Seen trends towards bigger wheel on front, but back in the day motorbikes tried smaller front wheels. Pros and cons?

Trek 69er. Best SS ever. Fact :O)

(no idea to answer your question but I’m yet to meet anyone who doesn’t like the ride of the 69ers!)

Easier to manual and generally handle a smaller wheel on the back; also a rear wheel gets pulled over obstacles whilst a front has to be pushed over, so a front that copes with bigger bumps makes sense.

Was thinking a smaller front would be easier to lift and quicker to steer?

Well, yes, but a smaller rear makes more of a difference in terms of lofting the front IME: it’s about getting your weight over the back more than pulling up at the front. And whilst a smaller front will probably be quicker to steer, it’s also more boffed around by bumps (which may also mean it needs a fatter tyre, making it harder to steer).

Caveat: I’ve only mixed 24/26, not 26/29.

This is something I’ve wondered about recently. Has anyone tried regular 26″ rear and a 650 front with specific fork to give a slacker ride?

Road (motor bikes) used smaller front wheels to quicken the steering but then they’re spining faster & weigh much more to start. Motocross bikes have always (almost always) had larger front wheels for the same reasons as Bez mentions.
I had wondered why the Trek 69er didn’t prevail, seemed logical for off road.

Also, with a road motorbike you want to keep the front end down, not make it easier to pull up. Plus a smaller front wheel must make it easier to engineer the rider, tank and engine into an aerodynamic position. Big rear wheel should be better suited to longer gearing, too, and will give better wear rates on the rear tyre.

Any excuse to post this.

Oh hi 1990s TT bikes

@ real mans picture

That’s not a rucksack on his back is it? Its a drag chute isn’t it?. For when things get way out ta hand…

Didn’t know you could get steering dampers for mountain bikes.

Both great pics – thanks, lots to think about! Penny farthing anyone?

Penny farthing’s unique for purely gearing reasons, of course.