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Will panaracer Fat B Nimble 27.5x3.5 tires on Velocity Blunt 35 rims fit on a Medium Surly Karate Monkey Frame?
I doubt there will be any clearance issue on the front fork since it can hold a 29x3 surly knard with plenty of space. However, I'm not sure about the rear triangle.
I have a 2015 Karate Monkey and have a 27.5 Fat B mounted on a velocity P35 rim and it fits on the rear. Have not had any issues riding trails. I have a Surly Knard 29x3.0 mounted on a WTB Asym i35 rim on the front, plenty of clearance. Next I'm planning to build another WTB i35 29 with a 29 Fat B in the rear. Hope it fits, might be tight. Will let you know.
Yes.
http://surlybikes.com/gallery/karate_monkey/karate_monkey_b
It took me a while to confirm that these were indeed the panaracer fat b nimbles due to the low resolution of the image. However, it's definitely a panaracer, and there are only so many models that size. Like BEVR1337 said, I may have some issues if using a front derailleur, it looks like this should clear the frame fine. Rims appear to be velocity duallys which are a bit wider than the blunts, so if it is a good fit with these rims, the narrower blunt 35s should be totally fine.
From Surly the maximum tire clearance on a 29er is 2.55". After reading a bunch of other forum posts from other sites asking the same question, I never read anyone going wider than 2.5" on a 29er. I don't think this will fit between your seat stays.
If you ran 700c you could get probably get wider clearance on the rear. When you really start pushing the limits of tire width, you'll notice any wobble in the wheel because it'll rub your frame! Here's an article on how to measure tire clearance. According to Surly, when you put the wider tire on the Karate Monkey, there's an issue of it rubbing the front derailleur. They make a spacer for that if that becomes an issue for you!
Also take into consideration whether you will only ride your bike on dry soil. If mud on the tire shall be possible you need much more clearance. Once I had my rear and front wheel fully blocked when pushing the bike through heavy mud although in clean state I have more than 1/2 inch of clearance around the tire.
