[kgm]

Yeah I fully understand the reasoning behind it.

It's alot easier to sell a new & improved thing than just a revamped old thing. No matter what you do to your 26" bike, its just a 26' bike. But this new one is better! I supposedly can fit 650b on my top fuel but with probably zero clearance. I'm intrigued but I also have 7 26" bikes.

I guess I find the "mistake" the industry made in 29er bikes as a more natural progression of market. Whatever, it's just another bike. Did people bitch this hard about 650c dying out?

1" difference does alot, for those downplaying it. Would you cry your heart out if you slapped a 150mm fork on your bike and lost your precious head angle? Stink about it!

 

[dan-o]

Mickey is a full of **** blow-hard.
Reality is real.

 

[Tomasis]

kgm, i wont care if I own new banshee frame with flip outs

 

[jonKranked]

Regions definitely have different trends but as a whole 29er sales are up something like 110% from '11 to '12. 26" inch bikes were also up but only about 10-15% if I remember correctly. There were also a couple quotes in one of the latest Bicycle Retailers where shop owners and a couple bike manufacturers said that 29er sales were the biggest reason for having a positive sales year. I think they're hoping to have the same results with the 650b movement over the next few years.

Nearly every industry is cyclical. Moments of stagnant retail sales often have to be shaken up by dramatic changes. In 10 years we'll all be bitching about how they're switching to 675C sized wheels or something...

Reading Bicycle Retailer is like reading The Onion

 

[OGRipper]

We endlessly debate miniscule details here and argue that even the smallest things can make a difference. At the same time, some of you seriously think there is no difference between 26 and 650B?

 

[kidwoo]

At the same time, some of you seriously think there is no difference between 26 and 650B?

Ooh! I know! I know!




About two more wheel builds per year?

 

[gemini2k]

High-End 26" bikes are already dead on the retail floor, and they have been for a few years in most markets.
Walk into your average shop and try to find a high end 26" bike or part. There aren't any.

That's not a conspiracy, it's just that nobody wants to buy 26" bikes any more.

What planet do you live on??

 

[SuspectDevice]

LBS stocks butchers and minions in 26 x 2.5. Also hillbillys.

Yeah, that's downhill, a minuscule segment of the bike market(like um, it doesn't involve pedaling up hills) and not applicable to a discussion about mountainbikes as a whole.

Go drive around Boston and try to find some high end tires, wheels or frames for XC riding(you know, "normal mountainbiking") on a shop floor. Try that in Pittsburgh, Madison, Chicago, Houston, Miami, Cleveland, Baltimore, DC, Columbus, San Francisco, LA- pretty much anywhere and you won't see f*ck all for 26" bikes or product because nobody wanted to buy it any more after it turned out that 29" wheels work better for most riders. The kool-aid is real.

Try to find some 26" wheels at a race too... They aren't any.

It's not that people who don't ride sickgnar DH like the rest of us are "ghey" and have compensatory needs that they're filling by not buying 26" bikes any more, it's that 29" wheels have a lot more going for them for most riders and most applications and that they're easier to sell and ride.

The market spoke years ago about the death of 26" wheels- they stopped selling in considerable numbers outside of Northern Europe years ago.

There are still lots of people who like the positive attributes of 26" wheels(like everyone who has posted in this thread, and me).

Bike companies are saving smaller wheels altogether by pushing 650b stuff out there. It's pissing off some people who don't understand that 26" wheels are dead, but it's not some big corporate conspiracy, it's evolution.

650b wheels aren't 29" wheels. Therefore they are more-betterer for Ridemonkey pundits, even if they don't realize it...

 

[OGRipper]

Ooh! I know! I know!


About two more wheel builds per year?

Good point. What we really need are snap-on 26" > 650B CONVERTERS so you don't need new wheels!! We can make them out of bamboo. Kickstarter! You in?

 

[jonKranked]

Speaking to Mickey's point, 29ers have been outselling 26" bikes for years.

 

[mattmatt86]

Reading Bicycle Retailer is like reading The Onion

Moar Oniony goodness...

29er's made a huge splash, they're hoping for a bigger one with 650b.

 

[kidwoo]

Good point. What we really need are snap-on 26" > 650B CONVERTERS so you don't need new wheels!! We can make them out of bamboo. Kickstarter! You in?

