Has anyone debated 26" vs. 27.5"?

PB Forum :: All Mountain, Enduro & Cross-Country
Has anyone debated 26" vs. 27.5"?
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flag a-prufrock
Posted: Aug 18, 2019 at 8:28 Quote
I like your explanation. It makes sense the way you say it, now.
flag R-M-R
Posted: Aug 18, 2019 at 8:51 Quote
a-prufrock wrote:
I like your explanation. It makes sense the way you say it, now.

Thanks!

I used to work for a custom builder. My favourite projects were always spec'ing bikes for riders far outside the norm, especially for very small women. Bikes are designed for the "average" rider, which is approximately a 5'11", 175 lb man.
Some of the women I assisted were under 5' and 100 lbs; most aspects of their bikes were terribly mismatched to their needs.
flag fielonator
Posted: Aug 18, 2019 at 11:44 Quote
R-M-R wrote:
Bikes are designed for the "average" rider, which is approximately a 5'11", 175 lb man.

That's me! Score!
flag R-M-R
Posted: Aug 18, 2019 at 12:18 Quote
fielonator wrote:
R-M-R wrote:
Bikes are designed for the "average" rider, which is approximately a 5'11", 175 lb man.

That's me! Score!

I'm close, too, at 6', 180 lb.

The world is our oyster. Let us go forth and underperform in ergonomic bliss. lol
flag fielonator
Posted: Aug 18, 2019 at 23:49 Quote
R-M-R wrote:
fielonator wrote:
R-M-R wrote:
Bikes are designed for the "average" rider, which is approximately a 5'11", 175 lb man.

That's me! Score!

I'm close, too, at 6', 180 lb.

The world is our oyster. Let us go forth and underperform in ergonomic bliss. lol

It's not really me. I'm 5'8" with 4' legs, no torso, arms on backwards and an ape index of +30". There's not much of anything that fits well.
flag R-M-R
Posted: Aug 19, 2019 at 0:03 Quote
fielonator wrote:
It's not really me. I'm 5'8" with 4' legs, no torso, arms on backwards and an ape index of +30". There's not much of anything that fits well.

But when you find something that fits you, it will surely be in the Clearance section, so that's a plus Wink
flag a-prufrock
Posted: Aug 21, 2019 at 15:41 Quote
R-M-R wrote:
a-prufrock wrote:
I like your explanation. It makes sense the way you say it, now.

Thanks!

I used to work for a custom builder. My favourite projects were always spec'ing bikes for riders far outside the norm, especially for very small women. Bikes are designed for the "average" rider, which is approximately a 5'11", 175 lb man.
Some of the women I assisted were under 5' and 100 lbs; most aspects of their bikes were terribly mismatched to their needs.

That's awesome! Yeah floating at 6'4 makes it hard to find matching bikes for myself, but also gives the opportunity to create bikes that work for me.
flag Bikerdude137
Posted: Jun 14, 2020 at 23:17 Quote
krattAtak wrote:
R-M-R wrote:
Ghostintheskin wrote:
[...] move up to 650b. By then it should be the standard, though I have a suspicion 26" will be around in some form.

26" has been dead for so long that, while you weren't looking, 650b became standard and is already on the decline! 29" is becoming the standard and it's possible 650b will eventually become only for rear wheels or Plus tires.
If 29 becomes the standard over 27.5 I might quit mountain biking. 26 isn’t dead. I have a Banshee Spitfire which is convertible between 26 and 27.5 on a new bike. I maybe running it with 27.5 but 26 is more fun(slower but more fun). Just go with what’s cheapest with good geo. Just remember 29 is for roadies and xc and doesn’t belong in dh and enduro.
I have a 29er downhill bike and it's 10 times more fun then 26
26 is dead and 27,5 is standard unless you're shorter than 5 feet you should be riding 27,5 it's faster and it's not "less fun" as you say geometry plays a big part in that a bike built to be raced will not be fun to jump just like you wouldn't try and race a WC track with a dirt jumper
flag Bikerdude137
Posted: Jun 14, 2020 at 23:27 Quote
englertracing wrote:
Ghostintheskin wrote:
I appreciate the input. I'm buying a used higher end bike, just new to me. I'm not sure I'm riding at a level where I'll notice a difference, but then again I've had enough things that seemed minor make pretty big changes to my riding.
Probably going to stick with 26" this time around, going from an '07 Spesh Enduro that I've been riding for the last 6 years to a carbon bike this time around, see what a light bike teaches me then move up to 650b. By then it should be the standard, though I have a suspicion 26" will be around in some form.
I had to break some bad habits stemming from my childhood dream of driving monster trucks and develop some "finesse" which probably looks more like an old drunk with a new leg.

I had the same idea 2 years ago and bought a pivot 5.7 which was 26". It was stolen, im now on 27.5" 5.5
personally I don't think there is much wrong with a 26" but the problem is the geometry of all the bikes of the 26" era. That 5.7 was a pretty bitch XC bike with extra travel, and that is exactly how it handled, I used an angle set to slack it out,
I had it shredding before it went away but it was still a short TT, slack STA bike with a dropper in the minimum seat height was high for someone over 6'.

so basically get the newest bike you can...... even to the point of going alloy
priorities should be
1 geometry
2 geometry
3 suspension
4 suspension
5 weight
30980298348 frame material
and you can insert cost in between any two of those after geometry


lets back up,
how about yourself and your skill level and your terrain?


I mean if your like 5ft 8 or something it might be reasonable to go buy someones 10,000$ Ibis mojo 26" for 1500$-2000$ throw an angle set in it and a short stem and have a 27lb super bike thats "no good anymore" but that absolutely rips (thats what I wanted to do for my gf)
I feel theres sort of a scale thing, like an xs 29" bike is dumb as hell, and is likely to hit your feet when you turn the front wheel, and a 26" XXL is also a really stupid bike as 26" wheels are not so proportional to a 6ft 6 dude. and 1300mm wheelbase.
Frame material should come before weight
It has a much larger impact on how you ride compared to 1 lb of weight
And the first suspension should be the design and second should be how high end it is so as an example
1 geometry
2 size (you probably should have figured this out already but whatever)
3 suspension design (high pivot, six link, four bar, single pivot(preferably linkage driven)
4 suspension (fox, rockshox, ohlins as long as it does something)
5 frame design/material
Etc...
flag skerby
Posted: Sep 15, 2020 at 7:26 Quote
edit: didnt read whole post, I concur.
flag eweiter
Posted: Sep 15, 2020 at 9:20 Quote
Go with 27.5, it's getting harder to find parts for 26. Go online and try finding tires, plenty of 27.5 and 29 options, practically none for 26 unless it's a cruiser, dirt jumper or fat bike

 


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