How long will 26ers Last?

wilkij1975

Hi All

Just wondering what peoples thoughts were on how long the 26er will have left?

With more and more manufacturers dropping the size for 650b it seems like us who like our 26er and can't afford to change, may be left in the lurch for wheels, tyres, forks etc. I know there may be slight advantages over 26 inch wheels for the 650b but it really does feel to me that the industry hit a wall with regards to new developments so had to go somewhere.

P.S. Sorry if this has been done to death but I haven't been on here for a while!

Mojo_666

I recently got a new 26" (frame/forks) there should be enough spare parts knocking about for a while I hope.

wilkij1975

I think there is enough out there to make it worth making but I noticed yesterday some new wheel from American Classic that aren't going to be made in the 26 inch size. I just hope the industry doesn't alienate a whole lot of riders just to please some band wagon jumpers.

PerformingMonkey

It really surprised me how quick the industry was to introduce the two alternative wheel sizes and for some brands to stop 26ers. However taking a look at some of the newer bikes in the flesh, aesthetically, especially with the 650b, there is very little difference from a standard 26er.

I agree with people who say our sport is all about progression but lets hope the riders who still love the 26er (and may have only just purchased one) are not sidelined in terms of spares and support.

cooldad

17 days, 21 hours and 47 seconds. Precisely.

mattrixdesign2

Worst case stick 650b in a 26inch frame? There isn't much in it, a fat tired 26 must be the same as a low profile tired 650b?

I am all for changes for what bikes are designed for, but this wheel nonsense is just trying new ways to sell old stuff.

I am convinced 26 will stick around, give it 5 years and they will "re-invent" the smaller, lighter, more agile 26er(tm).

croptonboy

How long has the 26er been around, 20 odd years? We're then told the 29er is the way forward, and within a couple of years it's now the 650b

pesky_jones

What's a 26er?

warpcow

Worst case, I see it becoming like 29ers or 650b in their, in some cases long, infancies. 26ers will become niche, with major manufacturers generally not catering to them. There'll still be plenty of kit available though, just not perhaps as much as now (really it's only wheels, forks and tyres that are the main worry, still a big worry though).

I think it'll also settle down a bit once everyone gets over the need to refer to everything that isn't XC or DH as "Enduro".

croptonboy

I'm still confused as to what AM is...

wilkij1975

PerformingMonkey wrote:

It really surprised me how quick the industry was to introduce the two alternative wheel sizes and for some brands to stop 26ers. However taking a look at some of the newer bikes in the flesh, aesthetically, especially with the 650b, there is very little difference from a standard 26er.

I agree with people who say our sport is all about progression but lets hope the riders who still love the 26er (and may have only just purchased one) are not sidelined in terms of spares and support.

It doesn't really surprise me how quick the big brands have changed over. But what does surprise me is that a wheel manufacturer, American Classic, aren't releasing any new 26er wheels. They are really reducing the market they can sell to IMO. I can't imagine Mavic going that way for a few years yet especially as we don't know that 650b will be the big thing that all the majors seem to think it will be.

nicklouse

Croptonboy wrote:

How long has the 26er been around, 20 odd years?

err a hell of a lot longer than that.

But MTBs have not been around as long. ATBs from the early '80s

wilkij1975

mattrixdesign2 wrote:

Worst case stick 650b in a 26inch frame? There isn't much in it, a fat tired 26 must be the same as a low profile tired 650b?

I am all for changes for what bikes are designed for, but this wheel nonsense is just trying new ways to sell old stuff.

I am convinced 26 will stick around, give it 5 years and they will "re-invent" the smaller, lighter, more agile 26er(tm).

Seen that on a few frames. Trouble is my new frame has limited cleareance at the rear and not sure a 650b even with a low profile tyre would fit.

njee20

But what does surprise me is that a wheel manufacturer, American Classic, aren't releasing any new 26er wheels.

This isn't new - Tune didn't release their newest wheels in 26" a couple of years ago. They're aiming at a market segment which is increasingly dwindling - lightweight XC bikes are overwhelmingly moving towards 29"/27.5" now, why bother to continue innovating in what is a dying sector?

26" will still exist forever from the point of view of getting parts, but I'd not expect Rock Shox to do a new ultra lightweight 26" XC race fork any time soon.

supersonic

I think 29 ers will die soon.

Stevo_666

mattrixdesign2 wrote:

I am convinced 26 will stick around, give it 5 years and they will "re-invent" the smaller, lighter, more agile 26er(tm).

