It starts again 29er 650 26"

2»

Comments

  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,401
    The Rookie wrote:
    I have no issue with that, buy it, ride it, enjoy it. I guess the engineer in me likes to understand it as well (which is why I build it not buy it!), but I know that isn't everyone.

    Is it not a question of 650b wheels making a bike faster than 26in (which the few decent tests available seem to confirm) and therefore giving the rider an advantage. Even an advantage in speed close to what a 29in wheel will give (and most people seem to agree that that is significant)

    The trouble is that that advantage is pointless unless you re racing in a controlled environment against a clock...which for 75% of riders globally is never, and for 99% of GB riders is never!

    An equivalent would be using a dedicated TT bike vs a road bike. Marginal gains and all that...except that the vast majority of riders don't ride whatever the MTB equivalent of a TT is...
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • The Rookie
    The Rookie Posts: 27,812
    Not sure how that reply is relevant to the bit quoted though.......

    I don't race, I ride a 26er....
    Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.
  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,401
    That's why 650b is "better"

    however it's "better" in a way that very few of us value...
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • Kowalski675
    Kowalski675 Posts: 4,412
    TownyDC wrote:
    Kowalski675 wrote:
    TownyDC wrote:
    or as i like to call mine, 27.5......

    You've swallowed the marketing then, I see... :wink:

    Hell yeah I'm a marketing man's dream...... :D

    thought I'd give 27.5 a go..


    Indeed you are. I'm not saying don't buy a 650b (we'll all have no choice soon enough anyway), I'm saying don't be stupid enough to swallow all the marketing departments' hype. The wheels aren't 27.5", that's just a deliberately misleading label that the manufacturers have used to back up their claims that 650b is midway between 26 and 29, and therefore the perfect compromise.
  • TownyDC
    TownyDC Posts: 157
    Kowalski675 wrote:
    The wheels aren't 27.5",.
    [

    Yeah I know I've been told.... :wink:
  • francis666
    francis666 Posts: 99
    Think a bit of my original post, was to do with redundancy in the MTB world.
    Recently watching interviews at one of the bike shows; the impression given was that 26 were being fazed out except for the lower end stuff.
    My bike is getting old. The idrive mechanism is worn, expensive and getting hard to replace.
    The frame is heavy enough to anchore the QE2 in a hurricane.
    Bike science has moved a long way Since 2004.
    So.... Buying a new bike is a serious option
    I don't have loads of money. Do ride more than a few hours at a time ( but never a real contender)
    I don't believe overall weight of a bike makes a massive differrence ( although being a hypocrite have built an almost full carbon hybrid for the road).
    I do massively believe that wheel and tyre wight make a huge differrence and I shouldn't have to prove this argument.
    So, if 26 are on the way out, manufacturers looking 650b, does this mean that the 29 er tyre choice could disappear too?
    If I'm going to buy another "huge investment" is it also going to go out of date in the next couple of years?
    The last couple of years it's been 29er this and 29er that!
    So is this another bloody fad?
    I will also state, that being an anti 29er until a few months ago ( all the tyre centrifugal force)
    I now feel a little different. For endurance stuff, where change of direction isn't paramount, where a slightly easier travel, possibly afforded by a shallower angle large diameter wheel. Could be benificial.
    A new future proof well built bike could give me years of more riding. But which?
    I'll probably build my own ( I can spread the investment) perhaps a 29 er because if the wheels/ tyres disappear I'll shove a smaller set of wheels in it, even if it does mess the geometry up.
    Sorry for typos, late lunch and on phone
    F
    Chinese All Carbon Hybrid, mixed with overdraft and research.
    Hong Kong Phoey - Quicker than the human eye!

    Not enough: bikes, garage space or time.
  • supersonic
    supersonic Posts: 82,708
    Parts for 26ers aren't going to disappear for years and years. I can still get 5 speed blocks, canti brakes, 8 speed xtr parts.
    GT ZASKAR CARBON TEAM

    VOODOO CANZO

    Come and see me at https://www.facebook.com/biketyke/
  • TownyDC
    TownyDC Posts: 157
    supersonic wrote:
    Parts for 26ers aren't going to disappear for years and years. I can still get 5 speed blocks, canti brakes, 8 speed xtr parts.

    For those of us who are unlucky to remember the transition from vinyl to CD I would imagine had forums been around then, a discussion like this would have taken place. Vinyl is still available, players and accessories are still available as there is still demand. As Supersonic says, parts will be around for years for the millions of us who still have 26ers ( I will still ride mine) and bike companies would be foolish to ignore what will still be the masses. What I will say though is test ride or at least sit on one before you buy whatever size you choose.
  • stubs
    stubs Posts: 5,001
    You still get the little rubber tube for Dunlop tyre valves in a puncture repair kit. It must be years since anyone bought a new bike with Dunlop tubes.
    Fig rolls: proof that god loves cyclists and that she wants us to do another lap
  • TownyDC
    TownyDC Posts: 157
    stubs wrote:
    You still get the little rubber tube for Dunlop tyre valves in a puncture repair kit. It must be years since anyone bought a new bike with Dunlop tubes.

