I am 650b curious. No plans to change bikes any time soon, but I like the idea of being able to have very similar geometry with a slightly larger wheel.

Who has ridden one and what did you think?

No interest in 29’ers as I have ridden one and it doesn’t suit my riding style.

What’s wrong with 26″ if it ticks the manuals/jumps boxes?

No interest in 29’ers as I have ridden one and it doesn’t suit my riding style.

I noticed that they’re all the same too. 😆

Serious answer.
I’ve tried a bike with 650b wheels and they felt like 26″ wheels to me.

No reason why not, I do exactly that* on a 29er Scandal.

It took a bit of time to get used to the different geometry, but once there it’s great fun.

*ok, not ‘exactly’ that as I haven’t landed anything bigger than 2ft onto tarmac, but the hops and wheelies, oh yeah.

Nonsense, he’s entirley right that all bikes with the same wheel size are exactly the same.

All these bikes are 26″ wheels, so will all be the same :p

Logan Binggeli placed 3rd at Rampage on a 650B, that has to be the ultimate test of “hooning around”!

I was curious, so I’ve stuck some on my stumpy, still just as much fun and fewer pedal strikes. Don’t ask me if its faster as that kind of things not my bag.

Jumps and “Hooning” IMO are better suited to smaller wheel sizes (26″ and 24″) the balance obviously being if you want to combine that with covering any real distance…

While I understand the argument in favour of 650b I just can’t see the actual point, you either want a bike that handles like a 26er or rolls like a 29er, it’s a “Problem” nobody ever noticed before, artificially created to flog yet another new (old) standard…

Just feels like the KISS principle is being ignored for marketing purposes IMO…

I am getting a 650b in work to try and may be buying I can see the sense in it because it will clear rock gardens quicker than 26 and be more movable than a 29. I hear peaty and the rest of the syndicate team are testing v10 this winter so if top downhill riders can see the reasoning in it there must be something there

I’ve tried a bike with 650b wheels and they felt like 26″ wheels to me.

Seeing as a 650b is only 25mm larger in diameter than a 26″ wheel, not the 27.5 the marketing peeps would have you believe, I’m hardly bloody surprised!

29er’s are great. They provide something usefully different to 26″ wheels and that suits a lot of people.

26″ wheels are great. They’ve been the de facto standard for ages and they still suit a hell of a lot of people.

650b is neither one thing nor the other, not significantly bigger or faster than 26″ wheels, nor hugely lighter or more agile than 29er’s are. Besides, if you really want to try 650b, just go out and buy a large volume pair of tyres for your current bike. Bontrager XR4’s come up enormous for their stated size and are very light, I had a 2.2″ version that measured exactly 27″ in diameter (same as a 2″ 650b tyre).

While I understand the argument in favour of 650b I just can’t see the actual point, you either want a bike that handles like a 26er or rolls like a 29er, it’s a “Problem” nobody ever noticed before, artificially created to flog yet another new (old) standard…

It’s only a new problem because we’ve found that 29″ is so much better and want to have cake and eat it.

Personaly I agree that smaller wheels have less inertia which is good in a skatepark or for pulling tricks over dirtjumps. But for palin old singletrack like Porrige Pot, Tunnel Hill, Swinley, Surrey Hills etc I’ve never found anything remotely as tight and twisty as a skate park or BMX trails.

If anything 29ers have an advantage in the twisty bits, the bigger wheels give stability at speed, the steep head angles keep things tight and easy to manouver in the twisty bits.

I’ve got two 26ers and one 29er. If someone offered me a good swap on the 26ers for equivelent 29ers (a HX2 for the HX1 and a Rumblefish for the Pitch for example) I’d take it.

Yes, I have ridden one and yes they’re a great compromise for those who don’t like the way a 29er feels but want the benefit of a bigger wheel! I used to work for a big bike company, and let me tell you, they will be the next big thing on the market!!!

650b is fun.. particularly when you can still have the long travel option as well as stiffer forks without hitting FR stanchion sizes (fox 34)

they will be the next big thing on the market!!!

They sure will.. regardless of how many naysayers there are.. the bigger manufacturers will push it onto the consumer and smaller brands will follow suit.
Its a fun wheels size. Ideal for UK trail centers really where you pedal up and hoon down.

The 2013 Scott Genius comes in 29er and 650b. No 26er at all, unless you want the Genius LT. That tells me Scott don’t think long travel bikes work with big wheels. Should I read anything into that? 😕

Interesting topic tho’. I’m in the market for a new bike and it is mind-boggling. There are no end of good bikes on the market but now we have 3 wheel sizes to worry about too.

They sure will.. regardless of how many naysayers there are.. the bigger manufacturers will push it onto the consumer and smaller brands will follow suit.
Its a fun wheels size. Ideal for UK trail centers really where you pedal up and hoon down.

This is how I imagine things will go. I have no plans to change any time soon, but might as well have a go if there are more of em kicking about.

The 2013 Scott Genius comes in 29er and 650b. No 26er at all, unless you want the Genius LT. That tells me Scott don’t think long travel bikes work with big wheels. Should I read anything into that?

I’d say it’s more a parts availability problem, longest 29er forks are still arround 5″. And 29er suspesnion feels longer than it is (relative to 26″), at the extream end my Swift feels as smooth as the 26″ Anthem I demo’d on anything other than drops or big hits (i.e. over the trail chatter that makes up 95% of what slows you down). So a bike with the tag LT only ‘needs’ 5″ rather than 7″?

I don’t buy into the conspiracy theorys that it’s driven by some sort of industry marketing machine.

a) If spesh promote 29ers then you’re as likley to buy a trek as you are a spesh. They promote their own 29ers to the market. They have 29ers to promote because the market is there for them.

b) Whilst n+1 bikes is all well and good, most people keep bikes for a period of time then sell or break them. Then replace them. If it were all about profit and marketing they’d be telling you last years was the best ever, as that requires no R&D. most people wont buy three XC bikes, they’ll buy one in whichever size they thinks best. If you’re not planning on replacing your 26″ bike this year then that doesn’t make 29ers rubbish does it?

If it were all about profit and marketing they’d be telling you last years was the best ever, as that requires no R&D

No business stays successful by standing still. The very nature of commerce is that the competition will always be trying to move ahead, so this is a bit irrelevant really.

they’ll buy one in whichever size they thinks best

That’s the crux. How do they know which they think is best? Other than swinging a leg over various different bikes with different wheel sizes, all we have to go on is what is spouted by the manufacturers i.e. the marketing. Some think more choice is good, but as someone who is trying to buy a new bike I can honestly say I’d be happier if I didn’t have to think about wheel size on top of all the other decisions 🙁

The 2013 Scott Genius comes in 29er and 650b. No 26er at all, unless you want the Genius LT. That tells me Scott don’t think long travel bikes work with big wheels. Should I read anything into that?

Not necessarily, its simply a factor of design model year implementation imo.

The 2013 genius is new for 2013.. the Genius LT is continuing on from 2011 so no frame and geometry changes.
Likewise, the Spark was revamped in 2012, before Scott tested (and had world cup presence with) 650b in any depth..
So, we will likely see 650b options on the next generation Spark and Scale.. also possibly a 650 LT once they design out the Equalizer pull shock. But really though. You may as well build up a 650b genius with a dhx air or CTD float and a 36 650 (if it becomes an option) and that’s going to be as ‘LT’ as you need. It wouldn’t surprise me if we dont see a 2014/15/16 LT

Worth noting is that there were a few 650b wheeled Gamblers (2013 my) at the worlds… so they are trying it!