So I’ve just seen a good deal (I think anyway) on a trek 2012 fuel 9.9

It’s 2.6k for a 6.2k bike

Still a lot of cash, considering times seem to be a changing with 27.5 and 29, and the fact it is a 2012 model, is it a bit if of a false economy trying to get it? I’d hope to get at least 5yrs out if it

I’d be hoping that it’s so bloody expensive in the first place some advantages on lesser priced 27.5/29 would be somewhat negated.

Anyone else with similar decisions to make recently ? What did you choose?

IMHO one of the big upsides of the whole bigger wheel thing is that there’s going to be some real 26er bargains out there, particularly second hand, for anyone just getting into biking. I were you dh I’d be trying to get a bit more off, you’ve got nowt to lose!

dont think ive ever bought a brand spank me new bike so my point is probably not worth much, but im not looking to change from 26″ anytime soon, besides all these new gimics mean i can buy all your ‘old fashioned’ bikes for a bargain, i mean 26″ has been fine for how many years now? maybe mountains are getting taller or something else im missing?

besides who cares as long as your happy with it!

Sounds like a bargain to me!!

If you like how 26″ rides and have tried 650/29 then go for it.

I’m not selling my 26″ bikes and just built up an expensive frame with 26″ wheels.

It’s shop soiled so in v good nick

If you’re the type to upgrade a bike a lot, then it’ll get harder & harder to get higher end 26″ stuff in the next while. But a £6.2K bike should be reasonably well upgraded to begin with. And a bargain is a bargain.

With those kinds of savings you could get a spare set of wheels, forks and a few sets of tyres and be sorted for many years to come and still have LOTS of change from the RRP 🙂

Of course, your trails won’t feel as alive…

I ride 26″. The trails feels as good as they ever did. No plans to switch to 29″ ever. I have never been out riding and thought ‘I’d enjoy this more with bigger wheels..’

Let people with too much disposable income pay top dollar for the latest fashion…

I just enjoy riding bikes. Makes no odds on the wheel size..

I’ve never tried 27.5 or 29, bit of a virgin in that there

I suppose are they really that much better , considering saving?

I took advantage of the move by Orange to 650b to pick up the 26″ Five that I’ve always fancied at a price I could justify. I wouldn’t just buy a bike because it was a bargain (any bike you don’t enjoy riding is still a waste of money at any price) but if you wanted the bike at the original price then why wouldn’t you want it at half the price?

By the way, I’ve got a 29er too and I think the whole wheel size thing is the biggest irrelevance ever dreamt up by a marketing team. A good designer can design a bike to feel the way you want it to using any of the three wheel sizes and a bike that doesn’t suit your riding style doesn’t become any better just because it has a certain sized wheel.

By the way, I’ve got a 29er too and I think the whole wheel size thing is the biggest irrelevance ever dreamt up by a marketing team. A good designer can design a bike to feel the way you want it to using any of the three wheel sizes.

Wrong. No 26″ can have a 40mm BB drop and it’s the fundamental reason 29″ ride like they do and why no 26″ will feel like a 29″.

Not saying that the ride characteristics are desired by everyone though.

If you’re the type to upgrade a bike a lot, then it’ll get harder & harder to get higher end 26″ stuff in the next while.

Won’t the only real differences come in rims and tires? What else is there?

Unless you mean frames too, but even there…

I bought a merida 96 carbon team frame new for the same discount and am very happy. It will be harder to shift if you sell later.

Wrong. No 26″ can have a 40mm BB drop and it’s the fundamental reason 29″ ride like they do and why no 26″ will feel like a 29″.

Genuine question – why does such a large BB drop feel good?

Must admit im going to try and grab a 26″ pike in the sales before they stop making them so that my 26″ bandit is about as good as it can be before i think of replacing in 5-6 years time…unless they stop making 26″ tyres and then i’ll be **** regardless.

“Wrong. No 26″ can have a 40mm BB drop and it’s the fundamental reason 29″ ride like they do and why no 26″ will feel like a 29”.

Not saying that the ride characteristics are desired by everyone though.”

Nothing to do with having bigger wheels then?

I switched from 29er to 26er. Albeit I did add front suspension as well. The two bikes have almost the same geometry and they don’t feel very different. In fact it was quite a non-event. I won’t be going rigid 26er in a hurry.

That Trek sounds like excellent value. Good bikes do not stop being good.

It’s the BB drop. Seems to have a massive effect on where the C of G feels it is. Disproportionally larger if you ride a big frame.

Innit utterly ridiculous how the marketing men and mags have got people thinking about bikes?!
Should I not buy this bargain bike that I really like because the wheels are the same size mountain bike wheels have been for the last 30 years, but a bit smaller than the ones they’ve been trying to flog us for the last few years… 😆

People who ride bikes should not be allowed on the internet. It enables to spend to much time absorbing the shite marketing men want them to absorb and then spend thousands on new bits with an extra mm here or there in tte belief that it’ll utterly transform how they ride their bikes, which they previously enjoyed anyhow.

Then, they come back on Internet forums and argue about the minutiae of bollox in the misguided belief that it’s remotely important.

It’s utterly laughable and pathetic.

Get what you want. I would have thought that forks will be the only problem but there is not that much difference between 26 and 27.5 forks. Tyres, but then if lots of people still have 26 bikes and there is a market for them then companies are going to keep making them as they wear out more than other parts.

