5" tires on a beargrease

Johnny Utah

Johnny Utah

Well-Known Member
Anyone running them on the rear? Thinking of trying a 5" Knard on a 65mm rim for winter, looks like it will be tight.

Feedback is appreciated.
 
If you give it a try, report back as I'm also curious. The front fork looks like it would have plenty of room for a bigger tire. The rear too although a little less room.
 
I was playing around with a 5" Dillinger on my 2013 Aluminum Beargrease and it wouldn't fit and neither did a Knard but Salsa also says that much on their website.

This is what they say about the current year Beargrease:

The rear end of the bike is optimally designed for use with 3.8” fatbike tires mounted on 80mm rims. The rear end will accept 100mm-width rims with 3.8” tires, or 80mm rims with 4.5” tires, but this may require drivetrain modification. The frame will not accept a 5” fatbike tire.​
 
The front will take a 5" tire on a 100mm rim no problem, the rear on the other hand is questionable, I have seen pictures of up to a 4.8 bud/lou combo on 100mm Clown Shoes, but not so sure how this would be in the mud snow. I really don't want to shave the chainstays down with packed up dirt and snow.

Some mock up fitting showed some promise with a 5" Knard. Hmmmm....
 
You might not be happy with the handling with a 5" tire on a 65mm rim. The big tires are designed to work best on 90-100mm rims. There are some tires in the 4.6" range, like the Specialized Ground Controls, but even those are too big for a 65mm rim IMHO. There's a list of actual tire widths floating around somewhere, but I can't find it at the moment. In the meantime, take a look at this for an idea of the effect that different rim sizes have on tire width AND diameter. http://45nrth.com/files/pages/13193_45N_Tire_Geo_Update_V3.pdf
 
G
SmooveP said:
You might not be happy with the handling with a 5" tire on a 65mm rim. The big tires are designed to work best on 90-100mm rims. There are some tires in the 4.6" range, like the Specialized Ground Controls, but even those are too big for a 65mm rim IMHO. There's a list of actual tire widths floating around somewhere, but I can't find it at the moment. In the meantime, take a look at this for an idea of the effect that different rim sizes have on tire width AND diameter. http://45nrth.com/files/pages/13193_45N_Tire_Geo_Update_V3.pdf
Click to expand...

Good call, I know you have some time on the Marge Lites as well.
 
SmooveP said:
You might not be happy with the handling with a 5" tire on a 65mm rim. The big tires are designed to work best on 90-100mm rims. There are some tires in the 4.6" range, like the Specialized Ground Controls, but even those are too big for a 65mm rim IMHO. There's a list of actual tire widths floating around somewhere, but I can't find it at the moment. In the meantime, take a look at this for an idea of the effect that different rim sizes have on tire width AND diameter. http://45nrth.com/files/pages/13193_45N_Tire_Geo_Update_V3.pdf
Click to expand...


Yep I tried my 4.7" Bulldozers on my 65mm Nexties and did not care for how they handled, felt like they wanted to roll off the rim and vague in the corners. If I pumped them up enough to stop that, they were to bouncy.
5" for a 80mm+
 
IMO you'd be better off with an 80mm rim and VanHelga combo for a better tire profile. I ran the D5 and VanHelga last year and felt like the VanHelga hooked up better.
 
I messed around with a 80mm Rolling Daryl and a 4.8" Knard on the rear when mounting my buddies up for his bike, but never rode it. From what I saw, it would be real tight, but would fit. My concern comes into play when airing the tires down and riding the bike like I stole it, while they fit, I have a feeling they will rub under rough conditions.

Brief searches on the internets have shown a few guys who have ran 5" tires on the grease, but I am not sure what their riding style is. I haven't yet posted to mtbr as the forum can be exhausting and looks to get more yahoo's posting then people with experience.

Thus far all the tires I ran on the 65mm Marge Lites are standard fare:
- 45Nrth Dillinger 4" - Studded and non-studded
- Surly Knard 3.8

Obviously these have not had issue, and the fork can fit a 5" tire on a 100mm rim no problem.

The deeper snow (6"+) did cause issue for my Beargrease compared to my old Moonlander with 5" tires, I was looking to see what my options were in the deeper snow if it comes this year, as I can buy tires cheaper now and stores actually have them in stock rather than looking in February.

This would be part of a possible wheel build using the 90mm Nexties.

I do like Jim V's idea of running the VanHelga on the rear, that tire was a beast when I watched it in action last year.
 
Just an FYI, after extensive search it looks like the 45North Dillinger 5 fits on 65mm rims, but they are tight.
 
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