Death of 26 inch wheel Mountain Bikes?

Went into a shop today with a mate that wants a new bike, to check out some stock, the guy that was there was trying to sell him a stumpjumper, then told us that in 5 years time all mountain bikes will be 29ers, as he said 'they are proven to be much quicker'. I couldn't think of any quick and witty reply, due to being slightly concused from a poor log skinny/face disagreement. All i could think of to say was 'i can't see that happaning myself'

What are your views? i'll jot the good ones down and try and pass them off as my own should i go into the shop again. 😀

….shake your haead and say I dont agree the future ins tublar 650b as was proven by van nicols at the recent world cup….. then walk away none of its true but it will adda touch of confusion to the meeting!!!!

CAnt see 26's ever going my self let be honest its hard enough to find a tubless tyre in most LBS's!!!

Bike shop staff in talking bo!!ocks shocker!

The death of marketing departments may be a better thing.

So presumably as 26 are crap they'll all be going cheap ?

I thought the clown bikes were only for freakish giants and obsessive niche-mongers? 😉

5 years? Most of my bikes are older than that.
Only know 1 guy riding cart wheels down here, & he finds them a bit flexy in the tight stuff.
Don't see many DHers using them, do you. Make that none.

I'm waiting for my 26" wheels to become cool and niche again 🙂

I can see American brands going that way.

in five years time all mountain bikes will be road bikes cos they are proven to be much quicker.

road motorbikes are quicker still, we're all missing a trick

In 5 years time somebody will have come up with another niche and 29ers will be forgotten.

+1 for niche mongers..But it does seem like a good alternative if yer an odd size. Ps sounds like the BS bloke was talking a load of BS as well..

just coz i have a 29er now doesn't mean 26" is dead, i mean i know i have influence and everyone follows my lead but even so

I read an article in a recent North American magazine that claimed 29" wheels made a HT just as smooth as a FS for anything up to 4" of travel. Once over 6" of travel there are issues getting the wheels and the suspension system to 'fit'.

I think we'll see more 29ers, esp. HTs, but I doubt they'll penetrate the DH/FR market, or the large number of bikes sold to shorter riders. I'm 5'9" and I'm of the opinion that I'm too short for a 29er.

I read an article in a recent North American magazine that claimed 29" wheels made a HT just as smooth as a FS for anything up to 4" of travel.

Well the American magazines do a good line in BS too!

12 months ago i had 2 moutainbikes. inbred (26) and a commencal meta (26)

the commencal didn't get ridden enough because the inbred was perfect for all local stuff – south downs and the local techwoods.

replaced the inbred with a scandal 29er – much better for xc/ enduro type stuff. this year have done the sdw, xc racing and a 24 solo on it.

but it's not as good for messing around up the woods in the real twisty singletrack. as a result the meta gets ridden a lot more; would never replace the commencal with a 29er.

can see that in the states, where some of the 6" bikes are just long travel xc bikes 29 full suss works but not imo for the tech singletrack stuff we have here.

sorry for the long post!

Not got a 29er, not going to get one, don't want one.

I was talking to the guys at the LBS a few weeks ago, and asked how may 29ers they were selling.

Absolutely none.

They are all still sitting in the showroom.

There's more than enough room for any wheel size you wish to choose out there.

Ride what suits you for any particular ride.

More choice is a good thing.

having ridden a 29er for the first time these past 3 days i have to say it wasn't a revelation over a 26", but having said that it definately wasn't bad either and it seemed to fit me better somehow, this is with a rigid fork though, i'd like to try a sus fork with it, this may make a difference

my current bike has a 24 inch front wheel and a 26 inch rear wheel,, i just love being different ,,, but i will try a 29er ,, i maybe different but i am open to ideas,,

funny what some people will say to sell you a bike 😆 Think they are great and add another style to the off road collective. But seriously "What a chief"

Dont suppose you wanna name the shop so we can all phone up and ask him about 29ers and the way of the future…

Well, a mate in my LBS rides one a lot around Bath, the Forest of Dean, Black Mountains, Beacons, Afan…
In one week recently five 29ers went out the door. I guess it all depends where you live, and, probably more importantly, whether the LBS has staff who actually ride the bikes they sell, understand how the differences affect the way a bike can be ridden, and can communicate it to the punters. My mate rides lots of bikes, several times a week, and he knows and understands that, and will take prospective customers out for rides to show them. He's also very enthusiastic about the GF Roscoe. Do I think 26ers will die out? No, I think 29ers will get more popular, but for a great many people the smaller wheels will just be more manageable. The best compromise is the 650b, you get the better rolling ability over roots and rocks, with a lighter wheel that steers more quickly. All we need is a wider range of tyres to allow more varied terrain to be tackled. I'm seriously considering putting together a 29er, but with 650b wheels. When I were but a lad, my first grown-up bike had 650b wheels. Only they weren't called that. You went into a bike shop and asked for a 27 1/2" tyre. Every adult bike had that size wheel, so using a 650b wheel is re-introducing the traditional wheel size to this country, in place of the American interloper. 😯

The best compromise is the 650b, you get the better rolling ability over roots and rocks, with a lighter wheel that steers more quickly.

