had, but hopefully that's down to running them at the higher pressures. If not though I'd be happy to trade that for the other benefits.
My biggest concern about switching to 2.8s was that the already low BB would end up being too low and I'd be constantly suffering with pedal strikes. It certainly wasn't an issue on this ride, but I'll reserve judgement on that until I've ridden them in the woods.
[IMG] [/IMG]

I also found a good use for the Maxxis tyre bags too. Peaty would be proud of me.
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Interesting about the 'not monster truck feel' on the Rekon. I'd probably agree wit that on a 35mm rim - although it's not apples for apples as I'm comparing it against a 3.0 trail boss on a 45mm rim - but on my Mojo I prefer that. Comparing that to the Maxxis widetrails I tried on the same rims, it's certainly a heck more 'monster-y' than those so pretty much the sweet spot.

It's only when I ride my mate's 29+ do I get the close to fat feeling a a massive tyre on a wide rim.

Be interesting when the 2.6s come out. I'd be worried they'd feel more like the widetrails than a proper chubby.

Oh and a 2.8 Magic Mary? Awesome. that's next winter sorted then. One of those on the front of the Stache and a dirty wizard on the back and that'd be sorted.

Oh and we'll see how the Rekon/Tough Carcass Ranger do in Spain next week. I've always been a fan of the Rekon and probably put 1500km on them now across two bikes. The ranger is growing on me, it's a very shallow tread and I'd had a lot of fun with it losing all traction under my less than finessed braking, but it rolls well and seems to be as tough as advertised.

It'd be absolutely useless in the mud tho!

I was set on using the 29er wheels for BPW but think I'll be using the b+ wheels with the Rekons now. I prefer the 27.5 wheels as that lower BB feels great when descending and they're lighter too. I was just put off using them with the 3" NNs as fast sweeping corners or berms there was this feeling of the bike wobbling around, which was quite disconcerting.
Definitely grabbing a Magic mary for the front once the trails soften up a bit and maybe a butcher grid rear. It's great that there's finally a lot more choice. To think when you started this thread there really were very few options.

Chubbies at BPW are fab. I took my FlareMax up there and I'll be taking the Mojo in May sometime. Really suit those trails (well Reds, Blues and Blacks from the middle - I've not done the blacks from the top). I did need to put a bit more pressure in tho after burping the rear on one of the reds.

True on tyre choice, still some settling down to do I think. But now Schwalbe are there with the 2.8s I'm hoping there isn't another industry shift!

On topic - I've been happy with a Specialized Control casing on the front, but have gone through the sidewall on the rear version. Recently picked up a GRID casing for the rear. I've not tried it yet, but they're generally MUCH better.

Are they in country now?

Think the purgatory is available with grid casing now. The butcher and slaughter not here just yet.

I don't think you can get them here yet, it was a guy selling them on here, from his non-UK bike.

I have 2 new 3.0 Grid purgatory tyresup for grabs if anyone's interested. Replaced them with a 2.8 HRII up front and a 2.8 Recon+ on the rear. Looks like the Mary is available from June. Hopefull they'll be released oin time for my Alps trip in August. Then the HRII will be going on the back and the Mary up front.

Any particular reason you swapped the Grid Purgatory out for the Maxxis combo? Going from 3.0 to 2.8 too...

I would of had the Maxxis in 3.0 if they did them it's not about the size.
It's a personal thing I suppose. I was never a fan of the Spesh tyres even on my Enduro. The HRII has been an excellent front tyre so far. When I demoed the Levo at cannock I found I couldnt ride hard into the berms entering half way into the turn without the front sliding into the banked bit of the berm. With the spesh tyre on the front I'd have to follow the berm all the way around. With the Maxxis I can enter the corner early, late, high or low without having to think about wheel placement. I like the 'point and shoot' attitude of the HRII. One less thing to worry about on the trail. The Recon on the back is the + version of the Ardent which is a good intermediate trail tyre. When the 2.8 Magic Mary comes out in June I'll probably put the HRII on the rear for an alps trip in August ( if my shoulder heals ) and put the MM on the front.

Just swapped out the Light/Fast Bridger on the rear of my Primal for a Tough/Fast Ranger. Having started to ride my plus bike again, now it's dried up a bit, I was finding the rear too squirmy so thought I'd try the more robust version of the Ranger.

Sidewalls are MUCH thicker on the Ranger. The Ranger 3.0 is also noticeably smaller than the Bridger 3.0, go figure. All in all the weight is about the same between the two.

