Lonely 26 in a 29 world?
 

Hi everyone, I took my old 2001 Klein Attitude out for some trail rides over the weekend. Three 20 mile rides on some pavement, dirt access roads & single track. I had a great time! Nothing technical, I leave that to the younger folks.
Who else rides 26 inch bikes & who still finds them fun?
Am I all alone?

1994 Specialized M2 S-Works here and I love the playfulness of 26ers. Plus I’m too cheap to upgrade

I turned my 1999 Trek 9900 into a singlespeed. I also have a current Trek Procaliber 9.9 (essentially a 20-year newer version of the 9900). The Procal is a better overall bike, but for tight and twisty singletrack, the 26” wheels of the 9900 are more agile. Fun machine!
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I do. 1999ish Haro Extreme EX 0. Still works, so no need to replace it.
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Due to its chubby low-pressure knobby tires & dual suspension, this bike is used almost exclusively on trails & singletrack (or streets leading to a trail). I have other bikes for non-MTB riding, most of which also use 26" 559 wheels with street tires. My inseam length is in the sub-10th percentile for US males, so 26" wheel bikes yield standover heights that work well for me. I do have two 700C wheel bikes with 52 cm & below frames, but even those are right on the border of my fit envelope

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Regularly ride 2 26” trail bikes. Someday I do hope to get something I can put 2.8” wide tires on but no complaints about these!

I have an old 5-spot that I have rebuilt and have started riding that on most of my trails. Trails have not gotten harder but much easier and the bikes have become almost too good. My Ripley is so good it makes most things just boring.

26er can bring fun back to most trails.

At 58 most of the hard technical trails are in the past. Most riding is on groomed trails or paved bike paths.
All my bikes are 26ers. The only other bike tire size is 27 on my vintage road bike.
1997 STS DH is overkill for the trails it sees now.
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Nothing wrong with the ISO 559 sized wheels.

All of my MTB are 26ers because it the 26inch wheels provide better nervosity and better stability on twisty trails , it does a better job than the 29, 29 inch v brake rims don't exist
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My two other MTB proejects are again 26ers

My 1990 Cannondale rigid is still a blast to ride, but I only ride it now and them.

Thanks to everyone for posting their wonderful rigs! I don’t feel so alone 😊
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Here is my Gary Fisher 26 inch drop bar conversion. The frame has a 61cm virtual top tube so getting the bars in the right place was a challenge. Riser bars in 46cm width and relatively short Gevenalle shifters managed to make it happen, though. I also outfitted it with a RockShox Recon & PNW dropper post.

We rode 36 miles yesterday on the local MUP & averaged 15.3mph. It needs to see dirt more often.

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I have 2 26ers I ride on trails with. One is an 97 Trek 7000 full rigid, light and quick and handles faster than I want to ride. This is the one I took to Copper Harbor to ride The Edge. Secondary mtb is an early mtb model, the 1984 Univega Alpina Uno is in like new condition. Both bikes are a treat and at 66yrs old plenty of fun for this veteran roadie.

I do have a modern 29" mountain bike that gets ridden more often, but do keep a 26" bike around for errands or pulling the kid trailer. 1995 ParkPre Pro 825

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My early 90s Breezer Lightning XTR with a correct rigid fork (I received the frameset with a Judy XC and it just wasn't right.)

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My 1987 Raleigh "The Edge" Mtn. Trials. It's only half 26", the rear wheel is 24".

The closest thing I own to a "29'er" is a Miyata 610 with 32s on 700c rims.

Still have my '98 GT with 26" wheels, still 3x8, and it does fine. Doesn't get much used these days. Not because of age (neither the bikes nor mine), there just aren't many mtn.bike trails here compared to where we used to live. Mostly riding road now (didn't own a road bike prior moving).

I've ridden my 2005 Superlite 25K+ miles, and it's still a blast. However, it can't absorb impact like my Giant 29er and is gradually being replaced.
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Yep; my second (I have only two) bike is my old Giant Rainier, bought new in '05 and still going strong. I should say that all that's left of the original is the frame, but it still does what I want it to do, so no plans to change it. It lives at our summer place in New Brunswick, and is used for riding around the village and on the many non-technical trails that I can access nearby, including the Fundy Trail system. Set up includes a very light Marzocchi xc air fork, Mavic 717 disc wheelset, Avid brakes, and SLX 3x9 drivetrain.

Rode my 2012 Turner 5-Spot right up until 2 years ago.

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Finally replaced it with a 2022 Canfield Tilt (29er).

What finally made me switch was not the wheel size. It was the modern geometry.

The reason I will likely never ride 26 again is simply the fact that there are no 26ers with modern geometry.

All that said, if all I had to ride was a 25 year-old 26er, I’d still enjoy the hell out of the sport.

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current / contemporary off road bikes with larger size wheelsets

can be a challenge to stuff them in a small suv

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Admittedly I have been doing more road work then mtbing recently, but the fisher is pretty awesome on the road. Have more but I haven't been riding them after taking an extended break from 2016/2017-now.
Found with a long enough post I can ride the DH bike enduro/old school with a modern 12-42 cassette too.

My 26er full suspension XC bike
2003 KHS XC 504R
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My front suspension bike
2008 Trek Alpha 3700
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And the others
Fisher Aquila and Montare, Diamondback Sorrento
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26" Still rocks! My favorite exercise bikes :)
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are you close to Covington ?

It doesn’t even have to be that small. They’re too big for midsize ones too.

Those bike locker things in front of some businesses are small enough that you have to remove the front wheel on those.

If I’m the only person in my Subaru, I can get my bike in with the front wheel off and the seat dropped. Barely.

I’ve got a KUAT that fits both my cars now and big fat chain in case I need a pit stop. It’s far better than trying to fight a bike into the back.

Its worth it for me, I’d only ever consider 26” wheels again for a beater.