Baaisikilist Posted June 18, 2014 Share I have a 29" carbon hardtail, and a 26" ally dual, I love both of them. They require different riding styles. You can get a 29r to corner like a 26r, but you need to use a bit more body english and lay the bike a little more flat underneath you in the corners vs just sitting and pointing the front wheel where you want the bike to go like on a 26r. I've found that I need to be a bit more finicky with tyre pressures and fork setup on the 29r if I want it to handle properly in tight stuff. But on the open flat stuff, I have to pedal a lot harder on the 26r if I want to maintain the high average speed that the 29r easily achieves. nonky, Louzy, fanievb and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Headshot Posted June 18, 2014 Share 26ers still dominate DH Uuum, no not really. Most of the top factory teams are on 650B wheeled bikes in 2014. That includes Spaz, GT, Saracen, De Vinci, Lapierre, Giant, Trek. The only top team that isn't is Santa Cruz. They still dominate thanks to their exceptional riders (all three in the top 20) but they are very much in the minority. The race results show that 650b bikes don't seem to give the riders any advantage whatsoever if you look at winning times. I also can't recall seeing so many punctures at races last year especially at Fort William when most were still on 26" bikes. nathrix 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Headshot Posted June 18, 2014 Share dupl deleted Edited June 18, 2014 by Headshot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizkit031 Posted June 18, 2014 Share Uuum, no not really. Most of the top factory teams are on 650B wheeled bikes in 2014. That includes Spaz, GT, Saracen, De Vinci, Lapierre, Giant, Trek. The only top team that isn't is Santa Cruz. They still dominate thanks to their exceptional riders (all three in the top 20) but they are very much in the minority. The race results show that 650b bikes don't seem to give the riders any advantage whatsoever if you look at winning times. I also can't recall seeing so many punctures at races last year especially at Fort William when most were still on 26" bikes.Almost all the woman are on 650b so that says something.Santa cruz are testing 650b guaranteed otherwise they are going to be left behind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Headshot Posted June 18, 2014 Share Almost all the woman are on 650b so that says something.Santa cruz are testing 650b guaranteed otherwise they are going to be left behind. Lol, "left behind" - where at Leogang and Fort William? All it says is that the bike industry is profit driven. The results prove that the wheel size makes no difference, the rider does. Hell, Gwin did better than many people without a tyre on his 650b wheel. Captain Fastbastard Mayhem, nonky and GoLefty!! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddy Gordo Posted June 18, 2014 Share according these guyshttp://www.vitalmtb....paign=spotlight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizkit031 Posted June 18, 2014 Share Lol, "left behind" - where at Leogang and Fort William? All it says is that the bike industry is profit driven. The results prove that the wheel size makes no difference, the rider does. Hell, Gwin did better than many people without a tyre on his 650b wheel.Who says these guys only test on World Cup circuits,Santa cruz are one of the company's that were quick to jump on the 650b band wagon,so it's a matter of time until their DH bikes have them.Have a look at their advertising and they are punting it big time,but you are 100% right,this is the big thing now for them to make more money off of us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Headshot Posted June 18, 2014 Share I have no doubt that SC will go 650b as well, perhaps even before the end of the year... My point is just that it makes no difference, unlike useful things like wider bars, dropper posts and disk brakes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Fastbastard Mayhem Posted June 18, 2014 Share Who says these guys only test on World Cup circuits,Santa cruz are one of the company's that were quick to jump on the 650b band wagon,so it's a matter of time until their DH bikes have them.Have a look at their advertising and they are punting it big time,but you are 100% right,this is the big thing now for them to make more money off of us.On the contrary.... Their 5010 was originally going to be a sixer, until they saw market sentiment move as a sort of watershed towards 650b. They were one of the LAST guys to go 650. They are marketing it, for sure... but not the way the rest of them are. They're concentrating on the BIKE not the wheel size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flowta Posted June 18, 2014 Share On the contrary.... Their 5010 was originally going to be a sixer, until they saw market sentiment move as a sort of watershed towards 650b. They were one of the LAST guys to go 650. They are marketing it, for sure... but not the way the rest of them are. They're concentrating on the BIKE not the wheel size. Love these guys attitudes GoLefty!! and nonky 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Fastbastard Mayhem Posted June 18, 2014 Share Love these guys attitudes Yeah. I remember the initial interview with the head designer on why they had chosen to ditch the sixer at the last moment, when the project was for all intents and purposes 90% complete. I remember them saying that they couldn't feel any tangible difference in the 2 sizes, for the type of riding it was designed for. But they opened it up to the forums and from the responses realised that if they DIDN'T go 650, they'd be losing a lot of potential clients and existing clients as the movement was that large. Essentially the move was dictated by the client rather than any tangible improvement in performance. loved that interview nonky 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flowta Posted June 18, 2014 Share Love these guys attitudeshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZblxVza9JMk Best Quote"...It's still just a mountain bike. It's a mountain bike with different wheelsizes. You can make shitty 29ers, you can make shitty 26ers, you can make shitty 27.5, you can also make good ones..." Hairy, Mntboy, fanievb and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizkit031 Posted June 18, 2014 Share Yeah. I remember the initial interview with the head designer on why they had chosen to ditch the sixer at the last moment, when the project was for all intents and purposes 90% complete. I remember them saying that they couldn't feel any tangible difference in the 2 sizes, for the type of riding it was designed for. But they opened it up to the forums and from the responses realised that if they DIDN'T go 650, they'd be losing a lot of potential clients and existing clients as the movement was that large. Essentially the move was dictated by the client rather than any tangible improvement in performance.The fact is they had to do what the crowds ask for otherwise they would of lost out big time,that's my point they have to adapt or die.loved that interview Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swart Kat Posted June 18, 2014 Share Just had to post this..... BenReaper 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJR Posted June 18, 2014 Share Just had to post this..... Dead ones? BenReaper 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The MTBer Posted June 20, 2014 Share Trek http://www.imbikemag.com/mountain-bike-news/2014/06/26-27-5-29-trek-unravels-the-wheel-size-debate/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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