Last person riding 26" bikes?

If I remember you have one of the nicest bike stables I've ever seen!! Surprised you dont have 2 or 3 650's by now

 

I'm also going to convert my Mach 5.7 carbon to 27.5. It'll give me a chance to see how I like the bigger wheels while I wait for the carbon Warden to arrive.

http://mud-sweat-gears.com/blogs/news/16754500-pivot-mach-5-7-27-5-build

http://mybikestand.com/pivot-carbon-5-7-650b/

I'll post pics and ride reports after.

 

I have a 27.5 and of course 2 Frankenbike 27.5/26 rear bikes and a 29er.

The 27.5' IMO are about 10% easier on the climbs, 20% more confident on the downhills. An all-around winner.

The 29er is 0% easier on the climbs, 30% faster on the straights and 20% more confident on the downhills except tight switchbacks which it gets a -20%.

The Frankenbike 27.5/26 is 20% more confident on the downhills. I find the larger diameter wheel just rolls over stuff, not as much as the clown wheel but much better than a puny 26er which in the years past rewarded me with countless endos and plain hurt locker.

Eyeballing the 26 vs the 650b wheel there isn't a drastic difference but on the trail you find the 27.5 a confident bike which beginners will find easier to handle than say a 29er IMO, and way less taxing than a standard 26er hard tail.

Frankenbike #2 attached

 

Some people ask me, "Hey why don't you just buy a 27.5, instead of just putting a 27.5 fork and wheel up front?"
I say: I already have a 27.5, but my 26ers' are as worthless as a flip phone. But I put money into them, so why not just hybrid them.
The front steering is better, it handles better in the rough and you have to have a keen eye to see the difference from 50 feet away between the front and rear tires. I highly suggest this method before you take a hacksaw and put your $1,000 plus 26er into the recycle bin. Under $1,000--might as well hacksaw it
or take it to downtown LA and give it to tent person along Arcadia St. (see mapquest Arcadia & Spring St)

 

The 27.5 conversion for the Mach 5.7 entails switching out the rear shock for a shorter stroke shock (132 or 133mm travel, I think) and switching to a 140mm travel fork.

I picked up 2 new 27.5 wheelsets - a Reynolds Black Label 27.5 AM wheelset and an ENVE M60 Forty 27.5 wheelset. I need to decide which to run on the Mach 5.7c and which to run on the new Warden carbon (when it arrives next year).

 

I'd run the Reynolds on the Pivot, the ENVE will look bad ass on the Knolly! Dang I could only dream.... *wake up*.....Pivot says by doing the conversion youll be losing only 12mm of travel 145 to 133 and if you have the Fox fork that can support both 26 and 650b, you're golden. In all its a pretty good upgrade thats not going to cost and arm and a leg. Its great that the rear wheel even clears. On both my Frankenbikes, a 650b tire will barely clear.
The lowest profile 650b tire in the world is the 2.0 Pacenti Quasi Moto which barely clears, so I just went back to 26er wheels for the back.
Plus I don't want to be stuck just using the Quasi Moto, its quasi stupid.

 

I picked up a shorter stroke shock and a Fox 34 Float 140 27.5 fork pretty cheap on eBay.

I talked with Brien from Pivot about the 5.7c conversion and tire options. He recommended using a Maxxis Ardent Race 2.2 on the rear. I'm gonna try this with a Maxxis Ardent 2.25 front tire initially.

I am leaning towards running the Reynolds on the Pivot as you suggested, leaving the ENVE for the Knolly when it arrives

 

I am on the 26 tonight.
happy night trails on the snappy 26

 

dude, i hate you....just looking at it makes me grin...the lightweight profile that makes no hill too tough to climb, the enduro travel that tackles any terrain, the bling factor that makes any group ride look like your bike cost as much as everyone's put together, that stealthy dark frame that can't been seen at night...only negative is your checking account...any way you can mount that shock right side up? And can a DHX Fox Air shock with (Kashima?) fit back there? I love me them piggybacks

 

Some initial pics from the 5.7c conversion to 27.5. Ride report to follow.

 

that rear tire's pretty close, if it rubs, try the pacenti quasi moto, it will def have room on that arch. I used it for months and when it wore out,
I didnt want to buy another one just because it fit. The Quasi is a good tire by all means but I dont like being trapped with no options, kinda like buying a new MacBook Pro with everything soldered on the motherboard

 

Rear tire fit isn't as tight as it looks in the picture. There's about 1/4" of space at tread and a little more on the sides. I couldn't get the right camera angle.

But, I will keep the Quasi moto option in mind

 

I ve been riding 26 in wheels since the 1900s and have seen things come and go. gary fisher has been
inventing and creating bike stuff for awhile. I got to see the second bike with full
suspention gary and MERT LAWILL created at Control Tech in the late 1900s. where is it now?
it s a trek mtb. fisher has made some cool shit,come and gone. anyone remember 1.25 headsets?
o shit 3 in tires. we used them for d/h awhile ago. sounds like a new fad? nah. just got a fat bike. pretty efin cool.
been around for awhile. 26 in wheels 29 in dia. tire. still old tech. kant wait for snow. I would like another new bike with new tech but I'm still having a shitton of fun on 26 in 27.5 or 29. remember genius we all ride bikes . I raced bmx
most likely when your daddy sqwerted you into your mommies eye. I ride d/h cross country and road with a lot of technology and to see the new stuff is really cool. to see the stuff in wall mart kinda cool.o well. don't be a bike snob.....
DICK. we all ride because its BITCHEN!

 

The Cane Creek Inlines are built to be installed that way. Look at the labels and the Climb Switch. The CS is at the top, where you can reach it. The label says Inline right side up, not upside down. I know. I ride a Knolly with a Cane Creek Inline. But it's a 26er. The Carbon Warden is on my list, when available.

In keeping with the thread, here's mine:

 

Knolly no doubt, makes solid bikes. They are like Kona---from B.C. but the difference is that they make bikes in Canada and the US (prob Washington State)
I think Kona started the bike thing a few years near the top of the popularity bubble (1997-2005), couldn't keep up with demands and finally went to Taiwan early on. Knolly luckily wasnt around during that time to be tempted by typical "Designed in the USA, Made in Taiwan" mantra.

Unrelated>>>I remember the popularity bubble well. Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring---nothing but mountain bikers riding every weekend, nights, weekdays.
Nite Rider launched everyone and their brother riding at night. Bike shops had crazy inventory of parts, group rides happened everyday. Trips to Utah,
Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Nor Cal. It was crazy. Today its calmed down a bit. You won't see anybody riding at night much and bike shops are careful about their inventory of mountain parts. Hell, I had to order a 27.5 rim online because nobody stocks them.

 

I have been out at night all week this week. I have been seeing a few each night here and there. I have seen a couple groups. Night riding allows me to see how many are riding on which trails. Last night there were three or four on the west mesa which is a place that few venture, especially at night. We are lucky, all of our trails are open at night.