It’s funny when the Plus tires first came out there were numerous technical videos showing how superior they are to narrower tires but the market didn’t respond. I guess sometimes better is just not enough. I use plus tires and I love them but I’m very much alone in that decision. I’ll be ok.😉
Frankly, you are not remotely alone!! I have 3 plussers. One FS, affectionately known as my Fleetwood Brougham, a singlespeed enduro HT and a geared HT. All are wearing 3.0's on i45's. I cannot get enough of the singlespeed Punkass bike. The Wildcat aka, Fleetwood Brougham is plush and is a real hoot on the trails.
I believe that plus tires were discard from the industry more than the users. I mean they were concerned about redesign geometry and building process for bike/wheels that are more fun than racey, so they focus just on the race side. I love how fun and capable my hardtail is with 2,8 or 3,0"
Im running vittoria mezcal 2.25 rear and barzo 2.35 front on Hunt race xc 24mm rims and it seems to be a good fit. Ive also run maxxis 2.6 on 30mm wtb's with good results
I remember perusing an old Ritchey catalog from the 90's and was really surprised to see that their entry level rims were 20mm wide and their top-spec rims were 17mm! And it gets crazier, the catalog even says those 17s can fit tires as wide as 2.35"!
Í founded that 1.8x-2.5x relation of rim width from tire are in the actual sweet spot. And optimal relation is actually 2x the width of tire from rim inner width. By example, a 30mm inner width rim works optimal with a 60mm ETRTO width in tire, wich is roughly 2.35" in mostly of brands.
after damaging one of my wheels on a 2016 cross-country bike which had 27.5x2.25 with 21mm jaw width I had to replace one with 24mm jaw width nothing else was available in my axle size and pretty quickly replaced the second rim because the wider rim wheel felt stabler so I totally believe you, my bike was always unstable (obsolete geometry 70° head tube angle) and that little difference helped it I can finally pedal without holding the handlebar yay
2.4 with 30mm dt Swiss rims they don’t like low pressure! Dhr2 front and back on my yt Jeffsy. Pretty good on loam. I still like my plus hard core hard tail! 2.8 tyres very good winter bike silverback slade 120mm
Stock Fuel EX8 with 2.6 inch XR4s on 30m IW rims. I'm just about ready for new tires soon and thinking about lighter narrower tires. I'd like to see how much faster I am with 2.35 inch tires or may just stick with 2.6 so to keep running the low pressure and not get pinch flats on our rooty trails. So many tires to choose from.
27.5+ rider here. Nothing wrong with them - especially since the bike was converted using CYC Photon. Extremely grippy and perfect for where I usually ride. Don't care about the higher rolling resistance, since this is an ebike.
I couldn't take the road rims on mountainbikes back in the 90's. I hoarded rims back then since I hated narrow rims that required overinflation to ride in a straight line without peeling tires off the damn things. The 90's was the weight weenie era and people thought narrow, lighter rims were wonderful. Sure, they dropped rotational weight but 65 psi for a 135 pound rider was like filling tires with tungsten! I love my i45's and 3.0 single ply tires!! I was running Ukai back in the 70's that were wider than anything else at the time. That worked nicely with 2.125's that were the fattest available in the beginning.
On both my Laufey and Rallon. I'm running 30mm rims on both bike. On the Laufey I run 29x2.6 tyres. On my Rallon I run 29x2.5 front and either 29x2.4 or 27.5x2.4.
I use Maxis Minion DHF Front Tyre WT 27,5x2,50" TR EXO Dual 60, Minion DHR II Rear Tyre WT 27,5 x 2,40" TR EXO Dual and DTSWISS H 1900 Spline® 27,5" 35mm - They run very well on lower pressure (approx 20psi) with my 100kg system weight. I use them mostly in Wood areas with soft underground. Totally works fo me.
I’ve appreciated Ibis being a big proponent of the plus size tires. My Mojo HD4 came with 38mm rims and I replaced it with a 35mm in the rear when I damaged the original wheel. I’ve run 2.4, 2.5 and 2.6 and definitely like the slightly wider 2.5 and 2.6 tires on rocky terrain, I do find myself pumping up to higher pressures for more speed on smooth flow trails.
I have a 2013 Giant XTC that I absolutely love, I have Mavic Crossmax ST rims that are 19mm with and run Maxxis 2.25 tires. It definitely has some flex in the corners, but has a nice comfortable ride. Problem is finding tires these days that fit my rims. The front is through axel, but the rear is a scure. Not much else I can do unfortunately. This bike is completely built, the only thing original on the bike is the frame lol. Even installed a nice set of RocShox SID forks.
