Who is still on a 26 and plans to stay that way?

PB Forum :: All Mountain, Enduro & Cross-Country
Who is still on a 26 and plans to stay that way?
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flag Darknut
O+
Posted: May 28, 2014 at 11:12 Quote
I have a 2013 covert 26 & love it ... I have zero plans to ever go to 29 or 27.5

If 26's goes way on all new bike down the road, I'll just ride used bikes .... I believe parts will be available for years.
flag ajax-ripper
Posted: May 28, 2014 at 11:16 Quote
Honestly, the difference between a 27.5" wheel and a 26" wheel is so negligible most people won't notice a difference if you didn't tell them. hell with a large enough volume tire on a 26" wheel you have the same OD as a small volume tire on a 27.5... I imagine what you just siad is along the lines of guys 20 years ago saying if suspention forks catch on they would never ride them and just keep recycling used parts
flag Darknut
O+
Posted: May 28, 2014 at 11:35 Quote
ajax-ripper wrote:
Honestly, the difference between a 27.5" wheel and a 26" wheel is so negligible most people won't notice a difference if you didn't tell them. hell with a large enough volume tire on a 26" wheel you have the same OD as a small volume tire on a 27.5... I imagine what you just siad is along the lines of guys 20 years ago saying if suspension forks catch on they would never ride them and just keep recycling used parts

It's not that I have a problem with advancement in tech ... but 27.5 is not new (except for the name) or better but it is being force on us because the powers that be need something new to sell & are actively killing 26. I wouldn't even care about all that except for the fear that good 26 wheels & tire might get hard to get & expensive because of this stupidity.
flag ajax-ripper
Posted: May 28, 2014 at 11:36 Quote
Darknut wrote:
ajax-ripper wrote:
Honestly, the difference between a 27.5" wheel and a 26" wheel is so negligible most people won't notice a difference if you didn't tell them. hell with a large enough volume tire on a 26" wheel you have the same OD as a small volume tire on a 27.5... I imagine what you just siad is along the lines of guys 20 years ago saying if suspension forks catch on they would never ride them and just keep recycling used parts

It's not that I have a problem with advancement in tech ... but 27.5 is not new (except for the name) or better but it is being force on us because the powers that be need something new to sell & are actively killing 26. I wouldn't even care about all that except for the fear that good 26 wheels & tire might get hard to get & expensive because of this stupidity.
I know 650b has been arround for ages.. The point is you will need to buy a new bike in a few years when that time comes 27.5" may be the way to go.
flag Darknut
O+
Posted: May 28, 2014 at 12:04 Quote
ajax-ripper wrote:
Darknut wrote:
ajax-ripper wrote:
Honestly, the difference between a 27.5" wheel and a 26" wheel is so negligible most people won't notice a difference if you didn't tell them. hell with a large enough volume tire on a 26" wheel you have the same OD as a small volume tire on a 27.5... I imagine what you just siad is along the lines of guys 20 years ago saying if suspension forks catch on they would never ride them and just keep recycling used parts

It's not that I have a problem with advancement in tech ... but 27.5 is not new (except for the name) or better but it is being force on us because the powers that be need something new to sell & are actively killing 26. I wouldn't even care about all that except for the fear that good 26 wheels & tire might get hard to get & expensive because of this stupidity.
I know 650b has been arround for ages.. The point is you will need to buy a new bike in a few years when that time comes 27.5" may be the way to go.


Me buying 27.5 will never happen ...
flag Cackerman
Posted: May 28, 2014 at 14:55 Quote
Darknut wrote:
it is being force on us because the powers that be need something new to sell & are actively killing 26.

I preface what I am about to say by stating I am a little over a month away from turning 40 and have been riding/wrenching on mountain bikes for long enough that I know how to fully overhaul a Rock Shox Mag21 fork, without needing to Google it first. I also preface what I am about to say by saying I have 3 bikes, all 26” and have no desire to change wheel sizes either.

