Are 29er's dead ?

With the onslaught of 27.5 (650b) wheels firmly on the march, are 29er’s dead ? Have you got one ? Are you changing to 27.5 anytime soon ?

Got one and I love it. Great for my xc style of riding. No intention of changing!

🙂 Got one and I love it. Great for my AM & DH style of riding. No intention of changing.

With Giant (allegedly) dropping 29er’s, i was curious as to whether other manufacturers will follow suit ? Will there be an obsolete pile of 29″ wheels/forks/frames in the not too distant future ????

I think there are many more frames and forks etc for sale lately on here and PB.

I haven’t met a live one yet.

Nope. Giant is just one manufacturer, that thankfully I have no interest in. There’s a huge choice of 29ers out there for every discipline, and the majority of them are now fully sorted geometry wise and are great fun to ride.

Mine’s in the shed. It’s not moving but I don’t think it’s dead. I think it’s hibernating, while the fatbike takes over for the winter.

@yetiman, curious as to where you ride your DH and AM. Genuine question as I rarely see any ion steeper / jumpier Surrey Hills trails or in Alps

Got one and I love it. Great for my xc style of riding. No intention of changing!

thats just how I feel about my 26er

Mine lives in the Lake District – although is in hibernation until life sorts itself out a bit more again and/or the days get a little longer.

Just thinking of finding a second one to join it… torn between a Unit, High Latitude or possibly a Honzo at the moment.

Seems to me there are as many/more 29ers than ever. Don’t be sucked into believing that 650B is “half-way” between 26 and 29 (i.e. 27.5). There’s enough of a difference for both sizes to co-exist.

Will there be an obsolete pile of 29″ wheels/forks/frames in the not too distant future ????

No.

My main bike is a FS 29er and is great. I’m also going to rebuild a 26″ HT I’ve got this year. Might try a 650b FS at some point in the next year or two but if I do I’d buy a 29er HT frame and move the parts across.

I dont think one manufacturer changing its tune can be an indicator of the whole market. I think there will always be a market for 29ers now. I love mine and having had lots of 26″ bikes over the years, none felt quite right due to my height. As soon as I rode a 29er I knew it was the bike for me; I wouldnt buy another type of MTB again 🙂

I have a SS and HT 29ers and 26er FS AM bikes – love them all and and are perfect for the kind of riding I do. I think there is a place for all wheel sizes all suit all sorts of riders and terrain, so all to their own, rather than let manufactures telling us what they think we should be riding….

I’m racing XC next weekend on my 29″ HT, I’ll also be racing DH next month on my 29″ FS.

Tried 27.5, didn’t feel any different to 26.

Seems to me there are as many/more 29ers than ever.

Yeah more and more people I know are getting a 29er. They’re still gaining momentum (pun intended) among “normal” riders I reckon.

In contrast I don’t think any of my riding buddies have gone 650b.

I love my HT 29er and think my next AM machine will be a 29er as well but thats a couple of years off yet as my 2011 Endro has plenty of life in it yet 🙂

I’m lucky, as I have a 26 HT, 26 FS and a 29 HT and all are very good in their different ways. However, if I was only able to have just one MTB it would be a 120-130mm full sus 29er without a doubt. Spec Camber is a VERY good allrounder, and I dont normally like Spec, but I now have 3 friends with various versions of the camber and they just suck up the XC miles, go down as well as they do up….almost a no brainer.

Unless you do a lot of technical down hill, then for the UK I think a 29er is perfect…but I do fancy a go on a 650b HT…hmmm.

Unless you do a lot of technical down hill, then for the UK I think a 29er is perfect…but I do fancy a go on a 650b HT…hmmm.

Do it. My 27.5 Whyte 909 is ridiculously fun and faster than my old 26″ Cotic BFe to boot. I wouldn’t go back to 26″ wheels, except for a jump bike.

A big manufacturers choice of offerings is based on what will make them the most money, not what’s the best tool for the job…surely. 😕

We should all be greatful that there is so much choice available these days. There are some truly great bikes available these days, in every wheel size. If it means everyone gets a bike that closer fits their style, without compromise, then that’s ace

takisawa2 – Member
We should all be greatful that there is so much choice available these days. There are some truly great bikes available these days, in every wheel size. If it means everyone gets a bike that closer fits their style, without compromise, then that’s ace

Well said.