Rim diameter extenders.......awesome!

Problem Solvers will be making them within a year.

 

[gemini2k]

Moar Oniony goodness...

29er's made a huge splash, they're hoping for a bigger one with 650b.

Oh wow, looks like 26" is dead...with 75% of the market? Where are you people getting these "26 is dead" ideas? Unless 2012 is wayyyy worse for 26 I can't see where that idea is coming from. Just because it's not 100% anymore doesn't mean it might as well be zero.

 

[Tomasis]

yikes some just want to see stuffs as they WANT. 2,25" tires or 2,7" tires it is still about performance you get without being too much bothered. I could stick with old stuffs and rely on fresh tires for time being if im not gonna build new ones.

the reason we are talking is how to get prepared in case tire manucaturers stop offer 26" tires in small scale for even smaller scale of bike market as DH. Probaby a few years later.

thats all. As some mentioned word " EVOLUTION" . we get tapered forks, new types of BB, new geometry etc. etc.

 

[jonKranked]

G2k did you get my pm?

 

[gemini2k]

G2k did you get my pm?

Ya but your box is full.

 

[jonKranked]

Ya but your box is full.

oops. fixed now.

 

[Sandwich]

ramble ramble rant ramble

try finding a high end pair of 29er wheels next time you're out. High end stuff doesn't sell, or rather it doesn't sit on shelves. It's usually custom ordered and goes right on a customer's bike. No reason for crossmax anything to collect dust.

Very very very very very few shops stock high end parts. The LBS in question is one of them, and they have very high end, very small market tires in stock ready to go. They also stock Tracer29s and Nomads. Wait a second, did I just say they stock high end 26" bikes? Don't get me wrong, they sell and stock fat bikes and 29ers as well, but most of their wall was covered in 26 last time I was there in the fall. But I thought you told me I was wrong? You can't possibly stock high end mountain bikes, like a bandit 26 anymore, because 26" is dead.

Better tell the most successful LBS in the Boston area.

 

[gemini2k]

Bike companies are saving smaller wheels altogether by pushing 650b stuff out there. It's pissing off some people who don't understand that 26" wheels are dead, but it's not some big corporate conspiracy, it's evolution.

650b wheels aren't 29" wheels. Therefore they are more-betterer for Ridemonkey pundits, even if they don't realize it...

So "evolution" is gonna make my 2, 2 year old, $7k DH bikes worthless? Wow, sounds like the bike industry is really customer focused. Why would anyone ever invest in a MTB again if they get burned like that? How is that NOT a conspiracy? That sounds EXACTLY like an antitrust violation and collusion.

 

[BigBoi]

Cats and dogs, living together...mass hysteria!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[jonKranked]

Cats and dogs, living together...mass hysteria!!!!!!!!!!!!

Apparently Bill Murray has in fact signed on for ghostbusters 3

 

[BigBoi]

Apparently Bill Murray has in fact signed on for ghostbusters 3

I hadn't heard that but am not sure how to feel about it.
I'm a little nervous that Murray is going to fall victim just as almost all the other 80's comedy stars have fallen, doing comedies "the whole family can enjoy."

 

[BigBoi]

Ok, I do have one gripe. Why does everyone keep claiming 27.5 is the best of both worlds?
It's a compromise.

 

[OGRipper]

So "evolution" is gonna make my 2, 2 year old, $7k DH bikes worthless? Wow, sounds like the bike industry is really customer focused. Why would anyone ever invest in a MTB again if they get burned like that? How is that NOT a conspiracy? That sounds EXACTLY like an antitrust violation and collusion.

Yeesh. Seriously? We're talking about a bunch of companies independently trying to sell similar products. They will compete with each other on price and features, and consumers will benefit from that competition. How is that an evil conspiracy? Where is the intentional effort to limit competition or fix prices to screw the customers?

Your current DH bikes are losing value every day. They are also further from the cutting edge every day. That is true regardless of wheel size. If you like them, keep riding them. Did you really think of them as an investment that would hold value? Do you buy computers that way?

Sorry but this conspiracy stuff is just ridiculous to me. Sure, bike companies want to sell bikes and certainly some of this is about creating a desire for things people don't already have. But consumers remain free to decide that their existing bikes are good enough if that's what they want.