Having said that, I totally disagree with your statement. Yes, the powers that be marketed the new wheel sizes pretty hard. But they did not actively kill anything. Truth is sales for 26” bikes/products dropped off a cliff. Companies that were carrying deep 26” product lines got slapped. Customers are just not buying 26” anymore. I cannot expect companies to carry products that too few people care to buy. I mean, look at what happens to companies that refuse to move in the direction their customer base is going. Let’s ask Blockbuster how well that strategy panned out for them.

Companies market new products all the time, customers decide which survive with their wallets.

The other issue is the base of users on Pinkbike that actively use the forums, or write blogs, or make comments seem to be a weird cross section of dirt jumpers, downhillers and fuddy-duddies (the latter of which I am nearly initiated into). It seems the majority of Pinkbiker’s champion the 26” wheel, but the vocal majority here, is in fact a tiny minority for the mountain bike industry.

I believe 26” bikes will die off even more in the coming years, but never fully disappear. Then, a few years after that will re-emerge as a strong, trendy-niche kind of thing. Just like vinyl records or steel mountain bike frames.
flag dirtrider76
Posted: May 28, 2014 at 17:04 Quote
I've rode both 26 and 650b wheels on almost the identical bike. There wasnt a noticable difference between them. FWIW they both had the same tires and there was less than a 1/2" overall height difference between them.
flag nidgeslash9
Posted: May 28, 2014 at 17:16 Quote
I have 5 bikes from XC to DH. All are 26". My wife wants a new AM bike in the near future but it's so hard to find a new one, (where i live), that is still 26' I have no intention of changing. I'll just wait until the right bike comes alone rather than buy a different wheel size.
flag hecop
Posted: May 28, 2014 at 17:22 Quote
I'm going to continue with my 26" and the day I buy another it will be 26".
It's very simple, when 29" appeared all the companies said that it was the best bike they have ever built, for XC, trail and enduro. And now, 3 or 4 years latter we can see the reviews on 29ers, and they don't work anymore for anything (only for flat desert roads or for people that don't have any ability/skill on going downhill) and for climbing the same, companies have just "discovered" that 26" and 27.5" have more response and acceleration. And we don't need to talk about maneuverability in cornering and descending. You know the answer. So, all this things about wheel size is purely marketing. They need to sell, it's the job, sell us new bikes and bike parts. I'm sure that in 3-4 years it will be the same story with 27.5 like with 29ers.

And ... what about the millions of 26" bikes that are shreding around the world, Are they going to disappear?
flag EKrum
O+
Posted: May 28, 2014 at 18:31 Quote
I hope 26 disappears, then there will be tons of super cheap enve wheels and carbon frames no one but me wants.
flag Darknut
O+
Posted: May 28, 2014 at 18:53 Quote
Cackerman wrote:
Darknut wrote:
it is being force on us because the powers that be need something new to sell & are actively killing 26.

I preface what I am about to say by stating I am a little over a month away from turning 40 and have been riding/wrenching on mountain bikes for long enough that I know how to fully overhaul a Rock Shox Mag21 fork, without needing to Google it first. I also preface what I am about to say by saying I have 3 bikes, all 26” and have no desire to change wheel sizes either.

Having said that, I totally disagree with your statement. Yes, the powers that be marketed the new wheel sizes pretty hard. But they did not actively kill anything. Truth is sales for 26” bikes/products dropped off a cliff. Companies that were carrying deep 26” product lines got slapped. Customers are just not buying 26” anymore. I cannot expect companies to carry products that too few people care to buy. I mean, look at what happens to companies that refuse to move in the direction their customer base is going. Let’s ask Blockbuster how well that strategy panned out for them.

Companies market new products all the time, customers decide which survive with their wallets.

The other issue is the base of users on Pinkbike that actively use the forums, or write blogs, or make comments seem to be a weird cross section of dirt jumpers, downhillers and fuddy-duddies (the latter of which I am nearly initiated into). It seems the majority of Pinkbiker’s champion the 26” wheel, but the vocal majority here, is in fact a tiny minority for the mountain bike industry.

