Most Cotic owners will be transplanting parts across from their existing bikes and, for the most part, these won’t be 650b / 27.5 sized. This may change over time as 650b bikes age, but it’ll take some time.
There will be a smaller market for those who are willing to commit upfront to the expense of buying a new frame, fork and wheels (rims and tyres to build onto existing hubs at minimum) at the same time. But the high cost of this move is why…at a guess…many of Cotic’s customers are still buying their 26ers.
In general, 26er parts won’t disappear on the aftermarket for a long time as the demand will surely still be high. If your big game is OEM, then fair enough – but otherwise I’d still punt on developing 26er-compatible parts for a long time yet.
I, for one, am keeping money in my pocket that I’d otherwise have already spent on a new frame – due to the wheel size uncertainty. I don’t want to be an early adopter of 27.5er sizing, but equally it doesn’t feel like a great time to stump up for a new 26er or 29er.
Ergo, I’m in the middle of refurbishing my 2010 Cotic Soul with a frame re-paint, new forks and various other parts. It’s still money spent in the MTB industry…but a fair bit less than it could have been.