Originally Posted by
Kapusta
J
Actually NONE of those are marketed as 27.5+. All but two are marketed as 27.5, and the remaining two (Spearfish and 429) as 29ers that can take 27.5 Plus.
- Pivot Mach 4, Mach 5.5 (and also Mach 6 , and "standard" Firebird) are all 27.5, not 27.5 plus. None of them will even clear plus tires.
- Santa Cruz Bronson (and 5010) are both built around 27.5 though they can clear 2.8s. Several built kits come with 2.3s.
- Mojos comes stock with 2.6s. So sort of in between plus and standard. 2.3s would work fine with that if that is how you roll.
- Giant Reign (along with many other offerings from Giant) is 27.5, not plus. It is designed for 2.3-2.8.
- Salsa Rustler is designed for tires 2.3-2.8.
Yes, some of these CAN clear 2.8s, but that is not what they are built around.
27.5 is not dead and is unlikely to die, even if it becomes less of the market share.
My '15 S-Works Enduro 29 can run 27.5 in a 2.8. Pretty versatile bike, but sorta lacks any real focus other than it can plow through stuff pretty efficiently. I've not tried running the 297.5 as suggested in this thread. That would be an interesting experiment.