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Hightower and Tackleberry?

SylentK

Turbo Monkey
Feb 25, 2004
2,287
854
coloRADo


Seems cool. But I'm a bit biased as I am in the process of doing this to my WFO.

Brings up some other questions around running different F/R sizes as well.

Thoughts?

Read it here
 

big-ted

Danced with A, attacked by C, fired by D.
Sep 27, 2005
1,400
47
Vancouver, BC
Wasn't one of the main selling points of 27.5+ that it had the same circumference as 29? If so, why the need for different forks and dropout settings? Surely, build it with a bunch of mud clearance and let the user decide which wheels to mount up? Or did I miss something?
 

Gallain

Monkey
Dec 28, 2001
183
43
Sweden
Wasn't one of the main selling points of 27.5+ that it had the same circumference as 29? If so, why the need for different forks and dropout settings? Surely, build it with a bunch of mud clearance and let the user decide which wheels to mount up? Or did I miss something?
Because money?
Why make something that just works when you can make it more complicated?
 
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Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,030
5,918
borcester rhymes
Wasn't one of the main selling points of 27.5+ that it had the same circumference as 29? If so, why the need for different forks and dropout settings? Surely, build it with a bunch of mud clearance and let the user decide which wheels to mount up? Or did I miss something?
the first 650b+ tires were shitty wtbs that weren't very wide. the concept was that you could simply swap half fat tires on your 29er and be the king of the dentists. Now I think people make them with side knobs too, so things have changed a bit.
 

SylentK

Turbo Monkey
Feb 25, 2004
2,287
854
coloRADo
I know guys who are running the plus tires and are loving them for a range of reasons. I recently read a review on a guy converting his wfo to b plus and really liked it. I like the idea of basically having two different types of bikes in one.

Not sure why sc is spec'ing different length forks with only 10mm diff. I'd just go with the longer one for both setups.

That 2.8" maxxis rekon looks legit.

Pretty sure the dentists in my area are still sticking to hard tail b plus bikes. They prefer to kom climbs.

The longer travel 29/b plus bikes i would assume are more desirable to dh bros.

/random thoughts
 

djjohnr

Turbo Monkey
Apr 21, 2002
3,001
1,693
Northern California
You can use your existing hubs on a boost frame with adapters; I'm doing that on a new build. It actually makes for a stronger wheel since you pull the rim 3mm to the non-drive side.
 

manhattanprjkt83

Rusty Trombone
Jul 10, 2003
9,644
1,214
Nilbog
curious how much time you have riding said plus/fat bikes?
I have a decent amount, have tested a few bikes over the past year. Find them to be somewhat uninspiring most of the time but they flat out rule when things get super rocky and rooty...All depends on your local and terrain type IMO.
 

rollertoaster

Monkey
Aug 7, 2007
730
179
Douglassville , PA
i just got a b+ wheelset built up for my foes mutz. the bike was fun with fat tires, but its just ridiculous now. the cornering traction is absurd. Im running 50mm rims with purgatory 3.0s. I did it because with my -1 degree angleset the geometry is about as perfect for me as it gets.
I'm definitely going to be putting the hightower on my list , the geometry looks pretty good and its plastic so it shouldn't weight 8000000 lbs like the mutz.
 

kickstand

Turbo Monkey
Sep 18, 2009
3,441
392
Fenton, MI
I have a decent amount, have tested a few bikes over the past year. Find them to be somewhat uninspiring most of the time but they flat out rule when things get super rocky and rooty...All depends on your local and terrain type IMO.
I've not ridden a + yet, but have a fattie I've been riding since thanksgiving. It's definitely not as fun to ride as my regular 27.5, but I could see a + as a pretty damn fun bike.

Slow and sluggish they really aren;t, but they do take some getting used to for sure. They are not nearly as nimble (fat compared to regular), but I'll reserve judgement on the + bikes, as I am led to believe they are pretty good balance.
 

RayB

Monkey
Jan 31, 2008
744
95
Seattle
The Hightower looks like a more-refined version of the Intense Carbine 29 that I've ridden for the past year or so. I'm pretty sold on it, but I'm not about paying the early-adopter tax, so I'll probably just wait until Backcountry closes 'em out in a year's time.

