The trails at lift served bike parks have traditionally been filled with full blown DH sleds, and for good reason. Without the need to fight gravity on the climb, it only makes sense to have a bike that's solely focused on the descent. A dual crown fork for extra stiffness and stability, wide tires, bucketloads of suspension – together they create mountain biking's equivalent to a fat powder ski, a tool that's purpose built to excel in a specific range of conditions. Recently there's been an influx of slightly shorter travel bikes with single crown forks popping up in the lift line, and these aren't the slopestyle specialists or burly freeride bikes of the past. Instead, it's the latest batch of all-mountain and enduro race bikes that are causing riders to second guess which bike to bring to the mountain, or if it's even worth having a downhill bike at all.
Downhill bikes are as fun as ever... but the capabilities of modern all-mountain bikes are making it harder to justify owning two bikes.Now, I'm in no way saying that downhill bikes are going extinct, or that there's no need for them anymore – I like rallying around on a big bike as much as anyone. But at the same time, for riders that only ride the lifts a handful of times each season, and given how capable modern all-mountain bike have become, owning a separate DH bike is less of a necessity than ever before. Mountain biking's expensive, and if you can cut costs by only having one bike (and maybe an extra set of wheels for the punishments of lift-served riding), then why not? As an added bonus, when the lifts aren't spinning, there are usually excellent trails in the surrounding area that can be accessed the old fashioned way, via pedal power, and having an all-mountain bike on hand makes exploring the world away from the chairlifts that much easier.
Our recent survey of
what people were riding at Whistler's opening weekend showed that downhill bikes still dominate, but I have an inkling that those numbers will be slightly different later in the season, when there are more visitors mixed in with the diehard locals who tend to have a quiver of bikes.
That brings us to the topic of this week's poll:
What will you be riding in the bike park this year? In this instance the term 'bike park' refers to any lift served riding area, whether it's Whistler, British Columbia, Chatel, France, Nevados de Chillan, Chile, or any other location with a mountain, a chairlift, and trails to shred.
This poll is closed
Select all that apply.
This pole shows that 26 has not been buried yet,
People just haven't sold their bike or people keep buying 26"ers from people that have already gone to 275 or 29ers
the question is this;
Who's going to write the obituary?
@Dirtdestroyer1, 24" you fvckin' twit!!!! The best size of all!
Either way, shops and manufacturers don't owe us anything. Its like politics, we get who we vote for. The finger should be pointed at us, not them.
The case of 650B was extreme because that was a one big push of nearly every single major player in the industry on unprecedented scale. nobody asked anybody, I doubt if any market research was made, so I am not going to point my finger back at me. After all it's just bikes, half of an inch is not going to make anyone faster nor less stylish Enjoy modern MTBs, most of them are freaking awesome, regardless of wheel size, chainstay length, reach or bar width
Give it a few years, someone might come out with a 26" bike to fill the need (maybe Canfield?). All the SS and DJ's are still made for 26" wheels, I doubt that will change. The Canfield Balance can accept both wheel sizes, and I hope they are still making a frame like that when I'm ready to buy again. Hopefully it's a FR bike! Everybody is making 27.5 because that is what sells today.
There are 10's of millions of 26ers out there that still need tires. That's a lot of money to be made so someone will still make 'em.
FEST!!!
@DirtyMartini.... It's a valid point. But, like politics, if the options are limited, what can you truly vote for? I don't vote for criminal politicians, so no finger can be pointed at me. Someone continuing to buy 26 may still find their options diminishing. Just as anarchists and people who would vote for minimal government have been marginalised into a position of 'not an option'.
I don't care too much about wheel size and just ride for fun (gave up racing a couple of years ago) but did feel a bit insulted. Needless to say I won't be buying a new 27.5 Specialized any time soon.
But the discussion will die along with 26", eventually. Saw it happen with rim brakes, rigid forks, quick release axles and so on. For those who still really want any of that, there will always be someone making it.
DJ, Slope, and probably most Freeriders will still want a 26 no matter what. Give it a few years, it'll make a comeback and be the new flickable fun alternative. lol
As long as they keep making rad bikes and components, I don't care. I got my stable full at the moment. (5 bikes)
I remember when BMX died in the late 80's, it was horrible!!! Keep on selling MTB industry!
The fact of physics is that a larger diameter tire will
1) roll over things better (27.5 tire gets about 75% of the rollover gains that are 29" gets compared to a 26")
and 2) provide more traction (at a constant % tire deflection)
90% of the time the larger tire size doesn't make a noticeable difference because 90% of the time we're not on the verge of going over the handlebars or sliding out. But if we only consider the moments when we ARE the verge of falling, I prefer a 27.5" over 26" given that the rest of the time the 27.5" feels about the same.