The Bridger's both went up tubeless easily on my wheels with just a track pump. The Ranger on the other hand is much looser on the rim, so much so that even my ghetto pop bottle air shot wouldn't get it seated. I had to put a tube in, inflate to seat the tyre and carefully remove tube leaving one bead still seated to get it to inflate tubeless.

The Ranger gets good reviews as a rear so I'm looking forward to seeing how it feels on tomorrow's ride.

Alex, How did you get on in Spain?

Very well. The grip levels are pretty epic out there (except on the really dusty / slidey stuff that no tyre is really going to help!) but in terms of cush/grip/feel I was really happy with the combo. Had no issues whatsoever until the last day when (I think) the rear burped on the trailer and needed pumping up.

A post hols examination showed a scuff in the front tyre but it's fine and a pretty major ding in the rear rim but tyre held air. The Ranger was looking a bit sorry for itself - tough environment out there for tyres - and as it's so dry here, I swapped it back out for the NN 2.8.

Wow, what a difference. It's like having two extra gears. Only been out for a couple of hours and taking it easy as have a partially busted hand but I'm really impressed with the NN on the back. Not sure it'd have lasted much longer than a wine gum out in spain tho!

If the scuff in the front Rekon does turn out to be terminal, I'll stick the other NN on the front until the slop returns. Going to go to BPW when hand is healed so be interesting to see if it survives a day there.

Off to BPW Friday. I was going to go for the 29er wheels, but really like the rekons so sticking with the plus set up. The BB is definitely lower with the rekons, but it's just about ok.
I like the Nobby Nics, and when the Magic Mary is out I think I'll go for a MM front and 2.8 apex NN rear for autumn/winter riding.

What bike are you on Muggo? I did a day on my flare max on the Rekon's and they were great except in my excitement to ride, I forgot to check the pressures and burped the front. Ran them at 18PSI the rest of the day and they were brilliant... it was a very wet day as well...

I'm riding a Stumpjumper. I have found that they need to be ran higher than the NN. I was running the Nics around 12psi front and 14 rear in the dry, where the rekons are up around 16f and 18r. I've only had the rekons a few weeks but I'm really impressed with them, they're more like a super grippy normal tyre.

I'd agree with that. Kind of a perfect tyre except when it gets really muddy. Should be for the price tho. Ibis supply the Mojo3 with NN and recommend you run them at 16PSI. I've not tried any lower and not sure there would be much benefit. I'll probably run them harder at BPW at least for the first few rns.

Going to be dusty at BPW for you I reckon 🙂

Yep, I put off for ages buying them as I was worried they were going to be too small and didn't want to take the punt at that price. Glad I did though.

Going to be dusty at BPW for you I reckon

We had brilliant warm sunshine when we went to Afan in October, so I'm expecting it to be cold and wet in May.

Quick question - how do you guys rate the relative toughness of the fast/tough Ranger and the snakeskin/apex Nobby Nic?

Finally ready to take the plunge and not sure whether to go Nic front & rear or get a Ranger on the back.

What do the 2.8/3.0 tyres on 27.5+ rims measure in height..? I'm hoping around 740mm, which will be the same as my 26+ 4.0 jumbo Jim's.

@ck - the fast ranger I destroyed at Cwmcarn on the first downhill. The tough ranger survived a descent of snowdon and a week in rocky spain without so much as a burp even when I dinked the rim. It's got a proper sidewall. Heavy tho - took it off and put the NN back on and it was like having two more gears! I've not punctured the NN yet, but not heard good thinks about its longevity in rocky terrain...

Ordered Ranger rear, NN front - thanks.

I'm after something a bit more aggressive for the front in place of the rekon. Thinking of buying a 2.8 minion DHR2 dual and using it on the front through summer. Then switch it to the rear for Autumn/Winter when hopefully the 3C DHF, Magic Mary or Butcher are available.
Is a dual DHR2 going to be grippier than a 3C rekon on the front or should I just go for the 3C DHR2?

I've got my 3.0 Purgatory GRID for sale now, I ended up going back to being 29er - I just found it so much faster, so selling the whole 650b+ setup.

I'm pretty tempted to try it again now it's properly fast, dry conditions, but in the wet it sucked.

Ranger and Nic arrived today.

Impressed with the feel of them, carcasses seem to be the same as the narrower equivalents I usually ride - so feeling optimistic about the sturdiness.

Just need a set of wheels now.

40 scrapers on el guapo boost hubs for 150 on planet x FWIW.

I bought a pair of those wheels. Well pleased with them.

Bought a 2.8 Minion DHR2 which I'm using on the front (at least until the DHF is back in stock). They're meaty and feel sturdier than the Rekons. Those side knobs are massive.

