Why did i fall for the 29er marketing?

97th choice

A lot of people don't get decent demos, how do you think orange get to sell so many bikes?

scarbs85

650b isn't going to be the defintive answer anyway. It will roll better than a 26er but worse than a 29er. It will handle faster than a 29er but slower than a 26er. It sits in the middle. For everything it does better than one wheel size it will do it worse than the other. Its a half measure. You can argue its the sweet spot I suppose, the most benefit for the least detriment. But it still won't be "the best" at either rolling or handling. I won't be putting my 29er or my 26er up for sale any time soon. Not to say I wouldn't look at 650b when it is time to change a bike, but I won't be selling up early to join the bandwagon.

ddraver

97th choice wrote:

A lot of people don't get decent demos, how do you think orange get to sell so many bikes?

suspended

I forget who originally said this but "The best bike is the one you're actually riding". Never mind brand, model, wheel size, etc. etc.

Thewaylander

suspended wrote:

I forget who originally said this but "The best bike is the one you're actually riding". Never mind brand, model, wheel size, etc. etc.

What the?? no it's the one I'm riding full stop.

ricky48

FWIW for comparisons my 29er is a Scott Scale comp 2011 model kitted out in full xt,Reba fork,Hope pro2 hubs/Mavic rims, 50mm stem and 760mm bars to make it steer quicker.26er is a 2008 Fuel ex8 with virtually identical set up but 140mm FIT 15MM qr forks-fast and huge fun everywhere anytime.I will never buy another bike.Period. My grievance with the industry is not being totally disappointed in 29ers but that 650b should have been sold to us first if it is supposedly that good.

BloggingFit

RICKY48 wrote:

FWIW for comparisons my 29er is a Scott Scale comp 2011 model kitted out in full xt,Reba fork,Hope pro2 hubs/Mavic rims, 50mm stem and 760mm bars to make it steer quicker.26er is a 2008 Fuel ex8 with virtually identical set up but 140mm FIT 15MM qr forks-fast and huge fun everywhere anytime.I will never buy another bike.Period. My grievance with the industry is not being totally disappointed in 29ers but that 650b should have been sold to us first if it is supposedly that good.

But then the bike industry wouldn't make so much money if they had done that.

Seriously though I don't get the grievance over the industry making money - it's called business. If they don't make money then we don't get bikes to ride. It's up the the indivdual to look past the marketing and decide for yourself what product is for you and take resposibility if you feel your decision was the wrong one.

scarbs85

All Im taking from your posts is that you're a complete sucker for marketing. Your bemoaning buying a 29er and blaming all the marketing hype for convincing you, because the new marketing hype you've fallen for says 650b is better?! Seriously, hook line and sinker....

simmo3801

What annoys me is that some companies are now only selling 650b models. I was toying with the idea of buying a new bike. I went through the usual "do I need full sus or not" questions and after finally deciding I didn't and that I would get a new hardtail for about 1k to replace my heavily upgraded 05 Kona Cindercone I find that several companies appear to have done away with 26" wheeled bikes in favour of 650b. I have a decent pair of Mavic rims on Hope Pro 2 hubs that I planned putting on my new bike but now depending on what I was to buy they'd be useless to me so I've decided to keep what I have as it suits me and rides well!

apreading

Same thing the TV companies are doing - first they sold us LCD/Plasma, then HD, then 3D and now they are about to start on super HD or whatever they are calling it.

mcnultycop

apreading wrote:

Same thing the TV companies are doing - first they sold us LCD/Plasma, then HD, then 3D and now they are about to start on super HD or whatever they are calling it.

Not really the same comparison as LCD is better than CRT and HD is better than non-HD, etc. OK so 3d is a choice but that is just an option which no one has.

cooldad

I don't see what was wrong with 78s on a gramophone.

apreading

LCD was more convenient than CRT, it certainly wasnt better than it at the time - maybe now that the technology has improved after many years and things like blacks are arent grey anymore...

