29'er are undoubtedly here to say... I imagine all segments have bounced around a bit over the last few years with such a crazy economy but 29'ers have supposedly been on of the top growing segments of bikes for the last few years now. At least that's what pretty much every magazine says about them, lol. I wasn't fully sold until I got to spend a few days on one but I love 'em now.

 your forgettign one thing.. mtb is becoming a fashion hype now.. and all the hipsters whom are joining us for the hype are going with any flav what pops up as new.. so as soon as all the fashion whores drip off to another hype.. it will calm down .. maybe for xc it will stay.. but i dont expect to any DH races or DJ contests with 29 wheels any time soon..

 I agree with you leroybrown. I wasn't sold until I spent some time on one. 29'er full suspension is the way of going for trail riding. Couldn't believe how easy they are to ride. It's like bringing a gun to a knife fight. And yes, I do have my carry and conceal permit. Haha.

 @cyberhawk... you're forgetting one thing, only kids and women are swayed by fashion trends. Just like I didn't rush out to buy one when they first hit the streets, we're now seeing a ton of riders like myself who have the money to spend on nice bikes and who actually care more about how they ride than how many TLD wearing groms are going to 'like' our bikes go out and buy the bikes for the benefits they offer. Two years ago, 29'er sales were driven by fashionable hype... today they're driven by the benefits they offer and are only being held back by haters. Seems to be I can recall a time people thought it was stupid to try and ride a 26" bike at the skate park cause all you really needed was a 20" but look where we are now... and there's already multiple companies developing 29'er DH bikes. I can't say they'll stick but really the only thing that holds them back in any way is the lack of really strong lightweight wheels to avoid the inherent flex of the larger diameter & haters that keep presenting downsides to bikes they don't even ride.

 i see your contaminated too... there was a long debat on here about this and 29 over 26 was not a straight out winner.. you must have thought about the fact that ANY company will part in, in the winnings that can be made by hypes...
or are you really that naive ?
and as i said sure 29 will have some benefits as in the debat happened.. roll resistance for one.. thats why i noted XC.. but for the larger wheel weight and other cons.. its just not suited for hard abuse.. maybe when we will learn to discard flimsy rims like ztr and such.. and we will accept to run slighly heavier rims.. 29 might have a chance.. but still there is the question about rotational weight.. /

 LMAO... yeah, I'm "contaminated". I don't a shit about any debate you had, I actually make up my mind for myself. And if I, at 235lbs, can ride a 5.5" travel 29'er over shit that I'd ride with my 7" 26'er without any trouble but a little more noticeable flex in the wheel... then they definitely have a place beyond XC. The rolling resistance isn't actually a function of the larger diameter so much as it is tire choice, composition, and pressure. The big benefits come in the roll out from the larger wheel and the angle of attack presented by the larger diameter... so, while you were sitting around hating on the hype, I went out and got the facts, put MY ASS on a 29'er and ripped the trails that I RIDE and decided I enjoyed the ride... so, if that's what you call contaminated, then sure we'll go with that.

Apart from that, the rest of your post is just more lemon-lime haterade based in ignorance... Do you really think companies like Intense, who don't have a massive budget and resources to piss away on 'hype' projects are going to invest in things like their "2951" if there aren't people who want to ride them?? Not everyone who rides DH takes hard lines or weighs 200+ lbs. I know pro's who ride glorfied XC rims and they last them twice as long as my 823's last me because they take good lines and float over shit that I go smashing through so, no... you don't need tank wheels to get down the course on a 29'er. Or did you miss the video of Cedric Gracia rippin shit up on his 29'er??? I suppose that was just hype too right???

...and at this point, it's not a question of whether 29'er "might have a chance"... they're here, they're not going anywhere, and they're getting more popular every day as people quit listening to haters like you and start actually riding them. In fact, I have yet to meet someone who's ridden one for more than a few hours who still talks shit about them.

 see you were on the pro side of the discussion... go play with your road bike buddy.. its got big wheels too..

 Awhhh... hater got his feelings hurt!


I do play with my road bike, and my downhill bike, and my freeride bike, and my 29'er... versatility is the mark of a real man... whining is the mark of a bitter woman... so you keep whining with your panties in a knot and I'll keeping riding the whole array of great bikes at my disposal.

  I suppose thats why pretty much every dh pro trains on the road as well as the dirt then right? I mean, I realize you're an authority on being gay and all but in this case you're just wrong. I'd venture to bet that i've had better success picking up women in just the time I've spent on my 'gay' road bike than you've had in your entire life.

 now thats a straight out guess.. what not can be won from my profile.. this is conversation has fallen to its no longer use depth.. maybe in the US road bikes are legit.. but here in europe it's a different thing.. you wear spandex..you're out..

 1st... your whole post makes almost no sense.

2nd... I guess someone forgot to tell Gee he's "out"... www.pinkbike.com/photo/7612738 ... or Steve Peat or Minnaar... ot Cedric... or maybe, you're just an ignorant bigot with something against people who like to ride road bikes. I'm guessing the latter is true.

 @Cyberhawk: Bollocks are you 'out' if you wear spandex/lycra if you're in Europe, what about the Tour De France for starters? That’s just an ignorant comment!!

Here's another picture to back up BBLB too,all of the Athertons riding road bikes

www.pinkbike.com/photo/6193127

 i really dont give a rats ass what you guys do.. or find acceptable. tour de france"held in europe or not.. spandex is öut
no real free style biket will rest its ass on a road bike.. and for your example of the athertons.. racers are a different kind of breed..

 How is spandex out in Europe? I've seen people wearing it on road bikes everywhere I've gone in the U.K and France

I know of a few DH riders who do road and wear lycra for training, also MX riders.

 @Cyberhawk... just stop replying to my photo man, your ignorance is literally making me sick. You're a bigot with an issue with roadies like 1000 other douchebags out there, get over it. For real men, we're comfortable with how we look in spandex or anything else and we like to ride bikes for the fun and the fitness... no one really gives a shit if you approve or if you and your little gang of anti-roadie douchebags think we're "in" or we're "out"... we're having a great time, staying fit, and unquestionably getting more tail than you and your little homophobic band of anti-roadie fags. Now just move along, I'm sick of you clogging up my dashboard with your dumbass statements.

 Click on 'Only allow friends to comment' at the bottom of the photo and it will stop him from commenting.

 You ride a Devinci bike*

 probably posted this from his phone, must of been the damn autocorrect !

 Dunno... got it from PB's FB sharing of a photo on Diamondback's wall... Stats are from BPSA according to the fine print in the picture though.