Should I just stick with 26" wheels?

[hufty]

Indeed, they are called fatbikes! And a growing trend they are too...

More of a fad than a trend I would have thought, but each to his own.
In any case, 27.5+ is being sold as the perfect compromise between 27.5 and fat bike, hence is not a fat bike. (Students of mtb marketing history will remember a similar argument for 650b being the perfect compromise between 26" and 29"). Importantly your 27.5+ bike will have suspension.

[Vantage]

I rode 26" all my mtb-ing life and will choose that size again when I hopefully get another mtb.
29er is a fad and nothing more. Thorn (I think it was them) did a test to see if there was any difference in ride quality between 26" and 700c and found very little between them. So they stuck to 26" as it's easier to find tyres in that size, anywhere, not just in Tibet.
Mountain bikes are supposed to be nimble, light, strong and have decent mud clearances. Bigger wheels require bigger frames reducing the nimbleness for certain sized cyclists. The extra material used to make bigger rims and tyres adds weight (although little). It's easier to bend and break a longer stick than a short one so in my mind, the same applies to longer spokes and clearances between frame and tyre will be smaller unless the frames get bigger, again, bad news for shorties like me.
With any luck, the idea of 29ers will go the same way as URT suspension frames and Cannondales famous but amazingly more stupid one legged suspension fork (if there was a facepalm smiley I'd use it here).

[Regurgatron]

I've got 2 29ers - a long travel full sus and a rigid singlespeed.

The 29ers are significantly faster up and down the mountain compared to my old 26" bikes, and the idea they are somehow less 'agile' or 'nimble' is just plain nonsense. I would not contemplate going back to a 26" wheeled bike.

The good news for the 26" dinosaurs is that they can now pick up loads of high-end 26" kit cheap as chips as the serious riders move to 27.5 and 29.

[Vantage]

The 29ers are significantly faster up and down the mountain compared to my old 26" bikes,

B******s.

The good news for the 26" dinosaurs is that they can now pick up loads of high-end 26" kit cheap as chips as the serious riders move to 27.5 and 29.

Pretty please with sugar on top, explain to us 'non-serious' types what a serious rider is. I await with baited breath.

[Regurgatron]

Pretty please with sugar on top, explain to us 'non-serious' types what a serious rider is. I await with baited breath.

To be honest, I'd dismissed you as a serious rider once you'd quoted Thorn as some sort of world authority on modern mountain bike design.

[Vantage]

[bikerwaser]

I've got 26" and 29" bikes

I enjoy them both for different reasons.

I have 3 bikes in total

I have a GT Zaskar 26" mountain bike. it's great for single track and technical stuff. the 26" wheels are more nimble than the 29ers so they have their fun aspect but they're not as good over lumps and bump when it comes to speed

I have a Genesis Longitude 29er (fat compatible) running 2.4" X King tyres. it's really good for track and trail routes and rolls over stuff very easy. it's not as nimble on technical routes like the 26er but it a very good allrounder and lots of fun.

I have a Thorn Sherpa 26" touring bike. this is a great bike for what i mainly bought it for which is Touring(surprisingly). the 26" rigida grizzly wheels are strong and very light which is great for exeleration (or hill climbing). I had problems getting wheel parts for my (not so old) 700c Felt touring bike on a trip to Spain not so long ago and decided that 700c was not the way to go for touring abroad.
My 26" wheeled Thorn is great for almost everything. if i had to choose one bike it would probably be the Thorn .

Thorn has some blurb on their website about wheel size and explains why they chose 26". After many years and miles i agree with their stance on it.
They essentially state that the most important place to save weight is on the wheels. Rotational weight is very important and getting bigger, heavier wheels moving is obviously harder than getting smaller , lighter wheels moving. there is also the factor of how common the wheel is when needing parts which i found to be true even in a large city in Spain.
Then there is the strength of the wheel as mentioned before.

I think there is a lot of fad behind this wheel size thing but there is also a difference with them too. You have to decide honestly for yourself , what you want it for and then make the choice.

When touring the main thing that will enable you to complete the trip or get up the massive hill isn't how big the wheels are. it's your mind. People Tour on 20" wheels perfectly well.
It's just a choice.

so , again , i would say , Look at what type of riding you're doing, where you want to do it and then decide for yourself.

[Lost not Found]

The best wheel size is usually what's on your current bike, ie I ride an old fashioned 26 hard tail, I'm sure a 29er ht would make me faster given my lack of skill, but wouldn't make nearly as much difference as actually going out and riding more.

If I had to replace / had space and money for an n+1 I'd certainly be looking at clearance / second hand 26 inch full suss bikes where people have upgraded to 650b. The better bang for your buck would override any thought about wheel size issues. I've got half an eye out for a new pair of knobblies and the selection of 26 inch tyres is still way in front atm, so should be safe for many years yet.

As a tall rider, I do wonder if there isn't some advantage to the manufacturers who are now sizing wheels to the size of the frame rather than just fitting all sizes around one standard.

[JohnMcL7]

I don't understand why people get so up in arms about wheel sizes, there are advantages and disadvantages to the various sizes so it's case of choosing whatever suits your needs which is pretty much the same with the rest of a mountain bike - there's no one setup that can do it all perfectly so there's always choices for frame material, gear systems, suspension, suspension travel etc.

27.5+ certainly looks very interesting, 3in wide and similar diameter to a 29er that should fit in some existing 29er frames as well as more of the fat bikes. There is an existing 29+ standard but due to the larger diameter it tends to only fit in specific frames for it leaving it too big for 29er frames and a lot of the fat bike frames. It should be a good all round tyre for off road with a bit more traction than standard tyres but not quite the heft of the fat bike tyres.

John