[Closed] trek are dropping 26" now.

News travels fast! 😕

And don't forget your booties, 'cause it's coooooold outside.

Is it me or do these 650b bikes look like they have really long chain stays? Obviously they need to be longer but I can't help wondering if that's what makes them so stable like the write ups say they have. I would imagine it also make them less playful and fun.

a trek with longer chainstays!!!! its not as if they don't have a rep for snapping already.

Pussywillow to the forum!

Trek are dropping 26"???

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650b is also commonly called 27.5”, but that’s not accurate. Looking at the standard ETRTO rim diameters, 650b is closer to 26” than to 29”. Not surprisingly, 650b rides and behaves much like a 26” wheel, with just a little more stability and speed. Depending on your riding style, 650b may be a better 26” wheel.

At least they're honest about it. Others take note.

Pussywillow to the forum!

Lol ....I bet his handlebar tastles are lit up like a Christmas tree ....while this thread is going on without him 😆

I hope they go bust..... Trek have never been for the serious mountain biker anyway, it's more of a bike that some one uses to just 'commute' to and from work. 😆

This is a gloriously moronic quote from the Trek press release (from the above [url= http://enduro-mtb.com/en/trek-2014-remedy-slash-now-also-on-650b-wheels/ ]linky[/url])

Depending on your riding style, 650b may be a better 26” wheel.

😆

Splitters!

This is a gloriously moronic quote from the Trek press release (from the above linky)

Meh, got a 650 in the back of my 2011 remedy anyway 😉

wrecker - Member

This is a gloriously moronic quote from the Trek press release (from the above linky)

What's wrong with that? Doubtless some people will prefer it and some won't

And the majority of mindless, sheeplike morons will buy what they are told to.

650B is turning out to be a very good litmus test for gullibility.

I've a spreadsheet with the details of every STW'er that has expressed a positive opinion.
I will be in touch regarding an amazing offer on magic beans shortly.

So, to summarise:

When I first got into MTBs, wheels were 26".

Now wheels can be 26", 26" fatty, 27.5" 29", or 29" fatty.

That's marketing for you, they need to get the pennies out of you somehow!! 😉

I'm certainly not pro 650b, so don't bother mailing me!
I'm just pleased that a manufacturer isn't blindly following the industries' "27.5" bollocks and are being more open about the actual size.

Actually at Trek world the reps were saying 650b is actually 27.1" rather than 27.5".

The fat bike did look rather fun though.....must resist N+1

wrecker - Member

I'm certainly not pro 650b, so don't bother mailing me!
I'm just pleased that a manufacturer isn't blindly following the industries' "27.5" bollocks and are being more open about the actual size.

So the open cynicism and utter comtempt shown to the current 26inch user base by the manufacturers doesn't bother you at all?

It's just the nomenclature of the most unwanted 'innovation' in cycling that causes you a problem?

Good grief.......... 😉

trek are dropping 26" now.

Err no they aren't actually.....
They have just released some new bikes in 650B. Which is great for us that don't fit their 29ers!

Bit like Starbucks...years ago all you could get was coffee and tea ...now you can get all manner of 'pachino....it's about choices init.....still get normal tea and coffee too

singlecrack - Member
.it's about choices init

Ok, I choose 26inch.

It has nothing to do with choice - it's about money.

Pussywillow - Member
I hope they go bust..... Trek have never been for the serious mountain biker anyway, it's more of a bike that some one uses to just 'commute' to and from work.

Love this guy.

So the open cynicism and utter comtempt shown to the current 26inch user base by the manufacturers doesn't bother you at all?

No they more hand wringing and righteous indignation I see (all of which is totally unnecessary I think), the more I enjoy it.

Rusty ....you don't HAVE to hand over your money to companies who won't supply 26" bikes

I know.
I have no intention of doing so.

I shouldn't get annoyed at the stupidity and gullibility of the bike buying public and the utter cynicism and contempt displayed by the manufacturers, but I do. 😀

Yeah I know .....but if the bike companies didn't make any money they'd go bust....and we'd have nothing to buy.... 😯

Ming the Merciless - Member

Actually at Trek world the reps were saying 650b is actually 27.1" rather than 27.5".

I really don't get the point then. That's a slightly smaller diameter than a 2.4 rubber queen on a 26" flow rim.

Yup, fatter tyre on a 26" = thinner tyre on a 27.5".

I'd love to do a blind test - somehow get a bunch of riders to ride 26" and 27.5" bikes without knowing the wheel size, and see if they can tell the difference.

