26″ marathons will be around forever.

26″ soft compound Assegais for 30mm rims, possibly more of a struggle.

There is 26″ stuff around, but expecting a good selection, better quality and in stock is becoming more and more of an issue. Shops cannot keep huge stock, or indeed in some cases get new 26″ stuff, so you are now heading towards new old stock items.

We made the moved a couple of years back to 27.5 or 29 for the whole family because of this.

Premium stuff is harder to come by. Also new tech like wider tubeless rims and the full range of tyres.

There are many years before it becomes a problem. Probably no harder than anything else right now due to the brexit/covid combination.

I’d not buy one now but the money you would spend on moving up a wheels size will keep you going a long time. Looking at my bikes which are now mostly 29/700C (except the old SS inbred 26″) it’s still an issue with compatibility as I’ve got 100,110+135,142,148 axle lengths with a mix of QR,12mm and 15mm axles! Not to mention 10,11 and 12 speed.

Why oh why won’t riders support their LBS???

Don’t you know you have to burn your bike after it’s 2 years old because it’s worthless and go back to the LBS in order to pay full RRP on a new one?

We made the moved a couple of years back to 27.5 or 29 for the whole family because of this

How old are your kids Matt? I have two boys, 10 and 11. The 11 year old is starting to look big on his 24″ (Orbea MX24) so we’ll likely have to get him a new bike this year. One of his mates has a 29er and it looks like he’s sat on a gate. I’ve been thinking about a 26er for my lad, initially building one up for him until the wife reminded me of the joys of going to the shop and choosing your new bike. Problem is 26ers are harder and harder to find, and as above, it’s getting harder to find parts.

Should I get him a 27.5? (I still ride 26 because I’m stubborn and have little legs).

Ha!

It’s a bike, it works, it’s cheap to run who cares?

I was just thinking about picking up a 26er for going with my lad to the pump track, 26 bikes are far easier to jump and manual. But then I decided it would be embarrassing.

Load of tyres and rims still around. Straight steerer suspension forks (which is default for most 26″ wheeled bikes) not many options so that will be the problem.

It is after all just rims, tyres and forks that are different to any other bike.

24″ is still a thing for kids bikes, I’m guessing 26 will be too, but there will be more selection for 27.5 and 29. Much as the industry seems to be moving away from 27.5, they can’t really kill it completely as not everyone fits on a 29er.

Witnessed this kind of attitude in my lbs not long before they closed down 🤔

Ah, thnks OP. Got it.

Recon or Sektor see to be the limit for buying new sus forks. Like everyone says, other parts are plentiful.

I like to keep a pair of Schwalbe Hurricane for summer. Fast-rolling, voluminous and tough tyre. Still in production last I looked?

Bought my son a brand new whyte 403 last summer, it has 26 inch wheels, seems perfect for him.

There was nothing wrong with 26. There still isn’t. The wheels accelerate faster, are lighter, stronger and turn quicker. Whole bike is lighter. When I get back on my 26 it reminds it’s more fun than 29 or 27.5.

There’s still stuff available just not as much as the bigger wheelers. Just stock up when you see it. I could rag my 26’er, 29’er not so much despite all the ‘traction and rollover’ Don’t feel inferior just coz it’s a 26.

26 will come back just you watch.

Much as the industry seems to be moving away from 27.5,

I hope they don’t next bike will be 27.5″ as I am not about speed but like the feel of small and nimble.

Virtually all the bikes we service are 26″. Most of them have canti brakes as well.

There’s a lot still out there!

Why oh why won’t riders support their LBS???

On a slightly more serious note, I would try to find a better LBS.

I get this. I don’t blame the shops, life must be difficult enough as it is keeping up with trends just from the last couple of years alone, but I more or less actively avoid dealing with shops now, it rarely ends well and at best requires me to laboriously explain what it is I want, who distributes it, why I want it over whatever alternative they’re trying to persuade me to buy, and then pretty much always pay full RRP when I’ve just done all the legwork and could have got it 15% off (and probably a lot quicker) online.

But again, I don’t blame the LBS, I just don’t think there is any worthwhile money these days dealing with retrogressive (me) and/or fussy (also me) customers.

I used to work in a bike shop. When we serviced 26” wheeled bikes we used the cheapest tyres and parts cos that’s all the owners wanted to spend on them – Tourney mechs and cheap wheels and tyres from Raleigh.

I’m confused too. What has the resale value got to do with the LBS unless the OP wanted them to buy it? Surely they don’t refuse to work on a bike just because the wheel is a less common size.

The guy refusing to help is also weird. Which bit of his toolkit does he think won’t work on a 26″ bike. Even an inner tube (assuming it is 27.5) will work just fine.

It’s a funny old world.

Continental are still producing plenty of tyres in 26″ but they seem to be reasonably hard to find other than by ordering directly from them.

26 aint dead, still running my 26 enduro and i have a garage full of tyres for it.

Replaced it end of last year with a 275 and tbh after a few rides i really shouldnt have bothered. Can see the old one getting more use than the new!

It a bit like when you replace a car to avoid potential costs – you end up spending thousands of pounds to avoid possibly spending hundreds. Man maths eh.

only if its a crap BSO – plenty of bikes come with 44mm headtubes which means you can fit an external cup