Gallery: Plus size tires are kind of a thing

27.5 and 29 plus size rubber found everywhere at Sea Otter

Russell Eich / Immediate Media

Published: April 28, 2017 at 1:00 pm

While cruising around at this year's Sea Otter, a few trends were pretty much unmistakable. First, there are a lot of carbon wheel companies and second, mountain bikes with plus size tires are the latest and greatest.

From custom one-off steel bikes to e-bikes, to new-school carbon full-suspension wunder rigs, plus-size rubber was here, there, everywhere.

The Terrene McFly tires are available in Tough and Light casings - Russell Eich / Immediate Media

We've seen a few brands take existing 29ers and thanks to the additional 6mm afforded by Boost out back slip some 27.5 tires in. For 2017 though, the trend is even bigger with plus-size 29ers popping up.

The Chris Cross is versatile with room for 27.5 x 2.1in or 700 x 40mm tires - Russell Eich / Immediate Media

Some bikes, such as Ibis's new Ripley LS, sneak in with Schwalbe 2.6in tires tucked out back, while some drop bar monstercross bikes do double-duty fitting Mondo 40mm treads on 700c wheels or XC-width 2.1in tires on 27.5in hoops.

Check out the gallery above to get a taste of the latest plus-size bikes coming your way.