[Closed] 29er adoption resistance theory

Evangelists of any wheel size are tedious.

Charlie....too much for me to read this early.....but i reckon you are nail on the head there. 😀

I agree, it's all just bikes. They're not wrong, just different.

Except fat bikes, they're clearly wrong 'uns.

Evangelists of any wheel size are tedious.

I won't be buying a 29er for the simple reason they are too big for lil' old me.
Anyone else can ride what they like.

Evangelists of any wheel size are tedious.

+1

But why would someone else riding a bike with different wheels upset people so much?

It's not the riding of the bike with different sized wheels that upsets people, it's the endless marketing hype and ****ing on about how they're SO incredible and 'how do people still ride these outdated 26" wheel bikes' that annoys people. Bit like your OP in fact.

Except fat bikes, they're clearly wrong 'uns.

I've been told many times in the past that I'm a wrong un.
Maybe it was unavoidable that a got a fatbike a couple of years ago. 😆

how do people still ride these outdated 26"

Examples? I've not seen that.
All i see is people getting excited because they have a new bike.
Happens with any wheel size/style of bike.

The bike industry is there to make money, no money = no bikes = no riding

I don't really care how they do it as I am able enough to ignore what doesn't interest me.

All those of you who think you have outsmarted the evil corporations and their push on 29ers, well done. But what other marketing hype have you fallen for Full Sus? Dropper Posts? indexed gears? disc on CX bikes?

Choice is good.

Nicely put charlie. Cycling - its whatever you want it to be in my opinion

I think the evangelising about 29ers goes a bit far. I don't think the 26" diameter is defunct. The Betamax/VHS analogy doesn't really work because the move from analogue to digital comes with literally zero downsides - the benefits are clear. The advantages of a 29er only apply in certain situations/environments.

I've ridden 29ers and there are definite benefits but I don't think they are so clearcut as to make the 26" obsolete. Saying that anyone looking at buying a new bike should definitely consider 29er as an option.

What SSS said.

I wasn't really aware of any hatred towards 29ers, just a lot of people not convinced they're better or at least not enough of an improvement to warrant the large investment required. I have 26ers, 29ers and road bikes, all ride differently and are better at some things than the others and vice versa, there is no perfect do-it-all bike it just depends what you're willing to compromise on to improve some other area of the ride.

Examples? I've not seen that.

Er.....

The wonderful tricked out 26inch pride and joy, that is just brilliant, and MBR agree with you... The great tyres, those new forks, the lovely wheels... The bike I have been refining and perfecting over years and years of upgrades is now defunct. It's vinyl, it's Betamax, it's VHS at best.

Plenty of other examples on here too.

They actually made some people angry, they hated the idea, jibes, heckling, insults... it was a sort of cycling rascism. Total strangers at afan shouting "you wont be able to ride down this on that".

I find it very hard to believe this wasn't in the realm of piss-taking/banter taken far too seriously.

It's fun to take the pee

I ride a fs skill compensator, I shall take the lee out of those who do the same

I ride a road bike, I shall take the pee out of roadies

I ride a rigid ss and take the pee out of those who do the same

I have friends who have joined the phat bike phad and shall continue to take the pee out of them

Don't take life too seriously

Grum... So did you read that and see

endless marketing hype and ****ing on about how they're SO incredible and 'how do people still ride these outdated 26" wheel bikes'

This advertising people refer to... Come on, show me an example of advertising 29ers that hypes about how 26 is outdated. I have not seen any. Please post an example. Be interested to see it, sincerely. If this heavy duty 26 attacking advertising exists, then fair do's. or is it normal advertising exaggerated by people who don't like 26 being questioned.

I suspect it's no different to advertising for one brand of tyre over another. And it's the fact that it challenges 26 belief structure that annoys, not the advert itself. you see adverts suggesting You need a new car, see them everyday You watch tv, You recognise it as hype, but its not annoying enough to make you comment on it, It's just advertising.

Grum.
One of the examples you used is talking about the negativity that some people showed [b]towards 29ers[/b] . Not 29er riders saying other formats are dead.

When i look at a new bike thread I just think oh look someones got a new bike and it makes them happy. Good for them.
I've not got to ride their bike so i couldn't give two hoots what colour/ wheel size/ style of bike it is.
It's what [b]they[/b] wanted.

