FULL PLUSSERS
WORDS BY CHIPPS
PICTURES BY MARK ALKER
CHIPPS TRIES TO GET HIS HEAD AROUND THREE FULL SUSPENSION ‘PLUS’ BIKES FROM SALSA, SCOTT AND SPECIALIZED.
Take a look round any bike industry trade show and it looks like those plus size wheels are here to stay. It seems that manufacturers are scrambling to design bikes for the new 27.5in and 29in plus tyres that have appeared recently, or have been trying to crowbar them into existing frame designs and pretending that they’ve been into the Plus scene for years. No one wants to be the one to miss out on the next 29er or the next 27.5er.
While the 29er movement took nearly a decade to take hold, the plus thing was virtually an overnight sensation. It was only in early 2014 that a few bikes appeared with the as-yet-unseen combo of the 50mm WTB Scraper rim and 2.8 Trailblazer tyre. For a while it seemed that the only people who had hold of this mythical combo were bike company product managers, but slowly more bikes started appearing with the 2.8 and later 3.0 tyres fitted. The 2.8 version of ‘Plus’ (for it was a thing now…) was easy, as most 29er bikes could be tweaked to accommodate these chunky tyres. It was only as the double whammy of Plus and Boost – a widening of the forks and dropouts to give more room for bigger tyres – took hold that the plus thing looked like it was here to stay.
Some companies pitched plus as a thing for adventure: chunky tyres capable of handling any terrain. Others viewed plus as being a great way of encouraging newcomers to the sport of mountain biking. The lower pressures of plus tyres offered good traction and lots of comfort while also making bikes look inviting, reliable and cartoon-like.
Now, while I love a good freak bike (I had singlespeeds and 29ers probably before either were ‘things’) and I appreciate the ‘big tyres and low pressures on a hardtail’ front, I have yet to find anyone – either customer or bike designer – who can tell me convincingly who full suspension plus-size bikes are actually for. I’ve not heard many calls for them from riders or racers and I can’t think of a single cycle sport event in which having one of these bikes would be an advantage. Every other bike genre: cyclocross, singlespeed, enduro, cross-country racing, downhill… has a particular bike which excels at that discipline. I can’t think of an event where a ‘full plusser’ would be the winning secret weapon.
So, perhaps they’re just for having a blast on? They don’t need no stinking competition to validate themselves with! They’re just bikes for riding. Well, with that in mind, and a healthy dose of admitted scepticism, let’s get chubby!
SALSA PONY RUSTLER
Price: £1999.00 (Frame only), bike as tested approx £4,000.00