Bike
Bike
Is 27.5+ poised to be the next big thing?
Brace yourselves for a new wave of wheel-based standards – but just what is all the fuss about?
In what feels like a relatively short period of time, the choice faced by anybody considering a new mountain bike has rocketed. We've gone from facing the hardtail or full-suspension question to having added the confusion of 26in, 27.5in (650B) and 29in wheel size options also needing to be decided upon. And now there's another option... 27.5+.
Clean lines, the Fuse is fast looking stood still
© Bartek Wolinski/Red Bull Content Pool
The new format has been adopted by many of the big brands for their 2016 model ranges and, as such, it's fair to say that it's here to stay. But what is it?
Basically, the 27.5in wheel size has offered a halfway house between the nimbleness of traditional 26in wheels and the fast rolling grip and stability of 29ers. Now, they're going to offer yet another compromise between regular width tyres and the balloon-like numbers found on so-called fat bikes.
Monster trucking, anyone?
© Bartek Wolinski/Red Bull Content Pool
The Fuse runs on Specialized's own rubber
© Bartek Wolinski/Red Bull Content Pool
Specialized's Fuse, the company's debut 27.5+ machine, was spotted at the UCI World Cup in Albstadt.
Fat bikes have grown in popularity all over the world thanks to their 5in-wide, high-volume tyres' ability to eek out traction on the loosest of surfaces. They're not for everyone though and with the new 'standard', engineers are hopeful that they can marry their high grip and wide rims to more traditional handling and trail manners.
A tapered headtube and all the mod cons
© Bartek Wolinski/Red Bull Content Pool
The larger-volume tyres offer the opportunity to run lower tyre pressures and, as a result, offer a much larger contact point with the trail, which increases grip. That larger shape/lower pressure combo also allows them to hoover up chattery trail debris and claw traction out of even the loosest surfaces.
The Fuse rolls on Specialized's own-brand 3in rubber mounted to their 6Fattie rims. As we're seeing across other brands, the new Fuse isn't being brought into phase out any older models/standards. These are new bikes and, try as the internet trolls might, there's no denying that they represent even more choice for consumers.
Neat tube shapes and internal cable routing
© Bartek Wolinski/Red Bull Content Pool
The M4 alloy frame features all the tidy details we've come to expect of our modern trail machines; a tapered headtube, internal cable routing and even single ring-specific chainring clearance.
A small front sprocket and beefy chainstays
© Bartek Wolinski/Red Bull Content Pool
So, in a nutshell, 27.5+ looks set to be here to stay, given how seriously Specialized and their competitors are taking it. Will it have a place in racing? Will consumers look to it as a more palatable option to wagon-wheeled 29ers? Only time will tell.
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