Getting back into MTB - advice needed
Discussion
Hi All -
This should probably be in singletrackworld forum of similar - but i always appreciate the advice of fellow pistonheaders on matters two wheeled...
After a lull of a couple of years, and following going to the Afan trail centre with some mates a while back - Have decided to get 'back in the saddle' with mountain biking.
It's been a few years, but everything seems to have gone a bit odd: (29" wheels, 27.5" wheels etc.)
a trip to the local bike shop and discussion with the young lad serving proffered the information that the 26" bike would be "pretty much redundant" in a couple of years. hhhmmmmm....
So - my question to the MTB fraternity - is this all marketing bull?
I'm looking to get into a full suss bike if possible - but i understand that 29" with their high rolling capabilities make full suss lass of an imperative for anything other than really harsh trails...
Any opinion on this: - looks like good value
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/fuji/outland-2...
This should probably be in singletrackworld forum of similar - but i always appreciate the advice of fellow pistonheaders on matters two wheeled...
After a lull of a couple of years, and following going to the Afan trail centre with some mates a while back - Have decided to get 'back in the saddle' with mountain biking.
It's been a few years, but everything seems to have gone a bit odd: (29" wheels, 27.5" wheels etc.)
a trip to the local bike shop and discussion with the young lad serving proffered the information that the 26" bike would be "pretty much redundant" in a couple of years. hhhmmmmm....
So - my question to the MTB fraternity - is this all marketing bull?
I'm looking to get into a full suss bike if possible - but i understand that 29" with their high rolling capabilities make full suss lass of an imperative for anything other than really harsh trails...
Any opinion on this: - looks like good value
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/fuji/outland-2...
BERGS2 said:
It's been a few years, but everything seems to have gone a bit odd: (29" wheels, 27.5" wheels etc.)
a trip to the local bike shop and discussion with the young lad serving proffered the information that the 26" bike would be "pretty much redundant" in a couple of years. hhhmmmmm....
So - my question to the MTB fraternity - is this all marketing bull?
Yes, well some of it. Some people don' like 29"ers, but they certainly have their place, to me they'll always be XC machines for doing piles of miles a day over hill and dale, if you want to act the trail hooligan I'd personally go smaller.a trip to the local bike shop and discussion with the young lad serving proffered the information that the 26" bike would be "pretty much redundant" in a couple of years. hhhmmmmm....
So - my question to the MTB fraternity - is this all marketing bull?
27.5" wheel are utter bulls
t though, they're not even 27.5" for a start, they're actually 27.1" I know that's splitting hairs, but to my mind if the industry collectively decides to lie about the actual size because it's easier to sell "best of both worlds" rather than "a little bit bigger than the one you have now" I smell bullst. Ultimately it's a gamble though, one thing I am certain about it that within a year or two either 26" or 27" will be dead in terms of new bikes and a few years later spares are going to get very hard to find - it will all depend on 2014 bike sales, some bike makers like Lapierre have gone in with both feet and stopped selling 26" completely, some like Spesh don't sell any 27" bikes at all - most have a mix of all 3 sizes, it will all depend on who has the best year, territories makes a big difference too - North America is usually first to jump on any new bandwagon, they were talking about the death of 26" a few years ago when so many people switched to 29 and they're equally all over 27", European riders don't like to change as much.
There's nothing to split them in terms of the way they ride, it's just a case of not being the guy holding the Betamax of bikes at the end of next year.
I think 26" will persist - it's been around forever and people like the format. I'm short, so a 26" wheeled bike feels more chuckable than a 29er.
There's no doubt that a larger wheel offers better/lower rolling resistance though, so for XC I can see 29" becoming the norm.
27.5ers will die-off as all fads should.
There's no doubt that a larger wheel offers better/lower rolling resistance though, so for XC I can see 29" becoming the norm.
27.5ers will die-off as all fads should.
I can't offer a qualified opinion on what will persist and what will be consigned to history, but my opinion is that yes - it is all marketing BS. 26" mountain bikes have been around for decades. World cups and Olympic medals have been won and the boundaries of the sport have been pushed far beyond what the early pioneers of the sport would have thought possible. The size of the wheels which people are riding on has never had any influence on this (remember the 24" wheel jump fad of about 10 years ago, and even better when Cannondale decided that 26" up front and 24" at the back was a great idea!)
