Is 29+ (29" x 50mm wide rims with 3" wide tyres) and 27.5+ fat enough for most coastriding conditions?

I`m a big big fan of 29+ wheels and been ranting on about their merits for 3 years now after i got my first pair from Tyler at Surly as a thank you pressie after the first Forth fat Fatbike Gathering,

Are 29+ and 27.5+  Fatbikes?...
As far as i am concerned they are. Just because they came along after the `Fatbike` term for 4" Snow/sand adventure bikes and the later 5" bikes does not mean they should not fit into the same class...
They are also low pressure wide rim wheels with a big foot print tyre that is capable of being run at a pressure a lot lower than a regular 26" or 29" rim of up to around 32mm  with a tyre of around 2.25" to 2.5" width.

Compare the 29+ Surly rims and 3" tyres to a regular 29er wheel and the size circumference,  lower tyre pressures- 12psi compared to 22-25 psi  and the massive increase in grip and ride comfort is increased.

Yet most Fatbike forums want to exclude them and have them in separate pages.
I disagree on this and if you have ridden fatbikes long enough to remember when before the USA MTBR Fatbike Forum was created from the hard work posting on the `Alaska` and `29er` pages by a guy called `BigHit` who  got 30 MTBR  forum users singing up to a new page after a long discussion on what to call these bikes (i am one of the original 30) i can bet if at the time there had been a 29+ 50mm rim and 3" tyre option it would definitely also be classed as part of a new generation of bike that had been voted by the 30 original group members to also be called `Fatbikes`...

I class them as a Fatbike and why they are welcome at the Forth Fat Fatbike Gatherings...

What is the attraction to + tyres?
Well come out for a cycle with me and i will show you :)
This film by `Ride on Purpose`  pretty well sums up what is good about riding 29+,  not to mention these guys have some awesome beards! :)





Increasing interest...
I have had increasing emails from folk asking if they are only going to the coast a few times a year and will be mostly riding trails if they would be better with a 29+ or 27.5+ bike than a full 4" or 5" tyre Fatbike?,
I cannot comment on the newer 27.5+ size but having several pairs of 29+ i thought well lets find out and post how much of the coast is ok to ride 29+ without blowing up your legs or crashing from the front end tucking in etc.. So i am leaving the 29+ KramPug wheels on the New Pugsley for the next month or so and will try to ride as much variety of coast as possible, be it rain, mud, sand or snow and see how i get on.
I know there will be places where they will struggle but maybe there will be advantages in some places?,  lets go see...

I have already cycled alongside a few 29+ Surly Krampus`s and a Surly ECR at previous Forth Fat events, and one of them was even single speed- when Eric from Surly came over on his Krampus,  and Sov even rolled the big Dune at Peffersands on the Sunday-his first ever dune surf!...

Tyre Pressures...
I usually run 12 psi on my tyre gauge on my 29+ wheels, having them set up Ghetto Tubeless with 24" split tubes can allow me to lower them right down for real soft stuff.  It will also be a good chance to try them real side by side with friends ontheir 4" and 5" Fatbikes over the new month or so. And  if the lowered pressures result in the tyres `burping` or rolling off the rims-no one seems to have tried this experiment yet and published anything.  I think they will be fine but the proof will be in the riding.  I will be carrying some Co2 bottles just in case though...


Head to the beach!,
And i did today on the KramPug with Christian on my KramPus, a friend of Markus who got in touch via Facebook Christian was interested in trying a 29+ bike. We headed for the John Muir Way then the short road ride down to Seacliff...

And first off i`m on a winner with the speed of the 29+ on tarmac, they roll like hell and with less rolling mass weight take less effort on climbs, and the bike rides a lot nicer if standing up for hills etc...
Down to the beach and this winter a lot of sand is firm with the high tides and wet weather so we were rolling ok on the damper firmer sand...

With a loop around Tyninghame we headed back via the slop of Binning Woods and it`s the first time i have been in here in such wet conditions on the Maxxis 29 x 3" Chronicle tyres and they managed ok, more because they clear their tread quickly than their outright grip...
Blurred pic of Christian!...

Back home and you can see how much gloop the bikes were riding through!...

I have sold Christian on the 29+ concept-he wants a Krampus!!!


So maybe you cannot ride as soft conditions on 29+ 3" tyres as 4" or  5" fatness?.  We will see as  i will only be riding 29+ on the coast for the next few weeks...


More soon...