Having te ETRTO info, why can't the Tyre and Rim manufacturers just publish a table of which works with which! Or even ave a Reddy-reckonner from the ETRTO? It's does not have to be and endorements from either manufactuer either way.
I'm not shredding trails, but go on very long rides. My Orox came with 35mm rims and replacing its rear 2.6" Johnny Watts to Barzo 2.1" made it far more comfortable. Yes, it's not always the tire and rim size ratio, but also tire compound, treads, layers, sidewalls stiffness, etc. I probably have to replace tires much faster now, but comfort and speed are what I seek.
Everything comes down to tire construction. So many are using a low TPI, heavy tire when they can go with a higher TPI. Tread design and compound makes a difference too. Think of it like this. Install Load Range E tires on a Subaru and let me know how it performs and what the ride quality is like. Now install Load Range B and test drive again. Biiiig difference, no? Well, yes!!!
I use 25 internal width on my DH rig... Not sure where I'll get replacements when I bust a rim but I still have a few spare. It's to avoid rock strikes and to round off the thread btw.
Rim choice is done by rider preference and application of said wheels. Kinda like asking what tire pressure or saddle, subjective as hell. My dirt couch has i30's and 2.7's, for instance. Annual Keystone pass and also hand off a joint to a Jeeper headed up Ajax, Aspen for a lift.
I can’t imagine using i25 or i28mm rim width with my 2.4 to 2.6” tires. Especially since I have gravel bike rims at i26 and i28 that have 700x40 and 700x45c tires that set up very nicely. The only reason I can see for choosing a narrow i26-28mm rim for Mtn bikes is for weight savings and for narrow 2.1 -2.3” XC tires
I think it's important to understand optimization is most of the time a reverse U shape. If you get your combination slightly wrong you'll get very close to the best performance. So 1 or 2 mm is no issue. Your 25mm rim on anything up to 2.4 are fine. The 17 are not.
Thank you for a very informative video My bikes are hybrid not MTB but rim width does matter One bike has 21mm rim width and the 40-622 Schwalbe tires measure 40mm One bike has 19mm rim width, the Kenda 44-622 measures 40mm and the Continental 42-622 measures 38mm Both the Kenda and Continental are labeled 700-42c, the Continental is also marked 1.60 inch (which is 40mm) ETRTO markings are much more accurate than 700-xxC Rim width does matter when deciding on tire size versus measured tire width
I wonder how tire width im affects the tire profile in terms of being linear when you roll the tire over. In motorcycles if you oversize the tire to rim width, it creates a profile which actually gives less tire contact, and the side profile being pinched, when you roll the bike over to corner, it gets super vague as its not linear. Is this also true of MTB tires? or is the less soft sidewall more able to conform and not pinch the profile. Here in Alberta\Canada the Plus tire bikes are really nice for lighter snow, shoulder season riding, but another bike you have to own between skinny\fat.
I believe that tire production companies test their products on both types of rims and that tire specifications are designed to accommodate various stresses 🤔
My bike came with 35mm Enduro double wall wheels and 2.6 Hans Dampf tires. Is that excessive tire width? Also, Recently went to 2.3 rear with Hand Dampf SuperTrail casing, tubeless, with a bit more PSI but im 160lbs weight. Is that still fine or should I be wheel shopping?
Great question Theres lots of variables - and where and what you ride will be big factors in tyre choice. 35mm internal width rim - is big so its probably better suited to wider tyres - yes 2.6 is big - but you can get some fast rolling / lower knob height tyres in a 2.4 / 2.5 that could work with the wider rim but give a faster rolling feel? Cheers Owen
Owen, question if I can - are the tyres my bike came with the best possible option for my bike, or has it just come with those because thats what they had in the factory? (Orbea Occam) And do manufacturers ever design bikes around specific tyres?
Hi Matt, Great question! This is such a great question - I know some brands developed bikes around a rough tyre size - as its helps define the geometry - but - leave it with me and I'll try and find out! Cheers Owen
I can name at least 4 currently made British hardtails that can fit either 27.5+, 29x2.6 or 29+. It still exists. Hell the Trek Roscoe Hardtail & a lot of the Ibis bikes can fit at least 29x2.6.
