What's your top tyre size for hitting the trails? Do you think wider is better? 🚵‍♂️

This is exactly the kind of testing we need more of! Killer job!

what an effort it must have been to actually produce these results. Big up for your passionate and detailed approach. I am amazed by the whole video. Fantastic job! Seb is pretty much the defintion of a-game testing in my opinion. :D

i am so glad that you spend time explaining statistics. you acknowledge issues with the tests, and try to be as transparent as possible, explaining any anomalies. While this isnt the most scientific test, it's not only the most comprehensive, but also as realistic as you can expect for such a difficult to control variable. Great piece bikeradar, i hope you continue with the journalistic integrity i have come to expect from your content!

Seb's testing/comparison methodology is very good!! 👍 More comparison tests like this please! 😊

The absolute boy! I was shouting at my computer that you didn’t list standard deviations or do a Student’s T test. “Seb!” I shouted, “you’re better than this!” But then you came through and delivered!

One thing to consider regarding tire size and rolling resistance: CRR results from indoor "roller" testing translates very well into the real world for road tires because only the tire deforms whereas both the roller and the road do not. CRR results for mountain bike tires have another consideration however: how much the ground underneath the tire deforms. The larger your contact patch the less the soil deforms and the less energy you lose to the soil. If you've ever ridden over sugar sand on, say, a 2" XC tire and then a 4" fat tire this becomes immediately apparent. That said, varied conditions call for varied tires. A large contact patch might be great on some conditions but not others. Certain tread patterns are great in some conditions but not others. The trick is to have optionality. Personally, I think having the *option* to run up to 29x3.0" gives riders all the optionality they would ever need to match their tire to the conditions they are riding.

Great work! Love these detailed comparison tests. Very interesting to see all the specifics of the varying sizes

You are the best mountain bike tester in whole social media, very professional and comparison in base of facts and statistical data! Keep going bro! Thank you for sharing this videos to the world

I commend you for four things. 1 - using a test system that used something resembling real science to test these tire sizes. 2 - Doing this test and publishing your results when the trend in the industry doesn't exactly match your results 3 - Avoiding industry and marketing hyperbole like "folding" of the tires, and "for new riders only" .... 4 - Actually using tire pressures that were appropriate for the larger volume. I can tell you actually rode the tires and didn't just spew some tired over used slogans about bigger tires. The bounce is real, and your comment that it largely isn't a big deal is spot on. Occasionally bottoming the rims means you got to low enough pressures to actually use the bigger tires. I'm sure this took a lot of work., well done. The skinny tire loving, weight weenies will be along shortly to rip apart your results. They don't care about anecdotal evidence, or even real numbers. They will stubbornly argue that their skinny tired 29er is fastest no matter what the mountain of evidence looks like. Next you can get even better results by doing the test with the right size rims. Maybe your sponsor will understand the science and produce wide rims appropriate for those (almost) 2.8 tires. Less squirm, less vauge, and they can use more side knobs as you lean.

On my Chameleon, I've been on Maxxis Rekon 27.5 x 2.8s front and rear mounted on 40mm rims and it is simply a game changer..... but I hope nobody believes it, so the bike industry doesn't suddenly raise the prices...... never mind, nothing to see here, everyone stay on your 2.3s.

Excellent stuff, guys. I thoroughly enjoyed the number crunching and the format. Thank you for your hard work and for sharing this with us.

Finally, actual testing. Amazing work. Keep them coming

When I had a Rocky Mountain Sherpa - I could run 13 lbs in 27.5 x 2.8 tires. I think the rim width was a crazy 45 mm but in my opinion, you really need to go low on tire pressure to maximize the benefits of 2.8 tires and not have them bounce - which are huge in rooty terrain. To run 13 lbs, I think you need at least 40mm rims. Also, climbing fire roads isn't what I'm interested in - I'd like to see climbing test on a rooty trail.

Sooo...get fat bike Meanwhile here with 2.2 XC tires.

I value your professional approach to this test and the effort you put into it. Job very well done!

This was a very good presentation of the results of this tire size comparison. Many of the finer points outside of the numbers, were well articulated.

Why can't I give anything more than just one thumb up? What you accomplished here is so immensely well made and useful! I can't imagine all the effort you put into this. Amazing! I especially like you attention to statistic detail ... real edutaning stuff!

Brilliant, very helpful! Well done Seb 👍🏻

Your test methodology is very thorough ! I applaud your explanation. Awesome work !!! Thank you

Great attention to detail and very informative! More of these please!

Wow! That is very surprising to me. Great video dude. Very well done. Covered this topic with very complete information. Keep it coming!

Love the scientific comparison of these tires! I have seen a ton of videos on tire size, and this was the most informative. I wish I saw this 3 years ago. Keep up the good work.

Great video. I love how you thoroughly explained it all. I just slapped on 2.6 tires on my bike and have debating on 2.8 I guess it's time for another upgrade.

Love this!! Best kind of high value added content!! Please do more analytical stuff like this. Did you do something similar for 27.5 vs 29 wheels?

