Deep Thoughts.....

[chubacabra]

The 26er is dead (I know I own 2 of them) and has been seen floating upside down like a
fish in a aquarium., while bigger wheels populate the trails. I was riding in the San Gabes
last week and only saw 2 26er's. Only the poor and aged were on them (hahahah)

But throughout the years of riding and group riding, I saw everyone on a 26er. Some cheap
entry-level POS to $5,000-$7,000 ones....where in the hell are those bikes now? And another thing,
what happened to those riders? Did they give up riding because they didnt want to buy another
bike or did they just give up the sport?

I do know one thing, the 26er is slower. It took me longer last night to ride my backyard fire road to the top.
Its not the "engine", I was pedaling the same cadence as with
my 29er. And people who can keep up with the 650b's and 29er's have to expend more energy as
my old 1985 Honda Accord with 13" tires had to do to keep up with a 17" tire vehicle.

But deep thoughts go to where are those 1,000's and 1,000's of 26er's I used to see in Big Bear, the Fully Loop, San Gabes, OC, Utah, Arizona, etc. Did they all get recycled? Sent to Central America along with our diesel buses? And the happy faces that went along with those 26er's? What happened to all those guys who were so proud of their Turner RFX, Foes Fly, Ellsworths with "Romic" shocks, Intense M2's to the most recent Santa Cruz Nomads (26 version). Are these people dead now or did they move on to another planet? ....pondering the thought. (nice slack HT angle on that bike, LOL)

 

[scan]

There a many still riding 26". 1st world issue, many people in other parts of the world would just love to have A bike. Enjoy whatever y0u ride!!!

 

[chubacabra]

There a many still riding 26". 1st world issue, many people in other parts of the world would just love to have A bike. Enjoy whatever y0u ride!!!

I agree, but since I do a lot of "deep thoughts", those ppl in the other parts of the world that are bike junkies (yet poor) if given a choice between an older 26" and new 650b, they'd probably take the 27.5.

Hate to be such a downer but I've done charity work on 2 continents and people are people. They just live somewhere else than here. There's lazy poor folks and helpful poor folks. There's ones with drive and ones who don't have any. There are thoughtful poor folks and ones who don't give a sh*t about anyone. But the thing I notice is that everyone wants the best if given to them. Its human nature.

Keep on riding!

 

[scan]

I agree, but since I do a lot of "deep thoughts", those ppl in the other parts of the world that are bike junkies (yet poor) if given a choice between an older 26" and new 650b, they'd probably take the 27.5.

Hate to be such a downer but I've done charity work on 2 continents and people are people. They just live somewhere else than here. There's lazy poor folks and helpful poor folks. There's ones with drive and ones who don't have any. There are thoughtful poor folks and ones who don't give a sh*t about anyone. But the thing I notice is that everyone wants the best if given to them. Its human nature.

Keep on riding!

I think if you gave them the 2 sized bikes that looked about the same age , and they hadn't read or seen all the marketing hype on the bikes, it might be closer to 50-50. That's just a guess. If you're poor your priorities are much different, IMHO

 

[Mikie Watson]

I ride a 26'er.
It still rips! On many of my favorite trails I'm still in the top 20 for KOM, and I'm 57 years old.
26's are dead because the bike industry claims they are. Look at the surge in bike sales since the 29'ers have come out. Now you have 27.5, plus size, fat tires, axle sizes, rim widths.... All of which promotes sales, which the industry desperately needed. I'm glad for the surge! The industry needed it and us as mountain bikers needed it!

26'ers are still the king of flick ability by design alone!
When I do buy a new bike, it will most likely be a 27.5... But not because I want the wheel size, but because I want a new bike!

 

[chubacabra]

Nice Yeti with Kashima goodness...now sell it. At 57 maybe a 29er? They are easy on the back, legs, arms. I have 2 of them and both kick ass
on my 2 26ers (speed and climbing) but descending you have to slow down because it goes so fast. I also have a cheap Kona 27.5 Lanai hard tail.
The Kona despite its bargain basement parts selection rolls faster than the 26ers. But I can't sell my 26ers. I get low balled!
Jax actually wanted to give me only $400 towards a new bike (at their shop) for my 2011 $4,000 Stinky Deluxe which is so clean. I wish 27.5 was
never popularized so damn soon.

 

[Mikie Watson]

@chubacabra ,
NICE!
Hah! I just put a 2016 Fox 36 Float on it! So I will hang on a bit longer...
But I am going to build a more long distant 27.5 hardtail for rides like I'm doing today!

 

[chubacabra]

Mike, also consider a 29er hard tail with the maximum of 100mm fork. Demo one at a Kona, Specialized, Trek
demo session. They climb like crazy with little effort (using lightweight tires of course) Only BAD thing is
after you ride it, you'll never want to ride a 26er again (like me) but end up keeping them because you spent so
much money on it like what I call, a "money pit".

Pictured is my 26er "Money Pit"
new old stock Marz 44 TSTR fork
Marz Roco Lite rear shock
turned the drive train into an XT 2x10
changed the cassette to a SLX 11-36,
new RaceFace Chester pedals,
Performance brand carbon fiber handlebar
Easton EC seatpost.
Geax AKA 26x2.2
The best part of the upgrade though was the XT 10 sp. "clutch" derailleur---no bouncy chain

I feel rotten because everything was purchased online or eBay. But I didn't want to spend
premium dollar on the old lady either.