The Vigilantes look a bit undersized because they are quite square tires and the casings aren't particularly bulbous but the 2.8 measures pretty damn close to 2.8" on my i40 rims and the 2.6 measures pretty close to 2.6" on my i35 rim. I have the exact numbers on my caliper somewhere but couldn't find them for this response.
It's a great question re. the 2.8" clearing in the Growler 20 and I smacked myself for not popping my own wheel in since one of the awesome features of the 20 is that the frame is identical to the higher-end version with a thru-axle 148 rear end.
There is plenty of room with the 2.6" so my gut feeling is a 2.8" will squeeze in. The only issue is the bike comes with i30, instead of i35, rims so depending on the tire the 2.8" may not have an optimum shape. I mean, it will work fine but not optimum.
I would love to do more entry-level reviews. Sadly, Rocky seems to be the only company on my radar that _really_ gets it with geo & rubber in terms of entry-level rigs for local riding _but_ there are some other very intriguing budget hardtails that are on the cusp - from Giant, Devinci, & Trek for example, that would definitely be on my shortlist.
Thanks!
June 7, 2020, 5:41 p.m. - Andrew Major
The Vigilantes look a bit undersized because they are quite square tires and the casings aren't particularly bulbous but the 2.8 measures pretty damn close to 2.8" on my i40 rims and the 2.6 measures pretty close to 2.6" on my i35 rim. I have the exact numbers on my caliper somewhere but couldn't find them for this response. It's a great question re. the 2.8" clearing in the Growler 20 and I smacked myself for not popping my own wheel in since one of the awesome features of the 20 is that the frame is identical to the higher-end version with a thru-axle 148 rear end. There is plenty of room with the 2.6" so my gut feeling is a 2.8" will squeeze in. The only issue is the bike comes with i30, instead of i35, rims so depending on the tire the 2.8" may not have an optimum shape. I mean, it will work fine but not optimum. I would love to do more entry-level reviews. Sadly, Rocky seems to be the only company on my radar that _really_ gets it with geo & rubber in terms of entry-level rigs for local riding _but_ there are some other very intriguing budget hardtails that are on the cusp - from Giant, Devinci, & Trek for example, that would definitely be on my shortlist. Thanks!