If you’ve been in the market for a new fat bike lately, you might have noticed a relatively new option. For years fat bikes have all rolled on 26″ wheels and tires (with the exception of kids’ bikes and the odd 24″ fatty), but now there’s a new size in town – 27.5″. At this point we’ve seen both completely new bikes like the Rocky Mountain Suzy Q and a few Treks that were specifically built around the size, but we’re also starting to see bikes that were 26″ swapped over to the bigger wheel size like those from Heller and Salsa.
So why are we seeing an all-new size emerging? Mostly available in 27.5 x 3.8″, the new crop of fat bike tires measure close to the overall diameter of a 26 x 4.6″ tire but without the width. If we’re talking about a bike that used to run 26 x 4.0″ tires, upsizing to 27.5 x 3.8″ will be similar to going from a 27.5 to a 29″ wheel on a mountain bike. Better roll over, momentum, etc.
We’ve also heard that the reduction in sidewall height can have a positive effect on traction in certain situations with less bounce. Compared to a 26 x 4.6″ tire which has the same effective diameter, the 27.5 x 3.8″ tire will have a lower sidewall height for a lower profile tire. Earlier this year at Saddle Drive, Salsa’s Senior Product Manager Joe Meiser said he had been able to run lower pressures on the 27.5″ fat bike tires due to their stiffer side wall and felt that it improved traction on groomed snow trails. It should also stand to reason that lower, stiffer sidewalls will result in better cornering performance on hard pack trails throughout the year.
But how do the tires actually stack up in terms of numbers? We were just as curious as anyone, so we called in all the 27.5″ fat bike tires we could currently get our hands on and a set of Whisky No. 9 80w carbon wheels to mount them to. While the bikes have been out for about a year now, the majority of tires are just starting to roll out. The options we secured for testing include:
- Maxxis Minion FBF/FBR
- Terrene Cake Eater
- Vee Crown Gem
- Bontrager Gnarwhal, Barbegazi, and Hodag.
Between the seven tires, the widths include 3.8, 4.0, and the Bontrager-only 4.5″.
Maxxis Minion FBF/FBR
Using the same base fat bike tread pattern that has made these tires so popular, the Maxxis Minion combo includes the FBF (front) and FBR (rear). When it comes to 27.5″ fat bike tires, the Minions are available in both 60 and 120 TPI versions, and the 120 TPI versions come in standard or EXO sidewalls. It’s worth pointing out that the non-EXO 120 TPI tires shown above are not called out as Tubeless Ready on the Maxxis website (or anywhere on the tire), but they seated and sealed up flawlessly on the Whisky No.9 80w rims used in the test.