Pretty much what Grum says, I've tried a 29er and it's not for me. I've no issue with others riding them if that is there want but I'm sick of having 29 inches rammed down my throat (oo er missus!). Constantly being told "29 is the future dude" and rumours of Specialized and other manufacturers all but dropping 26ers from their ranges are annoying to say the least. I do get the feeling sometimes that new trails are built to suit 29" wheels, being smoothed out, less technical and less tight and twisty in an effort to force us all down the 29 route. As I've already said I'm not a hater, I tried it and didn't like it. If I'm to be forced into buying a bike with bigger wheels to ride smoother trails I may as well make my nexy purchase a road bike.

Fat bike, rat bike
thin bike, bling bike
geared bike, beard bike
bike for wife, bike for life
bikes with springs, bikes with dings, shiny things, give you wings
fresh and new, oooh suits you..........

Grim... Again you are quoting me to twist something to your view. I had a tricked out 26, my SC chameleon pride and joy, it was obsolete when I went to 29. That is not knocking 26, it's what I experienced.

I don't mind banter, but it was very odd for strangers to heckle you as you went over the edge into a tetchy bit. It was not aggressive, I did not fear them. It's was an odd thing to do.... AND IS NOT AN EXAMPLE OF 26 BASHING.

I do get the feeling sometimes that new trails are built to suit 29" wheels

😆

That one's easy to solve. 😉

Charlie - for a grown man you seem a wee bit over-sensitive.
Personally, I don't give a shit what someone says or thinks about what and how I ride. I do pity folk who have closed minds and are unable to open them to new ideas though.

Grum.
One of the examples you used is talking about the negativity that some people showed towards 29ers . Not 29er riders saying other formats are dead.

Not how I read it but admittedly I found the rambling a bit hard to follow at times. 🙂

Edit: oh, it looks like I was right

Grim... Again you are quoting me to twist something to your view. I had a tricked out 26, my SC chameleon pride and joy, it was obsolete when I went to 29. That is not knocking 26, it's what I experienced.

🙂

And it's the fact that it challenges 26 belief structure that annoys, not the advert itself. you see adverts suggesting You need a new car, see them everyday You watch tv, You recognise it as hype, but its not annoying enough to make you comment on it, It's just advertising

It's not equivalent to advertising a new car, it's equivalent to advertising a new type of car with different sized wheels which is functionally almost identical, and pretending its some kind of 'paradigm shift in transport'.

This advertising people refer to... Come on, show me an example of advertising 29ers that hypes about how 26 is outdated. I have not seen any. Please post an example. Be interested to see it, sincerely. If this heavy duty 26 attacking advertising exists, then fair do's. or is it normal advertising exaggerated by people who don't like 26 being questioned.

People on here have said it numerous times, dunno that much about advertising because I rarely read bike magazines, but do you deny there is a massive industry push to sell 29ers, and that this might not be entirely motivated by altruism about how great they are?

do you deny there is a massive industry push to sell 29ers

It's no different to the normal industry push to sell you more travel/slacker angles/wider bar/ shorter stem kind of stuff.

Every year certain companys try to tell you that the new bike is all singing all dancing wander bike.(regardless of wheel size)
Why are some people suddenly up in arms about it.
It's nothing new.

Nah, not over sensitive.
But I am picky when I am mis quoted.
Anyway this is not about me. I am just exploring why folk resist Vs early adopters, using wheelsize as the theme. 20 years ago we could have used bar ends as the theme. There is psychology and "stuff" in this subject, and I am curious, it interests me.

Has anyone found an example of 26 knocking advertising yet?

TBH for the vast majority of UK "leisure cyclists" the larger wheel makes more sense. Truth is that only a small number of mountain bikes ever see usage where a 26" wheel has a strong advantage. The market has been skewed by the "hard core" represented on places like this forum and in the magazines.

I love 29ers and 26ers. That's why I seem to have ended up with a large collection :-/

The idea that 29ers are faster makes me chuckle though.

Once again we're treading that thin line between banter and offense.

