I've been riding the same specialized hard rock for the past 16 years, but with the growing interest of my daughters in MTB I've been looking at finally getting around to upgrading my bike. (It's true that this is completely selfish and a bit desperate, but I can barely keep up with them on roads - they're going to toast this rigid suspension.) Due to being slightly shorter than average height and perennial beginner experience, I was initially looking at a normal 27.5 tire hardtail. However, it seems like companies are all jumping on the plus platform in the 2016 model year. Regardless of the brand/model, reviews seem to be saying the same things: more forgiving for beginners, fun ride, surprisingly fast even with a slower tire. I looked around for threads in the forum about 27.5+, but it looks like there hasn't been much discussion aside from 29+ a page back and a 27.5+ WTB thread from over a year ago. So I don't know how much interest or experience people have in these. Am I an outlier in being really excited? I never really jumped on the 29er wagon because I found a lot of the frames weren't sized right for my frame. While I'm worried about that being the case with 27.5+ being a similar size, it looks like (in theory) the angles of the plus bikes are more my size. What I saw that I really liked about the 27.5+ releases coming out is that many of them have mid-range gear at a much more affordable price than the comparable normal bikes. Norco has Sram GX on a bike under $2500; Orbea has Shimano SLX on a bike under $1500; Specialized has a dropper post on a bike at $1600. I'm very curious about what the Airborne Griffin might look like if they get it out this year. Have opinions changed on 27.5+ bikes over the past year since the WTB tire came out? Where do you think they fit in the world of cycling? What I found: Marin Pine Mountain 1 - $989 Norco Torrent 7.2 - $1,450 Orbea Loki H30 - $1,499 Specialized Fuse Comp - $1,600 Mongoose Ruddy Expert - $1,999 (not released?) Airborne Griffin - $1,999 (not released) Orbea Loki H10 - $2,099 Specialized Fuse Expert - $2,100 Norco Torrent 7.1 - $2,425 Jamis Dragonslayer - $2,699 Marin Pine Mount 2 - $2,749 Orbea Loki H-ltd - $2,999 Specialise Fuse Pro - $3,100 Scott Scale Plus 720 - not released, low end Scott Scale Plus 710 - not released, high end For my experience, riding style, and budget, anything at the Specialized Fuse Comp or cheaper looks like an awesome choice. I've been leaning toward either the Norco 7.2 or Orbea H30 but finding a demo of any of them right now is pretty much impossible.
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