I’m a fairly new rider and am loving the 2.8 stock Maxxis tires on my Whyte 905. I feel they’ve really helped my riding and given me a good boost of confidence. Running them tubeless about 20 psi. Great on the hardtail too! Great vid 😊

Solid testing and information, you have a new sub

great work, one of the best tests i have seen here, thorough, and with a definitive result

Nice to see a video on this topic. I ride 3.0" tires on both my plus bikes. I think you hit the nail on the head when you said plus tires haven't caught on because we don't see the pros using them.

Man the seriously scientific approach is super commendable. I love all the data points and reducing as many variables as possible.

I clicked this video an was somewhat skeptical, but once you said you had performed a students T test on the results, I was impressed. Great job and very good reporting.

This is incredibly well done. As and senior engineer I applaud you 👏

Excellent as always, Seb is kind of the reference point for a professional tester.

Super Great Testing! Best ive seen so far regarding these issues! Thanks! David, Sweden

I've been running 2.8 inch tires for 3 years already. I'll never go back. So much grip which leads to confidence. And now we see from a very scientific process that the bigger tires are actually faster in almost all situations. I am told often by people who have never tried plus tires how awful they are because of what they read online or in a magazine. Makes me chuckle.

Thanks for such a comprehensive test.

Amazingly thorough assessment. I'm an Aerospace engineer and absolutely commend your effort and resolve. Fantastic work, thanks. Andy

We want more detailed stuff like this!

I am glad to hear this as I just got my Norco Fluid FS2 and it comes with 2.6 front and rear.

I find this video to be statistically enjoyable!

Thank you for taking the time to grind the numbers out and truly test the comparisons. I rate this experiment as you have seriously tried to average out results and limit your variables in such a fluctuating, irregular sport that is mountain biking/DH. hats off to ya! looking forward to your next test if and when you do so. I would like to see (as someone has already commented) whether plus tires are faster than 29s whether 2.8 tires with a similar overall diameter to a 29er tire is faster. bigger sidewall vs bigger rim diameter ???

Well done, amazing study!!

Solid deets, helped me justify a jump from 2.1 to 2.6 for those messy rides - thanks my guy

Well done. confirms my assumptions too. Have been riding Plus bikes for 2 years (after 30 years of 26ers, lol), and I like em. Tire selection is a huge problem though. I have gone down to 2.8/2.6 combo on my 2 current rides though (oh and 3.0/3.0 on my hardtail). In our PNW wet winter I have been down to 13psi lately to keep from sliding off the glassy-wet roots. I sure which there were more maxx-sticky options in plus tires!

Another killer video as usual from you guys! 👍👍👍

Holy crap! Seb's bum sensitivity is higher than my hands'! How can he discern or know what the tyre casing is doing at all times with all sorts of different pressures! Genuinely astonishing. Very thorough research! Loved it!

Great video! From what you say though it sounds like 2.8 front and 2.6 rear might be the best combo.

Amazing test and effort to give us the best answer for different tyre sizes 👏 🙌 👍

great video, excellent widths chosen for comparison when looking at 2019 options

That was brilliant! You've left no detail untouched. I've got 40mm RaceFace rims which seem to call for minimum size 2.6 tyres. With my Maxxis Rekon+ 2.8's my rear wheel seems to slip a bit on loose loam here in Vermont and I've been laboring over moving to a more narrow tyre for better traction. Your tests seems to show it wouldn't likely help. Guess I just need to work on my cornering!

Great efforts in trying to minimize error.

Fantastic job on this test!!!

I appreciate Bike Radar going to great lengths to do these tests as scientifically as is practical. Good job everyone!

Would love to see this type of systematic analysis applied to to oval vs round chain rings ... lot of hype around the oval but I have never seen any hard data ... the tire analysis was GREAT and gave me a lot to think about!

That’s the perfect bike for the test👍🏻 I just ordered 2.6 Maxxis DHR 2 for my Specialized Enduro Comp, front and rear🤘🏻 awesome review

I love when there is a bike radar does science video but this is a whole new level of does science and I love every second of it!

Wow, kudos on the statistical significance bit! Nice to see this.

Very informative! Really helpful. Thank you!

Not surprising that plus tires are faster than regular 27.5s. After all, plus tires are larger diameter (nearly the same as a 29er). A more telling test would be whether plus tires are faster than 29s.

Good job as always Seb! It would also be good the compare both 29 and 27.5 in all sizes to see if it's not just the increase in wheel diameter rather than the increased width. Also how did you find running the 2.8 on the 33 internal rims? Was it good or would you prefer to run something like a 40?

Well done with mitigating variables.

Fantastic study. I'd be really interested to see a follow-up comparing 27.5x2.3, 27.5x2.8 and 29x2.3.

My man isn't just a mountain biker but also a scientist. Good video

Awesome job! I can't believe how much work you put into this video. Thank you!! Additionally, I think bigger tires offer more comfort.

As a scientist myself I can only say - very very well done! Impressively meticulous!

