2.8 down to 2.6 tyre

[Samwise]

My Marin alpine trail e2 has a 2.8 rear tyre and was thinking of going down to 2.6 but with the smaller tyre does anyone know if it would it change the geometry of the bike?

 

[Streddaz]

My Marin alpine trail e2 has a 2.8 rear tyre and was thinking of going down to 2.6 but with the smaller tyre does anyone know if it would it change the geometry of the bike?

The change geometry wise wouldn't really be perceivable. Handling and grip would be more noticeable. The 2.6 would have less rolling resistance and grip in mud as the 2.8 but not as much on harder terrain. You'll have a bit more frame clearance. I can't see it making a massive difference either way. Having the right tyre pressure for the terrain you are riding would be more important.

 

[flash]

On my original Merida e160 dropping from the stock 2.8's (front and rear) to 2.6's made a huge difference. Mainly that the rear tyre didn't feel like the side wall was going to collapse every time you loaded it. I really didn't like the wallowy feeling of the plus tyre. The difference was stark. That bike now has a 2.5 front and 2.4 rear which, for me, seems ideal. Obviously the BB dropped a few mm as well as the pedals. I liked the lower BB and put 155mm cranks on to minimise pedal strikes.

I suppose you could experiment with inserts or heavier sidewalls but as I was already on DD casing getting a slightly thinner tyre worked for me. Rim width would also need to be taken into account. Extra wide rims don't like thinner tyres as much..

Gordon

 

[mxh]

On my original Merida e160 dropping from the stock 2.8's (front and rear) to 2.6's made a huge difference. Mainly that the rear tyre didn't feel like the side wall was going to collapse every time you loaded it

I'll second that - I did exactly the same thing. I went through several 2.8's before switching, so had got used to how that felt, but definitely felt better with the narrower tyres.

One thing I will say though is that I went from Maxxis Exo+ casing on the 2.8's to Maxxis DD with the 2.6, so I'm sure the stiffer casing helped as well.

 

[BeBiker]

I went from 27.5" 2.8 to 29" 2.2, so the geometry didn't change at all.
On the other bike I have 27.5" 2.4, which is much better for most cases.
Even if the geometry changed, i'm not the kind of world champ that notices that.

 

[steve_sordy]

This will help on the rim width vs tyre width issue.

Tire & Rim Fit Chart

Scroll down to the chart headed "Mountain".

 

[Samwise]

Thanks for all your replies I've gone with a 2.8 again but ordered a cushcore insert so hopefully feel a bit nicer in the corners and last longer then 3 weeks

 

[Stihldog]

Thanks for all your replies I've gone with a 2.8 again but ordered a cushcore insert so hopefully feel a bit nicer in the corners and last longer then 3 weeks

Which size CushCore did you order? Pro or plus? I was able to install the CushCore plus in my 29”x2.6 Maxxis Assigia for the rear, but my rims are 35mm wide. It wasn’t easy though.

 

[Samwise]

Which size CushCore did you order? Pro or plus? I was able to install the CushCore plus in my 29”x2.6 Maxxis Assigia for the rear, but my rims are 35mm wide. It wasn’t easy though.

I went for the plus and yea I'm not looking forward to installing it

My front tyre is a 2.5 assagai really liking that but havnt been enjoying the minion on the back especially after getting a bit of a tear near the beading. Have gone with another hopefully be better with the cushcore but if not I'm gonna go with either a 2.6 something or a 2.8 Michelin ewild which I had on my last bike and got on really well with.

How do you find the assagai on the rear? I see alot of people using it as a from tyre but not so many as a rear tyre which made me wonder why as it's a awesome tyre

 

[Stihldog]

How do you find the assagai on the rear? I see alot of people using it as a from tyre but not so many as a rear tyre which made me wonder why as it's a awesome tyre

Nice. You’ll like CushCore plus.
Most of us use the Maxxis Assigia 2.4, 2.5, 2.6. I use the 2.6 f/r mostly for the Rail and snowy conditions coming soon.
Maxxis Dissector 2.4 for one Hardtail and Maxxis Minion 2.5 on the other. But if I was on a different mountain, with different bikes and different trail conditions …well I’d probably lose sleep . Sometimes it just depends.

 

[flash]

I've settled on a Assegai Exo+ 2.5 on the front and a DHRII DD 2.4 or Agressor DD 2.5 on the rear for all my bikes and really like this combo. Not vast quantities of wet trails around here though.... Well, there are but they're all shut as our local trails are not designed to handle the record breaking rain we've had. No inserts. Didn't like the feel of them.

Gordon

 

[Cyclopath1000]

2.8 works great with arc 40 rims. 2.6 with more narrow rims. Sidewall flex not an issue with arc 40.

 

[Onetime]

2.8 works great with arc 40 rims. 2.6 with more narrow rims. Sidewall flex not an issue with arc 40.

I have light bikes 40i carbon rims and there is no sidewall squirm or burping with my 2.8’s, (DHRII’S) either. To each his own, but I find 2.8’s much better in all situations. Better traction, more cushion over small trail chatter, roots, rocks and they actually have better rolling resistance over rough terrain because the tire conforms to the ground Better.

 

[Cyclopath1000]

Well there are also 3.0 surley wldirt wizzards. I had them on last spring in Sedona but hoping for some wet wet NorCal weather I put on a new 2.8 dhr2 in may and stored the dirt wizard and now that the dhr2 is too worn I put the dirt wizard back on.

 

[Growmac]

I went for the plus and yea I'm not looking forward to installing it

Be careful, the Maxxis tyres will stretch if you haul on the sidewalls while installing, especially if you're using Cushcore. My ebike looks comical as we horribly stretched the DHRII when we installed it - it has a 1 cm wobble.

The Cushcore tools are absolutely brilliant and make things much easier, can 100% recommend.