I believe 26” bikes will die off even more in the coming years, but never fully disappear. Then, a few years after that will re-emerge as a strong, trendy-niche kind of thing. Just like vinyl records or steel mountain bike frames.

26 bikes quit selling because the bike shops stopped trying to sell them or even stock any of them ...... at least in my neck of the woods
flag ajax-ripper
Posted: May 28, 2014 at 19:13 Quote
Darknut wrote:
Cackerman wrote:
Darknut wrote:
it is being force on us because the powers that be need something new to sell & are actively killing 26.

I preface what I am about to say by stating I am a little over a month away from turning 40 and have been riding/wrenching on mountain bikes for long enough that I know how to fully overhaul a Rock Shox Mag21 fork, without needing to Google it first. I also preface what I am about to say by saying I have 3 bikes, all 26” and have no desire to change wheel sizes either.

Having said that, I totally disagree with your statement. Yes, the powers that be marketed the new wheel sizes pretty hard. But they did not actively kill anything. Truth is sales for 26” bikes/products dropped off a cliff. Companies that were carrying deep 26” product lines got slapped. Customers are just not buying 26” anymore. I cannot expect companies to carry products that too few people care to buy. I mean, look at what happens to companies that refuse to move in the direction their customer base is going. Let’s ask Blockbuster how well that strategy panned out for them.

Companies market new products all the time, customers decide which survive with their wallets.

The other issue is the base of users on Pinkbike that actively use the forums, or write blogs, or make comments seem to be a weird cross section of dirt jumpers, downhillers and fuddy-duddies (the latter of which I am nearly initiated into). It seems the majority of Pinkbiker’s champion the 26” wheel, but the vocal majority here, is in fact a tiny minority for the mountain bike industry.

I believe 26” bikes will die off even more in the coming years, but never fully disappear. Then, a few years after that will re-emerge as a strong, trendy-niche kind of thing. Just like vinyl records or steel mountain bike frames.

26 bikes quit selling because the bike shops stopped trying to sell them or even stock any of them ...... at least in my neck of the woods
In my neck of the woods it became inpossible to sell a 26" hardtail and exceedingly difficult to sell a full suspention 26" wheel bike. Our main manufacturer at the shop i work at scrapped all the 26" full suser's the following year and replaced them with the 27.5" version which is very difficult to tell appart from the 26 with how it rides.. The bigger wheels are better then 26 for every aspect of riding that isnt dirt jumping or certain instances of downhill racing. The future is in larger wheel sizes with 26 staying arround for neiche markets not unlike vinyl records, and rigid single speed mtb's. Stop being a hippy go ride one of the big wheel bikes and realise that they are pretty neat.
flag alligatortaint
Posted: May 28, 2014 at 19:50 Quote
Quality 26" wheeled frames wont disappear. You will always be able to build a 26" wheelset to your liking. Companies like Transition, Knolly, Banshee, etc will always fit your need/want.


However, i'd definitely open up your mind and try some newer 27.5/29 wheeled rigs - they might surprise you.
flag Cackerman
Posted: May 28, 2014 at 20:21 Quote
Darknut wrote:
26 bikes quit selling because the bike shops stopped trying to sell them or even stock any of them ...... at least in my neck of the woods

Sorry bud, but you have it backwards. Bike shops stopped trying to sell/stock them because customers just aren't buying them. An average bike shop went from selling like 300 29" bikes and 700 26" bikes a year 4 years ago to selling 200 29" bikes, 700 27.5" bikes and 100 26" bikes this year. Any shop that decides to keep stocking 700 26" bikes this year basically gets to watch 600 customers walk out their door and go buy a 27.5" bike from a different shop.

If large numbers of customers were demanding 26" bikes, and paying big $$$ for 26" bikes, shops would be still be ordering them and manufacturers would be still be building them.
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