Guy from germany think his name is Schuter won 3 straight world cup races on 27.5 and a second this past weekend...

It is really interesting how companies are getting a double whammy out of the new "Enduro" trend and the 650b trend at the same time. 

Although this is totally driven by marketing, I believe that there is some merit to the new wheelsize. I was riding a converted bike for two years before this all happened, with very limited tire sizes and no 650b specific fork. I liked that bike a lot. That being said, I now have a 29er hardtail and a full squishy 26" bike. But if I were to have only one, I'd be in the market for biggish 650b bike.

It's all happening a lot faster than the 29er movement. And I don't think they've been out long enough to be driven by sales. 

I wonder how many manufacturers had to get on board for all the tire, wheel, and fork manufacturers to design new products. Maybe that has something to do with it.

Gibbs wrote on 08/13/13 at 3:37pm:


Only problem with your Interwebs driven logic is that there were plenty of people doing conversions before there were ads and articles in mags and websites.   

Also you don't seem to account for all of the people out there who didn't/don't care for the handling of a 29'er (passenger vs pilot deal).   

When I had a shot at a dedicated 650b ride I jumped on it and immediately saw the virtues. On my second ride, a Scott, and I don't miss my old Top Fuel one bit.  There really is nothing like being able to flick your bike around AND get better roll over, and momentum, and be so insanely ENDURO!!!!! No I didnnnnnnnnnn't.

808golden wrote on 08/13/13 at 10:11pm:


My only thing against the wheel size is just don't call it 27.5....its a good format and can make a great bike but the way some brands have jumped on it is a clear overreaction to how they missed the boat on 29"

as far as the conversion folks (I was one of them) I really think that was really driven around folks that wanted the 29" feel but could not or did not want to commit to a new bike (oh and who dose not like to tinker?)

outside of a few exceptions (single speed, DH or Dirt jump) I say a good bike can be found with any size wheel.

Actually 650b has been around for a long time. Most Dutch/Euro cruisers/commuters use that size so it's not a new wheel size, just new to mtbs.  While wheel size does affect how a bike handles, frame geometry does just as much if not more. There are some long travel 29er's coming out that have really short chainstays which make for a very "playful" bike. How Specialized got chainstays on a 6'' travel 29er 1 inch shorter than a 5'' travel 29er I'll probably never know.

Ride what you like, like what you ride.

Banjopickin wrote on 08/14/13 at 1:15pm:


Amen Broham! Truth bombs awaaaaaaay!

Its Teh Patrick wrote on 08/16/13 at 2:55pm:

 
Considering Specialized is not making any 26 Rockhoppers, Carves, Cambers, Epics and only the Stumpy evo in 26 next year, it seems 29ers have already won the first fight out back. 

26ers are dying off like the dinasaur, only useful for a small niche of riding styles. But to each his own. Its what you like the most, not what anyone else says. I guess Ill be the most hipster on the long travel 29er passing you on the trail?

WillMurray wrote on 08/16/13 at 5:39pm:


Do any of you even really think this has anything to do about anything other than Specialized's drive for revenue?  People weren't turning old bikes into new bikes, so the big "S" had to come up with a way to drive new revenue.  I am not blaming "S" and they certainly arent the only ones doing it.  My favorite and closest to home example is Santa Cruz's new and improved 650b Heckler.  Which is probably exactly the same as their old Heckler with new wheels.  Just as in 2004 they came out with a new Heckler that had .5" more travel.  The ONLY difference was the fact that they realized they could put in a different shock with an additional .25" of stroke to get more travel.  Heck I even think someone on this forum converted their old Heckler into a 650b by just changing the wheelset.  If someone has a set of 650b wheels sitting around with a 20mm front I will even try to throw it on my Blur LTc and see if we can then call it a Bronson.


Here is my bet....  The bike companies will come up with a way to get you to want something new(er) and shinier every year until they go out of business.  Who wants to take the downside of that bet?


With all that being said, ride what you have, until you buy something else, or in addition to and then ride some more.

I think it comes down to sales numbers, not driving revenue on Specialized part. If you only sold 20% 26ers compared to 29ers, would you still make 26ers?

The people have already spoken with their dollars.

Its Teh Patrick wrote on 08/16/13 at 2:55pm:


Really??