Originally Posted by
MichaelW
I think the marketing men's perception of 26" is skewed. There is no reason for 26" to be a "rugged" size, it's just a size. You can get 26" tyres down to about 1" (28mm) for roadifying MTBs. Personally I would like to see 650C folded in to 26(MTB) so, just like in 700c, you have a whole spectrum of widths for one diameter rim. You can have rugged rims and lightweight rims, racing, touring, commuting and off-road, all in one 26" diameter. There seems to be a real gap in the market for lightweight commuter/touring bikes using a 26" rim capable of taking medium tyres (28/32mm). Who needs this? Only all the small people in the world.
Schwalbe ballon tyres such as Big Apple and Kojak are taking the role of French style 650B for urban riding. I ride Big Apples and they are really comfortable but efficient. They are still a niche product rather than mainstream.
650B revival is a bit odd but it is a boutique size for people who like to be different. Its a nice size but before we make 650B mainstream, I would prefer to see lightweight 26" (MTB) expanded.
I guess it is still a truism "those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it". So my thoughts;
1) You (we) are not taking 650B mainstream. It was mainstreams many decades ago. Amazingly a wheel is still a wheel. I have old tandems and touring bikes with 650B's and they are still quite ridable.
2) Bike wheels and tires are a lot like religion as it is impossible to get any complete agreement. It is better to figure out what you believe, rejoice in it, and leave others folks to their own path to happiness.
3) There is really nothing magic about a wheel diameter...it just is what it is. The differences do exist in terms of the fitness for really small frames, xlarge frames, beefy riders, and for heavy duty use (as loaded touring, rock climbing, tandem touring, bogg crawling, and extreme sports).
4) Changing an existing bike to a different wheel diameter can almost always be done. It is also a fact that doing so tends to burn through a lot of money; the result is not always that great; the resell value of the resulting bike will usually be lowered; and in many cases one would be money ahead to sell the "bad bike" you have now and use the money to just buy a bike that already has the wheels/tire size you are now fascinating on.
5) Relating to #4; does the world really need another "Frankenbike". Probably not.