Thread: Semi-fat bikes (27.5+)

Well more research clearly needed on my end.

Sorry to hijack a wee bit gimp.
I have a Scott hardtail with 27.5 x 2.20 Maxis tyres. I do mostly road, both gravel and tar seal riding. I am not a technical rider at all.
When I have got off the beaten track and especially thru gorse I have had gorse puncture my tyres from the side. They're bloody thin and I am assuming cheap.

Anyone reccomend a more rugged tyre? Got a mountain bike hunting mission planned with a mate over canterbury way and pretty sure I will run into worse than gorse over there.


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Originally Posted by R93

Sorry to hijack a wee bit gimp.
I have a Scott hardtail with 27.5 x 2.20 Maxis tyres. I do mostly road, both gravel and tar seal riding. I am not a technical rider at all.
When I have got off the beaten track and especially thru gorse I have had gorse puncture my tyres from the side. They're bloody thin and I am assuming cheap.

Anyone reccomend a more rugged tyre? Got a mountain bike hunting mission planned with a mate over canterbury way and pretty sure I will run into worse than gorse over there.


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There's two separate issues going on there.

Firstly tyre construction. If your tyres are the originals they will likely be lower thread count, maybe 27tpi or possibly 60tpi if you're lucky. You can definitely get tougher sidewalls, but the thicker they get the worse the ride quality. This can be offset by higher volume to a degree (and resulting lower pressure). My suggestion is to get the Maxxis tyres with EXO on the sidewalls - adds toughness. They are available in a multitude of tread patterns and sizes - if you can, go up to a 2.35 or 2.4 depending on the tread pattern you choose. You will need to check for clearance in your frame and fork.

There's no way to prevent penetration punctures entirely, but they can be minimised by having the tyres set up tubeless. Depending on the rims fitted to your bike, they may be able to be converted to run tubeless (or may even be tubeless ready as standard). If this can be achieved, starting with a fresh set of tyres as described above is the best idea. By having the tyres set up with a load of sealant sloshing about inside instead of a rubber tube, most thorn type punctures will seal up and you just carry on riding. It can be so effective that often the first you know about the thorns or barbs in your tyres is when you open them up to refresh the sealant or replace the tyre!!!

Don't worry about hijacking the thread too much - this is super useful info for anyone considering riding offroad. Even more so when you're heading well off the nicely prepared MTB tracks to the kinds of places hunters need to go!

Thanks mate. I will look at some new tyres as you suggest. Have no idea if I can go tubeless or not but I will ask in town, at bike shop when it opens.

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a question for the mtn bike guys in the know, for less technical rides ie just flatish transport stages is there a runflat moose style insert that is suitable?
rather than slime sealant etc? I know they just came out for dirt bikes when I gave up riding

Originally Posted by striker

a question for the mtn bike guys in the know, for less technical rides ie just flatish transport stages is there a runflat moose style insert that is suitable?
rather than slime sealant etc? I know they just came out for dirt bikes when I gave up riding

nothing run flat is any good, but there is plenty that can help stop you get a flat. running tubeless using stans or a competing sealant helps a lot as most small holes get fixed with just a small loss of pressure. Combined with a anti rol/pichflat system such a crush core and you have a very reliable tyre set up. this will also give you a more supple tyre than the same tyre with a tube, increasing grip and reducing rolling resistance-a high thread count tyre also helps but comes at a real $$$$ cost.

as a taller heavy guy who likes to land sideways into rough corners I always had trouble with tubeless until crush core etc with burping all the air out- now it has me questioning if i need to cary repair gear on local rides. My wife hasn't had a flat in well over a decade of commuting and mtb running just stans

Originally Posted by berg243

is there a benefit for travelling on gravel roads with the fat tires or just best to stay with normal mtb tires.was thinking of a e bike for travelling up a couple closed roads in winter

I think a lot of e-bikes (MTBs) are 27.5+ tyres. Because you have the power assist the little bit of extra drag created by the bigger tyre run at lower pressure doesn't matter. Even if it is not an e-bike a larger volume tyre will greatly improve the ride on gravel.

I'm using an old school Surly Pugsley with 26x3.8 tyres I ride on everything with a fully load pack , I find it easy on all terrain and glides over easier than the thin tyres.

the end of a good fallow hunt just one more ride back to the truck.

That's pretty rad. How do you (or anyone else) find the fully rigid bike on the rough stuff?

The rigid bikes don’t seem to dig in and bottom out on big ruts and drop offs, unless you spend the coin on high end suspension bike. The fatter tyres soak up a lot of shock and weight.
I only use it for back pack hunting and running the dog twice a day the Vizsla is a high maintenance dog for exercise.

Used my fat bike (Specialized Fatboy) a bit for hunting and fishing. Great on soft stuff (sand, mud, snow) and I run the tyres at 4psi so they soak up a lot of the smaller bumps. Roots, rocks and the like. Carbon fork helps a bit with the rough stuff too I think.

How do you find riding with a big pack? I've only tried it a couple of times, had issues on fast bumpy downhills with the pack riding up into the back of my helmet and pushing it forward over my eyes and/or buzzing it with vibrations that made my vision go blurry That was an interesting experience! Maybe I should have gone a bit slower...

got a Trek Roscoe 8 2020 a couple of months the ago, hardtail semi fat 27.5". on sale at Torpedo7. got the tires converted to tubeless.
great components for the price, including a dropper seat which makes a huge difference going downhill on trails
have been riding across sand a fair bit over lockdown, my brother in-law (in my bubble) has a much fancier full suspension with thin tires, is 20kg lighter than me and he struggles for traction comparatively. doubt I'd ever go back to thin in either hardtail or full suspension.

Originally Posted by GravelBen

How do you find riding with a big pack? I've only tried it a couple of times, had issues on fast bumpy downhills with the pack riding up into the back of my helmet and pushing it forward over my eyes and/or buzzing it with vibrations that made my vision go blurry That was an interesting experience! Maybe I should have gone a bit slower...

My days of racing flat out are long gone 20-30 years ago.
I don’t wear a helmet when the packs on and I go a bit slower, is more about saving energy getting in and out faster than walking with a haul of meat.

Originally Posted by LOC

got a Trek Roscoe 8 2020 a couple of months the ago, hardtail semi fat 27.5". on sale at Torpedo7. got the tires converted to tubeless.
great components for the price, including a dropper seat which makes a huge difference going downhill on trails
have been riding across sand a fair bit over lockdown, my brother in-law (in my bubble) has a much fancier full suspension with thin tires, is 20kg lighter than me and he struggles for traction comparatively. doubt I'd ever go back to thin in either hardtail or full suspension.

Interestingly I've just bought the same model (in v. good used condition) to conclude things several months after starting this thread. Seemed like the best spec/value/geometry in a 27.5+ hardtail available here in NZ as far as I could find