 

[SuspectDevice]

Oh wow, looks like 26" is dead...with 75% of the market? Where are you people getting these "26 is dead" ideas? Unless 2012 is wayyyy worse for 26 I can't see where that idea is coming from. Just because it's not 100% anymore doesn't mean it might as well be zero.

26" front suspension includes $260 entry-level bikes.
Even those are going 29" over the course of the next 2 model years.

 

[SuspectDevice]

WANT. 2,25" tires or 2,7" tires it is still about performance you get without being too much bothered. I could stick with old stuffs and rely on fresh tires for time being if im not gonna build new ones.

the reason we are talking is how to get prepared in case tire manucaturers stop offer 26" tires in small scale for even smaller scale of bike market as DH. Probaby a few years later.

HD casings are coming a lot sooner than you think.

 

[SuspectDevice]

So "evolution" is gonna make my 2, 2 year old, $7k DH bikes worthless? Wow, sounds like the bike industry is really customer focused. Why would anyone ever invest in a MTB again if they get burned like that? How is that NOT a conspiracy? That sounds EXACTLY like an antitrust violation and collusion.

Need a sandwich?

 

[VMARTINEZ]

Word on the street that BMX bikes are going from 20" wheels to 22" wheels by 2020.
The 24" wheels are just to big.
That's what I heard.
VM

 

[gemini2k]

Need a sandwich?

Yes, because I'm a little b*tch, and I can guarantee you it will be a LONGGGG time until I find a production 650b bike with an 18"+ reach.

And no, I'm not an idiot who thinks my DH bikes are an "investment". I just don't like being forced to spend thousands of dollars on new bikes because they decided to stop making tires for my bikes that they had been making for 10-15 years previously without question.

I don't care what other people are riding. All the idiots in the world can ride 650b for what I care, I just don't wanna be left sitting with 3, several thousand dollar paper weights in my garage.

 

[daisycutter]

I don't care what other people are riding. All the idiots in the world can ride 650b for what I care, I just don't wanna be left sitting with 3, several thousand dollar paper weights in my garage.[/QUOTE]

What he said

 

[mattmatt86]

The History Of The Beginnings Of The Modern 29"er

If you have some time that's a pretty good read about the history of cycling wheel sizes.

 

[gemini2k]

So, I went to my LBS on my lunch break today. And I took a look around. It seems I am behind the times. About 80% of their high end (>$1200) MTB's were 29'ers. You jerk-asses were right! I realized I've become one of those old men wishing for simpler times, riding old school bikes, complaining about young kids and their technologies.

 

[kgm]

They're not going to stop making tires. You people are nuts! Chill out.

 

[CrabJoe StretchPants]

So, I went to my LBS on my lunch break today. And I took a look around. It seems I am behind the times. About 80% of their high end (>$1200) MTB's were 29'ers. You jerk-asses were right! I realized I've become one of those old men wishing for simpler times, riding old school bikes, complaining about young kids and their technologies.

That just means that particular LBS was a ****ty one.

 

[Inclag]

Wait.... There are companies that compete within markets which are over saturated and commodity based and they are adjusting low hanging fruit variables and marketing compelling stories as a means of establishing a profitable business ... color me surprised!

 

[CrabJoe StretchPants]

Wait.... There are companies that compete within markets which are over saturated and commodity based and they are adjusting low hanging fruit variables and marketing compelling stories as a means of establishing a profitable business ... color me surprised!

It's easier to just stick a DW sticker on it.

 

[Sandwich]

It's easier to just stick a DW sticker on it.

must spread

 

[Zark]

That just means that particular LBS was a ****ty one.

That is my shop asshat, and if the floor wasn't mostly 29'r, nothing would sell. Your opinion doesn't reflect retail reality. I don't own a 29'r and don't plan to, but saying a shop is **** for having them is ignorance.

 

[gemini2k]

That just means that particular LBS was a ****ty one.

Yeah dude, it was a REALLY sketchy shop.

 

[marshalolson]

Oh wow, looks like 26" is dead...with 75% of the market? Where are you people getting these "26 is dead" ideas? Unless 2012 is wayyyy worse for 26 I can't see where that idea is coming from. Just because it's not 100% anymore doesn't mean it might as well be zero.

Looks at full suspension 26 and 29 numbers (you know... Basically all high end bikes these days).

Certainly not dead, but being brutalized non-the-less.