Also says the 29er was fastest, but little is made of that. Depends a lot on what you want from your riding. Ie it’s personal…

not sure its a valid test. What does ‘wheel corrected geometry’ mean? All bikes have same head angle? All BB’s the same height, or same height relative to axles?
From what I understand 29ers tend to have steeper head angles so if they are all the same then its not really a surprise that 29ers are quicker.
A better test in my opinion would be to put the fastest 26er up against the fastest 29er.

Does fastest equal funnest?

my 29er is fun in a different way to my 26″ bikes. I like that they’re different. ymmv.

i thought it was a ‘good’article, looked a proper trail that lots of riders could use so aimed at joe public.

I found my 29er scandal fine on twisty trails and i had fun as they say a bit monster truck but giggling at the end

rode my 26er Yeti 7 and it was more flickable and ‘lived in’

there in lies the issue still learning how to ride a 29er and use its full potential and I thin it takes more than a couple of days.

overall good article though

So speed is directly proportional to head angle?

depends on the trail\track, but going downhill if everything else was equal the slacker bike would in all probability be quicker, hence why angle sets and offset bushings have become so popular.

speed directly related to rider……………….

A 26er wheel is faster over certain terrain but it is not the fastest wheel over all types of terrain.

This was from some Canadian guy on that forum. I have to agree.

I see what you are getting at there ;O)

So you are saying it’s the 29er that is faster over ‘all types of terrain’?

lol and for those who havn’t got all the way through it they used strava to measure it so as some would point out there could be months between the real times anyway 😉

But wheels and tyres don’t sell as many units …

That brycelend vid will blow many a STWer mind. 😉

That vid is one of my favourites in a while.

26″ wheels, 5″ bike, flat pedals, saddle down, standing up, stomping on the pedals, ragging and fun.

Far removed from 6″ bike, blue route, seated, gentle pedalling mincing, that i imagine a majority of STW get up to. Actually it isn’t just a STW thing, but a MTB public thing.

*Anticipates excuses like “but he’s pro”. Skill level doesn’t stop anyone attempting with that style and mindset. Surprisingly enough, if you try, it comes.

Has anyone spotted the obvious flaw ?

The best bike is the one considered the most fun, but that seems to be the one which makes the same ride the most challenging. You can also make a ride more challenging by ignoring other innovations, such as suspension, dropper seat posts, disk brakes. Or you can embrace the new technology and seek out more challenging terrain ?

26 and 29 aren’t the problem, they offer different enough benefits to make them worthwhile, it’s the shoe-horning of 650b into the marketplace that’s the issue for me.

29ers also take some getting used to and definitely didn’t feel as fun for the first few months for me; just as fun now though and make a nice alternative to my 26er.

I think most riders on this forum like the challenge of the climb and the bits in between as well as the descents.

The Blur Tr video is amazing but I reckon that rider could do that on most mountain bikes regardless of wheel size, frame material etc.

Close minded people who have made their choice why can’t 650 be better than 29, if we stopped at 2 sizes why not 24 & 26??
If we evolve to 29 then consider 26!!

bloody wheel sizeists

I don’t get why its a problem, 3 wheel sizes.

I also don’t get the marketing BS bit. every product has marketing bs behind,

Dropper posts, clutch rear mechs, 1×11 etc.

It’s not a problem for us, but it will be for your local bike shop when making decisions on what components and spares to stock.

Deanfbm, I completely agree on the rider skill and mental preparation side of things by the way; proper coaching and practise will make a much greater difference than new kit for most of us.

That section about summed the whole 27.5″/650b up for me…

The “Testing” they did was more Qualitative which TBH is probably more relevant to the majority of MTBers (who either don’t race or spend more of their time ‘Just’ enjoying riding), how does a bike feel to ride? rather than what is the most efficient way to roll along on straight sections…

My reading of it was that 26″ is still more ‘Fun’ 29″ is not without a fun factor and the fact that 29″ can roll through stuff (Plow) that bit easier does add something, but that it’s still not quite the daddy on tighter, twisty, technical stuff.

As for 27.5? I read the piece almost as a big shrug in that regard, it’s neither one thing or the other… Compromise? Middle for diddle? Meh…

I’m perfectly willing to accept that had the bicycle industry gone anoher way we’d have all been riding on 650b wheels for the last 30 odd years but they didn’t and 26″ wheels have done us proud ever since and still work well for most people.

I think 29″ wheels offer enough positive differences from 26″ to add something to the riding experience for many.

But I still can’t help seeing 27.5″ as a cynical marketing ploy, primarily from those companies that just failed to jump on the 29er bandwaggon in time. But the boat has sailed and the 29er “Trick” isn’t so easily repeatable…

Yes Intense are rolling out a 650b DH bike this coming season and no doubt there will be others.
I’ll not dispute the marginal technical benefits of a 27.5″ wheel over 26″ but then there’s the consumer to consider, how do they really benefit from a 3rd “Standard” in the Mix?