Are 26ers a dying breed?

OP’s trolling aside

intense do have a 650b bike racing world cup DH this year

http://dirt.mpora.com/news/first-look-intense-275-m9.html

Well Druidh, that isn’t what he said to me, but regardless, my point remains, both will exist. We need the 29er for mincers like you.

😀

well i see a quite a few 29ers being ridden around the fireroads where i ride (southern Bavaria) and exclusively 26ers where the trails get a bit tricky/hairy. not many hike-a-bikers hiking with 29ers.

admittedly most of these people are from Munich and probably have money to burn and buy whatever the salesperson tells them is the latest-and-bestest and most on-trend. plus they are mostly (i’m guessing) german and many of them seem happy to grind away all day on fireroads and err away from riding “singletrials” (as they pronounce it).

DONK – out of interest, Surrey Hills.

Njee and I and others have recently discussed bike types for SHs hence he knew what I was talking about!

Genuinely GENUINELY not trolling

Just ride what you enjoy riding ffs

Pick the bike(s) that fit your riding the best, and get out and enjoy it

Both sentiments I agree with, but to find such a bike I need to test ride them. Choosing which bikes to test ride becomes a lot harder when the question of wheel size is added to the mix. The fun is being taken out of buying this bike. I might just stick with the road bike 😆

Doh should have known/guessed OOI, SH was a bit local knowledge for local people for me 🙂

How is it any harder than the choice of what manufacturer, what drivetrain, what suspension layout etc??

Just go to a bike shop (or use that modern new fangled internal net thing) and choose say 3 bikes you think might suit your style of riding, then go demo those bikes (or the closest relations to them you can easily demo at your LBS etc) then pick the one you like the looks of best you think suits you/your riding the best.

Simples.

If big wheels are better* then even bigger must be even better surely?
.
*are they? Maybe it’s just a question of personal preference.

Doh should have known/guessed OOI

I had to look it up!

emac65, that’s why I said normally. I’ve not noticed a 29er being any worse than my 26 at anything, but better in quite a few areas, hence why I’ll probably get one.

How is it any harder than the choice of what manufacturer, what drivetrain, what suspension layout etc??

[EDIT] It’s not harder, because it’s just another parameter to consider

Drivetrain is largely irrelevant because they’re consumbles that can easily be replaced (if not cheaply)

Back to my point in the OP (which was no doubt lost in my ramblings) the issue is not so much picking which is best for me, it’s the worry that I might decide on 26in and in 3 years time struggle to buy, for example, decent tyres for it because the market has embraced 29ers. It wasn’t that long ago that 29er tyre choice was VERY limited.

If they are a dying breed then hopefully I can get some bargain hope hoops as 29″ wheels are too big for me.

Anybody wanting a 29’er please sell me your 26″ wheels for cheap.

Thank you

I love riding mountain bikes, I’m absolutely addicted (this will be my 28th year)….and it will also be my first with a 29er in the shed. I didn’t buy the 29er because of any kind of hype or marketing BS, or because someone on a forum said they were ace. No, I bought it because I tried a demo version for a weekend and absolutely loved it. It was also the first mountain bike in nearly 28 years that fitted me like it was custom made (I’m 6′ 2″ and gangly) and without having to compromise on frame size or component choice. Although I’ve kept hold of my 160mm travel 26″ wheeled bike I have a funny feeling it’s just going to gather dust this year. It’s early days on the 29er but it really does feel sorted and ready to ride all the gnar I can throw at it, from local hills to big days out in the mountains. I’m really looking forward to exploring it’s boundaries including, I hope, a run or two down the Fort William DH course.

26″ wheels dead? Probably not in the short term but for me…..possibly. It all depends on what I plan to buy as a replacement for the Blue Pig that was sold to help fund the 29er. A 650b hardtail would be a nice project.

it’s the worry that I might decide on 26in and in 3 years time struggle to buy, for example, decent tyres

There are gazillions of 26ers already sold, there will be plenty of tyres I think. I wouldn’t let that stop you getting a 26.

