Originally Posted by
mechBgon
The big bike companies are pushing 29ers pretty hard. My best guess: they'd like to standardize adult bikes on one dominant wheel size (700C/29er) due to economies of scale and higher profit.
I'm not so fast to claim conspiracy here. While the rim is the same diameter, the width of a road rim is a fraction of a standard 29er rim. You would be hard pressed to fit a 29er tire on a road rim. The tires are also worlds apart, and the tubes vary dramatically in width. In fact the only part that's close to interchangeable is the spoke length.
Although I suppose there is a trend for wider road rims...maybe you're on to something