The paradox of 27.5" is that when the slightly larger diameter prevents a fall, you'll never know it...but it's still one less fall.
Increasing our skill level and then riding a little below our skill level would serve the same purpose. But what fun is that?
If you're into statistics, think of it this way: 650b does help, but the help it provides exists in VERY volatile data set which makes it really hard to detect the gains with statistical confidence, but physics promises the gains are there.
@DirtyMartini, I am not criticizing you, just adding something - it's hard to argue with the trivia you pointed out of physics of a larger wheel, but use of science in relation to MTB is an extremely bold move because MTB is a very small sport with so many variables, human being the biggest of them that there is no way to measure it considering how small research funding there can be to tackle this complexity. On very local level, 99.999999% of riders are incapable of providing measurable data on whether 26er is slower than 275er, because they are unable to deliver consistent lap times. The worse the rider the bigger the spread of results will be. As much as I enjoy listening to Nico Vouilloz I just don't believe him that 650B delivers 1 second every three minutes, because I doubt if he can deliver 5 lap times on 3 minute track within 1 second. There will never be any research that will be able to tackle human factors and terrain factors, which especially in race conditions, change all the time. Then even riders of very similar physiology, within same team with same component choices will have different setups, based on personal preference. Even if you change the wheelsize, then we have to remember that everything changes with new bikes, geometries, tyres, rims, brakes. Bike like a dish or medicine is a set of ingredients, souflet does not get better by just adding sugar to it. Then there's compromise, nobody drives F1 car during the race in the same way as during qualifying, there's strategy to make.
Sorry, science is helpless when it comes to determining component superiority considering component in question alone, like wheel sizes, forks, geometries. At lest I would never mention science in 29vs 275+, Pike vs 36, saint vs code discussion.
Sorry, that is only partly true. Most of those things where not superior in any way in their first incarnations, and some became useful only after other aspects of the bikes had been altered as well. I once rode down a worldcup DH course with a Sachs Power Disc, experienced nothing like that to scare the shit out of me since, and would have preferred a rim brake at any point during that ride.
The first 29ers were really bad bikes also, most of them being basically 26ers with longer chainstays to make room for the bigger wheel. But a lot of people, including world cup racers, where able to see the potential. And the same goes for 27.5.
Yes, the progress is becoming more incremental, and today it needs improvement of more than one aspect, to make an overall better bike. But bigger wheels are one of those aspects. When combined with 1x drivetrains (allowing for shorter chainstays on 27.5ers than a lot of 26ers ever had) and wider hubs, to allow for more stable wheels at the same weight, etc. the mountainbike overall is still becoming better and better.
Does that mean, there will be new standards, which will make a lot of existing frames/parts obsolete? Yes, unfortunately. But that's the way it always has been, in Germany they say "the better is the enemy of the good".
"Vast majority of biggest companies openly stated two years ago that they will stop making 26" bikes, no customer had anything to say about it."
That does not and will never work. You cannot force people to buy anything. Their market analysts told all the bike companies, that the market for 26" was saturated, people where longing for a reason to buy a new bike, and "the market" i.e. the customers wanted (and did buy) 27.5ers.
Of course, Specialized begs to differ. They would have preferred if everybody had just switched to 29ers, so there would have been no need to cater for a second wheel size.
That was the choice - only one wheel size i.e. 29, or a second smaller sheel size, also new and with some of the advantages of 29, and therefore able to take a bite out of the growing 29er market, since the 26er market was shrinking anyway.
A - in a year of no sales companies would go down
B - how are you going to tell everyone?
C - do you realize the size of the ideology that you would have to make up and put into motion to prevent people form buying bikes and tell them that there is one good solution for everybody... I sense some link to "morality" you are making here.
26 for life, flats for life is ideology which in a way indicates that your happyness of riding a bike relies on a size of a wheel or type of a pedal, fork tyre whatever. I went to 2 demo days lately, Kona and Trek and it was one of the most fun experiences I ever had, as I rode completely different bikes, often in setup different from mine, in "wrong" frame sizes and it opened my mind completely. It's fun on two wheels, the fact alone of rolling on them, preferably with friends is 90% of the whole thing for me. I had nearly equal amount of fun on freaking amazing Kona Process 167, then Process 111 crappy Trek fatbike, or idiotically fantastic electric Powerfly.
m.pinkbike.com/photo/196790
Poor wheels
Thats a lot of weight tho be throwing around.
