So turns out this works out just fine :)

650+ Spearfish by Greg.May, on Flickr

Lots of clearance out back, similar to what I get with a 2.3 Saguaro in there.

looks pretty good set up like that. I like.

works well. It's pretty much my racing setup for 24s with different wheels and a shorter stem :)

I like! What's the rim and internal width?

Assuming those are 29er forks, what's the clearance like with the Scraper/Trailblazer? I'm just trying to decide whether I can get away with 29er forks on my new B+ project.

Front rim is a scrapper - rear is a KOM i25

Clearance front on a 29er fork - similar to a 2.3 Saguaro:
650+ Spearfish by Greg.May, on Flickr

Clearance on rear - less than the normal 2.1 Nanoraptor, but pretty good still:
650+ Spearfish by Greg.May, on Flickr

Issue with clearance on the rear of the Spearfish has always been the build up, and wedging of rocks, on the linkage plate to the rocker plate.

ScotRoutes wrote:Assuming those are 29er forks, what's the clearance like with the Scraper/Trailblazer? I'm just trying to decide whether I can get away with 29er forks on my new B+ project.

I've also run these in a 650b Pike in the gloop with no issue of build up...in gritty mud.

Thanks Greg. Currently weighing up rim/tyre options. Fat B Nimbles on Hugos are currently looking #1 pick and I think that'll mean proper B+ forks....

I've tried Trailblazer and Fat B Nimble on a velocity dually on the front recently. Both tyres fit OK in a RS Rev fork. Tread on the FBN is about 10mm wider and nice rounded profile. The TB is quite a flat profile on the 45mm rim and the tyres 'bellies' beyond the tread. Was hoping the FBN would replace it on the front - fairly thin sidewall though and slack bead means haven't managed to get it up tubeless. The TB was the easiest to inflate tubeless tyre I've ever had.

Ooh ta.

Trailblazers, and pretty much any modern WTB tyre really, go up real easy tubeless. Similar to Saguaros in that they have a nice tough sidewall and the bead is thick enough that it helps.

Did the first ride on the Spearfish+ at the weekend. Need to get the suspension dialled in a bit but it works well. Lots of grip up and down, slower rolling - but thats in comparison to 2.1 Nanoraptors...so not a fair comparison.

Not sure what it is about Trail Blazers but the tyre profile just looks wrong on pretty much every rim I've seen them mounted. Super boxy!

They are quite boxy, very MaXXIs like - not a massive fan of them, but when the pressure is low they work well.

Really interesting to see the bicycle used by JJ to smash the CTR course record last week. Long travel FS 27.5, but with light wheels shod in 'normal' rubber; looks like 2.2-2.35 Ikons. Compare that with the FR SS iron horse NRT used to win the HTR and draw your own conclusions!

ZeroDarkBivi wrote:Really interesting to see the bicycle used by JJ to smash the CTR course record last week. Long travel FS 27.5, but with light wheels shod in 'normal' rubber; looks like 2.2-2.35 Ikons. Compare that with the FR SS iron horse NRT used to win the HTR and draw your own conclusions!

Got a pic/ link of the CTR bike?

Ian wrote: Got a pic/ link of the CTR bike?

It's up on bikepacking magazine:
GT Sensor

My conclusions are that it's not the bike. Look at the average speeds - any bike will manage them.

Not any bike will manage the CTR .... it's quite brutally hard on bikes. Which is why most "fast" people move from rigid to full sus for it.

A lot of the people I coach arrive with modern 5" - 6" travel bikes and I'm usually quite surprised by how light they are.

I suppose it could be argued that a modern full suspension bike isn't the ideal thing to take if the trail is hard on bikes due to the more complex design / greater number of things to go wrong or break. Obviously, the rider is going to get a far easier time of things though, which in turn may lead to fewer errors which could negate everything I've just written? ... who knows but it's fun finding out

Greg, how have you got on with the plus-fish? Have you had any problems with mud clearance? I am running normal 29" wheels with Ikons (2.35F, 2.2R) on my new SF, and had some issues with thick mud having to be manually cleared from both frame and fork the other day. It was pretty nasty claggy mud, but not entirely unusual for English byways...!

Hmm, it's a bit of a mixed bag if I'm honest. First off, it doesn't really need it. The SF is an ace bike with my normal tyres in there (Saguaro front, Nanoraptor rear - occasional Honey Badger front if shitty). Suspension works well, really nice over tech ground, and fast rolling.

The B+ing slowed it down a bit, which was at the benefit of a chunk of grip, which is fine. Happy out. Downhill...it became faster than the F32 could handle, lots of high speed hits and it became a bit unpredictable until I played around with the compression and rebound a lot. FWIW, I kinda just fire and forget with suspension, not a fiddler. I'm surprised I noticed it.

But, the SF doesn't really suffer from lack of grip under pedaling...so I was a bit no plussed (hah) by this. I was getting a bit of pedal strike, but it's no worse than I get on my Mondraker, which is a bugger for this.

Clearance, not an issue with a Fox up front, would be closer with some RS forks though. Out back...well it's tight. I've not got it really muddy. TBH, the SF suffers from shitty clearance out back even with the 2.2 Nano which is not a wide tyre. Mud always gathers around the linkage, on either of the SFs I've owned.

Would I leave it like this long term? Probably not. Would I run my SS El Mariachi like this? Yes, yes yes yes. I've been riding the new Alpkit/Sonder bike for the past 6 weeks or so which is B+'d and frankly...its vaguely exciting. Loads of grip, comfort, speed, everything. It just makes sense on a hardtail. I'd like to get more time with this setup, but the wheels need to go back to their owner sadly :(