I’m liking liteville’s style of view more and more when it comes to wheel size. I.e me on a medium FS should be 26 rear and 650b front.

No where near dead to me. I love my 29er HT for xc duties and mile munching (hopefully some bikepacking too) but I also love my 26er FS for chucking around / trail stuff.

It will be v interesting to see how giant respond at the end of the year. IMO they are a good insight into overall sales trends.

Don’t get me wrong, i’m not knocking 29er’s, i.m just curious as to whether the market can accomodate all wheel sizes ? But, i can guarantee you, if i bought one, they’d become obsolete overnight…. 8)

Short answer…. NO, 29ers are alive and kicking.

The guys buying new bikes in our various local groups all seem to be picking up deals on decent 26ers or getting a 29er as a second bike. Only seen one 650B bought so far and that’s only because she needed a size small which comes in 650B for that particular bike whilst the larger sizes are 29er. Alot of new purchases seem to be 29er hardtails for winter duties, but maybe that’s just down the the weather over the last two months.

Nah, there were loads of them on the Dyfi Winter Warmer last weekend, I’d say around 60% were big wheelers compared to last year when it was maybe 20% at most.

When are Giant dropping them, according to their website http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bike-finder/men/offroad/?level=all they still do the Anthem, XTC, Trance & Talon
in 29″ for 2014

29ers are not dead, the revolution is just starting to pick up speed. Now geometry and equipment is making them suitable across all types of riding it’s only a matter of time until 26 and 27.5 become for the shorter of stature only… like 20″ and 24″ is for kiddies bikes.

You read it here first… 😉

Remember the uk is quite a niche market. In the USA 29 is king.

Yes they’re f****d !!!! 🙂

29ers rock for me used to have an Anthem 26″ the. Progressed to Anthem 29 after a trip to Vegas inc MTB Ing in the Redrock mountains….never looked back …. now got Trance 29 and Tallboy both great machines and well sorted for virtually any terrain…. Giant have stated that they are phasing out 29ers otherwise I may have got the 2014 Trance carbon but they’re only putting out a few of the lower models…….all marketing BS in my mind…..2-3 years time they’ll be back

Giant is just one manufacturer, that thankfully I have no interest in

Didn’t your yeti come out of the giant factory?

No not dead, I have had one of these http://www.bikefrenzy.co.uk its a “little Bastard” by Raw, they only do a 29er love it, not interested in swapping it out

Got two 29er’s and love them, one fully rigid and singlespeed, just pings along, and a 100mm full suspension, it’s a weapon on a climb. No plans to change.

That 29er carbon above ^^.

Very interesting website, looks like an off the shelf Chinese Carbon frame, circa £200. Shipped to the UK and ‘hand finished’, which looks like they pop some stickers on.

Maybe chase a face, then slap £299 on top.

Hats off to them for starting up a UK company, but you could do it yourself much cheaper. Even get Slik Graphics to knock up some of your own stickers.

29er = Betamax. good but hated.

26″= vinyl, best playback if your equipment is up to it.

650b = mini disc, great but died eventually

Probably.

dantsw13 – Member

Remember the uk is quite a niche market. In the USA 29 is king.

The UK bike market is one of the biggest in the World. Including kiddies bikes 3 million units were sold in 2012. In Europe only the German market is bigger.

Talking of which, the Canyon website gives an idea of what’s going on with medium sized manufacturers. The 26″ hardtail range is deleted. New model ranges of Nerve FS and Spectral are available in both 650b and 29er. Specialist DH bikes are still 26″ for now.

Have you got one ? Are you changing to 27.5 anytime soon ?

Yes, and no. I’d expect 29ers to become a smaller part of the market than they are now in the future as 27.5 is an easier choice for a lot of buyers, but there’s a lot of riders who 29ers work for and I don’t see them giving up 29″ wheels for 27.5s.
The less travel you have and the longer you ride for, the more a big wheel appeals. I can’t think of any area of my riding where I’d want a smaller wheel now, from long or multi-day rides to alps holidays, but I can see 27.5 being a good mid-travel FS option. I’d prob go 29 there just as I’m used to it but tbh I don’t really care as long as the other stuff is sorted.

I will not give up my 29er, best bike I’ve ever had.