Which modern wheel size will win out?
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JamesM
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26 will win out because there are loads of them out there already and the industry will kill off 650B in a few years like it is trying to kill off 29 now. They will then bring out square wheels which have the advantage of your bike not rolling away if you leave it leaning up agaisnt a wall on a slope. You will of course also need their new suspension tech to smooth out the corners on your wheels. We'll all look at this new BS and decide to not buy a new bike but instead keep our old round wheeled bikes rolling and the most numerous of these is 26
26 will win out because there are loads of them out there already and the industry will kill off 650B in a few years like it is trying to kill off 29 now. They will then bring out square wheels which have the advantage of your bike not rolling away if you leave it leaning up agaisnt a wall on a slope. You will of course also need their new suspension tech to smooth out the corners on your wheels. We'll all look at this new BS and decide to not buy a new bike but instead keep our old round wheeled bikes rolling and the most numerous of these is 26
THEFALLGUY
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Buy one of the each and ride them all, after a years riding choose the one you used the most as this is the one for you. Or just keep all of them and use a dice to decide which to ride. It doesnt actually matter you will have an awesome time on all of them
Actually just change bikes every 12 months and buy the latest and greatest as they just keep getting better and better. I have changed loads probably more than i should and each improvement has been quite noticeable.
Actually just change bikes every 12 months and buy the latest and greatest as they just keep getting better and better. I have changed loads probably more than i should and each improvement has been quite noticeable.
paulswheels
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27.5 will win out, best of both worlds.
Yet I do not feel any will go away.
The manufacturers have dug themselves into a niche market now.
26ers have been around forever and will always be
29ers about 15 years now and no signs of going away
27.5 is proving itself to be very formidable as well
So, I say all will stay but 27.5 due to it's all around good nature, wins the day.
27.5 will win out, best of both worlds.
Yet I do not feel any will go away.
The manufacturers have dug themselves into a niche market now.
26ers have been around forever and will always be
29ers about 15 years now and no signs of going away
27.5 is proving itself to be very formidable as well
So, I say all will stay but 27.5 due to it's all around good nature, wins the day.
ultrazenith
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I am a deeply skeptical person, and want to see objective evidence to support 'the next big innovation' when the marketeers try to feet it to us. After my initial skepticism, I now tentatively accept that 29ers result in a faster and smoother ride when mountain biking in true off-road conditions. Thus, I also accept that 650b-wheeled MTBs will be somewhere between 26 and 29ers in terms of weight, speed, and manoeuvrability.
What bugs me is that the manufacturers do not provide objective analysis to back-up their claims. Simple-minded diagrams of the 3 wheel sizes together, with the angles at which the wheels hit an obstacle, just don't cut it. It feels like a bluff - they either have no idea how to quantify the advantages of the larger wheels, or else they have done experiments but the results turned out to be less than convincing. If anybody can furnish a link to any obective, scientifically-minded study of the differences between the 26, 650b and 29er wheel sizes, I'd be very grateful.
The marketing seem to be pushing the mantra that 650b has the benefits of 29 combined with the benefits of 26, as if there is some 'goldilocks zone' in wheel-size-space where you can have your cake and eat it. As far as I am aware, there is currently zero proof that this is even remotely true.
The widespread adoption (by manufacturers) to 650b is also curious. Are we now supposed to believe that the 29er that was suggested to have absolutely the optimal wheel size, is now too big, and we now absolutely need smaller wheels that are not much bigger than 26" (but not 26!)? I'm sorry, but it doesn't add up.
My answer to the original question is that manufacturers will probably invent new wheel sizes again and again in future, as they keep discovering new 'optimal' wheel sizes that just happen to enforce planned obsolescence.
For my part, I only ride 26ers, but I plan to get a 29er when funds and the other half allow. No 650b on the horizon for me - why would I want something that is only slightly different to my existing fleet of 26ers?
What bugs me is that the manufacturers do not provide objective analysis to back-up their claims. Simple-minded diagrams of the 3 wheel sizes together, with the angles at which the wheels hit an obstacle, just don't cut it. It feels like a bluff - they either have no idea how to quantify the advantages of the larger wheels, or else they have done experiments but the results turned out to be less than convincing. If anybody can furnish a link to any obective, scientifically-minded study of the differences between the 26, 650b and 29er wheel sizes, I'd be very grateful.
The marketing seem to be pushing the mantra that 650b has the benefits of 29 combined with the benefits of 26, as if there is some 'goldilocks zone' in wheel-size-space where you can have your cake and eat it. As far as I am aware, there is currently zero proof that this is even remotely true.
The widespread adoption (by manufacturers) to 650b is also curious. Are we now supposed to believe that the 29er that was suggested to have absolutely the optimal wheel size, is now too big, and we now absolutely need smaller wheels that are not much bigger than 26" (but not 26!)? I'm sorry, but it doesn't add up.
My answer to the original question is that manufacturers will probably invent new wheel sizes again and again in future, as they keep discovering new 'optimal' wheel sizes that just happen to enforce planned obsolescence.
For my part, I only ride 26ers, but I plan to get a 29er when funds and the other half allow. No 650b on the horizon for me - why would I want something that is only slightly different to my existing fleet of 26ers?
Re:
I feel, in reality, you could not do a scietifically proven head to head comparison of any of the three designs.
Impossible really. Think about it. You would have to use the same rider, riding over the exact same course, using the same line each time, producing the exact same amount of power each time. Notwithstanding fatigue, rider feeling, weather, temperature, wind direction, strength.
You just have to sample all of them if you're curious, and see how they feel FOR YOU, INDIVIDUALLY to ride.
Mike
I feel, in reality, you could not do a scietifically proven head to head comparison of any of the three designs.
Impossible really. Think about it. You would have to use the same rider, riding over the exact same course, using the same line each time, producing the exact same amount of power each time. Notwithstanding fatigue, rider feeling, weather, temperature, wind direction, strength.
You just have to sample all of them if you're curious, and see how they feel FOR YOU, INDIVIDUALLY to ride.
Mike
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Oh god, it's starting again....................
ultrazenith
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You're right, I'm probably asking too much, both in terms of scientific rigour for the tests I'd like to see, and in terms of transparency from the manufacturers.
Mike Muz 67":2udra7jn said:
You're right, I'm probably asking too much, both in terms of scientific rigour for the tests I'd like to see, and in terms of transparency from the manufacturers.
JamesM
Senior Retro Guru
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Which tyre width is the optimal? What is the optimal frame material? How about frame type, geo and size? I wonder what the optimal mountainbike would look like? The one bike that's all things to all men? Arguably it would look like a 16" Zaskar and that had 26" wheels I do believe
Which tyre width is the optimal? What is the optimal frame material? How about frame type, geo and size? I wonder what the optimal mountainbike would look like? The one bike that's all things to all men? Arguably it would look like a 16" Zaskar
and that had 26" wheels I do believe 