Thing that always annoyed me with HD is that the reason it appears SO much better is because we have been forced to buy HD televisions, meaning that a good SD signal doesnt look as good as it was on CRT televisions that showed it at native resolution. Our HD televisions make it look poor because of the scaling they have to do. HD doesnt need to be scaled and this is part of the reason why we thing it is so much better. I often think that good SD on a good TV designed for it would be perfectly adequate - of course you cannot buy such a TV anymore and broadcast SD often too compressed anyway.

mcnultycop

So, yeah, 650b then?

apreading

I'm sticking with 26 for now as I have a fleet of bikes for 4 people in this house and its nice being able to interchange parts when necessary and have a set of wheels with mud tyres on for example and stick them on whichever bike I want without messing around. I dont want a mixed set of stuff as its too much hassle and cant see the point replacing all 5 bikes and extra wheelsets etc.

If I were buying another size though, it would be 650b. Where 29 is better in some circumstances or not, the marketing men seem to be deciding to drop it as they are finding it easier to seel 650b to people, rightly or wrongly...

IDave

apreading wrote:

Same thing the TV companies are doing - first they sold us LCD/Plasma, then HD, then 3D and now they are about to start on super HD or whatever they are calling it.

Terrible analogy! It's nothing like that at all.

timpop

And they have the nerve to make different sized handlebars. Capitalist pigs!

rockmonkeysc

I still like vinyl, it has a depth to the sound which digital formats have never matched. Even cassettes have a certain quality to the sound.

BloggingFit

I'm currently being sold on HD Toothpaste...

My next purchase shall be 650b as Trek will no longer be providing a 26" Remedy which I get very well with. Due to demo a 650b on Sunday so will be interesting to see what differences there are.

carlt69

BloggingFit wrote:

I'm currently being sold on HD Toothpaste...

My next purchase shall be 650b as Trek will no longer be providing a 26" Remedy which I get very well with. Due to demo a 650b on Sunday so will be interesting to see what differences there are.

Let us know how the Demo goes, I've been looking at getting a remedy 8 next :thumbup:

balmybaldwin

The problem I have with all this is that a lot of manufacturers have now completely withdrawn 26" wheeled bikes (at least for their decent models), how long will it be before it gets difficult to get parts etc.

I tried a couple of different 29rs before I bought my last bike (an XC orientated FS)... only a year ago, all of them were not to my liking (I'm 5'8 which may or may not have something to do with it) they roll fast, but they are not manoeverable enough to my liking.

Now a year on, I want to buy a high-end hardtail, and it seems I can't buy the same wheelsize without being seriously limited by manufacturer (or get a low-end frame (or worse stick 26" wheels on a 27.5/29 frame)).

I'm also pondering a big bouncy machine... at least tehse still come in 26" wheel size.

It's not that I'm afraid of changing wheel size, but I don't ride for competition (not that I'm not quick), I ride for fun, and I like a light bike you can throw around a bit.

something I thought was quite telling... on a recent trip to the alps (not a downhillers trip - although it was lift assisted) not one person had anything other than a 26" bike, and the Guides weren't aware of one 29r of 650b being used by any guest or guide all year (apart from one bloke who brought his road bike).

apreading

I was talking with some guys from a well known cycle tour company and they are not buying any new hire bikes this year - they can get by with the current fleet for another year by which time they hope things have stabilised and they can replace the whole fleet with more confidence of where the market is going. Most/all of their fleet is Giant.

What they dont want is a mix of different sizes and spares to carry...

One person that broke a spoke on her 29er this year couldnt have it repaired or borrow a wheel because they only carry parts for 26ers at the moment. fortunately the spoke count was high enough to do without.

croptonboy

balmybaldwin wrote:

The problem I have with all this is that a lot of manufacturers have now completely withdrawn 26" wheeled bikes (at least for their decent models), how long will it be before it gets difficult to get parts etc.

