So my new steed arrived courtesy of Pauls super discount Cannondale clearout

On trend 27.5 wheels, check
Excited chappie, check
Wharncliffe side check

Disapointment level maybe 7/10 because the trail DID NOT I repeat DID NOT come alive!!!

Honestly I bosh my 26 inch wheels in the frame this morning and go do the same ride and was much happier with my Sunday jaunt its not apples and apples I know .

Is it wrong what I have done, should I try to get along with the new wheels , is it some placebo effect or was I just expecting more than lethargicsteering and feeling bogged down?

I see dead people 😐

Hora, calling hora

Give it more than one go

Hora, calling hora

This frightens me have I done wrong?

This frightens me have I done wrong?

Believed the hype?

This frightens me have I done wrong?

well, you used the word

steed

so you’re cursed for eternity.

Hora, calling hora

[quote]This frightens me have I done wrong? [/quote]It’s OK, he’s relatively gentle once the initial flashbang adrenaline wears off

I hop back and forth between 26″ and 29″ wheeled bikes depending on mood and trails.

I hired a 27.5 trek ex7 on holiday for a day at mammoth.

I handed it back at the end of the day feeling a bit meh,

It was bloody hard work, it felt dead and needed manhandling round corners. Its stability issues at speed would have you thinking it should be nimble in corners- but once you slowed it down it cornered like my land rover.

In short wont be rushing out to buy one.

And in a blind taste test mrs t-r who is a very credible rider in her own right – but doesnt do technicals of bikes just rides em. Said the next day after a day on a 29er – that bike rides better than the one we had yesterday ( she has a 26″ wheeled bike at home)

feeling a bit meh,

This sums it up exactly

I did read a lot before this purchase and whilst I was not conditioned to think it would be the holy grail did actually expect it to be better I actually looked at a 29er too but as I lack inseem length it seemed a ridiculous folly.

I said earlier I did actually put my old wheels on for a comparison and whilst thats not science it just felt better, all the stuff you read about half a degree slack this that or the other rolling speed , well it just didn’t, it didn’t do anything other than feel like I was captaining the good ship slow

I had a 26″ wheeled Transition Bandit before the 650b version I have now, so was able to compare the wheel sizes without too many other changes influencing the feel.
I didn’t really notice much difference in file, apart from a little bit more input being needed on tighter corners.
My (insert gps tracking based sport app here) times showed that it was quicker over pretty much every one of my local trails though. So even if it didn’t feel much different, it obviously was, in a positive way.
Now 9 months later it just feels like a bike.

Oh dear OP. People will tell you that 650b is waay better and you are wrong. Bike designers dont make mistakes.. and you shouldn’t question marketing development.

😀

I’ve converted my banshee back to 26″, i’m liking more than running 27.5 wheels, (although I do run another 27.5 and the 26″ wheels feels like riding a bmx now)

All those dead kittens, and you didn’t appreciate the way those wheels roll as fast as 29 whilst being just as nimble and accelerating as fast as 26? Heathen

Is this wrong?

No. What is wrong is referringto your bike as a ‘steed’!

Personally I think 27.5in is a bit of a con.

The “industry” wanted to sell us something new, 29in. They are great but not perfect.
So we were made to burn all of our old terrible 26in bike before they killed baby dolphins and buy 29ers.
But they are not perfect, sometimes a had smaller wheel is good.
So we need something like a 26in wheels but not a 26in……..er I know 27.5in.
So the industry is now trying to sell us what we already had.

“even feel like you have been swindled?”

Just my thoughts and probably as wrong as ever.

Back in the day when there was only 1 wheel size I went from a Giant Escaper to a GT (can’t remember the model but we’re talking early 90’s). They rode like completely different bikes. This is an issue of different bikes, not a different wheel size.

The 27.5″ wheeled bike I tried was great to ride – light and lively, a bit smoother than my own 26″ wheeled bike. But I struggled a bit with cornering, possibly as it was a one off ride.

I can lighten my own bike, get newer smoother suspension, and it will still corner better, for about the same money.

Horses for courses. If I could have both, I probably would. Though I couldn’t see why I’d want a 29er.

Sounds like you need to get your shocks Pushed.

Can you post some pics of you sat on it, out the back by the bins?

I must be the only person who jumped on a 650b and loved it. Never had any issues with tight switch back corners either. I must be the marketing departments dream.

This is an issue of different bikes, not a different wheel size.

Yup, I admit to being a bit of a tweener sceptic but they’re only a shade bigger and clearly here to stay, a bad bike is a bad bike whatever wheels it’s got…

What wheels and what Tyres were the 650b and 26?

You’ve also changed the bb height by changing wheels, which will make the bike more stable and generally corner better.

Like I said up top ride it 10 times and don’t over think it. Maybe it’s a feeling of uncertainty, maybe it’s stem length or saddle position could be lots of things but you know the wheels are different so it must be them