It's ALL being driven by marketing BS in an increasingly competitive market operating within a global recession. The bike industry is creating new sectors and convincing the the press to tell us all that we need to buy it. The only losers will be the consumers who'll be forced to buy a new bike as spares for their existing machines become sparse. If you want to ride long in the saddle all day get yourself a cross bike. They've been around since forever for exactly this purpose. Mountain biking is a very different way of riding and the 26" wheel is perfect for it.
It's ALL being driven by marketing BS in an increasingly competitive market operating within a global recession. The bike industry is creating new sectors and convincing the the press to tell us all that we need to buy it. The only losers will be the consumers who'll be forced to buy a new bike as spares for their existing machines become sparse. If you want to ride long in the saddle all day get yourself a cross bike. They've been around since forever for exactly this purpose. Mountain biking is a very different way of riding and the 26" wheel is perfect for it.
As had been said 29" are fine for hardtail XC machines - and for covering lots of miles of varied territory.
27.5/650b is nonsense - offers no noticeable advantages over 26" and is just a cynical effort to sell bikes - one which most people have seen through.
26" will be around for a long while yet - and aftermarket for the same longer still
27.5/650b is nonsense - offers no noticeable advantages over 26" and is just a cynical effort to sell bikes - one which most people have seen through.
26" will be around for a long while yet - and aftermarket for the same longer still
OP, where will you be riding, and on what terrain? I am a died-in-the-wool 26", hardtail, which is just about ok for me in the South Downs. I understand a 29er would deal with this terrain slightly better, requiring less effort on my part, but have never tried one. If I was in the market, I would certainly try one.
If you are out on more severe bumpy terrain then a full susser may be a better bet. I spent a day on two full sussers up in the quarries north of Manchester, courtesy of my brother in law last year. Started on a Trek, couple of years old, probably around £1500 new. Was great, felt so much better than my hardtail at absorbing the crashes and bangs of the big rocks. After about 90 mins, was just starting to tire and I had thought about calling it a day. My brother in law suggested I tried his new Kona (circa £3k) and it was like getting in a big comfy armchair, I was reinvigorated, and we did another hour or so, felt like the bike was doing all the work. You get what you pay for!
I also think the 27.5 ers will die out, but can see both 26 and 29s being around for plenty of time yet.
If you are out on more severe bumpy terrain then a full susser may be a better bet. I spent a day on two full sussers up in the quarries north of Manchester, courtesy of my brother in law last year. Started on a Trek, couple of years old, probably around £1500 new. Was great, felt so much better than my hardtail at absorbing the crashes and bangs of the big rocks. After about 90 mins, was just starting to tire and I had thought about calling it a day. My brother in law suggested I tried his new Kona (circa £3k) and it was like getting in a big comfy armchair, I was reinvigorated, and we did another hour or so, felt like the bike was doing all the work. You get what you pay for!
I also think the 27.5 ers will die out, but can see both 26 and 29s being around for plenty of time yet.
Have a go on a few. I've tried 29s and they do ride differently - faster in a straight line but just a bit less agile when things get technical. I'm sure you get use to them though. 650b just seem that similar to 26 inch wheel bikes that I can't imagine they can be any different. Not ridden one though.
Not sure where things will end up - XC bikes seem to be heading towards 29 and trail/AM bikes towards 650b. It may be marketing but if that's all that's being sold, that's where we'll all end up.
That said, I parted with a couple of grand on a 26 inch wheeled bike this time last year and it never bothered me to be choosing an 'out of date' wheel size. I'm 5 foot 8 and like smaller framed chuckable bikes so the wheel size seemed the right one for me.
Maybe my Strava times are suffering because of my choice...
Not sure where things will end up - XC bikes seem to be heading towards 29 and trail/AM bikes towards 650b. It may be marketing but if that's all that's being sold, that's where we'll all end up.
That said, I parted with a couple of grand on a 26 inch wheeled bike this time last year and it never bothered me to be choosing an 'out of date' wheel size. I'm 5 foot 8 and like smaller framed chuckable bikes so the wheel size seemed the right one for me.
Maybe my Strava times are suffering because of my choice...
TwistingMyMelon said:
I have a feelings manufacturers might squeeze out 26"s in the longer run whether we want it or not...
In the longer run? There's this small low volume manufacturer …Giant or something. 2014 range:
http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bike-finder/ev...
I understand in Utah you can't buy 26ers any more, so says a friend of mine who's just come back from there and visited a few shops. He was stunned by that.
