Jan. 16, 2018, 8:37 p.m. -  Andrew Major

Thanks for reading! Okay, so facts first: The 29+ Mattoc Pro maxes out at 120mm travel. The regular 29" Mattoc probably doesn't clear a real 2.6" tire on a 30-35mm rim. I say probably because I don't have the fork to stick my 2.6" Bontrager SE4 into to confirm myself.  So I have opinions about hardtails that are hard earned and I'm not looking to change yours but food for thought if you're interested. If I was buying a sick new (purple) Honzo I'd be running it with a 120mm 29+ Mattoc, a RaceFace Arc 40 rim and a 29x3" Bontrager SE4 (or a Minion DHF 3" if I wanted easier steering and less straight line braking) with zero second thoughts. The 120mm Mattoc 29+ and 3" SE4 hits in the geometry sweet spot and makes for an aggressive package that will see less geometry change when trails get steep and nasty. On the Stache and my old 2014 Honzo it is absolute sh*ts and giggles.  More suspension - or forks that dive into their travel - just means more geometry change. When it comes to the order of operations for hardtails I'm going Geo / Tires / Brakes as the top three with actually suspension travel in mm a distant 4th. Then again, I do love rigid bikes.  Cheers,