[Closed] Is 650b... dying?

Bicycles are never a good investment. Well, that's not strictly true as they're a good investment in health and fun 🙂

no, HTH

more to the point...

a mid wheeled bike now

Since 26 has pretty much disappeared for [b]new [/b]bikes except for niche or BSO purposes 650b isn't the 'mid sized' choice anymore is it? It's the small/standard option.

Would it be a good investment or fools gold?

No bike is a good [i]investment[/i], except in fun. They're not appreciating assets, you won;t get a return on it except in experiences and parts will be available for the lifetime of the bike, even as they become old and 'obsolete' in terms of tech they're still just as fun to ride as the day they were made so just buy a bike that's right for your riding right now and enjoy it.

Or better yet, keep riding the one you've got 😉

Edited the op for the correct meaning.

theres a lot of great geo 29ers available

I was pondering the opposite last week, the huge expectation a few months back of these supposed must have 29 long travel FS isn't gathering the expected pace, or am I just not bike shopping enough?.

Even the DH talk has dried up a bit in the last few races.

Investment wise, it wouldn't matter to you anyway OP, as you'd be hanging out in a few weeks eagerly looking for the next new bike, with Hora and Rents.

as you'd be hanging out in a few weeks eagerly looking for the next new bike, with Hora and Rents.

Lol, er no.

For sure.

Edited the op for the correct meaning.

Would it be a good [s]investment [/s]purchase or fools gold?

Well, edited reply below then:

Sure, wheel size is but one factor in choosing a bike, you could just as easily re-frame that whole question around 'Xmm of travel'. It's more about personal preference than anything else these days, there are fast bikes of every size and type, and the deciding factor will be the rider not the wheel size.

Whatever wheelsize you go for parts will be available for the lifetime of the bike, even as they become old and 'obsolete' in terms of tech they're still just as fun to ride as the day they were made so just buy a bike that's right for your riding right now and enjoy it.

I know you're into racing, but be honest with yourself, is choosing the wrong* wheelsize going to be the thing that stops you from being on the podium?

*whatever that is

Nobeerinthefridge - Member

Even the DH talk has dried up a bit in the last few races.

Mainly because the supposed "three seconds a run" or whatever it was turned out to be largely nonsense. There hasn't been evidence of a clear benefit to 29 in either DH or Enduro - seems to be more about personal preference now, peopel riding what they like, some are chopping and changing.

I know a number of people who have jumped to 29, then gone back to 650b.

Personally if you're under 6ft and aren't racing xc I think they ride better. They spin up faster (and noticeably slower than a 26 alrewdy) and change direction much quicker than a 29...

honourablegeorge, I'd wholeheartedly agree.

As per other thread, I wouldn't consider anything other than 29 now. 650B is too close to 26, and as soon as I tried 29 I knew it worked for me and did not want to ride my 26 bikes anymore!

I'm wanting a new FS and am, stupidly, hoping the market will settle down a bit. I'm thinking a B+/29er switchable option would be ideal but as there is just so much choice right now no one is getting my money.

I'm thinking a B+/29er switchable option would be ideal

+1

Well I've got/had for a while a 29er, and have just bought a 650B Cotic Rocket, so for me, definitely not! Even trying a more up-to-date 29er, left me feeling underwhelmed with the larger wheel size - IMO good for a hardtail, but each to their own eh? They're "only" bikes after all! 😉

I thought the plan was that the tyre and wheel rim manufacturers would just put 26" to death,so 650b and 29" will be the only choices?

I think they're mostly about rider fit tbh.
Not as if 27.5 hasn't been winning DH and EWS lately so can't see the obvious benefit of 29" wheels overall.

I'm waiting for 69ers to make a cum back.

29 all the way for me. Given the tendency for long low and slack regardless of wheel size, most bikes, be they 650b or 29 seem to have a longish wheelbase with handling sped up by shorter stems and wider bars. The only difference for me is for how you like to ride. A 29er has a nominally higher front end which suits my riding style (bad back at 35 :cry:). 650b seems lower and for me would require risers so as not to feel like i'm sitting on it rather than in it as I do with larger bikes. Also since 29er wheels are as light as 650b wheels, thus nor more difficult to slow/turn, why not stick with the 29 and have a more comfortable ride with better traction in most cases?

It's not going anywhere, 29in is just (rightly) getting a bit more credit and more options at the enduro end of the spectrum.

Dunno if racing proves anything for 650b though. Gwin and Sam Hill are both truly exceptional talents with a natural edge over the rest when on form.

qwerty - Member
I'm waiting for 69ers to make a cum back.

I'm about to try 659er, names not as good though.

650b isn't dying, it's just become boring.