For what it's worth I have a tricked out 26er and now a 29er (both singlespeed). The 29er is now the first choice for racing but for pratting about on dry singletrack it's the 26er every time.
I wouldn't be seen dead on a 650B (commitment avoidance bike) though.

It's no different to the normal industry push to sell you more travel/slacker angles/wider bar/ shorter stem kind of stuff.

Except massively bigger than any of those, and requiring massively more expense to get involved than buying a new stem for instance. Even to buy a longer travel 26" bike you can just buy a frame and swap parts over. Hmmm I wonder why the industry is so keen?

Nah, not over sensitive.
But I am picky when I am mis quoted.

Please explain how I misquoted you? And if we're talking about misquoting, I never said there were adverts knocking 26ers, I was talking about people on here evangelising, combined with the marketing push.

Anyway this is not about me. I am just exploring why folk resist Vs early adopters, using wheelsize as the theme. 20 years ago we could have used bar ends as the theme. There is psychology and "stuff" in this subject, and I am curious, it interests me.

Unfortunately this comes across as quite smug and patronising, suggesting that you are the enlightened compared to the Luddites etc. I'm perfectly willing to accept there might be advantages to 29ers, I just suspect they are massively overplayed, and I don't really like the look of most of the ones I've seen.

And you never sent me any stickers, TWICE. 🙂

I'm out if here for now... But before I go...

It's not equivalent to advertising a new car, it's equivalent to advertising a new type of car with different sized wheels which is functionally almost identical, and pretending its some kind of 'paradigm shift in transport'.

New car... 4wd, hybrid, Eco, Big , small.... Tooth brushes that clean your tongue, a closer shave from 5 blades, with a lube strip. Yeah it's all the same.

With 29er, I have not seen advertising that knocks 26, but you get a lot of customer endorsements. In the ad world there is a saying... "Advertising is the most expensive least trusted, least effective form of communication know to mankind." Word of mouth, customer testimonials, are far more effective, more valid, more trusted. Maybe the flip to 29 has come from this grass roots organic support, rather than the advertisers and reviews (initially, with MBR and everyone else media'ing it up more recently) ???

I do get the feeling sometimes that new trails are built to suit 29" wheels, being smoothed out, less technical and less tight and twisty in an effort to force us all down the 29 route.

WTF?!? 😯

Yo
2
The
C
t'
BM.
😆

I suggest the wheel size is not wrong, just some people.

New sticker right there
[img] http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQSnlnZs-XRmicPEjep_wvBogCczICDhd92xBLrdVzT5-APpVl3 [/img]

Perfect for my new 'I will cram 26" wheels into my 24" frame' singlespeed. Hey it even looks like a mini 29er, barring the vertigo-inducing bottom bracket height. 😉

Grum +1

Personally I don't care what other people ride. Bikes is bikes.
But I'm not that keen on all the hype and marketing that's accompanied the release of 29ers.
I'm happy with my bike, I don't need a new [i]improved wheelsize[/i] one, I don't need salesmen constantly telling me I do.
To me, the release of 29ers isn't anything to do with what I need, it's about the sales that retailers need to make.

Anyone thinking that retailers want a whole new series of standards to stock and repair is way off. Maybe it'll be good for the bigger chains. To your LBS it is a whole new level of pain.

Anyway this is not about me. I am just exploring why folk resist Vs early adopters, using wheelsize as the theme.

Charlie, "early adopters Vs. resistance" is simply "optimists Vs. pessimists" IMO. People being people. If you try and convince a pessimist you are right they resist harder and you get called foolish, gullible, or worse....

As soon as I saw SingularSams very sexy looking advert for a Swift few years back (wish I could find it but I can't, help me out Sam!) it spoke to me as a bike that simply looked 'right'. Not a 'game changer'. It just looked right. Lots and lots of you will know what I mean. Certain bikes just give you that feeling (my Five gives me the same feeling). So I built one, hoping for the best but prepared for all sorts, a bit 'Optimistic' you might say. Turns out I was right, it not only looked right, it IS right. Is it because it's a 29er? or just a sorted bike?

Who knows, but it rides damn well.

Except massively bigger than any of those, and requiring massively more expense to get involved than buying a new stem for instance. Even to buy a longer travel 26" bike you can just buy a frame and swap parts over. Hmmm I wonder why the industry is so keen?