    Puncture repair kits... , now they'll be obsolete when we all go tubeless :wink:
  • Northwind
    Northwind Posts: 14,675
    TownyDC wrote:
    Vinyl is still available, players and accessories are still available as there is still demand.

    From specialist suppliers, at higher prices, if you know where to look, choice is small, and parts are hard or impossible to find for many older decks. So yeah, that's pretty much the fate I predict for 26 inch.
    Uncompromising extremist
  • Angus Young
    Angus Young Posts: 3,063
    Northwind wrote:
    TownyDC wrote:
    Vinyl is still available, players and accessories are still available as there is still demand.

    From specialist suppliers, at higher prices, if you know where to look, choice is small, and parts are hard or impossible to find for many older decks. So yeah, that's pretty much the fate I predict for 26 inch.

    Exactly. For a limited number of artists (many of which are so obscure that most people haven't heard of them), in limited quantities, from a very limited number outlets. The future might not be bright for 26.
    All the gear, no idea and loving the smell of jealousy in the morning.
    Kona Process 134 viewtopic.php?f=10017&t=12994607
  • francis666
    francis666 Posts: 99
    Ok, get the point.
    But when you want the latest low resistance low weight XC tyres?
    All ready noticed that some tyres and wheels are disappearing or being sold off at discount
    Chinese All Carbon Hybrid, mixed with overdraft and research.
    Hong Kong Phoey - Quicker than the human eye!

    Not enough: bikes, garage space or time.
  • stubs
    stubs Posts: 5,001
    TownyDC wrote:
    stubs wrote:
    You still get the little rubber tube for Dunlop tyre valves in a puncture repair kit. It must be years since anyone bought a new bike with Dunlop tubes.

    Puncture repair kits... , now they'll be obsolete when we all go tubeless :wink:

    I take it you have never torn your tubeless tyre before. Have fun on the long walk home.
    Fig rolls: proof that god loves cyclists and that she wants us to do another lap
  • francis666
    francis666 Posts: 99
    Will never go tubeless on a MTB
    SPare too awkward to carry. Hate slime and not prepared go a possible 8 mile walk back to the pits!
    Chinese All Carbon Hybrid, mixed with overdraft and research.
    Hong Kong Phoey - Quicker than the human eye!

    Not enough: bikes, garage space or time.
  • The Rookie
    The Rookie Posts: 27,812
    cyd190468 wrote:
    Don't they really call them 27.5 to distinguish them from the old 27inch roadbike standard? :wink:
    No, it's marketing hyperbole as 27.5" is half way between 26" and 29" Innit....

    Except if we assume a 26er is correctly named a 29er is a 28.5er and whilst 650B would be a 27er, 27.25" would be the half way value, but it doesn't have the simplicity that marketing types like (all they can cope with really!)
    Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.
  • blinddrew
    blinddrew Posts: 317
    francis666 wrote:
    Will never go tubeless on a MTB
    SPare too awkward to carry. Hate slime and not prepared go a possible 8 mile walk back to the pits!
    Don't get this? Just pop a spare tube in your pocket if you're that worried.
    Music, beer, sport, repeat...
  • lawman
    lawman Posts: 6,868
    blinddrew wrote:
    francis666 wrote:
    Will never go tubeless on a MTB
    SPare too awkward to carry. Hate slime and not prepared go a possible 8 mile walk back to the pits!
    Don't get this? Just pop a spare tube in your pocket if you're that worried.

    What he said ^^^^
  • Northwind
    Northwind Posts: 14,675
    francis666 wrote:
    Will never go tubeless on a MTB
    SPare too awkward to carry.

    So you use what, solid tyres?
    Uncompromising extremist
  • supersonic
    supersonic Posts: 82,708
    For some, carrying a tube defeats the purpose of tubeless.
    GT ZASKAR CARBON TEAM

    VOODOO CANZO

    Come and see me at https://www.facebook.com/biketyke/
  • Jay76
    Jay76 Posts: 58
    This is all you need: http://www.parktool.com/product/emergen ... -boot-tb-2
    **2011 Cove Stiffee**
  • blinddrew
    blinddrew Posts: 317
    supersonic wrote:
    For some, carrying a tube defeats the purpose of tubeless.

    I understand that, and personally I don't bother, I've not had a puncture* on my mountain bike since going tubeless 4 years ago. But some people might want a bit more comfort factor.


    * I can safely this because I had 4 punctures on my road bike last night... :cry:
    Music, beer, sport, repeat...
  • Northwind
    Northwind Posts: 14,675
    supersonic wrote:
    For some, carrying a tube defeats the purpose of tubeless.

    That doesn't much sense, though. Either you carry a tube when tubed- in which case you're losing nothing by carrying one when tubeless, but still gaining the puncture resistance- or you don't carry a tube normally, in which case you're getting an even bigger advantage from the puncture resistance.

    It just seems like saying waaah, it only reduces the amount of punctures I get by 90%- if it's not 100% it's USELESS!1!!oNE
    Uncompromising extremist

Categories