Should i sell my modern 26er and go 27.5 ?

Back to the point you made earlier then yes considering selling now to gain maximum returns might be a good idea. As quick as 650B was lambasted as a marketing ploy I'm surprised that as many are now accepting and looking at them for their next bike, so will your 26er be as covetable next year or the next, probably not. I guess it all depends on how often you change a bike? I don't see 26" parts becoming obsolete anytime soon though.

FWIW I'm on the 29er bandwagon, I'm on my third and for me and the terrain I ride they are faster and more confidence inspiring than any 26er I've ever rode, and I ride lots of different stuff, including tight and techy, steep and rocky as well as the more sedate stuff. I still think 26ers can be more fun if you like jumping and popping off things and of the 650b bikes I've saw they look promising.

Whilst I am currently going the other way. I'm building a pair of 50mm wide rimmed 24" wheels to fit 24 x 3" tyres which equate to a 25.5" diameter wheel to fit to my On-One 456. Result a tough wheel with a bit of float that'll sit somewhere between a 26er and a fatbike. As kaiser says, go with what suits your riding style not with what fashion dictates.

Barneyballbags":1a3d1g8r said:

Stick a 29er and a 26er down a techy, twisty descent and see which one gets to the bottom first.

Click to expand...

The one with the better rider

I wouldn't stress about it if I were you.

If you like your bike, keep riding it. You'll still be able to get tyres for a long time yet. Any 'upgrade' will cost loads by the time you factor in tyres, wheels and forks. I personally wouldn't spend too much until he debate has settled down. My new frame can take either by swapping the drop outs, so it's safe as far as I'm concerned.

I've ignored the 29er thing so far because my riding is more gravity focused but I've got to say that the newer big wheelers look loads better and the geometry looks much more sorted. I also don't buy into them not being good for jumping or not handling the tight stuff. A guy who occasionally rides with us has two 29ers which he throws about (although he is quite tall). He's certainly faster than is on 26ers but he'd be fast on most things.

I think the sales are being drive by people with money thinking that it'll transform they're riding...they'd probably be better paying for a skills day or too.

2014 looks like it'll be interesting with people like Giant, who were an early 29er adopter dropping them for 650b.

I saw a Bronson when I picked up my Rune and the wheels were unnoticeable; next to a 26er with 2.5 Hans Dampf's, there was little or no difference. I'll only change once I'm forced to.

kaiser":1tyylw5s said:

Back to the point you made earlier then yes considering selling now to gain maximum returns might be a good idea. As quick as 650B was lambasted as a marketing ploy I'm surprised that as many are now accepting and looking at them for their next bike, so will your 26er be as covetable next year or the next, probably not. I guess it all depends on how often you change a bike? I don't see 26" parts becoming obsolete anytime soon though.

Click to expand...

Agreed.

Well, I've been lucky enough to test out lots of bike recently both 29 and 650b. My advice Is a good bike is a good bike, you get good 29/650's and bad ones. I have just sold my 26" bike and its getting replaced with a 650b and yes I made the decision to sell my 26er before the value plummeted, but only because it was still fairly new.If my bike was older I would have waited to see how the market panned out.

As said, wheel talk is utter pish 90% of the time, whatever size you have is fun and will do the job.

Mindmap3":i4tbd053 said:

I saw a Bronson when I picked up my Rune and the wheels were unnoticeable; next to a 26er with 2.5 Hans Dampf's, there was little or no difference. I'll only change once I'm forced to.

Click to expand...

I actually had two of my 26" bikes upright next to one another yesterday & noticed the wheels (let alone the tyres) were visibly different in size - so measured them..
The retro (rim brakes) was 26", spot-on and the modern one (disc wheels) was 27.2" :shock: So before you switch suddenly, consider what you will really gain?

* I would like to add on a timing note, timed runs on a techy,jumpy route the 29er was quicker than my 26 ( different brand) but the 650 was quicker than both 29 and 26, interesting the same model as my 26.
In my eyes the 650b is more nimble and chukable on that type of run over the 29, but riding with lots a of people on 29's they do munch the ground quickly.

I ride 26,650b ,29 and 700cc

My advise ride as many bikes as possible if you are thinking of changing from 26, though only change for the right reasons as it will be costly. By the way the SB66 is an awesome bike , I personally would keep it and enjoy it , ignore the scare mongery.

theredchili":3snxcsr7 said:

Well, I've been lucky enough to test out lots of bike recently both 29 and 650b. My advice Is a good bike is a good bike, you get good 29/650's and bad ones. I have just sold my 26" bike and its getting replaced with a 650b and yes I made the decision to sell my 26er before the value plummeted, but only because it was still fairly new.If my bike was older I would have waited to see how the market panned out.

As said, wheel talk is utter pish 90% of the time, whatever size you have is fun and will do the job.

Click to expand...

This had hot to be the most sensible way to look at it - a good bike is a good bike regardless of wheel sizes.

If you're happy with your Yeti hang onto it (from what I've read they're pretty darn good). If you're the type of person to hang onto bikes then I wouldn't worry about resale value.

If you're hoping to get a decent price for your old jalopy, forget it! The market for 26" bikes is as dead as a doo doo. It has been in the US for a couple of years, and has finally gone the same way here. God knows why, but I'm not complaining! 26" stuff is cheap as chips!