So you swap your short travel frame for the latest long travel wander bike and don't swap the fork?
You'll be needing bigger brakes too with all that extra speed you'll have with an extra 1" of travel. You're wheels won't be up to it either, best get some wider rims...

It's no different.

TBH most people on here just buy a cheap 29er to try it out.
I spent less on my first 29er than i did on the 26" fork i got the month before.
Don't see where the massively more expensive bit fits in there.

"Advertising is the most expensive least trusted, least effective form of communication know to mankind."

Magazine reviews -- possibly the most mistakenly trusted form of communication known to mankind.

They ARE better. At some things. Worse at others. Much depends on what the wheels are attached to. 26" is BETTER at the things 29ers aren't as good at.

650B is either a good compromise or a wishy washy no man's land, that'll be the next endless debate.

I think CTBM's point about new wheels bringing all we understood and acepted about what defines an MTB into question is true and totally valid. That's the issue - too many of us were closed-minded to it. I was for a while, more than I should've been since I was working on 29ers in 2006 - not early in the scheme of things but still seems like a long time ago.
This lesson has been learned by many and that's the main reason people in the industry have been far more open minded to 650B. It's no more or less an answer for everyone than 26" or 29", but it's being suppported by more parts faster so adoption will be easier - and perception of sales+marketing onslaught higher too I expect.

I'm a confirmed 26" rider, I freely admit that I haven't had the opportunity to ride a 29" bike. I am vaguely curious to try one, but certainly not excited about them.

I largely agree with your basic principle Charlie though, it was well put. Just to add my two pence-worth, as someone else says there are certain people (none on this thread) who do seem to evangelise endlessly about them in a way to exclude any other sort of wheel size, and imply that a 26" rider is somehow inferior. I would suggest certain of the mass-market magazines (not ST). Perhaps just a complex on my part? Perhaps. But it is enough to get hackles up, and then the unjustified comments can start. It adds to it when some of us believe / suspect / whatever that we are simply not built (ie not tall enough) to ride a 29" bike. That's life I suppose. But I will try one one day.

Please note no 29ers have been abused / hurt in the course of my experiences.

I've ridden 29ers and there are definite benefits but I don't think they are so clearcut as to make the 26" obsolete.

Market forces will determine whether one or more of the wheel sizes become obsolete, i.e. if riders still demand 26" bikes then the manufacturers will continue to make them.

Total strangers at afan shouting "you wont be able to ride down this on that"

You should hear the comments I get whenever I turn up at Glentress or somewhere, with an ancient GT RTS, wearing jeans and no helmet 🙂

Cycle racism?? oh, woe is you, this all seems a bit pathetic.

Don't knock vinyl.

i dont mind the arguments for and against they are quite amusing, but if you read Guy Kestevens articles you would think that the 26" wheel is just awful and that we should burn our old bikes.

The point Id like to make is that i dont sell any 29ers, i dont get asked for them, customers just want a mountain bike, and arent bothered about 26" v 29" other shops actively promotes 29" bikes and sell them over a 26" as it is the shops preferred sales item.
If people asked for them we would sell them, at the moment we hold about ten 29" inner tubes because now and again we get asked for a tube.

spend £1000/£2000/£3000 cos your missing out on what exactly ? a bicycle by any chance ?

I do get the feeling sometimes that new trails are built to suit 29" wheels, being smoothed out, less technical and less tight and twisty in an effort to force us all down the 29 route.

It's true, you know.
29ers don't go round corners.
29ers don't go over bumps.
All vegans are skinny.

650B is either a good compromise or a wishy washy no man's land, that'll be the next endless debate

+1 I think the differences between 26" and 29 are sufficient to make them both able to co-exist really, but my own take on 650b is more towards the "wishy washy no man's land" as you put it...

"Mountain biking" is a very broad church and these days and the term actually covers a lot of different types of riding; some of which 26" suits better and other areas are better catered for by 29", but I really do think chucking 650b in to the mix is more of a cynical attempt from certain companies (who maybe failed to catch the 29" wave properly) to create another little divisive "standard" in among'st all the others for fear that a settled set of product standards will mean sales stay a bit static and prevent some market growth... less a product looking for a solution more an imagined problem to generate sales.

