[Closed] When to go 27+ and when to go 29???

Stif are a great shop, very underrated.

i’ve never used the 29 wheels I got for mine when I bought it, I’ve left the plus on the whole time.

helpful? Probably not......

Never really got on with plus tyres on full suspension bikes. Love the plus tyres on my hardtail though which will take 29 too. Only in really sloppy conditions do the plus float a bit, but living in the Lakes I don't often ride in sloppy conditions and plus is mint on rocky stuff.

I think peoples experiences with plus tyres can be very different depending on where and how people ride, your best bet is to swap them around abit a see what works for you. Personally I found plus tyres are great for trail centre hard pack and dry trails and regular tyres work better on wet roots and slop. It’s been a few years since I’ve ridden on plus tyres and there is way more tyre choice now so likely things have improved.

Excellent - my bike Fuel Ex also takes both but I haven't stumped up the cash yet for the 27+ wheelset, was thinking of buying a 27+ hardtail that takes both rather than a new wheel set, what bike did you go for?

Mid winter slop would probably favour a narrow 29er tyre, rest of the time go with the plus

Excellent – my bike Fuel Ex also takes both but I haven’t stumped up the cash yet for the 27+ wheelset, was thinking of buying a 27+ hardtail that takes both rather than a new wheel set, what bike did you go for?

I have gone "full ponce" and ordered a Santa Cruz Hightower. Its a 2018 model with 30% off (hence the only reason i can afford it) 🙂

Tried both + and 29 on my chameleon. Found + wasn't really better at anything. Sticking with 29 on the HT. Next FS will likely be 27.5

I built up some 29er wheels for my Pact hardtail when I first put it together 3 years ago - as an option to the 27.5+ wheels I planned to use. They've been fitted once - for a route that had a high tarmac quotient.

If I'm doing a longish ride which takes in a bit of road and gravel and the terrain is not too technical then I use 29. If I'm at a trail centre or a technical area then for a couple of hours then 27+ all the way.

My Mojo3 was FS plus only. I loved that bike. Seemed really suited to plus tyres although I get the point they make more sense on a HT. Ran by Solaris FlareMax on chubby and 29 and preferred it on chubby. HT is chubby and with a 2.8 magic Mary I reckon I'm going to avoid putting the 29s on this winter.

Most of my riding is FoD so there's not that much rock, but I did a week in Spain on chubbies without a problem. I'd try them both and see which one you like more.

Try both? Tell us what you think.....

Try both? Tell us what you think…..

Oh i will, i just appreciate the collective wisdom of those who have been before, although opinion seems quite divided on the subject. As most of my riding is rocky peaks stuff then they sound pretty good. But the bike is being built as a 29r so will try that first.

Fwiw I ride flint, loam and roots. Reasonable tech, a few small jumps. Dhf/dhr 2.8 Vs Hans dampf/chunky monkey 2.3/2.4 f/r.

I wax and wane a little as to which I prefer - am running plus on my Solaris, and have 29 on my Full Suss. The new crop of plus and semi plus (2.6) seem to address the shortcomings of the original plus tyres of a couple of years back.

I've also opted to race plus over 29 wheels through the summer on two occasions.

That said, I am playing with 2.6's on the 29 at the moment. Best of both worlds!?

Having the 29er wheels set up with some skinnier tyres (like 2.0-2.1 inches) would help a lot if/when you do any less technical riding.

But if you set up the 29er wheels with 2.4" tyres or something, they're not going to feel hugely different from the 27+ ones.

^ pretty much what I found. It didn't help that I was ss, and I got the gearing 'about' right, but it was always a little bit tall. I couldn't be arsed to cock about with it any further. I'd done about 6 months on both by the point I made my choice so felt I'd conducted the experiment to my satisfaction. For my use 29 win. Ymmv.

I've used plus tyres on two FS bikes and two hardtails. Gone back to 29 on everything now - I think they corner better and more predictable/fun to ride. But plus tyres have a place, very comfy, loads of grip in some situations. Just try them out and go with what you prefer.

Or get some schwalbe big apples for the 29er wheels, use them on fast, bone dry terrain.

27+ if you like fixing tyres.

It's worth paying attention to tyre sidewalls etc if setting up Plus.

jam bo's crack refers to first main rush of plus tyres when manufacturers were crapping themselves about weight and made everything as light as possible with the effect that they were exceptionally easy to tear.

Proper 'plus' tyres that can stand up to being used in the real world exist now but the old flyweight stuff is still around so if something looks remarkably light for such a big tyre it's usually worth looking more closely.

Personally I'm running 27+ with Rekons on the Travers RussTi for winter, geared down to a 32 & Eagle cassette, on the summer whippet I'm running 29er Ikons and 36t with Eagle, I find the combination works well for where I ride, mostly natural trails that get claggy in winter so the grip and clearance on the 27+ is great, then in the summer the whippet is awesome, fast and furious.

I did the final Brecon Beast on the 27+, which was perfect, rode everything including descents full suspension riders were walking and the climb on the long course most were walking, if I'm at Thetford or Swinley I tend to take the 29er whippet.

FFS paste STILL doesn't work under Chrome/Android!!

Wrt punctures I didn't find the dhf/dhr any worse than 26er or 29er, and I rimmed the rear a few times til i got the pressures dialled. I've cut side walls on light tyres often enough to know the risks and likely places to do it, and it wasn't something the maxxis + tyres were prone to IME.

I've got a 2017 Hightower. It's significantly better on 29" wheels. I found the 27.5+ wheels made it vague and trickier to keep on line.  I think plus is great on hardtail, but for full suspension it's just not accurate enough for my liking.

I enjoyed plus so much I'm about to sell the wheels and tyres..

Anyone else found rear clearance on the Hightower a bit tight when using 29er wheels (and Schwalbe 2.35 width tyres)?  Chip set to 29er 'mode'.

Rather predictably, on the Hightower I've found 27.5+ to be fun at trail centres and good for technical riding, but 29ers much more efficient for XC type rides.