SOC15: Prototype Salsa 27.5+ full suspension mountain bike decorates WTB booth

I don’t get this plus size tire craze. What makes it appealing?

Remember when prototypes looked “hacked together”…

You forgot cross bikes which are basically 29-

Randy-29+ is nice on fully rigid IMHO but it being almost 31″ roughly complicates design. Especially in suspension. 27.5+ is also much more nimble (More so than 29 imho) which adds to the fun factor. 29+ is more tractor like, which does have it’s moments.

I’ve ridden a B’er+ bike (B+ rear and 29+ front, Stooge Cycles) which was really a blast to ride fully rigid.

Why does the bike industry try to confuse consumers all of the time? 27.5 is just getting beyond the enthusiast level. I am in shops all of the time and you can see how many people come into shops looking for a new bike and are over whelmed by the choices. Then you are trying to explain to them the subtle little differences in this bike or that bike. And now why is 27.5 vs. 27.5 vs 29 vs 29+ better for me?

And most people buying a bike even a very high end bike just want to ride. 95% of the consumers do not know way they need this over this over this. But the problem is that they get all of this noise of why this is better than this is better than this and it is confusing to them.

And shops cannot stock everything which makes it even more difficult because even experienced shops are not sure what to do.

I believe in advancing technology and improving the riding experience but sometimes we just jump to the next thing in this industry without fully developing what were are already doing.

I’m too busy to maintain all those moving parts….

@Jesse: who runs 29er tires with tubes?

I”d rather get a Rocky Sherpa which DOES have clearance for 3.25s than this Salsa that barely fits 3.0s. For that matter… why not just offer the Bucksaw with a B+ build kit price option since they’ll fit the B+ tires perfectly well. The WTB trailblazer 2.8 is a tire for converting existing designs. Its a fat casing and narrow tread. Its not a proper wide 650B tire and clean sheet of paper bike designs built around a new hub dropout standard shouldn’t be built without proper tire clearance for the other tire options available for it.

Tyler Benedict, great theoretical explanation. You’ve been reading the marketing very well. At this point we, the standard consumer, would like you to prove it.

More volume, less pressure is what the fat bikers say is great. Fat biking was the big trend in 2014, is plus size the trend that the industry hopes will do well in 2015? Does it actually work well for enduro racing? Why would traction be worth it when it makes for a heavier and slower bike?