TBH If I wanted a better rolling bike that beat me up a less over long rides I'd seriously consider 29" if I was after a bike with better technical handling I'd most likely look at 26" but what does 650b really offer that 26/29 don't other than more cost? That's my own feeling on it, I'm sure there are some 650b evangelists but they must be a minority right now and I can't see the Niche growing much right now as the why not buy a 26"/29" instead argument seems to hold merit...

As it is I've stuck to 26" because I don't have the money to justify switching over to 29" (It would incur significant cost right now, because it's not just new wheels, it's a new frame/fork... basically a new bike) and I don't feel my current riding needs would quite justify the switch.
In other words I'm happy on 26" but can see the benefits of 29" and would not rule out a switch in the future...

I think MTB is a big enough sport now to support 4 sizes of wheel. Some brands are more pushy in the market and they happen to finance/supply some of the work that big mags do. It's no surprise that you'll see vids on BikeRadaft where they say "a 26er would never get up that" referring to a 20% gradient with a root on it.

Some people are closed to change and they can often be quite loud. Some are more open and quietly get on with exploring more things.

CTBM, it's probably in your interest that it's still a tad niche as it adds a little value to those motivated by this as a factor.

I'd like a 29er to compliment my normal bike. But I'd also like a DH bike, a 24" BMX, a carbon rigid SS and a mini velo so I can be all Nathan Barley around Brighton (no really, they look good fun).

The MTB is still evolving, don't panic.

Anyway this is not about me. I am just exploring why folk resist Vs early adopters, using wheelsize as the theme. 20 years ago we could have used bar ends as the theme. There is psychology and "stuff" in this subject, and I am curious, it interests me.

I don't think it's a case of resistance, it's just that early adopters are normally very easy and enjoyable to rib.
As a vast generalisation earlier adopters tend to be very sensitive to criticism, I guess because they've made an active choice to do something different and have thus put their judgements out there for all to see. And in their perfectly natural need to protect and justify their judgements, occasionally they have a tendency to make rash statements as to how wonderful their choices are (which is where the fun is to be had seeing the holes they dig themselves into)

I think they'd be a lot less poking fun at such folks if they responded something along the lines of -

"I'm doing this because I prefer the path less trodden, I don't know if it goes anywhere good, but I like journeys"

as opposed to -

"I'm doing it this because it's so much more better than the choice the rest of you are making"

My bike came from a company who only make 29ers...
Its a wonder they've survived all these years. 😮

It's innovation, it's iteration, it's evolution. It's neither right nor wrong. Suspension was an innovation and that's quite nice.

Evolution is also why we are not still dragging our fists on the floor. But maybe it didn't work too well as it [i]may[/i] have been nice to have kept a bit more hair on the body (and in my case head) so we didn't have to wear so many clothes...just speculating...

Jus

Wheel size is not wrong, just some people..... is now a sticker, coming to a jiffy bag near.

Drum... stickers on their way next week. sincerely no hard feelings.

To clarify something earlier "I had a tricked out 26, my SC chameleon pride and joy, it was obsolete when I went to 29. That is not knocking 26, it's what I experienced." well if you turn to 29, and find it very suitable as I did, my bike was literally obsolete, it got ridden on one ride in the following 12 months before going to ebay. I was not saying 26ers are obsolete, but my 26er was. being well over six foot helped on that front.

Anyway this is not about me. I am just exploring why folk resist Vs early adopters, using wheelsize as the theme. 20 years ago we could have used bar ends as the theme. There is psychology and "stuff" in this subject, and I am curious, it interests me.

Unfortunately this comes across as quite smug and patronising, suggesting that you are the enlightened compared to the Luddites etc

Nah i am not intending to be smug or patronising, I am not saying I am enlightened, I am not evanlegising, no one is being called a ludite. I am doing what I said... exploring the subject of "innovation resistance" for the want of less patronising term. its not intended as a 29er/26 debate, rather that I am interested in how wheel size appears to have divided a social group. I am genuinely interested, its also business, after spend years banging on about 29ers, hearing about the MBR attitude, and then suddenly its normal, not just bearded steel one speeds. I'm curious.

it may have been nice to have kept a bit more hair on the body

I'm not sure I'd want my wife to have a hairy chest.