This is the marketing genius of 29″ wheels. People talk endlessly about which is the best, is 26″ going to die out etc. How 29’ers are so much better than 26’ers. I swear MTB’ers are the biggest kit geeks on the planet.

It’s a wheel. Slightly larger. Rolls better. Good for some things, not so good for others.

Is 26″ going to die out?. Don’t be silly.

The way people carry on it is like someone has invented the wheel, rather than enlarged it slightly.

Of course none of us really know what will happen, but it’s equally likely that 29ers will die out as 26 inch bikes. If I were buying a new bike I’d be just as concerned that I might just be buying into a short term fad with a 29er as that I’d be buying an obsolete standard with a 26 inch bike. Either could be true.

Having spent a few months on a 29er I struggle to see what the fuss is about really. The difference isn’t that great, but I do tend to think that 26 inch bikes are more fun (i.e. easier to chuck about) and since most of us ride for fun my guess is that the 26 inch bike will make a comeback and 650B will allow all those early-adopters who bought into the 29er thing to get back to smaller wheels without having to admit that the were wrong.

Is there no end to the way the same questions and answers can keep cropping up every day.

Ride whatever you want no one gives a shit.

Ride whatever you want no one gives a shit

I was looking for opinion not permission 🙂

Looking for opinion(ated) posters? Well, you’ve come to the right place! 😉

And by the way, you’re wrong. (whatever the question is/was)

Yes. (But very slowly).

The thing i find is that people seem to think it’s entire due to a couple more inches of wheel diameter than the new bread of 29r’s are “so good”. Well yes, although i have seen no actual scientific data to prove this, a large diameter wheel might roll better (for which i mean less vertical input into the frame and maybe lower drag) over some surfaces), however, that new 29r is also likely to have a longer wheelbase, a shorter stem, wider bars, a lower BB, probably a shorter headtube, almost certainly a steeper seatpost and slacker head angle plus longer chain stays etc etc.
It’s those differences to your “old” bike you are feeling, not just the fact the wheels are a tiny little bit bigger!

maxtorque very true. I have a Kona Unit for my local easy trails and family days out bike. Singlespeed, 29er, steel, rigid niche-machine. I was really disappointed with how hard it was to manual and blamed the fact it was a 29er. I put a 20mm shorter stem on it for £20 and bob’s yer mother’s brother.

emac65, that’s why I said normally. I’ve not noticed a 29er being any worse than my 26 at anything, but better in quite a few areas, hence why I’ll probably get one.

S’funny,I’ve got two of them(I like to buy bikes)& I really haven’t noticed them being that much better(or worse) at anything,they just feel different.Swings & roundabouts with ’em tbh……..

All my mates ride 26″ wheel bikes, so my next bike (if and when I ever get round to buying it) will probably be 26″ too. That way if I ever get a puncture (and have run out of tubes) or vice versa…

And I’ll believe 26″ is dead when the supermarkets start selling 29″ bikes.

It’s a no to 29ers from me. 650B may be the salvation though. Dunno, I’ll try one and see what it’s like. If I prefer the 26″ and they’re still around at new bike time (I have a suspicion they will be) then I’ll buy another.
No biggie, choice is rarely a bad thing.

Was considering buying a new frame this winter for enduro racing next year but thought I’d wait another year and see what the 650b market brings.

Brian Lopes said it best:

“It’s a bike for people who are old and lazy and need something better. If you have an aggressive riding style, you’re not riding a 29er.”

source

How many people on here would Brian consider to be an aggressive rider though. 😉

male and female , we all want a few more inches……….

get out and ride……………

Brian Lopes said it best:

“It’s a bike for people who are old and lazy and need something better. If you have an aggressive riding style, you’re not riding a 29er.”

He’s just a bloke who’s livelihood depends on getting press attention. Really who cares.