Very good point. When 29ers were the future and nothing but the future, we still saw many manufacturers producing their 26" models as well, but now we're seeing a significant drop in 26" bikes being made, and splitting production between 29ers and 650b.

Not that things are going to change overnight, and there's certainly differences between a 29er and 26" bike, but if the market does settle on 650b, I don't think we'll see the much of a future of the 26" wheel.

DCR00

Croptonboy wrote:

I don't think we'll see the much of a future of the 26" wheel.

We better sell our bikes immediately then. Before its too late !

:roll:

croptonboy

Like I said, nothing's going to change overnight. Try reading the whole post before making sarcastic replies :roll:

DCR00

I have read the whole thread matey. I commented on it on page 1

yes ive picked out one part of what you said in total, but ive focused on the point that made least sense

my sarcasm was directed not only at you but quite a few in this thread who seen to be joining in the hysteria around wheel size

26 inch wheels are going nowhere

yes some large bike makers are trying out 650B, but that doesn't mean they will stop making 26 wheels. Giant, as an example, were all about 29 the last 2 years and now they suddenly think 650B is the way to go. Is that because it really is, or is that because they think they will sell more bikes that way ? I would argue its the latter

What frustrates me is the endless debate when most of you havent even ridden either wheel size

croptonboy

No hysteria here, I'm not selling up and I'm certainly not stocking the garage full of 26" tires and rims ready for doomsday, but as balmybaldwin said, quite a few manufacturers are only sticking with 26" bikes on their lower end models. Clearly thy're trying to cover themselves as 29ers aren't as popular as they thought they might be, and are looking for a solution to a problem that may never have existed, or are simply trying to cash in, but I do see a decline in the 26" over the coming years. Let's wait and see...

Liberty555

29ers not as popular as they thought they'd be?!

I think you need to take a deep breath here and have a think about that. The very reason 650B has launched the way it has is because the market was flooded with 29ers and 29er options and so the industry had to find a new "hook" - being the 650B...

Get this - the industry actually makes its money selling bikes! I know! Hard to believe isn't it! What a crazy idea!

Worried about 29ers disappearing? 700C is the same as 29er and its been around for ages. With all the cyclocross hype it'll be around even longer.

Oh and in case you're wondering, the Enduro hype is helping to drive 650B even more. Whack an "Enduro Ready" label on it and the fools will line up with their wallets open!

I've never owned a 26 inch bike. I've had 6 x 29ers though and still have 4 of them. I bought my first in 2006 before it was even a "thing". I bought a 700x38C trecking cross bike and put chunky tyres on it...

At 6ft and 220 pounds, a 29er just looks and feels right. Sure, my mates with 26ers laugh at me and point at my clown wheels but the laughing usually stops when you roll past on the rock garden and have them wondering how with 2 inches less travel you can make it look easy...

My next bike? Dunno. Cross that bridge later. A set of Hans Dampf 29ers on a set of Stan's Arch rimes and its like I get an extra inch of travel anyway!

Stop thinking. Just ride.

pilch

Liberty555 wrote:

A set of Hans Dampf 29ers on a set of Stan's Arch rimes and its like I get an extra inch of travel anyway!

+1 From my experience.. a 120mm 29er with these tyres on will cope with all but the most severe (i'm talking full on DH) trail riding and be light enough to be ridable all day long, often they are faster over lumpy stuff than 26" wheeled bikes with a lot more travel.

cyd190468 wrote:

I think the 29ers aren't as popular etc is a bit of a UK thing. In north america and "down under" 29ers dominate the market as far as new bike sales goes.

and South Africa...

prawny

Personally I'm going to avoid spending any serious money on a new bike until the wheel size thing settles down. Obviously, looking at my stable in my sig, there's no real change there, but I'm really loving riding my mtb again, and wanted something better. But with my cash situation the way it is I'll just have to keep doing what I'm doing because I don't want to buy a 650b and in 2/3 years it be worth nothing second hand.