As said above Charlie, for me it has been the superior attitude of certain groups (mostly certain mags)suggesting that they are somehow superior as they are on 29" wheels. As we've all agreed, they are not. And they're no worse either. It's just the way it's been put across by parts of the industry that has got some people's back up.

Wheel size is not wrong, just some people..... is now a sticker

Whoop!! [i]wanders off to ctbm.com to find more stuff to buy[/i] 😛

Mostly Balanced - Very good point indeed. I got a bit carried away there.

But it's not "innovation", it's only fashion.
Change for the sake of extra sales.

Change for the sake of extra sales.

And what's wrong with that? the industry is there to make money.

Yup. 650b so wishy washy unsure companies are jumping right in there and tooling £££s for their carbon frames

What about the little people who aren't 7 ft tall or is that another niche market.

"What about the little people who aren't 7 ft tall or is that another niche market. " - if you listen to some, it is rapidly becoming another niche - 26". Although I think it'll stay for the normally-sized.

Hi-Fi Vs CD isn't it - Even now you still have evangelists of the LP telling us how the sound is so much 'warmer' and more 'real'!

Only in this case the smaller, versatile, robust & resistant to damage format is the established one rather than the newcomer 😉

Change for the sake of extra sales.

goes off to find my dave lloyd with cantis, 140mm stem and crook bros cranks. I will resits all change and stick it to the Man 😀

robust & resistant to damage format

commencal make 26ers don't they? case closed M'lud 😀

I think they'd be a lot less poking fun at such folks if they responded something along the lines of -

"I'm doing this because I prefer the path less trodden, I don't know if it goes anywhere good, but I like journeys"

as opposed to -

"I'm doing it this because it's so much more better than the choice the rest of you are making"

..post of the thread, well said. If a ticket to the path less trodden was less expensive we'd all be more open-minded I expect.

bi cycles is good

26 ers are dead? Seems word hasn't reached us yet. Only one rider in are club owns a 29er,well 2 actually. Also happens to be the quickest .l only know about 5 other 29er riders. At the sxc races we attend 26'' bikes are still the norm and to be honest the only thing rarer than a 29er on the local trails would be a specialized mtb of any wheel size

. I do get the feeling sometimes that new trails are built to suit 29" wheels, being smoothed out, less technical and less tight and twisty in an effort to force us all down the 29 route.

I had to read that twice. Really, some people think too hard.

To Andy post above, it's a drip drip effect not a big bang. As people try their buddies' 29s and become ready for a new frame, some are converting and the effect ripples. This is still a work in progress. .

As per Charlie's comments, for me 26 is, more or less, over. In a year's time I think my only 26 will be my 8 year old Blur, because I use it so little it's not worth replacing.

i just think they're a bit big for me? 5-10. think i'm very much in the middle ground?

29 ers will have truelly arrived when they are no longer described by their wheel size

can any one think of any where else in wheeled transport where a approx 10% change in wheel size is considered a big deal. The 2 cars out side this house have wheels over 30% different in size and it makes a huge diffrence but you almost never hear of cars refered to in that way. Same with skate boards, scooters, motor bikes etc.

I think its not so much big wheel resistance as grab the bike and ride people verses obsess over the bike people.

The first post would have been stronger of you hadn't said that you were trying to sell them. It makes it seem like you resent people not adopting a new wheel size, which frankly is odd

I demoed a 29er, really enjoyed it (especially up hills) but the frame was just a bit too big, as are the vast majority of 29er frames. I guess they're not really made for hobbits...

Found out that Niner do an extra small (distinctly hobbity) EMD 9, but I'm not sure if it's available this year, or outside of the US.

The great tyres, those new forks, the lovely wheels... The bike I have been refining and perfecting over years and years of upgrades is now defunct. It's vinyl, it's Betamax, it's VHS at best.

But what really matters is how extraordinary the film you watch is. Or how good the music. The world's full of people with extraordinarily expensive, realistic hi-fi listening to Phil Collins albums.