I have royal traverse with 30 internal. Can I run a maxxis 2.5 minion dh casing. The tyre the bike comes with are 2.3 butchers. 29" front and 27.5 rear.
Pirelli conturato gravel M 700x50 on 21 int are 51,5mm, on 25 int are 51mm so not exactly wider. Why is that ? Should they be not wider than 53mm on 28int width?
On a recent tour of France and Spain I noted the locals were using 2.6 wide tyres. On the tracks I rode nearly every hardtail came so equipped. Was this because of the nature of the tracks where I was, not so, as guys from the Holland were similarly kitted out! On return I looked on line for 2.6 wide tyres, sadly nothing doing. I have the wide rim ready but nowt to put on it. Owen do me a favour and advise where a 26" x 2.60 can be obtained to fix, Thanks Ray.
that's your problem right there. You are trying to find a 26" tire but most tire manufacturers aren't really making 26" tires anymore. It seems even 27.5 may be going away soon since most bikes nowadays are sold with 29 inch rims.
All this rim to tire width optimization is a bunch of malarkey. Practically speaking, running an i30mm to i32mm rim with anything from a 45mm tire to a 2.8 tire is reasonable. Zipp recently released i32 rims for gravel bikes. Nearly every mountain bike comes with i30 rims with 2.3 to 2.6 tires. If it was up to me, all mountain and gravel bikes would come with i32 rims and all tires from 45mm to 2.8 would be designed for i32mm rims. The bike industry has too many options which just drive up prices. Maxxis has done this for it's Mountain tires with the WT, Wide Trail, designation which means the tires are designed for i30 to i35 rims which is essentially i32 rims. I run 2.6 mountain tires on i30 rims at 18psi and it works great. I also run 47mm gravel tires on i30 rims at 26psi and it also works great.
I have a nice enduro bike (Revel rail29) but would like to have a dh bike. Could i upgrade the travel by changing the shock stroke and compensating for clearance by putting a 27.5" rear wheel? Then i’d put a dh fork upfront (with proper hub & everything) which would bring the bottom bracket higher. Obviously the new head angle (~62°) would void my warranty but at 130lbs (60kg) this isn’t a problem #AskGMBNTech
Increasing the shock stroke won’t work on most bikes, the limitation is in the shock yoke and linkage design and you could have parts touching at the end of a longer stroke shock. May be possible with some bikes but the Rail has a pretty decent amount of travel already so shouldn’t be a huge problem or give much more confidence. You could likely run a dual crown fork, but the head tube isn’t necessarily designed with necessary reinforcements for a dual crown so Revel won’t recommend it, but is more likely than not plenty just not designed around that use. A dual crown would definitely be stiffer and make more slack but you’re giving up turning radius and major climbing abilities on switchbacks and you’ll wheel out a lot quicker. Unless you only do lift access I wouldn’t do it, not a super quick swap unless you get a dedicated front brake for each fork, and if you only do lift access a true downhill rig would be worth a swap.
Interesting insights - always welcomed - Loic is special no question - and agreed you don't have to stick with what brands recommend in regards to tyre and rim widths - but I'm not sure what rim Loic runs completely debunks the science behind wider rim options - running mixed sizing wide rim and narrow tyres - can come with some limitations - and with potentially more flats or more damaged rim - which isn't something Loic or many racers have to worry about per se - as they'll get replacement rims regularly and fresh rubber very often. Again great to read your insights! Cheers Owen
@@OwenBikeNerd bruni is far from the only dh racer to use the ex471, in fact it’s still one of the most popular rims during the wc races. Can’t just write it off as him being special. I currently run 511’s but had no trouble with the 471’s I used before. Slightly different ride feel but not necessarily better or worse, just more rounded.
#askgmbntech what are the best tyres for on and off road i do more than 50% on the road but would say off road ability is more important to me i tried a 700x35c tire on the back was a tiny bit faster on the road but way slower off road rim widths ive got are 19/24/30mm on 3 bikes nobby nic/magic mary 2.4 up front but cant decide what to put on the back
You should be fine with that combination. If you want to be 100% sure check if the tyre manufacturer has a chart for what rim widths to use. For example WTB's chart says a 55mm (2.2") tyre on a 21mm rim is "compatible" but not "optimal". Contiental's says that 47-57mm tyres are fine on even a 17mm rim. It used to be normal for people to run up to 2.35" tyres on rims as narrow as 17mm-19mm because that's what was available. On the other hand, back then not as many people were running tubeless and they used to run higher pressures to avoid pinch flats. When you run a modern tubeless setup with lower pressure it helps to have a wider rim so that the tyre is properly supported and so it won't get all squirrely when cornering or landing off jumps/drops and will be less likely to roll off the rim.
