fuji86

I recently contemplated a 29er, but it was for a Genesis Onyx 3 Cruiser. Just wanted to see what it was about and it was over at Wal-Mart too. I still like my 26er rigid fork, hardtail atb. I still don't want a suspension anything bike. I'm perfectly content with the bike I have in that regard.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Genesis-On...cycle/16203481

mechBgon

I certainly know that the inverse was a huge revelation for me. I got onto a pretty decent carbon 29er, in my size, decked out for Leadville 100, with team-issue tubeless tires, etc etc, and was blown away at how slow I was on it, compared to my 26" XC bike. Sure glad I didn't waste any of my own money finding that out.

Ironically, I did a 95-mile enduro ride with the owner of that 29er, and we would ride the climbs together, then coast the descents together. And I would keep dropping him, just coasting down either paved or gravel descents. And he's 80-100 pounds heavier than I am, so the opposite should've been happening. That corroborated my firsthand impression from riding it myself... slow, slow, slow. Not to mention tough to make tight corners with. And heavy. OK, it's probably tough to endo, I'll give it that much

Anyway, add me to the Cold Dead Fingers club. Anyone whose priorities are better satisfied by a 29er, go right ahead. But all the fastest guys I race against are on 26 and it still dominates our group rides around here too. Not going away, sorry. Oh, and...

Pros are paid to swear by whatever promotes their sponsors' interests. You know that. They're about the worst way to gauge what's truth and what's wishful marketing hype.

LesterOfPuppets

I think a 29" cruiser would make sense for me cuz I like cruisers with high bars. But I HATE XC bikes with high bars. I'd be putting risers on upside down with a -15° stem if I had to run a 29" XC bike.

This is the Walmart Two Nine I've seen in the wild. A dude I always see at the bike rack at Fred Meyer's just upgraded to it from his old Wally World Mongoose Dual Suspension. He rides with a full face MC helmet with visor. I dunno how he does that!

endless

26's are not just going to simply disappear, and I seriously doubt they will ever be gone completely, sorry to burst your bubble.

corvuscorvax

Aaagh! My eyes!

First the Walmart fixed-gear



and now this! It is so damn hard to maintain that delicate balance between a sense of exclusivity and the the social comfort of following a hot trend! Any advice on what I can do next to set myself apart by doing exactly the same thing as all my friends?

ed 

This isn't a fixed gear. It's a singlespeed. Very different beasts. Interesting radial lacing...haven't seen that in a while.

dminor 

It is both, actually. I read father down the page and the darned thing has a flip-flop hub; so you can set it up as a fixie. Fascinating. This might be the ultimate death machine: a Wal-mart fixie?

corvuscorvax

My mistake.

Given that it's Walmart, I'm surprised they didn't radially lace the rear wheel.

Zephyr11

I don't know, I would have thought that a Walmart downhill bike was the ultimate death machine...but there's a rumor of a guy here that raced one and lived to tell his tale!

dminor 

Oh, that guy . . . sketchy dude and kind of a hack if you ask me.

YamiRider1316

ill invest in a 29er when they can give me 6" of travel and not have me feel like im riding a bike on stilts. until then my 26" will do me just fine.

Abe Froman

I just hit up craigslist and scored 4 Trek 26" hard tails for cheap. Gonna keep them locked in my shed for awhile and then flip them when the prices skyrocket- probably in a month or two

ed 

Svr

Whoa people. Don't shoot the messenger.

For those of us that mainly buy parts and frames off the web, 26" stuff will be around for a long, long time.

Just sayin' don't be too shocked when a BIG bike company reveals it's 2012 line. The other two might have to do the same thing.

Dannihilator

It's not trek, unless it's the fisher collection, it's not specialized, they would turn off a good sized chunk of people. That leaves Giant......

Svr

5"+ full suspension bikes will still come with 26" wheels....and probably a few of the top notch hardtails....

Svr

Me too, but they'd have to unclip my SPD's as well.

LesterOfPuppets

Wanna buy some Beanie Babies?

rothenfield1

You hit the Motherlode!! What are you going to do with all the caish you earn off those gems?

I think the OP is onto something however. I recently got back into MTB riding and was looking around for a good modern 26" hardtail frame to build and was surprised by how few are out there anymore. It makes me feel old and behind the curve. This offering from Specialized is a good example. In the Stumpjumper catagory, of the 9 bikes offered, only one is a 26", almost as an afterthought to the 'oldtimers' no doubt.
https://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/....jsp?scid=1000

LesterOfPuppets

There are two actually : S-Works and Comp. Still a pretty sad state of affairs for the venerable Stumpjumper legacy.

rothenfield1

I stand corrected, the $7000 price tag on the S-Works must have glazed my eyes over.

BTW, I'm seriously considering buying a Comp frame from the local dealer that obviously got it by mistake and can't get rid of it. As stated above, I think it will be worth 'real' money in a month or two.

gavo

According to Bicycling magazine's recent buyers guide, apparently mtbs are now only available with 29" wheels. Not one 26er mentioned or shown. Made me scratch my head for a while, thinking that a short arse like me is going to be out of luck some time in the future when I need a new bike. Hopefully by then, the big three will have finally figured out that 650b is they way they should have gone all along.
In the meantime, cheap parts for my Alite. Happy days.

endless

26>29

dminor 

A Rodale publication that has proven that they know way less about mountain bikes than organic gardening and pot farming.

neologzzzt

re: 26" wheels -

I also have a mtb (1993 KHS Montana) which has 26" wheels. However, due to havoc created by tire & rim makers classifying their products as 26" (many of which are NOT sized correctly to fit 26" wheels), I've had a heck of a time getting tubes and tires to fit my 26" wheels. The main problem seems to be a misunderstanding of which thing measures 26". It is not the rim diameter. It is the whole wheel diameter with tires and tubes on. Rim diameter is actually just over 22" for a 26" wheel. Bike shop mechanics seem to be almost as confused as I am/was.

So, I submit that the millimeter (mm) is a better 'unit' to use than the inch. But mostly, I'll get on my knees and pray or beg, plead, grovel... for a single uniform wheel sizing standard (whichever it is)! But please, let's mop up the muck of 3-4 independent systems of sizing and go for JUST ONE! [no offense intended] 8>!