Just as the world is full of people riding really badly on mediocre trails on their brand spanking new, state of the art, mega bike.

People might just enjoy the world more if they focused more on the experience of riding, listening to music, watching great cinema, rather than obsessing about the medium that brings them that experience.

But then, Charlie, you kind of have a vested interest in selling people new stuff don't you? No criticism, but it's a fact. And 29ers are a godsend to the industry, a perfect storm of generalised obsolescence. New, frames, new wheels, new tyres etc...which is good news if you sell bikes and bits, no.

Damn those pesky slow adopters and their reluctance to spend more money... 😉

I genuinely have never experienced these so called drawbacks of 29ers people harp on about in a xc/trail ridong situation, which is what most of the mtb public do.

Handling wise, feel as difficult to turn to me as any long, slack low 26er which is apparently the best.

This all coming from a bmx/dh/freeride/trail/xc/bike rider who was really cynical before they tried.

I genuinely think a 29er hardtail/short travel full sus is the most suitable bike for a vast majority of the mtb public.

[i]People might just enjoy the world more if they focused more on the experience of riding, listening or music, watching great cinema, rather than obsessing about the medium that brings them that experience.[/i]
This is the important bit.

But if folk like Charlie weren't making these things available to us, how would we ever be able to find out what suits us each best?

There's nothing "magic" about 26" wheels remember. That size wasn't decided upon by some grand committee looking at the physics of mountain biking. It's simply what was available at the time for the type of riding the folk out in Repack and places were doing. If the CycloCrossers and Roughriders had been the ones to develop mountain biking we'd have been on 29ers from the outset. Have a look at continental Europe and for the sort of riding most "mountain bikes" in this country are used for it's all 700c hybrids - i.e. 29ers. We may well look back in 10 years time and wonder what all that fuss about 26" wheels was.

I genuinely think a 29er hardtail/short travel full sus is the most suitable bike for a vast majority of the mtb public

See you two, Druidh & Charlie, it will be very nice if in 20 years I have the same attitude to riding & bikes as you both seem to maintain.

I'd like a rigid 29er for certain reasons.
I'd like a freeride 26" for certain reasons.
I'd like a nippy 4x bike with 24" wheels.
I'd like a hardcore BMX with 20" wheels.

I have my SS 26" Inbred with Deore for everything because I'm perpetually skint.

Bikes & bikes & bikes. Happy is with wheels.

The 29er market share is much higher in the US than the UK; I think that you'll all be seeing a lot more 29ers in the future (unless 650b takes off).

That being said, I ride a 26er. I'd have to say that there is a lot of peer pressure to go to 29" wheels. The way some talk, they pedal for you and you can roll over 4 ft high obstacles without noticing! I've been asked when I'm going to get "a big boys bike." 🙂

And I'm no luddite; I'm an early adopter of Stan's, have a dropper seatpost, full suspension, hydraulic discs, as well as an angleset AND offset shock bushings. Not big into carbon fiber; have brake levers and had bars, that's it.

Only retrogrouch on gears (8 speed with Suntour XC Pro thumb shifters!) but we all know that 9 speed is a fad and its days are numbered!!! 8)

I ride a 26'' anthem and for me it is the perfect bike. For years it has been a bike voted as best in its class then overnight is obsolete ? To me this just reminds me of another sport GOLF. Every year my dad buys a new driver with the promise of more yards and new putters with the promise of lower pars. Every year they fall for the hype,the same thing we do in biking . I like my bike as it is l don't won't a 29er. But l do object to manufacturers trying to force me to by a product l don't want and if it is true that giant are not making 26" anthems anymore then l will need to make this one last.

I ride a 26" 140mm FS, couldnt give a toss about wheel size....the limiting factor with my riding is me, i could do with having better technique, being fitter, being braver etc etc....i bought the bike based on great reviews and a bargain price....the same criteria that will dictate it's replacement when the time comes.....wheel size will not be a factor, it may have 29" wheels, it may have 26" wheels....its the reviews and/or test rides that will make my mind up....you'd have to be mad to pick a poorly reviewed 29er over a good 26er purely because you have a bias for wheel size (and vice versa obviously)....despite the popularity of 29ers on this forum i have yet to see one in the wild?!