Early adopters of these new standards pay through the nose….when 27.5 took off i couldnt believe how expensive tyres were…and also the limited range for the new size.

Now things have calmed down a little prices have dropped and choices are broader.

I think the industry could shoot themselves in the foot here….they seem to be introducing loads of new standards during a time when people supposedly have no money and when the population is ageing, i dont think the pool of riders that the industry is selling to has increased significantly (i could be wrong?!) but i’m not seeing loads of kids riding around trails locally or nationally, uplifts days seem to be the exception but they always attract a younger crowd and most uplift days i’ve attended this year people are still on 26 inch wheels, ditto the grass roots DH stuff i’ve done this year.

In spite of this the market is awash with ‘stuff’….as a result what i’ve seen is products are being released with much fanfare and high prices and then RRPs drop massively and the same product is available not even 6 months later for almost half the price….brilliant, keep it up!….provided you’re not so insecure that you need to be seen on the latest kit when its released then there are actually loads of bargains out there and good bikes can be built with quality components for (relative) peanuts….add in the direct sales companies and i’ve got no problem with what the industry is doing to itself!

I’ve got bikes with 26, 27.5 and 29 inch wheels…all have their merits but my go to bike for fun is the 26 inch HT with medium/long forks (140mm), its a giggle and the fact that the dirt jump, slopestyle and DH market is (mostly) still running 26 inch wheels means replacing parts is an easy and cheap process.

It all just makes my head hurt so i will be keeping my unfashionable 2012 vitus escarpe 26″ for a few more years despite wanting something new and shiney. may treat it to some new pikes though 27.5 ones obviously.

Nothing will ever be settled- the 650b experiment was such a triumph, the industry now knows perfectly well they can sell us a crap in a box, as long as it’s a slightly different crap. So they will.

Wheels might stabilise, just because they’re running out of good ideas (*) but that’ll just mean they move onto some other damn thing.

(* good, in this case, doesn’t mean good for you- it means something they can sell, that causes the maximum possible product obsolescence)

Wheels might stabilise

Yep, it’ll be next, no doubt

Didn’t bikeradar prove… no, not prove, but show strong evidence that 650b is nothing but a marketing trend?

I’ve got a 26″ bike (soul) and a 29″ bike (scandal).

The soul is great in twisty singletrack, trail centre days out, jumps, drops, techy stuff, I love it, it’s so much fun, and it’s comfy for longer rides, I wouldn’t hesitate to do long off road rides on it.

The scandal (now I’ve got it set up properly) is lightening fast, great for mincing/xc duties – it covers ground so quickly, is comfortable, light, even good on road, perfect for mixed surface local rides from the back door, don’t think there is much to beat it out there for what I’m doing with it.

I wouldn’t really want to use the soul for my local mixed surface (some road) rides though, or thrash the scandal on techy stuff. I’d be swapping tyres all the time, and generally having to compromise too much on either bike. I know each is capable, but riding something that is set up for the specific job is more enjoyable for me.

So, where do I see a 650b fitting in – nowhere, it wouldn’t be as good/fun as either the soul or the scandal for what I do with them I don’t think.

if I had to have just one bike, then maybe I’d entertain one, but with my current stable, 650b is not getting a look in.

Only downside is the straight steerer on my soul, I really need to find a MK3 frame to enable me to get decent new forks when mine die.

Only downside is the straight steerer on my soul, I really need to find a MK3 frame to enable me to get decent new forks when mine die.

^ This is exactly where I am 🙂

I don’t care what they do. I ride on my own and am not swayed by changes/fashions. My 26″ rigid single speed rides just as well as whatever 26″ rigid single speed I had 15 years ago.

I still enjoy it just as much and am not racing anyone (okay except Strava)

The sort of riding I do would suggest I would be better off on 29″ as proved by my fastest off road times still being on a brakeless fixed gear track bike with 25c tyres but I enjoy the 26″ far more.

Just read the post with some interest.

I have now bought two mountain bikes in the last five months , one today.

I haven’t got a beard though, suppose I could work on that though.

Cannondale F29 , carbon frame, lefty fork, 29er wheels

Just bought the new Trek Stache 9 29+ today, sort of half fat bike with all sorts of new stands.
1 x 11 , new to me.
Weird front hub and rear hub spacing, big tyres, dropper post, elevated chain stay.
Hopefully out tomorrow, failing that it will make its debut ride at Afan this weekend.
Can’t wait.

