Ok.. I’ve been riding road and mountain bikes for quite a few years now but for the last 3 or so I’ve been completely out of mountain biking with most of my riding being limited to my commute.

So.. I’m getting back into it and now I’m hearing that 29ers which were unusual but becoming more popular are less popular and 27.5 bikes are superdoooper and there is something called a narrow wide ooojimaflip.

Axle standards? WTF!?

I currently have a Cove Hummer and a Rocky Mountain Blizzard in the 26 inch flavour… I might be in the market to buy a new bike towards the end of the year and I am properly confused as to what to get..

Get the one you enjoy riding the most. Try a few. I bought a new bike in February and it happened to have 650b wheels. I didn’t set out to buy that wheel size; they just happened to be on the bike that I liked.

Stay in the past – I find it safer there! 😀

The trails are no different.

You need to get a red one, or maybe blue. Unless your a Gemini, then black may be best.

The trails are no different.

but they ‘come alive’ don’t they?

Get out. Come back when you have yellow shorts.

27.5″ = 650b in terms of people talking about both, but they are really the same things.

29er wheels are now the big thing, that wasn’t quite as big as the evil manufacturers were hoping, so they compromised with 27.5 and unleashed that on everyone, telling everyone it was the best bits of 29 and 26 in one handy package.

narrow/wide are the chainring designs used on single ring set-ups to avoid the need for a chain guide. The narrow/wide refers to the teeth on the chainrings alternating in width and this coupled with a clutch rear mech (keeps the chain taut) is supposed to stop the chain coming off the single front ring.

Axle standards – erm, yeah. I’m still on QRs so have just ignored it completely.

Don’t forget about bottom brackets…..hollowtech II is still alive and kickng, but the evil manufacturers have also got on the press-fit bandwagon and you can now get BB-30, BB-91, BB-92 BB-other stuff.
People like Hope make adaptors so if you buy a bike with a pressfit BB and don’t like it you can stick an adaptor in and use a hollowtech II BB.

Probably best not to worry about it all too much and just get what you like. It’ll all be different in 2016 anyway.

It’ll all be different in 2016 anyway

Not at my house it won’t.

We (well my wife) just got one of the last 26″ Alpine 160s.

29ers are good, but I just don’t like 650bs – neither one thing nor the other.

You came on here… STW… to clear up your confusion about wheel sizes?

😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆

That Cove of yours is ace – I had a quick go on it when you left it in my garage. Just stick an uppy/downy post in it and you will be fine.

(An uppy/downy could have saved your ass in Wales)

As someone said above – the trails are the same.

PS, if you sell the Cove I may know someone who would buy it.