I haven't ridden a 27.5+ yet, so can't comment much on that. I like my 29er just fine, but it would be interesting (perhaps even fun?) to take a 27.5+ for a lap down Dirt Merchant lol
 

ianjenn

Turbo Monkey
Sep 12, 2006
2,998
702
SLO
I am just gonna throw this out there....who in the HELL would buy that bike? When you have AGRO 29's like

1. Following
2. Mega 290
3. Riot
4. Another Being Worked On Now

The GEO is EH.....nothing that pushes a single boundary.
 

ianjenn

Turbo Monkey
Sep 12, 2006
2,998
702
SLO
That 1/4"" BB difference and 1/2 degree HA could be enough and again a sub 13" BB is needed......
 

manhattanprjkt83

Rusty Trombone
Jul 10, 2003
9,644
1,214
Nilbog
I am just gonna throw this out there....who in the HELL would buy that bike? When you have AGRO 29's like

1. Following
2. Mega 290
3. Riot
4. Another Being Worked On Now

The GEO is EH.....nothing that pushes a single boundary.
I am going to play devils advocate here but do you think some of these bikes are pushing it a bit too far for your average mtb rider? Low and slack is in vouge right now, and the following is probably one of my favorite bikes, but not everyone will benefit from that. Some may actually suffer from a slack HA. The rider this is aimed at is probably more of a straight ahead 'mountain biker' instead of a rad berm slasher.
 

manhattanprjkt83

Rusty Trombone
Jul 10, 2003
9,644
1,214
Nilbog
but it would be interesting (perhaps even fun?) to take a 27.5+ for a lap down Dirt Merchant lol
I think this is the problem with the perception of + bikes, dirt merchant is probably the last trail in the world that I would want a + on...I can't think of one single benefit those big soft tires would give you on the ol' DM. They would fold over like a broken lawn chair.
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,030
5,918
borcester rhymes
From personal experiences with 29+, cheap fat bikes, and expensive fat bikes, unless you pay the price, I'm not sure that there's much benefit. None of the cheap fat bikes have lived up to my expectations, and even my rather high end krampus was kind of a let down when I reconciled fat tires vs. suspension travel. The fatbike though, specifically woody's bucksaw kitted out with hugos and tubeless, was a revelation. Being able to ride in inclement conditions (hard icy snow) without slowing down was incredible. You could just sit and scoot up hills and around turns without thinking, whereas the cheap fatty I was on struggled to not completely slip out at a moments notice. I don't know that I'd want one on a dry trail, but being able to ride like a normal guy in the middle of winter is extremely appealing. I'll leave the hunting rifle, six ammo cases and a backpack for straight, flat midwestern trails to the other guys. I'm a little surprised to see b+ take off, but it's the hot new thing...I wonder if you'll see many of them in a few years.

tl;dr high quality suspension travel and appropriately sized tires (2.3s on 30mm rims) outpaced 3" tires and less travel/rigid
 

manhattanprjkt83

Rusty Trombone
Jul 10, 2003
9,644
1,214
Nilbog
Agree'd, after spending the past year on basically every size wheel/tire you could imagine I say good suspension and 2.3/2.5's rule.

Fat bikes are an entirely different conversation, I rode a 27+ one day last week then the following day a 5" full carbon fat, + is not a replacement for fatbikes when it comes to riding in absolute crap.
 

Beef Supreme

Turbo Monkey
Oct 29, 2010
1,434
73
Hiding from the stupid
I am going to play devils advocate here but do you think some of these bikes are pushing it a bit too far for your average mtb rider? Low and slack is in vouge right now, and the following is probably one of my favorite bikes, but not everyone will benefit from that. Some may actually suffer from a slack HA. The rider this is aimed at is probably more of a straight ahead 'mountain biker' instead of a rad berm slasher.
I agree with this and I generally like being over biked.
 

Lelandjt

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2008
2,508
821
Breckenridge, CO/Lahaina,HI
I am going to play devils advocate here but do you think some of these bikes are pushing it a bit too far for your average mtb rider? Low and slack is in vouge right now, and the following is probably one of my favorite bikes, but not everyone will benefit from that. Some may actually suffer from a slack HA. The rider this is aimed at is probably more of a straight ahead 'mountain biker' instead of a rad berm slasher.
SC wants that rider to buy a Tallboy.
 

SuboptimusPrime

Turbo Monkey
Aug 18, 2005
1,658
1,633
NorCack
I am just gonna throw this out there....who in the HELL would buy that bike? When you have AGRO 29's like

1. Following
2. Mega 290
3. Riot
4. Another Being Worked On Now

The GEO is EH.....nothing that pushes a single boundary.
I feel like this conversation happens with every new SC bike release. I have had several of their bikes and really like SC but they very seldom push the boundaries of geometry--in fact I think they border on being late adapters which I see as one of their few significant faults. I understand their position though. There is no reason for them to push the geometry envelope when their market is the amalgamation of customers that we lovingly lump together and call "dentists." These folks buy their bikes because they are well made, bad ass, light, stiff, beautiful, carbon bikes that just work well.

I just realized that SC is basically the Lexus of bikes.