Last person riding 26" bikes?

Ummmm...nope. Knolly bikes are welded in Taiwan, same as almost every other top manufacturer including "boutique" brands like Yeti, Transition and Santa Cruz. Almost all carbon frames are fabricated in Taiwan or China too. Turner, Ellsworth and Intense aluminum offerings are still US, but their carbon bikes are Chinese/Taiwanese. I have read that DeVinci's carbon frames are actually made in Canada, but I'll bet the carbon itself is fabricated overseas. We like our environment here in the US and Canada.

Bottom line is - Taiwanese workmanship is as good as the parent company is willing to oversee. And manufacturing carbon frames is not real healthy for the environment.

 

Ok then this must be an old page:

http://old2009.knollybikes.com/support/faq


excerpt:
Where are Knolly frames made?
Designed in Vancouver, BC and tested rigorously throughout Supernatural British Columbia. All frames are manufactured in Vancouver and the United States. Each frame utilizes European bearings made by the same company that makes bearings for Ferrari.

Yay for Devin Lenz in Colorado for hanging in there!

 

From Knolly's website -
"While Knolly HQ is still based in Vancouver, BC, over the past couple years our little company has grown into a global collaboration. With offices and warehousing in Canada, USA, and the Far East, we have kept pace with the globalization of the biking industry, and have forged lasting relationships with the best fabricators from around the world."

Also, BST Nano Carbon is supposedly planning to transition fabrication of Ellsworth carbon frames back to US in the upcoming year or so.

 

yup, sorry, but I was on the 26.
continuing on the saga. I was riding the 26er last night, fully dark ride. Dropping down a pretty rugged rocky trail it became hard to keep on the true line. It seems the 26er is harder to hold an aggressive line compared to the same one on the 29. The 29er just boats through things that make the 26er jitter. I have never noticed this before, it is because on a difficult trail at night all skill sets are tested almost at once, and the 29 acts much calmer in a struggle.

 

I just got this 1996 Proflex Attack off Craigslist for $12.

http://bikepedia.com/QuickBike/BikeSpecs.aspx?year=1996&brand=ProFlex&model=Attack+LE

Nice Al frame, light weight. Real leather saddle (comfy). Shimano STX components (hubs, crank, derailleurs). Mavic rims. Bald front tire, flat rear inner-tube. Needed some work

 

Nice! Ahhh 1996. I was still floundering around living in an apartment with $3000 to my name, making $16 an hour. Today I'm making $17 an hour thanks to the "Man" and his greed.. Freelancing with dot coms like BuzzFeed, The Wrap, Dose, Hollywood Reporter to name a few that you like clicking...is a joke! Thanks to our milennial friends who will take any pay, they jacked down our hourly rate like undocumented immigrant contractors did to contractor's licensed ones...but back to the Proflex. Thats a real good deal.

 

People who still ride 26.

People without credit card debt
half of the pros at rampage
people who huck
people that are faster than most
People who don't need to be in the cool crowd
people who are not into high fashion and looking like a neon nascar
people who don't need to be in full kit to ride the luge
people who ride, not just"ENDURO"
Soul riders
Dirt jumpers and park riders
people who ride outside of the orange curtain
the fossil that always smokes everyone on ups and downs
My fellow "D" Listers
People who didn't get beat up in High school
Guys who took your lunch money
Sancho
and me.
"[email protected]#K the world, forever two wheels!" The Smut Peddlers.

 

I think it's kind of funny how defensive 26er guys get about their wheel size - putting down others in defense of the fun they are having. 29er converts used to be the annoying ones, evangelizing how their wheel size was the best.

26ers are gone from the retail market for the most part. They probably won't return. Whether that's driven by the manufacturers or the consumers is no longer relevant (it was driven by the manufacturers and gobbled up by the bike buyers - like Jim Jones followers drinkin' the Kool-Aid).

Side note - the Yeti SB-66c was hands down one of the best all-around trailbikes available - based on its success in competition. Graves placed 3rd in World Championships DH on one and both Graves and Rude won or placed top three on the bike in EWS races. All reviewers loved the bike. The following year, when the 27.5 craze took off full force, Yeti couldn't give the SB-66c away. Nobody would buy one - or any brand of 26er. The deed was done. Now the podium at every DH race is populated by 27.5. They could choose any size wheel that will help them win.

