Any 26 Plus Riders Out There?

Looking at building up a new hardtail and I am flirting with the idea of 26+. Anyone have any experience with 26+? What rims and tires work good?
I am sure with that much girth on the ground you can get away with a less agressive tire, but my main worry is rims. The only ones I can fine are the Stans Flow MK3, the WTB Scrapper and Velocity Dually.

The issue is mostly the frame availability. 

I've been waiting for Jamis to finally release the Eden & Dragonfly for the other half, to no avail.   I think she could benefit from the "easy button" traction and rollover that 2.8-3" tires provide, but She is small so 27.5+ is just too much I think.

I spent a good amount of time on my 26+ converted Turner Six-Pack this winter.  2.75 Surly Dirt Wizards (the folding, higher TPI version) on Flow MK3s. 

The build was actually somewhat inspired by a Jamis demo day where I got to swap back and forth with a buddy between the Dragon Slayer 27.5x3.0 and Roughneck 26x4.5 on dirt.  The + bike still felt like a bike to me, but the fattie was a little too bizarre for "normal" (non-snow/sand) use.

I've forgotten what kind of tire pressures I was running--maybe 18-20psi?  I found the setup to be good in 3" or less of snow, but when it started drifting to 5" and getting more powdery, I struggled.  I was disappointed with the performance of the Dirt Wizards on wet rock slabs.  I don't think the extra volume was enough to make up for the rubber compound probably being harder than Conti Black Chili (Dirt Wizards replaced 2.5 Der Kaisers).  I probably wasn't being as brave with dropping my tire pressures as I needed to be.

6+" of coil-sprung travel with 2.75 tires makes for a hilariously inefficient bike--probably quite a bit different than what you'd experience on a hardtail.  I haven't been out on it since the snow disappeared off the local hills, but I was looking at it last week and thinking I should take it out for a rumble in the dry...

I lied!  Jamie does have their 26+ out now, and at a reasonable price too! 

I just wonder if they got over those frame cracking issues...

I've been wondering about this as well. Could you run 26+ wheels in a 27.5 frame if it had pretty generous tire clearance?

Posted by: D-Type

I've been wondering about this as well. Could you run 26+ wheels in a 27.5 frame if it had pretty generous tire clearance?

You could, but you'd lower the BB a bit and decrease the wheelbase slightly...

Thanks, It sounds like it would have the same drawbacks of using 27+ tires on a 29er frame. Do you think this will catch on the same way as 27+ has or will this be pretty niche?

I'd guess we'll end up at a point where people can pick 26, 27,5 and 29, and the plus (or even fat) variants of each...