LET'S ADDRESS THIS!!! 1. Tyre shape as a result of rim width is IRRELEVANT!!! Due to 'Tyre Sag', ALL of the tyre thread(& perhaps some of the sidewall when using low pressures)makes contact with the ground when a rider is sat on the bike... I(at about 110kgs)experience this with 50PSI & 2.2/2.1 tyres - so those of you running super low pressures are GUARANTEED to share the experience... Go on - sit on your bike & look at how much of the thread is making contact... 2. When a tyre is used with a rim that is considered 'too wide', the resulting tyre wall 'stiffness' - when running properly high pressures(low tyre pressures DO NOT promote ANY sort of wall stiffness - which is why tyre manufacturers compensate by making sidewalls thicker & hence, heavier) - RESISTS compression which In Fact Would REDUCE Pinch Flats, ESPECIALLY in cases where the bike has SUSPENSION(which is what should be dealing with absorbing of impacts with roots etc anyway - NOT TYRES)... 3. Running tyres hard narrow with high pressures DOES INCREASE rolling efficiency & speed......on hard surfaces(on the road)... Come on man... P.S. & come to think of it(I just thought of this whilst watching this video), running tyres at low pressures in order to prevent ''Impedance Losses'' may also prevent said tyres' thread from digging into dirt reducing grip - because tyre carcasses using a low PSI are less able to support their thread(knobs), making them less able to push said thread(knobs)into dirt, which will reduce grip... But I guess the Industry will again compensate for this, by making tyre threads(knobs) longer(& hence, heavier)... 🤔
@@MarvinConnell go ahead and put a 3" tire on a 20mm rim and get back to us. I can clearly see that my side knobs at low pressure are not gathering dirt while rolling (29" x 2.6", 20/24psi, 160lbs). Making a blanket judgement off of a single baseless observation like you have is silly at best. Tire manufacturers continue to make all lengths of tread depth and sidewall thickness, you still have your options.
Overkill in my opinion. Run proper pressure and don't over-ride your tire functional limits. No point in bombarding your brain with all this less than marginal gains over-complicated gibberish - you'll go nuts and go broke chasing this goldilocks scenario. Don't ride under inflated tires and just go ride.
Ridden and raced 50c, 2.1, 2.25, 2.4, 2.6 and 3.0. 19 (!), 25, 28 and 30mm rims. My favorite is 2.25 on 25mm id rim.
It’s funny when the Plus tires first came out there were numerous technical videos showing how superior they are to narrower tires but the market didn’t respond. I guess sometimes better is just not enough. I use plus tires and I love them but I’m very much alone in that decision. I’ll be ok.😉
Seems like 2017/2018 plus tires were crazy popular.
Plus tires are better in almost every aspect. Jan Heine. Rene Herse. Tires & Technical data.
Frankly, you are not remotely alone!! I have 3 plussers. One FS, affectionately known as my Fleetwood Brougham, a singlespeed enduro HT and a geared HT. All are wearing 3.0's on i45's. I cannot get enough of the singlespeed Punkass bike. The Wildcat aka, Fleetwood Brougham is plush and is a real hoot on the trails.
@@rider65 Heine is notorious for some very good tire writeups.
I believe that plus tires were discard from the industry more than the users. I mean they were concerned about redesign geometry and building process for bike/wheels that are more fun than racey, so they focus just on the race side.
I love how fun and capable my hardtail is with 2,8 or 3,0"
29x3 on a 45mm rim will forever be my favorite combination. Now I just have to hope there will be enough demand to keep it alive…
There's very few "normal" frames that would fit them 😅
@@LaurentiusTriarius John Deere have them.
@@RideYearRound try to get a fat bike bro
Im running vittoria mezcal 2.25 rear and barzo 2.35 front on Hunt race xc 24mm rims and it seems to be a good fit. Ive also run maxxis 2.6 on 30mm wtb's with good results
4:48 clearest explanation of this I've heard thus far, great job!
I'm using a Michelin wild AM set of 29x2.4 tyres with a pair of WTB KOM TRAIL i35 pair of rims. They are working great
ETRTO compatibility chart actually tells me my 30mm rims are compatible with a broader range of tire widths than I had assumed.
