Got three fit for purpose 26ers, if it get to the point I can no longer maintain them I might just call it a day.

If I’m forced into buying big wheels it’ll be second hand, one thing I know for sure is I will never buy new again.

26″ will be the Vinyl of mountain-biking. You read it here first.

^this.

However, if riding with slightly smaller wheels than the norm suddenly becomes hipster chic, then I’m oot.

Tried several 29ers which were awful! Surprising as they are basically fatter cross bikes. Haven’t tried 650 yet, but can’t see me changing my 26ers anytime soon

Instead of buying into a new bike/wheel size to make them a better rider i’d hazard a guess that the vast majority of folk (85%*) who ride an mtb would benefit far more with keeping their existing 26″ bike and booking a genuine skills session with someone who can read a persons position on the bike and interpret that into how they could make improvements.

* – totally made up figure.

I bought/built myself a new 26″ wheeled bike a few years ago so i’m not changing, then again i do have the skills to ride it. 😉

Tried several 29ers which were awful! Surprising as they are basically fatter cross bikes.

Oh dear 🙄

A skills session won’t help you as the advantages of bigger wheels is a better ability to roll over rough stuff and better traction. Why not get a 29er and a skills session and absolutely destroy 26ers 😉

Instead of buying into a new bike/wheel size to make them a better rider

I cant say I’ve ever bought a bike in the belief it will make me a better rider, I doubt most people do.

It’s not all marketing though. I had a very lovely Kitsuma Ti about six years ago. I tried a cheap 29er with an open mind and the Kitsuma was sold on soon after.
Then I bought a very, very expensive and lovely 29er and tried a fatbike with an open mind. Now the 29er i languishing 😕

Which fat bike, bedmaker?

I don’t want to change my bike(s) as long as they make rims and tyres I reckon I’ll be good for years…if needs be I can fit a 27.5 fork onto my 26er if they’re no longer avalible if/when my forks pack in.

I owned a mark 1 and a mark 2 and they were great, but amongst all the weeping, wailing and nashing of teeth here, aren’t there any folks who love the 27.5 Soul? I’ve not ridden a 650b but it looks like it has the makings of a great bike and Cotic have kept the frame weight pretty low – nearly the same as the 26er.

Why are people who buy 650b suckers and falling for marketing hype? Surely they’re just getting the current trend when buying a new bike? When all we had were 26″ did you all insist on buying a bike classed as old tech or did you just get the current ‘best buy’?

The suckers are those buying new 26″.

Glad to see all those who froth at the mouth about change are back though. You’ve been missed.

For the record all my working bikes are 26″.

Tried several 29ers which were awful!

Me too. Mind you it’s probably to do with my lack of skills or some dogshit reason like that 🙄

Well my inbred853 has finally been retired, however I’ve just bought a second hand Salsa A La Carte from the bay, well chuffed, as I’ve been after one for years.
Wheels size, meh, got 14″, 20″, 24″, 26″ & 29″ in the inbred hoosehold and apparently the Salsa can run 650b/ 27.5″ if required.
When are the 32ers oot?

I bought a 26″ BFe in December. Why? It was a frame swap, all the bits I swapped over were 26″.
No doubt i will struggle to find bits in the future, but I am not bothered. I am sure tyres will still be availableand until then I wil just ride my bike.

Which fat bike, bedmaker?

Salsa Mukluk, then OO Fatty, currently custom Shand

My full sus is still 26 inch but can take 650b by swapping the drop outs. The hardtail is 650b, not because I wanted bigger wheels but there wasn’t that much choice to stick with 26 inch. I’ve already had a BFe and didn’t like it and needed something bigger than my Slackline 853.

To be honest, it’s a great bike but I think that’s more down to it being a good bike rather than the wheels.

Parts shouldn’t really be an issue…look at some of the really, really old stuff that is kept going and used on Retro Bike.

I’ve just fitted new Rebas and a Reverb to my Mk3 Soul 26″. Ive only had it a few weeks, but I’m really impressed with it.

Read the hype believe the hype buy the hype Penny farthings good for fire roads going up hill possible some cross country.

26 ” aint will never be never will die period.

People are buying 27.5 because it’s in the shops, not because they prefer it.

This for me. I bought a new bike last year – a Bird – and 650b is the only wheel size it comes in. I also looked at the Trek Stache and the Soul, 29″ and 26″ respectively. It was the spec, reviews and good vibe from the company that decided it for me. And because I’d read so many times there was no noticeable difference between 650 and 26″, I wasn’t really too worried about it 🙂

26 ” aint will never be never will die period

Er…did you read cotic’s press release? They’ve finally emptied the shed of obsolete frames they were pushing desperately& they aren’t buying in anymore because they don’t want to be stuck with them. a bit of back pedalling I grant you but it’s all down to economics really.

Time will tell how long 26 remains supporetd by tyre, rim and fork manufacturers.

It’ll probably completely disappear like 8 speed and v-brakes…

I have 4 mtbs; All with 26″ wheels, 1 1/8 steerers and threaded BBs. Two have 8 speed and v brakes (on canti frames), two with 9 speed and discs.

Given that you can still buy 27″ rims and tyres, for bikes phased out 40+ years ago, the only issue will be finding brand new forks and brakes in the medium to long term future. Obsolescence brings discounts, I’m set for life!

Er…did you read cotic’s press release? They’ve finally emptied the shed of obsolete frames they were pushing desperately& they aren’t buying in anymore because they don’t want to be stuck with them. a bit of back pedalling I grant you but it’s all down to economics really.

> sigh <

More BFe26 on the way and still Soul26 in stock (for now), so you can buy either if you want. If you don’t want to buy either, you don’t have to, but you’re welcome to bang on about it. And there wasn’t a press release. And the shed isn’t empty.

