ratherbeintobago wrote: ....650b/27.5, on the other hand, seems to be being pushed really hard by manufacturers who missed the 29er boat, and, given the wheels are a whole 1" bigger than 26er wheels (much closer to 27" than 27.5") it's hard to see this as anything other than a marketing ploy....
I agree that 650B is a marketing ploy, but I also think that '29ers' have always been one too. Something for bike designers and 'those who must have the latest thing' to get excited about, but hardly a deal breaker for most riders IMHO.
However there are advantages to any 700C-wheeled bike; when you decide you want to ride it on the road, you will have a much wider selection of easy-rolling tyres to choose from than in many other sizes.
Personally like my Halo Combat wheels on my Land Rover mountain bike. According to the Cycle mag bike shops are now selling 650B, 27.5 and 29 ins so the 26ins size will eventually be phased out so tyre choice could become limited.
I think that for myself coming from a roads background if I was to buy a MTB it would probably be a 29er, just because the types of trails I'd be doing would likely be ex-railway tracks, forest fire roads and the likes, rather than really technical stuff. But then I would be thinking why not a CX bike?!
But there's a somewhat sensible move to 650b which supposedly combines the advantages of both, or is it the disadvantages?
Bikefayre wrote:Personally like my Halo Combat wheels on my Land Rover mountain bike. According to the Cycle mag bike shops are now selling 650B, 27.5 and 29 ins so the 26ins size will eventually be phased out so tyre choice could become limited.
Bikefayre wrote:Personally like my Halo Combat wheels on my Land Rover mountain bike. According to the Cycle mag bike shops are now selling 650B, 27.5 and 29 ins so the 26ins size will eventually be phased out so tyre choice could become limited.
Not honestly sure this will be a real issue in the short/medium term as there are so many 26" bikes about.
And 27.5/650B are the same thing; 27.5" is a misnomer as it implies it's 1.5" bigger than 26", when it's actually more like 1" (& 29ers are 2.5")
Yep. I'd still expect many of those rigid steel 26" bikes from the 80s and 90s to be doing the rounds as commuters for another 20 years. Also, bikes are still being made in the 26" size. We might see a reduction in choice, (particularly in specialist, premium and race tyres) as time goes by but I think it will be a long time before it could be called limited.
If they ever get phased out at all. I don't want to attempt to predict the next trend...
I've ridden 26 inch wheel bikes since they've been around and currently have 5, including my tourer. I've been riding on tracks and genuinely off-road with Spanish lads in Spain and they have 29ers. Even though I'm as heavy as them, they descend faster and are much better on bad cobbles etc. I'm thinking of getting a 29er, not a 27.5. In for a penny, in for a pound.
Just read an article in a mtb marketing rag in a waiting room. Forget about 29" wheels the future is apparently 27.5+, this being a 650b wheel with a large volume tyre on it to bring the outer diameter up to 29".
How many years before we read about the real benefits of the 26+ wheel, ie a small strong wheel with a large volume tyre to bring the outer diameter up to whatever 650b corresponds to? As long as the clearances are such that you have to buy a new frame...
Cripes this is just like the .175 vs .22 debate in the airgun world. Now the debate is about a .20 calibre! Naff all choice of ammo in that size.
I'm short: My last bike was small but with 700s. My newest bike is small with 27s. All the rest have been MBs with 27s. In my limited experience I prefer the fit of my bikes with 27s and I like the choice of tyres you get.
I can't see much in it so as one good man has said already: It's you who has the wallet and it's you and your bones who knows what's going to fit best...b
Can we stick to one sizing convention? This talk of 27s is making me dizzy. My 27" rims are bigger diameter than my 28 and 29" rims (which conveniently happen to be exactly the same diameter as each other)
hufty wrote:How many years before we read about the real benefits of the 26+ wheel, ie a small strong wheel with a large volume tyre to bring the outer diameter up to whatever 650b corresponds to? As long as the clearances are such that you have to buy a new frame...