Given the last time I checked, Trek didn't have a monopoly on bikes, I can't really see any problem. It's just more choice.

Rusty, its annoying. I don't want a 650b bike. I am now resigned to the fact that that's what we are going to be riding in a couple of years. To me, the naming of 27.5 is the embodiment of how marketing driven the whole thing is. It's complete bullshit. But that's what we've got.

Well, they couldn't call it 27" because there's already a 27" - and it's bigger than 28" 😉

(27" is 630mm, 28" = 29" = 622mm)

gullibility of the bike buying public and the utter cynicism and contempt displayed by the manufacturers

Really, it's not that way. Calm down.

Markets change, products change. Businesses have to move on or they stagnate and a stagnating business is a dying business.

Sometimes they get it wrong, perhaps they have here, perhaps they haven't. But they have to try.

I really doubt there was ever a conference in a dark smoky room where a bunch of "industry bigwigs" thought best how they could shaft Mr Rusty Spanner of Singletrackworld.

Rusty Spanner - Member
I will be in touch regarding an amazing offer on magic beans shortly.

As if they are "I'm out" as its one of the few pleasures in my life 😉

As for the wheel size gawd knows

People like buying new bikes. Manufacturers want people to buy new bikes from them. So manufacturers think up innovations to make themselves stand out. So magazines write about the new innovations. So people read the mags and want new bikes.

We didn't start the fire...

So ...where did the 26" wheel evolve from ....was that industry led ..or some other extra terrestrial , paranormal act ..

Serious question ?.

It came from the clunkers used by US MTB pioneers. So it's really based on a size developed for beach cruisers and shopping bikes.

Not that that's a bad thing.

650b hasn't been lead by engineers or designers.
The differences are too slight.
No one is pushing this as the great leap forward in bike design.
We're just being offered a fait accompli.
I think we can all agree on that.

So, it must be marketing led.
A new wheel size will put doubt in the minds of owners of perfectly good 26 inch bikes that they need the latest thing.

So no discernable design benefits, minimal investment yet increased sales?
Seems like cynical marketing bullshit to me.

Oh and if all contributors to wheel size threads could declare any industry involvement, that would be helpful.

Thanks.

None here.

So ...where did the 26" wheel evolve from ....was that industry led ..or some other extra terrestrial , paranormal act ..

Serious question ?.

As mentioned above, it became the default size more by chance than design.

All this ranting over wheel size makes me chuckle. Back in the mid-nineties, a mate and I were at a cycle show in Earls Court where a few frame builders were doing a Q&A session. When asked what single thing they'd like to change most the consensus was wheel size. There & then was the first time I'd heard 650b referenced in mtb terms & they all cited that a slight increase in wheel diameter allowed them to change compromised areas of frames built around the 26" standard. The lack of wheels, tyres etc was the reason for the status quo - the builders concerned were from Fat Chance/IF, Salsa, Klein & (I think) Proflex.

As far as I can see, Specialized apart, all main manufacturers are concentrating on 29" & 650b for their 2014 bikes so it's here for the short to medium term at least.

I've posted on here before about a 'conspiracy theory' put to me in a bike shop I visited when in the States a couple of years ago. The shortened version is that 650b is where he industry wanted to be but it knew folk wouldn't be swayed with a small change hence the 29er was born simply to get a different wheel size accepted. The ensuing argument between the 26" & 29" camps was expected with the industry waiting in the background to offer the solution - a wheel size that offered the best of both worlds.....

Believe whatever you want but the industry has spent a huge amount developing components as well as frames so I can't see them walking away from it any time soon.

Rusty, I'm 'in the industry' haven't been invited to any of the secret industry meetings where they planned the 650b thing in order to generate more cash though 😥
I have bikes with various size wheels and mixed sizes too, I just like having the choice. ( current favourite is still the 26" steel 120mm ht)
As for the amount of money and time to develop 650 frames it'll be no different to updating a current model each year.

It does annoy me that the bike companies who've pushed this through (and scared the others into following I reckon) have been so arrogant.

Like when the pointless 15mm axle standard was foisted on riders to suit the needs of the industry.

Won't really affect me though. I'll just stick with my existing bikes longer than usual - and I hope others do the same and this comes back to bite the bike companies on the arse.

My only worry with that is that it'll impact in the lbs, as shifting less bikes maybe the last straw for a few, again leading to a homogenised mega companies/distributors who'll have even more power to tell what you want..