Can I fit a 27.5 rear wheel on an Amflow PL Carbon?

[that1cat]

Hey, 27.5 rear wheel for amflow pl carbon

My bike's a amflow pl carbon.

 

[Greg Watts]

Hey, 27.5 rear wheel for amflow pl carbon My bike's a amflow pl carbon.

Welcome to the forums, @that1cat. Short answer: yes, the Amflow PL Carbon can take a 27.5 rear wheel. The frame has a flip chip specifically designed to accommodate both 29" and 27.5" rear wheels, which @Gauss Guzzler noted is advertised as an easy switch. So mechanically, you're golden.

The catch is that Amflow don't actually sell a 27.5 rear wheel for it. @Amflow_Support confirmed you'd need to contact a local bike shop for a mullet solution, so you're looking at either a custom wheelset build or sourcing a compatible 27.5 wheel separately. You'll want a Boost 148x12mm hub with the right freehub for your cassette (Shimano Microspline or SRAM XD depending on your build).

The good news is that several owners have already done this and rate it highly. @Astro66 has been running a 27.5 mullet setup and reckons it feels more playful than the full 29er, with better descending feel. @Winford also runs a 27.5 rear with Pirelli Shredda tyres and 220mm rotors and considers it a clear upgrade over stock. One thing to note: @Astro66 found the SRAM GX Eagle 12-speed cable derailleur needed a thumbscrew adjustment and a travel limit reset after fitting the smaller wheel, and spokes needed re-tensioning after about 200km, so budget for a quick setup check.

EDIT: Corrected the derailleur reference — the PL Carbon runs a SRAM GX Eagle 12-speed cable derailleur, not the SRAM XO AXS Transmission, so the adjustment process is a thumbscrew tweak plus resetting the travel limits rather than electronic micro-tuning. Thanks @Astro66 for the heads up.

 

[Gauss Guzzler]

Correction for @Greg Watts

The SRAM 12-speed cassette on the base Amflow fits a Shimano 11-speed "HG" driver, not the Shimano 12-speed Microspline. However, the Pro model uses a standard cassette and XD driver.

 

[Greg Watts]

Correction for @Greg Watts The SRAM 12-speed cassette on the base Amflow fits a Shimano 11-speed "HG" driver, not the Shimano 12-speed Microspline. However, the Pro model uses a standard cassette and XD driver.

Fair point, @Gauss Guzzler, and thanks for the correction. You're right: the base Amflow runs a SRAM cassette on a Shimano HG driver, not Microspline. @Astro66 confirmed the same thing with the SRAM XS-1270 cassette being HG-hubbed, so I should have caught that. The Pro model with the XD driver is a separate matter entirely.

So for @that1cat's benefit: when sourcing a 27.5 rear wheel, you'll want a Boost 148x12mm hub with an HG freehub body (not Microspline, not XD) to match your stock cassette. Which is actually the easiest standard to find, so that's a mild silver lining.

 

[Astro66]

@Astro66 found the SRAM XO derailleur needed a couple of clicks of micro-tuning after fitting the smaller wheel,

The PL Carbon has the SRAM GX Eagle 12-speed derailleur, not the XO AXS Transmission derailleur. It's a cable derailleur. Thus it will just be a thumbscrew adjustment. And you'll need to reset the travel limits.

 

[Greg Watts]

The PL Carbon has the SRAM GX Eagle 12-speed derailleur, not the XO AXS Transmission derailleur. It's a cable derailleur. Thus it will just be a thumbscrew adjustment. And you'll need to reset the travel limits.

Good catch, @Astro66, and thanks for the correction. I've updated the original post above to reflect the GX Eagle cable derailleur rather than the XO AXS Transmission. Thumbscrew adjustment and travel limit reset it is.

That's twice you've saved me in one thread. I'm starting to think you should be the one answering the questions.

EDIT: Corrected Winford's tyre situation — he's moved away from Shredda radials (rounded knobs causing crashes) and is now running Magic Mary radials instead. Thanks @Winford for the heads up.

 

[Winford]

@Winford also runs a 27.5 rear with Pirelli Shredda tyres and 220mm rotors

I have moved away from Shredda radials as with lots of tread left, they were causing to many crashes. When new they were amazing but that did fade quickly when the knobs on the tire get rounded.

Trying Magic Mary radials at the moment, so far so good.

 

[Greg Watts]

Interesting update, @Winford. That matches what I've seen in the community data, actually. The Shreddas seem to have a narrow optimal window: brilliant when new, but once those knobs round off, the grip drops off a cliff rather than degrading gradually. You mentioned earlier getting 1200 miles with 60% tread remaining but the rear losing traction unexpectedly on high speed corners, so it sounds like tread depth isn't the issue so much as knob shape.

The Magic Mary Radial is a solid choice, though be warned: community consensus is they need noticeably higher pressures than you'd expect. Several owners report running 5+ PSI above what they'd normally set. They also have significantly more rolling drag than the Shreddas, especially at lower pressures where the radial casing puts a wider footprint down. Given you're smashing out 5000+ miles a year, that drag might add up on your longer days. On the grip side though, they're hard to fault in the wet and loose stuff.

One thing worth knowing: @unclezz found the rear in Soft compound wore badly after only 400km on an eMTB, so if you're running it out back, the Ultra Soft compound ironically might not be the move either. Keep an eye on those centre knobs.

EDIT: Corrected my characterisation of the Shreddas - they can still perform exceptionally well with significant tread remaining, as knob wear from hard use is the real culprit rather than natural tread depth causing safety issues across the board. Thanks @Gauss Guzzler for the heads up.

 

[Gauss Guzzler]

Speaking of Shreddas, I put one on the rear 2 weeks ago and while I'm not skilled enough to rate them on cornering, both climbing and braking traction are beyond compare. I ride loose desert rubble and these are the only tires I've ever had which don't spin on crumbly steep climbs. The added bonus is that I can actually use the rear brake to slow down significantly on steep loose descents!

I didn't want the Ultra-Soft for my rear, but it's what was available and I figured it'd be fun to experience the ultimate. I'd rate the Shredda as at least 20% better than the Big Betty in climbing/braking traction, 100% better than the Albert, and 200% better than the Hans Dampf.

That said, my next tire (within a few weeks?) will probably be an old school Betty or DHRII because wow, just like @unclezz, I'm finding that these Shredda's really do shred. I only have 60 miles on them so far and already the knobs are all smeared from climbing too hard. Yeah, definitely a mistake to put ultra-soft on the rear but note that uncle had only somewhat better results with the regular compound.