I think it's largely inevitable- the point of 650b was that it was just different enough for marketing people to fap over, but not different enough to scare everyone. So inevitably that small difference has lost its novelty fast and now a 650b bike is just a bike.

Whereas long travel 29ers are just more interesting- they're the other way round, it's a change that a lot of people find challenging, but it's a bigger difference, so it took a long time to gain traction but now it's going it has more momentum.

(disclaimer; yes I know kick-ass long travel 29ers have been around since before the whole 650b fiasco, I have one- it's just that lots of people didn't notice and the whole "wagon wheels are just for XC" thing has taken a long time to wear down. So now bizarrely bikes like the new Yeti are seen as cutting edge when they're really about 3 years behind the curve. The most succesful enduro race bike of all time, is still the old, discontinued Trek Remedy 29, and it's still as good as most of the New Hotness)

I'm about to try 659er, names not as good though.

What bike you doing it on? I tried it on an old 29er with a high BB and it was pretty much all good.

http://unduro.co.uk/mtb/behold-the-frankenthumper-aka-project-279/

Would have done it on the E29 as well, but the addition of the 650b linkage makes the geometry acceptable anyway.

I thought the plan was that the tyre and wheel rim manufacturers would just put 26" to death,so 650b and 29" will be the only choices?

Already happened, hasn't it?

Personally I've given up trying to predict the future and given how long I tend to keep my bikes they're never worth much when I'm done with it anyway.

We're 4 years post the great 650b switch and most stuff is still available (stock of new 26" forks is a bit light on the ground) to keep them going.

Buy whatever you want and try not to worry about some marginal at best supposed advantage from some other standard or size.

P-Jay - Member

Personally I've given up trying to predict the future

I think that's pretty key. At the start of all this standards churn I got a wee bit caught up in... not keeping up, but after watching spare parts i had lose half their value, at least not getting caught out. But now I'm pretty sure it's impossible, you just can't predict the next bullshit. better to just understand that the bike industry, collectively, is a total ****, and deal with that instead

chakaping - Member
What bike you doing it on? I tried it on an old 29er with a high BB and it was pretty much all good.

Nicolai Ion GPI. I don't expect to like it as the big floppy front wheel is exactly what I haven't liked about 29ers I've tried. But I bought a second hand wheelset mostly for the SS rear hub and it has 29 rims so why not give the front a go I thought.

As for 650b being dead, no way. Plenty of money to be made with plus and not quite plus yet

I hope not, I've only just made the switch from 26 on my Spitfire.

Its smaller wheels for me, maybe a big one at the front though. I have ickle legs & on my local steep techy trails if i ran a 29er rear i'd have no scrotum left 😯

Most junior mountain bikes, the ones after 24, come with 26 inch wheels, so there'll always be some parts kicking around.

At the start of all this standards churn I got a wee bit caught up in... not keeping up, but after watching spare parts i had lose half their value, at least not getting caught out. But now I'm pretty sure it's impossible, you just can't predict the next bullshit

I may buy a new FS bike this year - existing one is 26er, 8yr old frame with older bits that are all wearing out pretty much simultaneously so it's a plausible option.

(mostly because I don't trust the industry) wishlist goes like this:
• 650plus/29 switchable. (pseudo-properly, though - swappable dropouts or maybe a "flipchip" in the linkages and a riser for the fork crown)
• Flexible on hubs. Again, a swappable dropout system ?
• Shortish travel. But hey, why not a flipchippy thing in the linkages somewhere to give a bit of variability ?
• [b]TAKES A FULL-SIZED BOTTLE[/b]. FFS !! 🙄
• Manufacturer with good reputation for warranty support
(strong, light, cheap - oh, and a gearbox would be nice 😀 )

Personally I've given up trying to predict the future and given how long I tend to keep my bikes they're never worth much when I'm done with it anyway.

We're 4 years post the great 650b switch and most stuff is still available (stock of new 26" forks is a bit light on the ground) to keep them going.

Buy whatever you want and try not to worry about some marginal at best supposed advantage from some other standard or size.

+1

and there is a paucity of 26" XC forks but not longer travel ...(as yet) and most of the internals are the same anyway... I'd worry more about the effect of Boost on (perfectly good) bikes TBH...

