I understand it’s just business, but marketing happens from the edges as well.
For example, the industry and ‘media’ sold Plus bikes as being for less fast, less radified & less shredly folks.
If you cornered like Jared Graves you wouldn’t be able to find enough traction. If you smashed like Jared Graves tires would have to weigh 3000-grams to be suitably durable. If you hold a line like Jared Graves the tires are too vague. Oh, and if you sprint like Nino, they’re too slow.
But the right Plus rubber in the right width of rim adds an impressive amount of margin descending, comfort all around, and won’t slow you down enough to change your ride order. You just have to admit you’re not Jared or Nino, which was very hard for riders & writers to do.
And yeah, I’m bitter. I’ve heard/read so many people shit on Plus tires who never even rode them and a fair few of those folks, who I know personally, couldn’t beat me down a black trail on their Enduro bike with me riding my rigid single speed - which I’ll note is not me bragging about being fast / it’s me bragging about being very aware of my spot in the amorphous center of the ability curve.
———
This is all an extension of the concept that riding a hardtail is ‘weird’ or ‘hardcore’ and riding a full suspension bike is normal, when actually for a lot of folks level or maintenance, fitness, setup investment, and days on the bike per year, a hardtail is actually the only thing that makes sense.
April 14, 2023, 6:41 a.m. - Andrew Major
I understand it’s just business, but marketing happens from the edges as well. For example, the industry and ‘media’ sold Plus bikes as being for less fast, less radified & less shredly folks. If you cornered like Jared Graves you wouldn’t be able to find enough traction. If you smashed like Jared Graves tires would have to weigh 3000-grams to be suitably durable. If you hold a line like Jared Graves the tires are too vague. Oh, and if you sprint like Nino, they’re too slow. But the right Plus rubber in the right width of rim adds an impressive amount of margin descending, comfort all around, and won’t slow you down enough to change your ride order. You just have to admit you’re not Jared or Nino, which was very hard for riders & writers to do. And yeah, I’m bitter. I’ve heard/read so many people shit on Plus tires who never even rode them and a fair few of those folks, who I know personally, couldn’t beat me down a black trail on their Enduro bike with me riding my rigid single speed - which I’ll note is not me bragging about being fast / it’s me bragging about being very aware of my spot in the amorphous center of the ability curve. ——— This is all an extension of the concept that riding a hardtail is ‘weird’ or ‘hardcore’ and riding a full suspension bike is normal, when actually for a lot of folks level or maintenance, fitness, setup investment, and days on the bike per year, a hardtail is actually the only thing that makes sense.