Having said that, I think there is a space for 26ers, and if anyone want to buy my 2012 Yeti 575 with crossmax slr wheels, let me know… it's cracking bike and willing to look at offers! £4500 new it cost!
TwistingMyMelon said:
I have a feelings manufacturers might squeeze out 26"s in the longer run whether we want it or not...
They'd be mental to do so - they'd simply create a huge aftermarket for someone to clean up on, because there are people out there to whom the technical niceties of wheel diameter (and width, for that matter - see fat Bikes) is secondary to their financial means and/or the fact they've a garage/shed full of 26 parts and tyres.I'd say that for people less interested in jumping and generally throwing bikes about, the 29er is the better way to go, but that siad, it is helping to bring used 26 XC bikes prices down, and they are still worth considering.
TwistingMyMelon said:
I have a feelings manufacturers might squeeze out 26"s in the longer run whether we want it or not...
This, very few of the major players (if any) are offering both 26" and 27" versions of the same bike so it will be a case of who wins and loses this year, if Giant and Lapierre take a bath in 2014 with their 27" only offering whilst Spesh clean up with a few range of 26"ers they'll being rushing out 26" wheeled bikes so quickly their heads will spin, but if Spesh struggle they'll follow suit for 2015 and 26" is basically dead and whether we want it or not 26" becomes 'old'. It doesn't mean you won't be able to buy tyres, forks for our existing bikes (not straight away anyway) but development will stop dead.except some trail centres are tight and the longer wheel base of a 29er may be too big to get smoothly round, saying that it does depend on the whole bike geometry, the best option is to set a sensible budget (£500+ for a hardtail and £1.5K+ for full sus) then see what you can get and how like it of course the default answer is Orange Five in dayglo pink.
Daveyraveygravey said:
OP, where will you be riding, and on what terrain? I am a died-in-the-wool 26", hardtail, which is just about ok for me in the South Downs. I understand a 29er would deal with this terrain slightly better, requiring less effort on my part, but have never tried one. If I was in the market, I would certainly try one.
Locally; Box Hill/Surrey hills with hopefully Afan/cwymcarn trail centres at least a couple of times a year.Last steed was a Santa Cruz Superlight - which was a blast up and down Afan - but with three kids now, the budget is a little lower... ;-)
any opinions on the fuji? does seem cheap for a full suss 29er...
BERGS2 said:
Locally; Box Hill/Surrey hills with hopefully Afan/cwymcarn trail centres at least a couple of times a year.
Last steed was a Santa Cruz Superlight - which was a blast up and down Afan - but with three kids now, the budget is a little lower... ;-)
any opinions on the fuji? does seem cheap for a full suss 29er...
I would say that's cheap because most of the components aren't from the usual suppliers. Also triple chainrings are going out of fashion, though maybe they'll stick around on XC bikes. Last steed was a Santa Cruz Superlight - which was a blast up and down Afan - but with three kids now, the budget is a little lower... ;-)
any opinions on the fuji? does seem cheap for a full suss 29er...
As to what bike you want, it all depends on what kind of riding you prefer and to some extent how big you are - 29" wheels make more sense in a larger frame I think. If you want to ride technical tight singletrack or hit bigger drops then a 26/27 will be more fun. I ride the Surrey Hills all the time and you could ride pretty much everything comfortably on a 29er but personally I think it's more fun on a longer travel 26/27. (As been said before there's virtually no difference between 26 and 27 but the industry does seem to be tipping towards 27 so I'm going that way for my next bike).
If you want value then have a look at this http://www.canyon.com/_en/mountainbikes/bike.html?...
I currently have a 26 inch hard tail, but was buying a new full sus for this year, so I went 27.5 but after looking at most bike makers, it was amazing how many have dropped the 26 inch wheel. After speaking to a few bike shops about wheel size they all said that the 26er was gone in most ranges.Dales in Glasgow we're completely shocked that the 26er was dropped so quick. But asking if you were to buy a bike with your own money, more or less everyone said 27.5 if they had to choose between the 2 sizes.
Different wheel sizes, an extra cog each model year, tapered forks etc etc just make keeping your bike going a PITA. Before you know it, the previous size is redundant and you have to start trawling ebay for S/H parts.
My cynical side says that's the idea. It becomes easier to just succumb to buying a new bike every few years.
My cynical side says that's the idea. It becomes easier to just succumb to buying a new bike every few years.
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