• 650plus/29 switchable. (pseudo-properly, though - swappable dropouts or maybe a "flipchip" in the linkages and a riser for the fork crown)
• Flexible on hubs. Again, a swappable dropout system ?
• Shortish travel. But hey, why not a flipchippy thing in the linkages somewhere to give a bit of variability ?
• TAKES A FULL-SIZED BOTTLE. FFS !!
• Manufacturer with good reputation for warranty support
(strong, light, cheap - oh, and a gearbox would be nice )

Bar the bottle cage and gearbox, Banshee Phantom?

dmorts - sadly there's a lot of "bar the ..." bikes

(tried a pivot switchblade out recently, just for a look-see - that comes close too)

((wasn't entirely blown away by it either, but that's different and was down to spec at least in part))

Lets be honest, if the industry thinks it can make more money by "standardizing" on one wheel size again they'll pick one, tell us it's the best and that's what we'll get. But I've given up trying to predict what cobblers they are going to come up with next.

On the plus side I've been back on my old (2013) 26" Five this summer. Still as fun as it ever was and no problem getting replacements for any parts that may wear out. Even forks aren't a problem and if all else failed I could stick a 650B fork on and still run my 26" wheels. In fact with CRC knocking out Pikes with a 43% discount that's starting to look like a tempting option 🙂

I'm torn between

Mehhhhh...... does it really matter?

And

Mehhhh...... 29ers were always better anyway, what's all the fuss?

ive been procrastinating over going 650b for 3 years now. I'm on a '11 plate 26 inch wheeled yeti asr5 which just refuses to be anything less than awesome and with the equivalent 650b going to be north of £4k im going to procrastinate for quite a while longer! will i really notice £4k more awesome for 1.5 inch more wheel front and rear? plus ebay's chock full of good nick 26r bits too if anything breaks....

thisisnotaspoon - Member
Mehhhh...... 29ers were always better anyway,

Personally if you're under 6ft and aren't racing xc I think they ride better. They spin up faster (and noticeably slower than a 26 alrewdy) and change direction much quicker than a 29...

I love these kind of differences. 5ft 9" here and love 29ers, don't think I'd have another size now. I don't really get the height argument to be honest. I'm currently on a 29+ which handles really well.

The fact that there is now choice of different wheel and tyre sizes is a good thing I reckon. Nobody is being forced to change up.

I love these kind of differences. 5ft 9" here and love 29ers, don't think I'd have another size now. I don't really get the height argument to be honest. I'm currently on a 29+ which handles really well.

Yes, but you're giving up proper mountain biking, so are not to be trusted. 😆

In answer top the OP, I haven't heard of a single manufacturer stopping selling 650b stuff, so it's certainly not dead.

I'm with you Earl Brutus.
A 26" Cannondale Flash and a 26" Scott Scale. Think they're 2011/12 vintage and 'nicely' spec'd.
Both capable of far more than I am as a rider and never fail to put a smile on my face.

Have a stock of tyres in the garage so happy for now. Would need a catastrophic failure or lottery win for me to ditch either of them tbh

Short legs; short wheels. The only thing I can think would get me to upgrade / change right now is one of those £4k super light downtube road cheating motors for my long travel bike (Only for when uplift is fully booked or I've missed the last lift emergencies of course 🙂 )

Hang on, what's this about 650B dead? What? are they being replaced by eBikes or summink?
650B isn't dead as it's almost literally the new 26". Rides the same and looks similar and is pretty much standard in yer bike shoppe. I personally think they've taken over purely because the tyres look fatter and cooler. But then Plus came along! Looks even better! I know what I'd get next, if it wasn't a 29er, that is.

My most recent daily driver is a 26" carbon evo 456 with a rigid carbon fork, a triple 24/32/42 11-32 and ligt wheels ztr olympic with thunder burts. Ride new forest which is actially mostly gravel...44 and been biking for 30 years.

I got a Singular Swift 29er...it may have rolled over better, it may have had more traction uphill, it may have been more comfortable...but fundamentally i found it less fun. Got back on my light 26er and it was like it was on crack again. Instant fun. And its got a slack head tube compared to the steeper swift.

Then been feeling with the apparent demise of some 26 parts the writing may be on the wall. I saw crc had mavic crossmax's at £300 in 27.5 which my frame can take easily. So i've just bought a pair...well i can feel the gyroscopic affect of the slightly bigger wheel and the fun and turn speed has reduced from it. I'm kind a meh...about it.

I'm not sure its just me, or that i've become dialled into what i'm used to, but the directness and agility of the smaller wheel just is more fun to me. Maybe the lack of rollover and inertia, just makes it more fun? I do/did have a good 26er though.

I can see that for an all day ride, i'd want to dial out the feedback to reduce fatigue, but certainly for me, having tries all the wheel sizes, fat and road bikes, 26ers are just the most fun, which is what i'm trying to combine with getting some exercise...

Irrespective, wheel size is now like gearing or tyre selection and its just one variable. As a starting point for manufacturers i dont know why they dont just make one bike in small (26), medium (27.5) large (29) and extra large (29 plus) to fit their respective riders heights.