I Run 30 mm Rims on my Enduro 2.50 Assegais and 32mm Rims on my DH Bike 2.50 Assegais
I remember perusing an old Ritchey catalog from the 90's and was really surprised to see that their entry level rims were 20mm wide and their top-spec rims were 17mm! And it gets crazier, the catalog even says those 17s can fit tires as wide as 2.35"!
What is really amusing me is that a 4.8 will fit on that roadie width too. Albeit, not practical but did so just to blow some minds.
Í founded that 1.8x-2.5x relation of rim width from tire are in the actual sweet spot. And optimal relation is actually 2x the width of tire from rim inner width. By example, a 30mm inner width rim works optimal with a 60mm ETRTO width in tire, wich is roughly 2.35" in mostly of brands.
after damaging one of my wheels on a 2016 cross-country bike which had 27.5x2.25 with 21mm jaw width I had to replace one with 24mm jaw width nothing else was available in my axle size and pretty quickly replaced the second rim because the wider rim wheel felt stabler so I totally believe you, my bike was always unstable (obsolete geometry 70° head tube angle) and that little difference helped it I can finally pedal without holding the handlebar yay
Do you know what width rims you have? What size tyres do you run on your bike?
29x2.4 on a Chinese 30mm rim
2.4 with 30mm dt Swiss rims they don’t like low pressure! Dhr2 front and back on my yt Jeffsy. Pretty good on loam. I still like my plus hard core hard tail! 2.8 tyres very good winter bike silverback slade 120mm
Stock Fuel EX8 with 2.6 inch XR4s on 30m IW rims. I'm just about ready for new tires soon and thinking about lighter narrower tires. I'd like to see how much faster I am with 2.35 inch tires or may just stick with 2.6 so to keep running the low pressure and not get pinch flats on our rooty trails. So many tires to choose from.
29x2,40 front and back on 30 mm wide carbon wheels and 29x2,35 and 29x2,25 front and back on 25mm wide alu wheels
26” wheels on 19 mm Mavic inner width rims with 2.2” Continental RaceKing Tubeless
27.5+ rider here. Nothing wrong with them - especially since the bike was converted using CYC Photon. Extremely grippy and perfect for where I usually ride. Don't care about the higher rolling resistance, since this is an ebike.
I couldn't take the road rims on mountainbikes back in the 90's. I hoarded rims back then since I hated narrow rims that required overinflation to ride in a straight line without peeling tires off the damn things. The 90's was the weight weenie era and people thought narrow, lighter rims were wonderful. Sure, they dropped rotational weight but 65 psi for a 135 pound rider was like filling tires with tungsten! I love my i45's and 3.0 single ply tires!!
I was running Ukai back in the 70's that were wider than anything else at the time. That worked nicely with 2.125's that were the fattest available in the beginning.
On both my Laufey and Rallon. I'm running 30mm rims on both bike. On the Laufey I run 29x2.6 tyres. On my Rallon I run 29x2.5 front and either 29x2.4 or 27.5x2.4.
3:12 - I'm the oddball on my local trails always riding the fatty with 4.8" tires.
I use Maxis Minion DHF Front Tyre WT 27,5x2,50" TR EXO Dual 60, Minion DHR II Rear Tyre WT 27,5 x 2,40" TR EXO Dual and DTSWISS H 1900 Spline® 27,5" 35mm - They run very well on lower pressure (approx 20psi) with my 100kg system weight. I use them mostly in Wood areas with soft underground. Totally works fo me.
I’ve appreciated Ibis being a big proponent of the plus size tires. My Mojo HD4 came with 38mm rims and I replaced it with a 35mm in the rear when I damaged the original wheel. I’ve run 2.4, 2.5 and 2.6 and definitely like the slightly wider 2.5 and 2.6 tires on rocky terrain, I do find myself pumping up to higher pressures for more speed on smooth flow trails.
I have a 2013 Giant XTC that I absolutely love, I have Mavic Crossmax ST rims that are 19mm with and run Maxxis 2.25 tires. It definitely has some flex in the corners, but has a nice comfortable ride. Problem is finding tires these days that fit my rims. The front is through axel, but the rear is a scure. Not much else I can do unfortunately. This bike is completely built, the only thing original on the bike is the frame lol. Even installed a nice set of RocShox SID forks.