I love it how some people get so animated on this subject, there is a bunch of people who feel they must defend 26. It makes no sense to me at all that they feel the need to be so defensive.

mattjg

He’s just a bloke who’s livelihood depends on getting press attention. Really who cares.

What, is he on TOWIE now or something? He’s a professional rider. His livelihood depends on riding his bike at a level you’ll probably never get near so his opinion carries a bit more weight than yours.

I’ve been very vocal on 29ers of late because the sheer amount of guff spoken about them seems to have exploded recently. Choice is a wonderful thing, but not when it comes at cost of losing something fantastic ie 26inch mtb, and not when it leads to yet more standards, driving costs up.

The bike industry simply won’t sustain 3 wheel,fork,frame,tyre sizes. something will have to give.

26inch bikes are nigh on perfect – and now we are being told they are obsolete by people who frankly can’t ride or by people who’s agenda is to sell new bikes or to sell advertising to those people. Soon we will have another dozen or so new standards to try and bastardise 26 inch geometry with 29 inch wheels when there is no need – no one ever rode a good 26inch wheel bike and concluded it’s wheels were too small. Until very recently.

I have still yet to see one in the flesh being ridden in anything resembling style skill or speed .

Someone thinks they’re as gnar as Brian. 😆

bland – Member
You do realise that 29ers are purely the product of a marketing department in distress after years of flat lining sales.
Thats it, purely a product designed to increase full bike sales, hence why big bike companies havent adopted 650B as you can run the wheels in a lot of frames, 29ers mean a full new bike sale.
26″ will be back in Vogue once 29er sales flatline.
If it was any better to run a bigger wheel then surely MX bikes would have done it first as the spend on development is far bigger over there (and they havent).
All a load of marketing BS and you have been taken in by it im afraid
POSTED 8 HOURS AGO # REPORT-POST

This is absolutely spot on!

muddyfunster – Member
mattjg
He’s just a bloke who’s livelihood depends on getting press attention. Really who cares.
What, is he on TOWIE now or something? He’s a professional rider. His livelihood depends on riding his bike at a level you’ll probably never get near so his opinion carries a bit more weight than yours.
I’ve been very vocal on 29ers of late because the sheer amount of guff spoken about them seems to have exploded recently. Choice is a wonderful thing, but not when it comes at cost of losing something fantastic ie 26inch mtb, and not when it leads to yet more standards, driving costs up.
The bike industry simply won’t sustain 3 wheel,fork,frame,tyre sizes. something will have to give.
26inch bikes are nigh on perfect – and now we are being told they are obsolete by people who frankly can’t ride or by people who’s agenda is to sell new bikes or to sell advertising to those people. Soon we will have another dozen or so new standards to try and bastardise 26 inch geometry with 29 inch wheels when there is no need – no one ever rode a good 26inch wheel bike and concluded it’s wheels were too small. Until very recently.
I have still yet to see one in the flesh being ridden in anything resembling style skill or speed .
POSTED 14 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST

Too true!

26 is perfect. It won’t ever stop being in demand.

What’s this all got to do with 29ers?

If anything kills off 26″ it’ll be 650B. Could take a chunk of 29″ sales too.

muddyfunster – Member

What, is he on TOWIE now or something? blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah

It was only a matter of time!

i got too many mtb’ s now that I dont use enough.
29er is aimed at the newbie or the niche-type (AttentionSeekingWhore)

I guess I been mtbing too long to be that into mtbing anymore to buy into the marketing BS.

700cc does it for me nowadays anyway. On & off road.

At 5’3″ I’m pretty short :P, I normally ride a trek fuel x8 but took out the specialized fate for a spin. It fit perfectly, handled great even though it is a girls bike. It could have been new bike syndrome or the fact it was maybe 4 kg lighter, but it was much faster. Very nice bike.

So many legends on just one forum. We are truly blessed.