That's just as bad as the OP's quote from the shop saying that 29ers are inherently better!

What you actually get with 650B is some of the better rolling with some of the better/faster handling. Logically, you also get some of the slower rolling and some of the slower handling. You could argue that that makes it a jack of all trades and therefore worse than either 26" or 29"…

There is no best compromise for everything and everyone. Some size wheels will suit some riding better than others. Which is best is entirely subjective and dependent on how/what you ride. If 24" wheels had become the norm on mtbs instead of 26" and 650B had been the new trend instead of 29" then you'd probably have been saying that 26" was the best compromise… 🙄

There is no best compromise

Monday mornings, eh? 😉

29" wheels roll faster in a straight line on pi** boring non-technical terrain which is why they're so popular in the States, I like my riding technical and like turning corners quickly so will NOT be making the giant leap backwards to 29" wheels.

LOL @ nickc – you know what I meant and I stand by it – there's no single best compromise for everyone – only one for a given rider and type of riding!

joe90 – Member

29" wheels roll faster in a straight line on pi** boring non-technical terrain which is why they're so popular in the States

What do you base this statement on then.

Joe, I'm someone who's tried out several 29ers and still prefer 26" bikes but your comments aren't really right either – 29ers aren't awful (at least the good ones aren't) at technical stuff, just a little bit slower handling. For me that equates to feeling less fun and more like trundling along but then I like my bikes fast handling. Plenty of other people find them absolutely fine.

It seems to be a regional thing the 29er. In my usual riding area the lakes, pennines, peak and north wales I have hardly ever seen a 29er. A few times a year we go down to stay with my mate in Kent and they seem to me to be a lot more common.

I have tried a couple of 29s and they were okay nothing special but what is really lighting my fire at the moment is a 24 inch bike I have built out of bits and pieces I had in the shed plus some wheels my mate built for me. I am loving it, its pretty specificaly built for mucking around in the woods and I wouldnt like to ride it all day but it makes me giggle.

I sell plenty of 29ers. Most of our staff own a least one 29er. We also have demo 29ers for proper test rides, not the round the carpark at 3mph type rides.

My personal thougts are for Hardtail xc riding they will become more and more common. Full suspension…..upto around 100mm yes. If you need more travel I'm not sure how you fit the big wheels and suspension into something that you don't need a ldder to get on, or can still move if it get a bit muddy.

Having said that Gary Fisher did hint that Roscoe was coming in 29er format.

Most people I talk to seem quite open minded about the whole wheelsize thing. Most objections come from people who have never ridden one or won't even give one a try because a magazine or forum said they don't work.

On a personal note I am no slower on singletrack on my 29ers than I was when I rode 26" wheels. If anything I am faster. I have no problems on tight techy singletracks, climbs are a doddle and I am just as fast as the people I ride with on full sus 26" downhill.

Matthew

I know quite a few people who swear by 29ers, but as one put it, 29ers are great at bashing through stuff, but not good for punting off stuff. As someone whose rides tend to involve ineptly landed nano-air wherever possible, I'll be sticking with 26ers for the time being.

I've never ridden a 29er and don't particularly lust after one, but we only ride 26" wheels because the 'repack boys' who allegedly invented the mtb converted old American 'clunkers' which used 26" wheels.

Oops! Sent it twice.

I quite agree. if you ride with wheels on the ground most of the time then 29er. If you launch off and over things the majority of the time then 26".

They said the Titanic wouldn't sink and the Motor car would never take off you never know.

29ers get air too 😀

I’m lucky enough to have both a 29er and a 26er. The 29er is for all day rides and the 26er for technical trails and blasting about on. There isn’t and never will be a bike that does everything perfectly.

29ers get air too

Yeah but for a given standard and build quality then 29er wheels are going to be heavier and weaker. No getting away from that unfortunately.

I have bruises that also say 29ers can get air…………just not when I was ready for it!

It's a sweeping statement but I think in the US 29ers will sell in a greater proportion as time passes. My reasoning is that there are a significant number of US off roaders who ride more open trails/forest road etc. For your jumper/Big(ish) bouncer/very technical rider I think they will stick with 26. In the UK I think growth of 29er will be very slow or static unless – US manufacturers shift over wholesale to 29. Having owned one for 2 weeks before it was stolen (someone obviously wanted one) I liked it for some of the riding that I do locally and I think for off road touring that they are probably a good form of bike. IMHO for the casual rider I think that for riders over about 5'8" that a 29er would be a better buy than a 26er. Except no one is building 29ers at the lower end of the market.

As for the comments that "….in 5 years time…" 26 inch will be dead. I think it could be possible for HTs from US makers. 5 years is perhaps too short but I wouldn't be surprised. I feel though that UK makers will always produce 26 in.

We will see won't we?