Having te ETRTO info, why can't the Tyre and Rim manufacturers just publish a table of which works with which! Or even ave a Reddy-reckonner from the ETRTO? It's does not have to be and endorements from either manufactuer either way.
DT Swiss has a 3 pages chart on its website
I'm not shredding trails, but go on very long rides. My Orox came with 35mm rims and replacing its rear 2.6" Johnny Watts to Barzo 2.1" made it far more comfortable. Yes, it's not always the tire and rim size ratio, but also tire compound, treads, layers, sidewalls stiffness, etc. I probably have to replace tires much faster now, but comfort and speed are what I seek.
Everything comes down to tire construction. So many are using a low TPI, heavy tire when they can go with a higher TPI. Tread design and compound makes a difference too.
Think of it like this. Install Load Range E tires on a Subaru and let me know how it performs and what the ride quality is like. Now install Load Range B and test drive again. Biiiig difference, no? Well, yes!!!
Why DH world cup competition most of them uses 23-25mm inner with
I use 25 internal width on my DH rig... Not sure where I'll get replacements when I bust a rim but I still have a few spare.
It's to avoid rock strikes and to round off the thread btw.
Rim choice is done by rider preference and application of said wheels. Kinda like asking what tire pressure or saddle, subjective as hell. My dirt couch has i30's and 2.7's, for instance. Annual Keystone pass and also hand off a joint to a Jeeper headed up Ajax, Aspen for a lift.
Maybe I'm missing something, but where's a table, or a link to a table, to decipher rim width and tire width combinations?
Search engines provide that. I've looked up that data before.
WTB's website has a pretty decent one
Agreed! You can Google for ERTO tire rim width compatibility, and you will find tables from Schwalbe and WTB that largely say the same thing.
Interesting stuff
I can’t imagine using i25 or i28mm rim width with my 2.4 to 2.6” tires.
Especially since I have gravel bike rims at i26 and i28 that have 700x40 and 700x45c tires that set up very nicely.
The only reason I can see for choosing a narrow i26-28mm rim for Mtn bikes is for weight savings and for narrow 2.1 -2.3” XC tires
7:41 It says 55-622. Where did you get 622x60, and how did you convert that to 2.4?
I think it's important to understand optimization is most of the time a reverse U shape. If you get your combination slightly wrong you'll get very close to the best performance. So 1 or 2 mm is no issue. Your 25mm rim on anything up to 2.4 are fine. The 17 are not.
So a 2.3 should be fine on a 23mm ID rim then? I think it's right at the limit but still won't hurt performance.
Thank you for a very informative video
My bikes are hybrid not MTB but rim width does matter
One bike has 21mm rim width and the 40-622 Schwalbe tires measure 40mm
One bike has 19mm rim width, the Kenda 44-622 measures 40mm and the Continental 42-622 measures 38mm
Both the Kenda and Continental are labeled 700-42c, the Continental is also marked 1.60 inch (which is 40mm)
ETRTO markings are much more accurate than 700-xxC
Rim width does matter when deciding on tire size versus measured tire width
I wonder how tire width
im affects the tire profile in terms of being linear when you roll the tire over. In motorcycles if you oversize the tire to rim width, it creates a profile which actually gives less tire contact, and the side profile being pinched, when you roll the bike over to corner, it gets super vague as its not linear. Is this also true of MTB tires? or is the less soft sidewall more able to conform and not pinch the profile. Here in Alberta\Canada the Plus tire bikes are really nice for lighter snow, shoulder season riding, but another bike you have to own between skinny\fat.
Please do a review on the new radial tires from Schwalbe
I believe that tire production companies test their products on both types of rims and that tire specifications are designed to accommodate various stresses 🤔
i always think of the movie throw momma from the train when i see OWENNNNNN!
My bike came with 35mm Enduro double wall wheels and 2.6 Hans Dampf tires. Is that excessive tire width? Also, Recently went to 2.3 rear with Hand Dampf SuperTrail casing, tubeless, with a bit more PSI but im 160lbs weight. Is that still fine or should I be wheel shopping?
Great question
Theres lots of variables - and where and what you ride will be big factors in tyre choice.
35mm internal width rim - is big so its probably better suited to wider tyres - yes 2.6 is big - but you can get some fast rolling / lower knob height tyres in a 2.4 / 2.5 that could work with the wider rim but give a faster rolling feel?
Cheers
Owen
Got some i29 with some hillbilly 2.6
Owen, question if I can - are the tyres my bike came with the best possible option for my bike, or has it just come with those because thats what they had in the factory? (Orbea Occam) And do manufacturers ever design bikes around specific tyres?