I was an early convert to plus tires and had many heated discussions with my fellow riders listening to them telling me it didn't work for them because they're so pro and the tires are for beginners. I also love 29er ride characteristic. I've been putting 2.6s on my 29er but yearning to be able to get a good 29 x 2.8 - a tire size that almost doesn't exist and almost no bikes designed to handle this. This test is going to make me search even harder for the magical Unicorn bike. Slack, long, steep seat angle, not too low a bb, Marin Wolfridge suspension, able to take 29 x 2.8, 160mm travel... Thanks so much for applying real science to this topic!!!

This is a great video. Really has all the data and science. Love it

new sub here...love yer shite so far. running 27.5x2.8(stock on my 2018 cannondale cujo 3) but can't get over the $100+ price tag that comes with replacing ONE tire... after riding 1/2 way thru the season, swapping the rear tire to the front before the rear tire gets worn down too much is a great tip to save $$

been obsessing over this decision for the last couple weeks, good to know that bigger doesn't necessarily mean slower and could actually be faster. Was just getting too many punctures and damaged rims on the smaller / lighter tyres.

I had 5 flats on my racerking 2.2 and i wanted to make a bullet proof tire so i cutted the side walls of the tire and kept only the knobs surface ..then i glued it (knobs facing up) in the interior of a Kenda Kinetics,i knew that i wouldn t find a tire thick like that so i made it myself,i love it!

Impressive mate. Thanks

Awesome vid! Quite an effort!👍🏻 Rarely seen such a good comparison... But you should keep one thing in mind: The 2.8 you measured 2.6X is in fact a true 2.6 and the 2.6 you measured 2.4X is in fact a true 2.4 or 2.5 inch tire. Schwalbe and Continental, but also the 2021 Specilized tires measure true to what is written on the sidewalls. So, a true 2.8 inch tire could probably be a bit over the top for most riders and conditions on a Non-E-Bike... Anyway... Great content! Thanx and cheers from Germany!✌🏻😉👍🏻

Very good! Thanks... I have 27.5 x 2.1 wide, will try the 2.6.

One of the best if not the best analysis of any comparison I have seen in the bike world. Have not yet checked out your other projects. If not already done lets see the 27.5 x 2.8 compared to a 29er x ? if outer diameter is comparable. Great Job!

Great test, thanks!

Great work on a great test!! I love seeing this stuff, especially when you’ve really thought about the details!!! As others have mentioned it would be great to see a similar year comparing a 29er xc wheel/tyre combo /day 2.2-2.4inch width) to the 2.8plus tyres, since overall tyre diameter may play a larger roll than width? (Just hypothesizing here). Also, I wonder why xc pros aren’t all on plus bikes with 2.8tyres

oh and great job with the statistics, as a student I can tell you put many hours into them and it helped me reach a conclusion, still, more testing never hurts!

When I graduated from my 26 x 2.1" I went straight to the 27.5 x 2.8". What a difference, I do notice the 2.8 are much more picky about the pressure +/- .5psi is highly noticeable in ride quality on the 2.8's. Always checking my pressure.

Great and interesting test. 👍. You have put quite some time and work in this test. I was surprised that the 2.3 tyres werent the fastest on the climbs. I currently ride 2.6 tyres and like them.

Great review terrific explanation on the tyres. Ever thought about why motorcycles have a skinny front and wide rear 🤫

excellent test procedure

Great experimental design skills :)

I run a mix of 2.4 and 2.6 and theyre great compared to the older thinner tyres. The main difference I find which wasnt focussed on here is in the climbing. I ride a lot in loose rock and wet clay and I find its very hard to break traction when climbing. This allows you to get up some "impossible" sections as long as you can keep putting the power in.

Great video! I think you did a great job in a real world test while still controlling for the variables as much as can be hoped for. Are the pros just slow to adopt or is there another dimension? It would be great to hear why they seem to be resisting the wider tyres?

We have the debate often at the shop, this was cool to see. You should try it again with a rim for a mid-fat as they are considerably wider than the rim designed for a 2.3. It will make the tire wider, closer to the actual labelled size. It really may make a big difference, could be worth another video.

Ive seen scientific studies that were less rigorous in their testing than this video

I just changed to the 2.6 Butcher in a 29inches wheel . Loving it.

Thumbs up for the massive effort. Good vid

Good job man!!

At the end of the day the best size is the one that gives enough traction for the conditions, providing enough confort in rouf terrain, and is still light enough for climbs and distance. If you you ride 20 miles on 2.8s which may include 1500ft elevation gain, i am doubtful they are faster than 2.3s. Great Vid!

2.8s are brilliant, I'd never go back to skinny tyres.

Ok so I just ordered some 2.8" tires! Pretty convincing test data here, we'll see how they perform! Currently have 27.5x2.6 Trail King+Mountain King. What really sold me was that the 2.8s were actually faster or the same on the climbs which is totally opposite to what I would have thought.

I love bike radar reviews

Nice test!

Awesome job!

holy crap. dem numbers!!!!!! my head hurts LOL

I just switched from 2.8 to 2.6 front and rear. The main issue with my 2.8 was the weight; not only for climbing but for cornering. Considering is unsprung weight that is also turning. 2.6 made my bike feel much more agile and nimble.

2.5 maxxis suites me best as im only 10 stone and anything bigger the front feels too vague. Very interesting and well put together test.

Nice job, thanks

Very interesting thank you for the test