I’ve seen some insane deals on 26ers. Really after a 26er hardtail and I’m stumped for choice right now because there are so many good offers.

Where are all these great deals?

If I was you (which im obviously not) I would sacrifice the 1.3 kg ish weight saving of a carbon frame and go for a 27.5. Which you can then upgrade over time. Then when you come to sell the frame or bike your going to get more for it in a few years…plus in my experience they do give a nicer ride.

Genuine question – why does such a large BB drop feel good?

I think it’s subjective if it feels good or not. It adds stability which one rider may be able to exploit, but another rider may find hinders agility.

Nothing to do with having bigger wheels then?

No, the larger wheels do have lower rolling resistance but the reason people like or dislike 29″ is the change in geometry/weight distribution made possible by the larger wheels.

Umm well thanks guys , that cleared it all up

For the guy that was interested it’s on the trek outlet www with other deals on 29rrs too

I seriously didnt think they were getting rid of 26. sad times im going to miss my wheels, any idea how long we got left?

also what will the children do? will they have to jump from 24’s to 29

also what will the children do? will they have to jump from 24’s to 29

the marketing departments are working on 25.5

I can’t find any of these amazing bargain 26″ bikes.

Find me a super AM bike at silly money!

There are lots of ways to make a bike more stable. My 26″ (trail) bike is more stable than my 29er (XC) bike, for example. Despite the 60mm BB drop on the (large) 29er I have more of a feeling of being perched on top, but that’s due to the overall geometry not just the wheels.

I’ve never understood the logic that lowering the CoG will increase stability though. Recall the old example of balancing a broom vs a pencil on your finger. If you are balancing by moving the base around (as you do on a bike) then it is easier to balance an object with a higher CoG. It’s part of the reason why a recumbent can be tricky to ride at first. The lower C0G makes it feel less stable. A lower CoG does allow you to go round corners faster (which is possibly the real reason why people report that their 29er has better grip) but it shouldn’t make a bike feel more stable.

Maybe there is some interaction between the CoG and the height of the axles that comes into play. All these factors can affect the feel, which is kind of my point. There are lots of ways to fiddle with the design to get a feel that you want.

also what will the children do? will they have to jump from 24’s to 29 27

They’ll manage.

I’ve never understood the logic that lowering the CoG will increase stability though. Recall the old example of balancing a broom vs a pencil on your finger. If you are balancing by moving the base around (as you do on a bike) then it is easier to balance an object with a higher CoG. It’s part of the reason why a recumbent can be tricky to ride at first. The lower C0G makes it feel less stable. A lower CoG does allow you to go round corners faster (which is possibly the real reason why people report that their 29er has better grip) but it shouldn’t make a bike feel more stable.

The broom/pencil analogy doesn’t really translate as a finger moving in air has a lot less friction than a bike traveling along the ground. Also a recumbent has a really low roll centre (the opposite of a 29″) which is why they’re unstable.

It’s all about the roll centre to CoG relationship. The closer they are together the more stability a vehicle has and they are usually closer together on a 29″.

My other love of Trail and Enduro Motorcycles has seen some changes over the last 10 years.

The majority of people rode 2 stroke and old reliable 4 stroke technology, the manufacturers spotted an oppertunity to push fast modern 4 stroke bikes. Getting the sports organising bodies for MX involved. These machines were pushed and 2 strokes phased out.

The press said it was they way it was all going.

Lots of people spents lots of money on expensive equipment they would likely go no faster on.

The bubble burst and people decided to go back to riding 2 strokes again because you cant beat the cheap simplicity of a 2x.

Few people can strip a fuel injected 4x motor in a field with 2 screwdrivers and a pair of plyers.

I think there is a lesson to be learnt from this, don’t listen to the manufacturers, they do not have your best interests at heart. They just want to sell you things.

Those things may be good for you, they may not.

Please ride and try but think, is your riding life going to be better in 6 months because you bought x bike?

I have rode 29ers, yes some were very nice, some not so. Did I want to sell my current bikes I love. No. Will it change where or how I ride. No. Do I think there will be no parts available to buy next year. No.

If someone gave me a 29er would I ride it? If I liked it, yes.

Im going now.

Here is the www for some of the sale bikes

Link

I’d say buy it.

I have no intention of buying anything other than 26, I do not subscribe to the view that components will go 27.5/29 only. The bike industry is playing a dangerous game changing products and moving away from what customers actually want and have been happily buying in large quantities.

In 5 years there is a decent chance everything is just 26 again.

The trails will be dead to you.

I don’t really see “value” and “£6.2K bike” in the same sentence, even at that price.

Do you need/want a bike like that? Pricey servicing etc?

It will still ride the same in 5 years but there will be less 26ers around.

“”I ride 26”. The trails feels as good as they ever did. No plans to switch to 29″ ever. I have never been out riding and thought ‘I’d enjoy this more with bigger wheels..’

Let people with too much disposable income pay top dollar for the latest fashion…
I just enjoy riding bikes. Makes no odds on the wheel size””

Whereas I ride an ibis mojo, current mojo frame costs minimum £1800 rrp
i bought a titus fireline 29er for £700 us people with “too much ” disposable income possibly are clever with their money and DONT pay top dollar and follow the latest fashion or make stupid statements like that