I'm still on aluminum 26ers on both of my rad bikes, but I am not defensive about it. I have fun. My next bike will be one with bigger wheels - 98% sure it will be 27.5 'cuz I don't gel with the 29s even though I'm 6'4" tall. I love quick turns, chunk, speed and drops. 29ers plow through the chunder like no other, but the gyroscopic effect keeping them upright feels weird to me - like riding a longboard instead of a good, solid shortboard.

To my fellow 26er holdouts (whether by finances or deliberate choice) - keep having fun on your bike, but stop being so damn angry about it! You don't need to justify your wheel size. We know you're a huckin' badass!

 

Bravo, nice summary.

Humbly appreciative of a certain aluminum 29er, debt free and gapping my Five Ten size 11 shoe box.
Steve

 

I put both my 26er's on PinkBike...YOU ARE RIGHT! One guy offered me 2 XBOX consoles and 6 games for my mint 2010 Stinky Deluxe...really? And Jax
offered me $400 trade-in value, which couldn't buy Jax, LOL. So best keep those 26er's, trick 'em out if you want them to perform better and ride the crap outta them till the frame cracks or something costly like the fork gives out because no matter what any pro lifer 26er says, they are obsolete as a 2006 or older Mac Book Pro.

 

26ers are dead.They are just like square boxed tv's. The were great for the last 40 years but somebody came along and changed all that. Nobody wants to watch the Superbowl on a 27" Sony , its a 42-60" flat screen. Just like a 26er bike. Dead. RIP. It was fun.But you are dead, my 8-9 speed friend.

Go. Go now, my 26er and reunite with your friends the Motorola Razor, LG Flip phones without internet capability, Netscape, parachute pants, Nickelback, Joe Truth and the other late 90's riders who used to dominate the interwebs with their silly banter and ride reports, BRAH! but are now just silently moving their dusty Ellsworths and Turners around only when they pull out their BBQ grills.

It was a fun ride, though....but not really. The 26" wheel was taken from beach cruisers and stupid bike manufacturers didnt have a clue that 650b wheel size should have been the standard. They only went with the 26 because everyone else did. Not factoring in size of a wheel, just the stupid design for their frames. They are so stupid. Crashes have probably been reduced since the intro of 27.5 and 29ers, it was easy to endo on a 26er.

Bye bye 26er, you bastard son of a beach cruiser. If you and your wheel size stayed true to what kind of bike you were supposed to be mounted on, it may also have saved lives throughout the years. The beach cruiser early bikes were just converted for fun. It wasn't supposed to be the standard. Yes, I also blame you Gary Fisher. You also just glossed over the wheel size and concentrated on your "Genesis" frame designs. Ugh. You make me sick.

 

I'm keeping my 26'er. It will be a vintage collection in 10 years when people get sick of riding their 29er and the new fad will be 26'er all over again I will be ready when the time comes....

 

Unlikely scenario. I drive a 10 yr old truck just because I can't afford a new one. Its opposite for me I'm sick of that thing lol. In 10 yes they may have even another size, 28.3?

Sent from my Z812 using Tapatalk

 

Ive been on a road bike kick for the last 4 years but getting the bug to play in dirt again. As much as i love to hunt for the latest and greatest i just can't bring myself to cut the check on a new ride. Im on a 06 Santa Cruz Blur LT. I used to ride a lot before i got this but got married and started a new career so even when i got this one i didn't have nearly as much time to ride so it has sat basically unused for a decade. Thats the main reason 26 is just fine for me, i feel guilty for this one siting as much as it does.

 

Alive and VERY well beaches!

 

View attachment 84564 Alive and VERY slow beaches!

 

Sooooooo.... You're saying it's really NOT a Ferrari?

 

Designed by Colnago for Ferrari and you know they are on top of the mtn frame building business (not) but it does have a Specialized 4 bar link.
It climbs identical as a Specialized 26" Stumpjumper, meaning not bad. This bike weighs in at 28-29lbs which is why its so slow.

 

So I pulled the trigger on my next bike, a carbon 27.53402" 650LMNOP...

Wish me luck as I try to get thousands for my beautiful and well equipped used 26er...