Hi Matt,
Great question!
This is such a great question - I know some brands developed bikes around a rough tyre size - as its helps define the geometry - but - leave it with me and I'll try and find out!
Cheers
Owen
I can name at least 4 currently made British hardtails that can fit either 27.5+, 29x2.6 or 29+. It still exists. Hell the Trek Roscoe Hardtail & a lot of the Ibis bikes can fit at least 29x2.6.
I’m running a 2.35 on a ENVE AM30 and it looks pretty weird. Very squared off, and shallow.
I have royal traverse with 30 internal. Can I run a maxxis 2.5 minion dh casing. The tyre the bike comes with are 2.3 butchers. 29" front and 27.5 rear.
"Plus tyres were a fad"
-Everyone riding 2.6 tyres
Pirelli conturato gravel M 700x50 on 21 int are 51,5mm, on 25 int are 51mm so not exactly wider. Why is that ? Should they be not wider than 53mm on 28int width?
On a recent tour of France and Spain I noted the locals were using 2.6 wide tyres. On the tracks I rode nearly every hardtail came so equipped. Was this because of the nature of the tracks where I was, not so, as guys from the Holland were similarly kitted out! On return I looked on line for 2.6 wide tyres, sadly nothing doing. I have the wide rim ready but nowt to put on it. Owen do me a favour and advise where a 26" x 2.60 can be obtained to fix, Thanks Ray.
that's your problem right there. You are trying to find a 26" tire but most tire manufacturers aren't really making 26" tires anymore. It seems even 27.5 may be going away soon since most bikes nowadays are sold with 29 inch rims.
All this rim to tire width optimization is a bunch of malarkey. Practically speaking, running an i30mm to i32mm rim with anything from a 45mm tire to a 2.8 tire is reasonable. Zipp recently released i32 rims for gravel bikes. Nearly every mountain bike comes with i30 rims with 2.3 to 2.6 tires. If it was up to me, all mountain and gravel bikes would come with i32 rims and all tires from 45mm to 2.8 would be designed for i32mm rims. The bike industry has too many options which just drive up prices. Maxxis has done this for it's Mountain tires with the WT, Wide Trail, designation which means the tires are designed for i30 to i35 rims which is essentially i32 rims. I run 2.6 mountain tires on i30 rims at 18psi and it works great. I also run 47mm gravel tires on i30 rims at 26psi and it also works great.
I have a nice enduro bike (Revel rail29) but would like to have a dh bike. Could i upgrade the travel by changing the shock stroke and compensating for clearance by putting a 27.5" rear wheel? Then i’d put a dh fork upfront (with proper hub & everything) which would bring the bottom bracket higher. Obviously the new head angle (~62°) would void my warranty but at 130lbs (60kg) this isn’t a problem #AskGMBNTech
Increasing the shock stroke won’t work on most bikes, the limitation is in the shock yoke and linkage design and you could have parts touching at the end of a longer stroke shock. May be possible with some bikes but the Rail has a pretty decent amount of travel already so shouldn’t be a huge problem or give much more confidence. You could likely run a dual crown fork, but the head tube isn’t necessarily designed with necessary reinforcements for a dual crown so Revel won’t recommend it, but is more likely than not plenty just not designed around that use. A dual crown would definitely be stiffer and make more slack but you’re giving up turning radius and major climbing abilities on switchbacks and you’ll wheel out a lot quicker. Unless you only do lift access I wouldn’t do it, not a super quick swap unless you get a dedicated front brake for each fork, and if you only do lift access a true downhill rig would be worth a swap.
And then there’s Loic Bruni who runs a 25mm rear rim width with a 2.4” tire for extra compliance….to debunk all of this. Run what you brung…
🙄
what a stupid comment. Most people aren’t world cup DH racers
Shows once again how gmbn has become a complete muppet show.
Interesting insights - always welcomed -
Loic is special no question - and agreed you don't have to stick with what brands recommend in regards to tyre and rim widths - but I'm not sure what rim Loic runs completely debunks the science behind wider rim options - running mixed sizing wide rim and narrow tyres - can come with some limitations - and with potentially more flats or more damaged rim - which isn't something Loic or many racers have to worry about per se - as they'll get replacement rims regularly and fresh rubber very often.
Again great to read your insights!