I don’t care
Iv got my 26er fleet just how I want it – including a lovely mk1 soda which I just upgraded.
Managed to get some nice fox forks and Thomson dropper despite my old fashioned 1,1/8 and 27.2 dimensions. It’s these standards I’m most worried about so better look after these new bits. I reckon I will always be able to get semi descent 26er rims

still Soul26 in stock (for now),

Hope this latest advert gets rid of them for you, I’m sure I read somewhere that soul26″ isn’t economically viable anymore, can’t think where I read it…

Oh yes, here http://singletrackworld.com/2015/03/26-aint-dead-but-its-dying-slowly/ looks like there’s a quote from cotic’s website too, if that’s not a release to the media I think you might be a little confused by how a website works & should contact STW to stop them publishing it on their site?

I still ride a 26 and avoid companies that only stock 27.5 (cough Giant) and and certainly not bullied by any bike company – how sad would that be???

But neither are cotic buyers. Cy’s comments says it all

At the current level of sales compared to the 27.5 Soul and 29 Solaris we can’t justify another batch of Soul26. We need to be able to move at least a batch per year, and over the last 12 months it has dipped below this point, whereas Soul275 sales have rocketed right from the moment we introduced it.

So the choice was there and the consumers not the suppliers made it. Simple market forces. What is the problem?

We’ve always said we are all about building Modern Steel Hardtails. If that doesn’t include 26″ wheels anymore, then so be it.

Quite

So, if you want an awesome 26″ wheel, light weight, zippy trail hardtail, this is your last chance. Once they’re gone, they’re gone. You can order yours here:

There you go, free choice….

26 ” aint will never be never will die period.

Then…

Er…did you read cotic’s press release?

Did you read what he wrote? It’s almost an anagram of a sentence and reminded me of “I would like to spend an evening with Nicholas Parsons because…never, ever, ever, bloody anything ever”?

Just so it’s clear, 26 was never alive and therefore can’t be dead. Something like ‘Some previously available 26 inch wheeled bicycles will no longer be produced for sale’ although a little less catchy, would be better and less likely to cause this wheelsize hysteria.

R.I.P.

o7

Always find it amusing to see how defensive the Cotic fans get over any perceived criticism of the brand. Any one got their new Rocket yet or has a robot dinosaur eaten them just as they were about to land?

I’m assuming Cotic still rank higher then Bird? Could someone put a PSA up when this is no longer the case.

Isn’t this the same as the Yeti SB66? Everyone says it’s a great bike, but no-one’s buying because of the wheel size, so it’s no longer worth manufacturing.

Did you read what he wrote?

Yes & I also remember the threads where I was criticized for saying Cotic where only promoting 26″ because they missed the memo about 27.5, ordered too many 26″ & were trying to shift them with the promise of future support. It seems that stock is now almost gone & it’s time to about face. I’m glad it was a successful strategy & they haven’t lost out financially for the mistake it’s just a bit galling they are now being defensive about it.

Just unloaded the last few parts of my final 26″ bike. My first 29er is on the stand and almost finished 🙂

Don’t forget the sugar in the bad news medicine…

There are MORE BFe26 frames on the way!
How many other bike companies are still making a 26″ wheeled bike to meet demand?

Edit: Actually, I’ve just thought of 5 others without even trying, so perhaps I should shut up.

There are MORE BFe26 frames on the way!

I bet someone is regretting ordering those

How many other bike companies are still making a 26″ wheeled bike to meet demand?

that strategy worked the first time, might as well rehash it Again ,:-)

I bet someone is regretting ordering those

Or alternatively, company in sees a gap in the market that other’s aren’t filling for which there are customers shocker. I think given the fuss people made at the time of the switch to 650B having a push that said “hey, if you still want a 26″ frame we have them” made a lot of sense. It’s now clear that for some types of bike it doesn’t make sense so you stop doing it.

I’m really not sure why it’s something to get irked about.

that strategy worked the first time, might as well rehash it Again

The strategy of making 26″ wheel frames for people who want them? Why not?

Rocketdog, your logic is brilliant. “Cotic are only pushing 26 because they have loads in stock to sell.” “Dude, they ordered more” “Yeah? Well that just mumble mumble” Demonstrably they weren’t just trying to clear out old stock.

Whether it turns out to have been a mistake to order more Bfes is a different question, but the 2 things you think they deserve criticism for are mutually exclusive

Arent the BFe frames a lot cheaper than the Soul? Surely that is why they have been selling well?

There is 3 types of Bfe buyers,
1 they buy with in a budget, so Bfe is cheaper than Soul
2 got a load of good 26″ kit about but 2nd hand parts are going for not alot so they keep and build up a play/winter/pib/N+1 bike
3 they what a HARD hitting hard tail that can take up to 160mm forks for 4x/jumps/DH Oh and guess what a 26″ is prob the best wheels size for that type of riding, so there still market for it.

2 got a load of good 26″ kit about but 2nd hand parts are going for not alot so they keep and build up a play/winter/pib/N+1 bike

Yep, I think there’s quite a market for people upgrading their full-sus but instead of just buying a new 26″ frame and transferring wheels and forks they’re scared to spend a load of money on a 26″ frame so go 27.5″. That leaves them with a load of unused 26″ kit and what better place for it than an awesome hardtail?

I can’t see any reason to replace my 26″ Soul until it breaks irreparably (I’m assuming it’ll weld back together for quite some time after the first crack eventually appears!) A great (mostly wintertime) alternative to my 27.5″ full-sus.

The strategy of making 26″ wheel frames for people who want them? Why not?

😆 not again, oh well…
“At the current level of sales compared to the 27.5 Soul and 29 Solaris we can’t justify another batch of Soul26”