My plan having got a new 26″ bike 9 months ago. Bike is for 4-5 years so 3-4 left (still on original rims)

Rims when supply looks bad buy 2 sets maybe 3.
Same with tyres

Fork if needed a 650b fork should be able to be made to work.

Everything else is not wheels size dependent. A good 26″ bike with a hefty discount will still be better than a bad 650b at RRP.

Wheel wise, it’ll be fine.

I wouldn’t buy a bike with an 1 1/8 headset though.

I wouldn’t buy a bike with an 1 1/8 headset though.

This, unless you plan on fitting a rigid fork once the supply of decent straight steerer forks dries up.

It already seems to be unusual to see decent, reduced price straight steerer forks on CRC/Merlin/On-one/etc and I think if you’r elookign to replace with a 650B at some point in the future as 26″ forks disappear it’ll be taper or nothing.

26″ Tires and rims will be around for quite a while mainly because the vast majority of MTBers are on 26″.

Before 650b became the Next Big Thing in MTB wheelsizes, it was an anachronistic defunct touring wheel size. Wheels are tyres were available.

Can you still get decent 9 speed drivetrain kit?… Yes

8 Speed… not really.

I believe the same will be for 26″ wheels for at least 5 years.

I believe the same will be for 26″ wheels for at least 5 years.

50p says it’ll be considerably longer than that

95% or more of all the worlds mountain bikes have 26″ wheels it would be a brave manufacturer who steps away from that market

It’s sort of verging on stoner paranoia worrying about 26 stuff, ie, made up twoddle.

You’ll have no problem at all getting good 26 wheels/forks/tyres for years to come.

However, some manufacturers may not make the latest new big thing in a 26 format in the next few years, but i think even that is erring on the side of paranoia.

PS, buy something right, don’t buy just cos it’s on sale, is what you’re looking at on sale the right thing for you?

Aye; DT have stopped making non-tapered forks; they won’t be the last manufacturer to go down that route.

Yes I think you’ll be fine. There are many of us riding 26 with no interest in changing. I have a 1 1/8 headset frame waiting to be built up too using spare wheels and I have lots of tyres. If the industry moves to 27.5 only they’ll lose a lot of my business as I’ll buy secondhand.

Good point on the headset size. We should get our knickers in a twist over that rather than wheel size.
Wish you could still get bolt in steerers ,would make everyone’s lives so much easier.

The irony that I did just that back in January is not lost on me. I don’t plan to fit suspension forks to it though.

It really isn’t.

Mavic are still making 117s, 317s, 717s, 719s and that’s just one manufacturer, there’s plenty out there and not just OEM.

there is still loads more tyre choice in 26″ than 650B. Take the Maxxis MTB range for instance.

17 26″
10 650B
10 29″

Go for it buy a 26″ bike

dont understand this, is it that the CK headset will last forever, or is there some weird CK extender type headset that allows a tapered steerer in a straight 11/8th headtube

scratch that – now ive typed it, its kinda obvious.

so true…
they even sell a 1 1/4 headset until today..
an old (yeti) standard from the early 90ies

The thing is that most of us on STW are leisure/sport users seeking higher-end products from a range of businesses pandering to the must-have-latest-spec market.
Meanwhile the greater percentage of people riding bicycles in the world are likely to be riding 26″ wheeled bikes, probably rim-braked. Rims, spokes, tubes & tyres in 26″ flavour will be available for years to come. The worldwide market for them is just too large to ignore. It’s only the high-end lightweight bling stuff that will likely fade away, probably in favour of 650.
IMO 8)

This.

Which one gets it?