^ This

In the meantime, do your bit and keep buying 26'ers....if they sell they'll survive.

veronese68

Croptonboy wrote:

I'm still confused as to what AM is...

I was always under the impression that was the morning. But then I always have been a cantankerous old git.
Is it not the case that the best wheel size may depend on the size of the frame? What works on the smallest size may not be best for a very large frame. More the case with big wheels crammed into a small frame I would think.
I'm probably massively oversimplifying things, but I am also simple.

Mojo_666

Stevo 666 wrote:

mattrixdesign2 wrote:

I am convinced 26 will stick around, give it 5 years and they will "re-invent" the smaller, lighter, more agile 26er(tm).

^ This

In the meantime, do your bit and keep buying 26'ers....if they sell they'll survive.

I suspect that might be why some companies won't offer them as an option.

mcnultycop

supersonic wrote:

I think 29 ers will die soon.

I think this is probably the case. I'm going to keep riding my two 26" wheeled bikes and then when I decide I want a new bike make my decision at that point. The debate can wait.

RandG

supersonic wrote:

I think 29 ers will die soon.

I think you will be wrong.

wilkij1975

Maybe we'll all end up on fat bikes?!

jairaj

I'm hoping we're just going through a phase where by 29 or 650B is the new thing and thats what manufacturers are concentrating on.

After a while when it settles down and they realise a lot of us don't want to buy a new bike and are more than happy with the current one but want new parts for it. I'm hoping they will start to produce more 26inch stuff again.

scarbs85

supersonic wrote:

I think 29 ers will die soon.

Thats interesting SuperSonic. Care to elaborate? Genuinely, I'm interested to know why you think that when stuff seems to be moving onto 29ers at such a rate.

Daz555

jairaj wrote:

I'm hoping they will start to produce more 26inch stuff again.

Has there been a serious drop off?

rockmonkeysc

You can still get 24" downhill rims and tyres and there were never many bikes which used them.
26" rims and tyres will be available for as long as there is a demand for them, which will be a long time.

supersonic

scarbs85 wrote:

supersonic wrote:

I think 29 ers will die soon.

Thats interesting SuperSonic. Care to elaborate? Genuinely, I'm interested to know why you think that when stuff seems to be moving onto 29ers at such a rate.

The shift is now towards 650b. Manufacturers realise than producing 3 versions of each bike is prohibitive, and I think will settle on one size for the vast majority of their ranges, mainly 650b. Giant have dropped 29ers now, will be none in their range next year - amazing when you think just a few short years ago they were championing 29ers. Specialized, the 29er kings are thinking about them too, and many others are rolling them out.

By 2020 at the latest the shift will be complete. Parts will be available, but off the peg bikes that are not 650b will be rare except for specialiast application.

jairaj

Daz555 wrote:

jairaj wrote:

I'm hoping they will start to produce more 26inch stuff again.

Has there been a serious drop off?

The drop off has mostly been in new bike frames at the moment but there are a few new product releases which are in 29 or 650B flavour only.

stubs

supersonic wrote:

I think 29 ers will die soon.

Crud just bought a 29er how long have I got

Mind I still have two 26ers so on average my wheel size is 27 inches which is the actual size of a 650b Yaay I am ahead of the curve

Kowalski675

supersonic wrote:

scarbs85 wrote:

supersonic wrote:

I think 29 ers will die soon.

Thats interesting SuperSonic. Care to elaborate? Genuinely, I'm interested to know why you think that when stuff seems to be moving onto 29ers at such a rate.

The shift is now towards 650b. Manufacturers realise than producing 3 versions of each bike is prohibitive

Not to mention that continuing to build 29ers undermines their "buy 650b, 'cos it's all the good things about 26ers, with all the good things about 29ers too" marketing mantra...

Stevo_666

Mojo_666 wrote:

Stevo 666 wrote:

mattrixdesign2 wrote:

I am convinced 26 will stick around, give it 5 years and they will "re-invent" the smaller, lighter, more agile 26er(tm).

^ This

In the meantime, do your bit and keep buying 26'ers....if they sell they'll survive.

I suspect that might be why some companies won't offer them as an option.

I could understand it if companies thought they could make more money from selling 650b compared to 26ers. But I can't see there's much difference.

cooldad

They can if trendy types feel the need to have the latest thing. A whole raft of new bike sales.