modern Bikes?

[Gaddmeister]

Been out of mtbing for 10 years and am having my mid life crisis! Lol. Anyway, went into my local shop and commented that bikes have not really changed that much. The young guy agreed and mentioned that they are coming out with a new wheel size after 29" and the new one will be slightly bigger than 26". Why? He said cause we have done everything we can with the 26" wheel! That's why I love retro when things were in their prime!

 

[fagin]

650b just coming out? He's a couple of years behind.

 

[Gaddmeister]

Re:

So wtf! Why do we need all these wheel sizes? In my day (when I were a lad) it was 26". Done. Its like cars today where you need a load of different variants to fit in with the market. What is wrong with keeping it simple?

 

[The History Man]

Try a 29er then say that.

Much hilarity for the larger gentleman.

 

[drystonepaul]

Re:

There are plenty of performance advantages to be found in modern bikes.

Most of them lack any character and soul though.

 

[Gaddmeister]

Re:

What does a 29er do that a 26" doesn't then? Thought this was a retro site? lol. Convince me to the modern world!

 

[highlandsflyer]

What is wrong with having choice?

 

[Gaddmeister]

Re:

Nowt...just like things simple like the old days.

 

[drystonepaul]

Re: Re:

What does a 29er do that a 26" doesn't then? Thought this was a retro site? lol. Convince me to the modern world!

Wheel sizes. Until a few years ago 26" wheels were the prevalent size for mountain bikes. Other wheel sizes had been experimented with prior to this though.

The cycle industry decided that the performance benefits of larger wheels in terms of the so called 'wagon wheel' effect was the way forward about five years ago. The larger the wheel the less the angle of incidence when encountering bumps and hence a noticeably smoother ride. Big wheels 'flatten' the terrain as it were. The 29" wheel size became the popular standard.
But bigger wheels are also heavier just where you least need extra weight caused the rotational or centrifugal effect. 29ers are also great in a straight line, but not so nimble on twisty stuff as their smaller wheeled counterparts.

And then there is 650B aka 27.5", which is somewhere in between. You get most of the flattening effect of the 29" wheel but with less added weight and better handling. This has become the new 'standard' for the past couple of years.

With all the 'the next big thing' marketing schtick. it is perhaps no wonder that mountain bike sales have nose dived whereas road bike sales have increased massively.

 

[cybernck]

Just to add that 650b aka 27.5" is mostly a marketing trick really, as it's only very slightly larger than 26", not by 1.5" as the name suggests.