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Hi Everyone,
I've got an Orange Stage 4 with 29" wheels.
I'm a huge fan of Plus tyres and am wondering if they would work...
I've tried a pair of 27.5*2.8 and they just about fit on the rear but were too tight. But I think an 2.6 would be OK.
The concern that I've got is, that 27.5 Plus tires have a roughly 3cm smaller diameter than 29" so the BB would drop by 1 1/2 cm. Would I be constantly bashing my peddles?
I would say it will be too low! I bought a 27.5 plus bike with 2.8 tyres on it and found the BB to be too low so fitted a set of 29" rims with 2.3 tyres which has lifted it about 10 mm and it is now much better for general natural trail riding.
Are you getting many pedal strikes at the moment? The stage 4 is pretty low already, so it would bother me. But it depends where and how you ride I guess.
Orange said no when I asked on a demo day, but I didn't think the bb on the S4 felt ridiculously low.
Orange say the BB height on a Stage 4 is 327mm with 29" tyres. Plus tyres would drop that to 312mm which seems quite low compared to other bikes I have looked at.
Sounds like its going to work but if I can find a cheep 27.5x2.6 to give it a go, I may...
A 327mm static BB height on a full sus bike, even a relatively short travel one such as the Stage 4, is low... VERY low in fact...
I just tried some 27.5x2.8's on my Whyte S-150 today, static BB height on 2.4" rubber is 341mm, dropped to around 330mm on the 27x2.8's. OK so I have 150mm of travel compared to your 110mm, but my pedals took a hammering today, and I'm used to bikes with low BB's!
312mm is typical hardtail BB height, but you don't have any suspension to compress on the rear on one of those!
One of the reasons I went for the FlareMax over the Stage4 (despite being a bit of an Orange fan) was the low BB on the Stage4. But if you are not getting pedal strikes now it could work, especially if you can fit shorter cranks.
27.5 x 2.6 is not a plus tyre, it’s just a big 27.5” tyre. Most 2.6” tyres are far closer to 2.4 and 2.5” tyres in volume and feel than they are to 2.8” plus tyres.
So you’ll end up with something that doesn’t feel like a plus tyre and drops your BB way too low.
What chiefgrooveguru said. If you already had some, I’d say go for your life, but wouldn’t suggest buying anything to try it...
If the bb will be too low with 27x2.6's, it almost certainly wouldn't work with 27x2.8's either.
There'll be less than 5mm difference in radius between the two, when you're actually sat on the bike.
“If the bb will be too low with 27×2.6’s, it almost certainly wouldn’t work with 27×2.8’s either.”
It’s only a 5mm difference if they’re honestly sized - most 2.6” tyres aren’t. And also, smacking your pedal hard into something vs clearing it by 1mm makes a big difference. That’s one reason why people bother changing their cranks from 175 to 170 or 170 to 165.
As the Stage 4 is inherent low, I’d try the biggest 29” tyres you can fit, if you want a more plus feel. The Specialized 29x2.6, Maxxis 29x2.5 or 2.6, Schwalbe 29x2.35 (maybe 2.6) should all fit.
It’s only a 5mm difference if they’re honestly sized – most 2.6” tyres aren’t. And also, smacking your pedal hard into something vs clearing it by 1mm makes a big difference. That’s one reason why people bother changing their cranks from 175 to 170 or 170 to 165.
I was trying to account for that TBH. Real world measurements, a 2.7x2.8" tyre will be less than 10mm taller than a 27x2.6, and that difference may be halved with tyre sag once sat on the bike.
True, 5mm may be noticable, but it's a lot smaller than the 20mm drop from 29 to 27.