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I'm now running Surly DW 3.0 27+ front and rear on my bike. These differ from the 29+ in that they are made with a softer compound.

The sidewall feels much beefier and has a 'damped' feel quite different from the Schwalbe NN it replaced.

There's probably a small rolling resistance penalty to pay, but the grip tradeoff is well worth it imo. The first plus tyre I've ridden with proper rubber and it grips most excellently in mixed conditions. On damp rock and roots it's in a different league to the NN.

In dry conditions, I really rate the NN though, and although the sidewall feels paper thin, I've found the snakeskin version plenty tough enough.

That DHR looks great. Don't think it'll fit in the Mojo tho as it's already pretty tight with a Nobbly Nic. I'll be getting a dirt wizard for the Stache for Winter. Mate had the 29+ and it was superb in the mud. So good to hear there's a 27.5+ version

Maxxis 2.8s are a hair narrower than a Nic, reckon if a NN fits, the DHR will be fine

Those wonderful people at nextdaytyres have just despatched me a 2.8 DHF 3C. I guess the delivery arrived a bit sooner than expected or they found one down the back of the sofa.

DHF 3C has arrived. Went up easily using a track pump. Didn't even need to remove the valve core.

Going to use DHF 3C up front and keep the dual rekon out back while it's dry.

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how much was the dhf?

£87.99 😳

[url= http://m.nextdaytyres.co.uk/Tyre-Details.aspx?Dia=27.5+&Width=2.8&mfrid= ]Nextdaytyres [/url]

I've just ordered a DHF and DHRII from Nextdaytyres.. - £170!! Oof.

Hopefully they'll last for ages and bring me many smiles so it's all good..

First ride with the 2.8 3C DHF up front. That tyre is a monster. The grip is unbelivable.

My tyre collection has been noticed by the central scrutiniser so I've a spare brand new dual compound DHR2 that I'm selling if anyone is interested.

That DHR II is a monster! Mate has the DHF and yep grips like nothing else. Could easily be used on a small tractor. For BPW in a couple of weeks, I'm going to go with another Rekon I think (to replace the NN). I'm not sure I need any more grip. Certainly happy not to add more weight.

how much!

Is that "how much!" or "How much?"
If the latter, then I've put it up for £60 inc delivery on the classifieds (at least £10 cheaper than I've found online) but I would be open to reasonable offers. I'm not desperate to get rid of it but if I can get a reasonable amount back for it and someone save some money compared to buying it from a store then everyone's a winner.

It's not even been opened.
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Sold!

Meant to put that on the classifieds not on this thread 😳

In other news it seems the Magic Mary 2.8 has disappeared from the Schwalbe line up. Quite disappointed by that.

oh - very much 'how much!' 😀

Del - Member
oh - very much 'how much!'

🙂

Should my wife ever stumble across this thread, that price I quoted earlier is definitely a typo

They're on! Sidewalls feel every but as sturdy as the 29x2.3 Minions but I'm quite surprised how much smaller diameter they are overall. Absolutely love the way they ride - so confidence inspiring and just masses and masses of grip. Not noticeably more draggy on the short rides I've done so far but I'm going to try them out at the Aston Hill Pedalhounds race this weekend which will be interesting. Still need to play around with pressures as not convinced my JoeBlow Booster gauge us accurate to low psi. It said my 29s were at 19/20 and these are at 15/16. Will invest in a digital gauge I think.

Couple of pics and yes, the gardener does need a slap!

[img] https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170620/7d3b7873e6631025902b7e572e321379.jpg [/img][img] https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170620/72a1e003e0302477757a51eb1a3aacc0.jp g" target="_blank">https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170620/7d3b7873e6631025902b7e572e321379.jpg [/img][img] https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170620/72a1e003e0302477757a51eb1a3aacc0.jp g"/> [/img]

Lovely looking bike??

How much difference is there in the outer diameter do you think there is between the plus and the 29?

That second (of the 3) photos hurts my eye, like a vortex / optical illusion

Gotama - Member
Lovely looking bike??

How much difference is there in the outer diameter do you think there is between the plus and the 29?

Thanks

Can measure at the weekend but I'd say a good 30-40mm or so. I haven't raised the BB with the flip chip and still have 140mm forks rather than the 150s SC recommend to prevent pedal strikes, but it feels very planted. Am getting some 160mm 36s so will flip the chip when I fit those.