The M9 day was fun, but the extra weight had me braking early and leaving corners slower.
going into rock gardens were easy as I would simply have to let the bike rock through it with a little coaxing to keep/change my line
Tracer 275 day was Much more fun, such a light little machine with a shorter wheelbase, I could keep much more speed in corners as the WHEEL WEIGHT is much lower and the bike is easier to pilot.
Try it yourselves, you might end up selling your DH rig for something that is more practical.
Here's a tip - you're on a dh bike. Brake as late as possible. It can get you through it. Then you will exit faster.
That sounds like fun to me.
Maybe you're referring to xc or flat flow trails, nothing else makes any sense.
www.pinkbike.com/video/368201
yes, you're right 70-30. when your trying to stop, not scrub a bit of speed. as i am tired and sore i would like all the speed i could get, and i don't like to slow down let alone stop. you'll see i have another park ride with both brakes, and i use them. its a different game, different trails. the mini bike makes the same trails I've ridden hundreds of times different and fun again, and isn't that what its all about? i don't care if you ride a boosted +27.5 moped, or a unicycle with a 154mm hub as long as its the ride you want. have a good season everyone
www.pinkbike.com/u/gnrendeiro/album/Bullit
Now you got me thinking on buying that one back from the guy I sold it to :p...
big wheels I think 650b will become pointless. and for the naysayers I'm hitting 30 foot doubles at the jump park with no issues, in fact I like jumping better on the Kona than I do on my Knolly! Big hoops rule!
Im only tip is that I find the revelations on it to be really good, but not perfect. they actually don't flex or deflect noticeably at all, for a 29er fork. But the travel is very linear - pump them all the way up and then ride it like its a stout DJ bike
no one will want 650B for Enduro/All Mountain
Will you be riding a shiny newer DH rig (4 yrs old) or an older steed (aka not the new hotness, but is reliable as ever).
If you buy a 275/650b, you'll be paying top dollar for tires and hoops.
All of the big guys, Specialized, Giant, Gt, Santa Cruz, Intense, Norco, Rocky Mountain, Commencal, Trek, ect
Have gone 275/650b, that means something.
The same thing was said about suspension and disc brakes as is being said about the new wheel sizes.
Are you going to buy a 1996 GT Zaskar? Nope!
Wait till your old(er)
I say pick a wheel size that's best suited for your riding and roll with it. It's pretty hard to get a bad ride these days with all the new carbon, long travel, wide bars, tacky rubber, etc. There's far worse problems to have then deciding which wheel size is best.
anyway, intense m9 that is an absolute overkill for the bikepark i ride generally here in germany (beerfelden). i could do it with my enduro rig tbh. but hey, monster trucking everythings gives some kind of satisfaction, does it?
I'm in my early forties, I've been riding DH for 8 years now and before that I was riding my small travel bike up and down mountains
(kids call it "Enduro", I call it "Riding My Bike" ) I feel fast on both rigs but seem to enjoy my "small" bike more.
When it comes to parts, I've had formula hubs that didn't last a season before being scraped, parts are parts, there isn't much in Deore that I would be able to ride without replacing it in short order. That goes for many other riders too. Its just not built to do DH.
And it makes me feel better about not owning a full on DH rig.... because let's be honest, nothing compares
Watch the video. Looks like whistler is making trails specifically designed towards AM bikes. Obviously not all trails and you'll probably still want a DH rig in the garbanzo zone.
And sorry if you were just being sarcastic
But of course, like I mentioned in my original comment the garbanzo zone for the most part is not AM bike friendly. Way too technical and steep. Still a lot of runs on whistler where you would need a downhill bike.
Just go and ride your bikes, when the parts break replace them with the like or upgrade. When it comes time to get a new bike, be willing to try something you've never tried. If your not willing to accept change, trade in your jeans and shoes for a loin cloth, whittle a stick into a spear and go back to the caves where you should be dwelling, Neanderthals....
Well it won't be any of that FAT BS+ POS the industry is trying to shove down my throat,that's for sure!!
I could never justify another bike purchase for something I ride once or twice a year if I'm lucky.
build a santa cruz jackal with a marzocchi 888 at 200mm. Then where a chest protector under your white dress shirt. Saw a guy like this last year f'real
Can't wait.
f*ck 29ers, f*ck 27.5" and f*ck 26" man. 26.75 is gonna be the next big thing, mark my words... and then 26.375".... what a f*ckin scam
That's why a lot of companies still market 'park' bikes
.....
Lick my b#lls you dumb f#cks