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/pinkbike-poll-will-you-consider-buying-a-275-bike-2015.html

Wait and see in the next few days… One of the big boys is going to shake things up a bit…

I have a 650b bike, I see absolutely no use in B+, at all. Not even remotely tempted, if I wanted draggy tyres i’d just get some big minions.

One of the big boys is going to shake things up a bit…

29.5++fat-?

wiggles – Member
Wait and see in the next few days… One of the big boys is going to shake things up a bit…

What! 26 is back already?
😉 😆

wiggles – Member

Wait and see in the next few days… One of the big boys is going to shake things up a bit…
Are you referring to the 2016 Specialized FSR in 275/275+/29 all over the news today or something else?

I’ve said this before, but I don’t think there’s any point at all now in buying stuff in the hope of upgrading bits of it as a long-term investment.

Buy a bike. Don’t give it Chris King hubs, they will last far longer than the axle standard they’re built to and your interest in the bike you’ve fitted them to.

The entire bike should be viewed as something you keep for a few years, rag the balls off and then get rid of. Anything that has to be replaced while you own it, don’t upgrade unless it needs it – the part won’t be a lot of use on your next build.

The only consumers who are really losing out in all of this are people with a lot of money sunk into “lifetime” components.

And the others that lose out…
Those who don’t want to create landfill out of their obsolete kit every 3 years
The environment
Anyone who cannot afford to spend the cost of a new bike every few years…
The lbs who can’t support the ridiculous list of different standards
If I wasnt full of cold I am sure I could think of others

The only consumers who are really losing out in all of this are people with a lot of money sunk into “lifetime” components.

takes a lot of resources to get aluminium out of bauxite so that’s not ideal from a sustainability pov

tbh this constant attempt to force repurchase and upgrade looks a lot like an industry in crisis. Much like the repeating throwing of more money at UK housing market – if there was a healthy demand of current products at current prices then there’d be no need for these kind of shenanigans. Don’t forget we’re in a debt crisis – even the supermarkets are struggling as people try and make ends meet – discretionary spend like bikes is nothing like as great as it was 10 years ago, and a lot of that was based on unsustainable amounts of debt.
I work in marketing, I can see both sides of the coin here and I’m with the cynics I’m afraid

27.5+ doesn’t give you “a few inches of undamped suspension”. It allows a higher volume tyre at lower pressure for better traction/grip

Ah, so the extra suspension is just an unfortunate side effect 🙂

Seriously, I see what you are saying and I guess that does make sense, but isn’t the flip side of more traction/grip just more drag? Is it really the case that more traction/grip is always better? Since we have to put in the power to overcome the drag isn’t the optimum going to be just enough traction/grip for our needs but no more?

I can see that extra grip means that you can go round corners faster and going round corners fast is fun. But I’m still not sure why you have to go to balloon tyres to get that. I could be wrong though. I usually am.

Wider tyres have lower rolling resistances.

Smooth/slick ones do…

And it only applies if you run the wider tyre at the same pressure.

Oi, bike industry! You know the general public is just scratching its head and wandering off to buy a road bike. You’ve jumped the shark. You’re fiddling whilst Rome burns. You’re eating cake whilst the people starve! Bourgeois decadence of the mature market. Or something.

It won’t settle down, at least for a while.

Probably until they work out how to introduce a whole new standard for another part that will make them stacks of cash

On the overall question, I’d not worry about it, its just not worth it anymore. Buy the bike you want and ride it. Motorbikes (and cars) have rarely had any compatibility between models let alone brands, and no one moans that they cant get a ford sigma engine into a vauxhall astra, or a VW W16 into a Skoda Octavia.

As the industry grows we’re going to see more and more of this, untill specialized/cannondale/trek/giant are releasing bikes that are almost entirely their own parts that are 90% as good as the aftermarket for 50% of the price, then RockShox, Fox etc will take up the same position as olhins do in motorsport, they make cheap stuff for Ducatti in the showrooms, then sell you £10k forks aftermarket and the likes or maxton (c.f. TF and PUSH) will give you tuning bits for the OEM stuff to get you from 90% to 95% as good.

Boost hubs are all well and good, but its really just a system your bike might come with (or you build it with), there will still be 100mm and 135mm qr hubs available untill kingdom come.

wider tyres have lower rolling resistances

Having commuted on my fat bike, I can confirm this is bullshit, even the tubbiest roadies overtook me.

They’re not as slow as the increace in grip sugggests, but they certainly aren’t faster!

That’s because you’re running lower pressure as pointed out…

That’s the riding position and wind resistance not the tyre size 😉

Well, that too probably 🙂

And you are probably correct about tyre pressure.

Cross posts