Cheers
Owen
@@OwenBikeNerd bruni is far from the only dh racer to use the ex471, in fact it’s still one of the most popular rims during the wc races. Can’t just write it off as him being special. I currently run 511’s but had no trouble with the 471’s I used before. Slightly different ride feel but not necessarily better or worse, just more rounded.
#askgmbntech what are the best tyres for on and off road i do more than 50% on the road but would say off road ability is more important to me i tried a 700x35c tire on the back was a tiny bit faster on the road but way slower off road rim widths ive got are 19/24/30mm on 3 bikes nobby nic/magic mary 2.4 up front but cant decide what to put on the back
Is 21mm inner rim width and a 2.20 tire will work?
You should be fine with that combination. If you want to be 100% sure check if the tyre manufacturer has a chart for what rim widths to use. For example WTB's chart says a 55mm (2.2") tyre on a 21mm rim is "compatible" but not "optimal". Contiental's says that 47-57mm tyres are fine on even a 17mm rim.
It used to be normal for people to run up to 2.35" tyres on rims as narrow as 17mm-19mm because that's what was available. On the other hand, back then not as many people were running tubeless and they used to run higher pressures to avoid pinch flats. When you run a modern tubeless setup with lower pressure it helps to have a wider rim so that the tyre is properly supported and so it won't get all squirrely when cornering or landing off jumps/drops and will be less likely to roll off the rim.
It’s pretty hard to fall off the tables. The allowable range is very broad.
...and yet, most DH teams seem to run relatively narrow rims
I feel more confused now than before I started the video 😆
I think the best benefit of a fatter tire is that it looks cool 😎 😂
LET'S ADDRESS THIS!!! 1. Tyre shape as a result of rim width is IRRELEVANT!!! Due to 'Tyre Sag', ALL of the tyre thread(& perhaps some of the sidewall when using low pressures)makes contact with the ground when a rider is sat on the bike... I(at about 110kgs)experience this with 50PSI & 2.2/2.1 tyres - so those of you running super low pressures are GUARANTEED to share the experience... Go on - sit on your bike & look at how much of the thread is making contact... 2. When a tyre is used with a rim that is considered 'too wide', the resulting tyre wall 'stiffness' - when running properly high pressures(low tyre pressures DO NOT promote ANY sort of wall stiffness - which is why tyre manufacturers compensate by making sidewalls thicker & hence, heavier) - RESISTS compression which In Fact Would REDUCE Pinch Flats, ESPECIALLY in cases where the bike has SUSPENSION(which is what should be dealing with absorbing of impacts with roots etc anyway - NOT TYRES)... 3. Running tyres hard narrow with high pressures DOES INCREASE rolling efficiency & speed......on hard surfaces(on the road)... Come on man... P.S. & come to think of it(I just thought of this whilst watching this video), running tyres at low pressures in order to prevent ''Impedance Losses'' may also prevent said tyres' thread from digging into dirt reducing grip - because tyre carcasses using a low PSI are less able to support their thread(knobs), making them less able to push said thread(knobs)into dirt, which will reduce grip... But I guess the Industry will again compensate for this, by making tyre threads(knobs) longer(& hence, heavier)... 🤔
@@MarvinConnell go ahead and put a 3" tire on a 20mm rim and get back to us.
I can clearly see that my side knobs at low pressure are not gathering dirt while rolling (29" x 2.6", 20/24psi, 160lbs). Making a blanket judgement off of a single baseless observation like you have is silly at best.
Tire manufacturers continue to make all lengths of tread depth and sidewall thickness, you still have your options.
32 id 2.5 on my trail bike 32 id 2.35 on my jump bike. 30 id 2.4 on my BMX
is it okay to put on my maxxis forkaster tire 2.35 in a 26mm inner width rim? i need advice. thank you so much
yes, you can go up to 2.4 on a 25mm rim.
I went from 30 to 25mm width rim and 25mil rolls faster
Meanwhile lots of wc dh racers are using the 25mm ex471 rims..
I like FSA bearings but 2k for a wheel set is just bs.
30mm DMR inner to 2.35 hans dampf
Overkill in my opinion. Run proper pressure and don't over-ride your tire functional limits. No point in bombarding your brain with all this less than marginal gains over-complicated gibberish - you'll go nuts and go broke chasing this goldilocks scenario.
Don't ride under inflated tires and just go ride.
Describes hysteresis but doesn't show how the industry's understanding improved and cuts to some riding videos with music. Lol unsub