Good looking chub that 🙂

I'm debating risking my NN Apex 2.8 at BPW next week. I did order another Rekon from Italy of all places. £47 which is the mad world of chubs seems to represent 'good value'

If that doesn't turn up, I might dig out the somewhat second hand WTB ranger 'tractor edition' tough carcass. It is looking a bit sorry for itself after a week in Spain tho.

Be interesting to see how the mojo3 goes at BPW on the chubbies. Had it on the WideTrails last time there. Unless it's raining in which case all bests are off!

Where in Italy was that from Alex?

That second (of the 3) photos hurts my eye, like a vortex / optical illusion

Me too, but I can't resist scrolling back up to look at it.

Where in Italy was that from Alex?

www.Lordgunbicycles.com - free postage kicks in when you buy some other stuff 😉 Ordered Weds, Shipped last night. Apparently ParcelForce will delivery into my sticky hands on Monday.

Cheers Alex.

Just replaced my NNs with Minions.

Here's a comparison:
2.8 apex NN, and 2.8 Minion DHF both on Halo Vapour 35s (30mm internal width)

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Nics wider, any chance you could measure across the carcass please.

Well the NN survived a rocky beating around the black mountains

[url= https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4211/35412327131_23de78fe44_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4211/35412327131_23de78fe44_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/VXgr7k ]Black Mountains MTB - June 2017[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/alexleigh/ ]Alex Leigh[/url], on Flickr

I'm going to leave it on for BPW. That's the kind of rebel I am 🙂 I will be taking a spare tyre in the car tho!

The Minion's survived the Aston Hill Enduro (was dry thankfully) and were just brilliant. There was some pretty tricky off camber sections and they just gripped and gripped while lots of others slide and fell! A few times I got my lines wrong and they were so confidence inspiring that I could just lean it over and know it would find traction.

Very impressed so far although do need to gets some longer forks as had a LOT of pedal strikes.

So Maxxis have brought out 29+ DHF and DHRII. Having seen the 27.5+ DHF, clearly these are going to be monsters. Eye watering Maxxis prices would be enough to put me off tho.

Having sung the praises of my NN after a rocky beating in Wales, it then went flat in the van. Pumped it up, went flat again. Stuck the new rekon on, pumped it up and it was rock solid. Did 7 runs of BPW without so much as a burp. Ran the rear a little harder, didn't notice any reduction in grip.

Not sure I'll go back to the NN as the rekon doesn't roll that much slower. And I'm too lazy 😉

I'd have thought the Rekon much faster rolling than the NN

Well it's noticeably 'less nobbly' but I always thought the NN was one of the faster rolling tyres. They are about the same weight but the rekon definitely has stouter sidewalls.

Very pleased with my DHF front and Rekon rear combo for general riding at the moment. The DHF is mental, cannot believe what an extraordinary tyre it is. I've always been a fan of the standard versions of it, but the plus version is on a whole other level. Just booked up BPW again for 1st Aug so will probably put the DHR2 on the rear for that which means it'll most likely stay on there after that.

What pressures do you use at BPW on the B+, Alex and muggomagic, do you run them quite hard? I've been happy with WTB tyres for general riding on the transmitter, but I went round Llandegla with my boy and found the front horribly squirmy, like it would need a substantial increase over normal pressure. I wasn't riding that hard, though, so don't know if it was a case of getting used to it.

I'd have thought the Rekon much faster rolling than the NN

iirc, rolling resistance data shows that an Ikon has around 50% more rolling resistance than a race king despite then having quite a similar design.

@fifeandy - interesting. I'm still too lazy to change it back tho unless it feels super draggy. On my FlareMax I had the fast rolling WTB ranger on the back and Trail Boss on the front. Super fast, but not much use on anything but loam 😉

I've been happy with the NN. Seemed a good compromise of rolling speed/grip in corners and braking/strength/weight but I wouldn't fancy it at say Antur or anywhere in the lakes or peaks.

What pressures do you use at BPW on the B+

I don't find them squirmy at 16. Not on 41mm ext rims. Occasionally they feel like they 'let go' in a strange way but mostly what I experience is so much grip. Maybe I'm not riding them hard enough.

muggomagic - Member
Very pleased with my DHF front and Rekon rear combo for general riding at the moment. The DHF is mental, cannot believe what an extraordinary tyre it is

Hurrah. At last, it's not just me on this thread raving about it.

fifeandy - Member

Nah, looks like it should from the tread, but Maxxis rubber compounds invariably trade rolling speed for grip.

I has a 2.8 Pacestar NN rear, replaced it with the 60a 2.8 Rekon and am definitely rolling faster. And the Rekon doesn't piss air at the sight of a rock also, which is nice