I ride a 100mm steel hardtail. 😀
It’s got discs.
And carbon handlebars, which are quite wide and point up and back at the ends.
I tried lock on grips, but came to the conclusion that they were pointless toss sold to gullible idiots by shysters.

It’s all opinion.
Mine is no more valid than yours.

Sorry if I offended you, but it’s what I believe.

Why not tell me why 650b is more FUN than 26inch, why you decided to buy it and what influenced your decision.
I’m genuinely interested.

Let’s debate the pros of 650b instead of arguing then.

Tell me what benefit it brings that a high profile 26 tyre doesn’t.

Btw, you can call me what you like, I can justify my opinions and don’t offend easily, if at all.

you could equally ask what benefits the 26″ brings that the 650b doesn’t?

Yep, let’s do that.

Better tyre choice and availability
Better parts choice and availability
Better used parts availability
Better compatibility with your existing components
35 years of development and design refinement

Kind of overwhelming really.

based on a random choice that some bloke happened to have in his shed in California one time

Better tyre choice and availability
Better parts choice and availability
Better used parts availability
Better compatibility with your existing components
35 years of development and design refinement

Kind of overwhelming really.

😆 how is it better tyre choice? 😆

or availability if everyone is saying that 26″ is being phased out!

and you could argue that the 35 years of development and design refinement has led to… the 650b 😆

What benefits does 26 bring?
Well, for a start, hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people actually own and ride one already.
They go to work, to the shops, have fun and enjoy themselves.

Please explain how the quality of their lives would be improved by wasting money on a bike with wheels no larger than the depth of the average paperback.

genius

Exactly. Just because the users of STW want to boycott a wheel size doesn’t mean it’s not a viable option. It’s here. Fork manufacturers, wheel manufacturers & tyre manufacturers are all fully on board. The next point will get Rusty in a frothing frenzy, because said manufacturers are already beginning to phase out production of some key parts for 2015 MY. Forks, tyres etc.

As for secret meetings, cartels & conspiracy theories between all the manufacturers to drive this to market, that’s a proper LOL. Half the manufacturers have outstanding lawsuits aimed at each other claiming patent infringements, copyright etc. You really think they all sat down together & thought this through? Give me a break. We can’t even get our own product to market when intended more than 50% of the time, let alone have an on mass co-ordinated multi-brand new industry standard launch & I work for one of the biggest bike manufacturers in the world. 🙄

Lets ask physics to help us a bit on this. Pretend we have two wheels that are pretty much identical but one has a slightly larger diameter (and a slight weight penalty).

Can we agree that a bigger wheel rolls over bumps a bit easier than a smaller one?

Can we agree that a bigger wheel turns (not rotates) a bit slower than a smaller one?

We’ll stick with these two for now, just to keep it simple.

Hands up would like a bit of help rolling over bumps when out on the bike.

Hands up who has trouble changing direction when out on the bike.

I’d guess that more people need a bit of help getting over bumps than turning. Would a marginally bigger wheel not be a good idea then?

Hands up who wants heavier wheels and tyres on their bikes that are harder to accelerate?

Hands up who wants to shell out shedloads of money for a new bike with dubious benefits over the old one?

Wot, no takers?

Slightly slower to accelerate? Probably marginal (just like the advantages) but unless you’re racing at a top level, then what odds?

Hands up who’s being made to buy this stuff?

Right, i’m fed up trying to be diplomatic and not offend people so here it is…Most people can’t ride a bike for shit and need all the help they can get. A bigger wheel makes it easier for them to feel like they’re not crap on a bike. All the industry is trying to do is make them feel better about themselves. 😀

Whilst i’m neither pro or against different wheel sizes, they arn’t really trying to do that.

All they are trying to do is what they have always done. Make some money.

Some are singing it’s praises more than others, some are pushing the marketing hard, some are non plussed about that side of things & simply stating it’s what people want, but it doesn’t make much difference, yet they are still doing it because it’s what people are asking for (on the whole) in Santa Cruz’s case. Point being the Bronson is the best selling bike of the year for them.

This is a circular statement. what? wheels in general? 😀

All they are trying to do is what they have always done. Make some money.

My post was, in part, in jest but making mountain biking easier is a great way to make money. Lighter, better suspended, better braked, more responsive and the rest – all make it easier. That’s not a bad thing on the whole, but it’s not a new thing either. That’s why i can’t understand the ‘anti’ guys.

edit:

😀 luckily it’s still great fun whether you are crap, awesome or somewhere in the middle.

Marginal gains can all add up. Whether you want them or not or whether they work out to be a gain for you is another matter.

If I wanted to make big bucks I wouldn’t work in the bike industry. No-one would. Sure some companies do ok and an MD of any multi-million company earns well, but people do it largely because it’s a good place to be and they value enjoying work doing something they love over ££££££. The purely money-driven types tend to do other stuff.

Within normal reason, a non-argument for bikes ridden over rough ground.

Yes they can but you seem to be assuming that it’s all gains and no deficits. 650B can work out to be a zero sum game.

I said they may not add up for you ) There’s almost nothing on a bike that isn’t a case of pros and cons.

..like slack head angles that the average rider as well as Pro DHers also like? Anything that adds stability can help a new rider as well as a Pro at speed. You can have too much, but then you can always go faster too, skills allowing.

I asked before and will ask again…..

Why didn’t they just make the wheels really 27.5?

“Why didn’t they just make the wheels really 27.5?”

that’s the next big thing for all those that blindly follow the industry, who love to be marketed at and sold the answer to a question never asked. That’s consumerism for you, we need these people to make the world econonmy flow. We are all as cyclists expected to buy wheels (and frames) in lots of sizes to save the capitalist system.

Have parked my next purchase to see what happens, given that I always get 5 years plus out of any bike. I do own a number of them mind.