26 aint dead yet

J

jawry

Likes Dirt
Must be my age.

Still have a Cannondale Prophet, Gemini and a Santa Cruz Heckler (all obviously 26")

Those in the know - how long are decent consumable going to be available - tyres, tubes etc (yep, still run tubes....shit, my ear hair is showing)????

I have seen the light - I'm looking at a 26" frame with a tapered head tube and a 12x135mm rear - at least i'll be able to get a nice Maz350CR or similar to go on it.

So, if this bike is going to see me through the next 2 to 4 years - am I gonna be able to buy shit for it???

Just tell me to buy a 27.5 already........

jawry

p.s. finally shuttled the new/old Tambo downhill track on the weekend. Great up top. Does anyone know if there are plans for the bottom? Pinball/Ricochet was fun (but not as much as the top) and there is still shit loads of elevation left at the bottom.
 
hazza6542

hazza6542

Eats Squid
26" ain't dead. Ordering 226" rims was hard because they're still in higher demand from factory than 27.5 or 29, so obviously it's still going strong. Stick with 26, parts are cheaper, still plenty going around and will be for some time yet.

Or we're all doomsday preppers for the end of 26. Either way.
 
W

will2

Likes Dirt
I honestly wouldn't think we are going to have too many issues. High end tires and specific tires maybe. I'd say rims would be harder to find brand new from companies like Stans and Dt but luckily the used market is very strong.

I'm talking 4-5 years down the line.
 
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Ultra Lord

Ultra Lord

Hurts. Requires Money. And is nerdy.
Currently in the process of buying a 26 dj bike to bring back riding short jump bikes on trails.

26 will never die!

Parts a cheap and deffinately still getting produced.
 
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pink poodle

pink poodle

気が狂っている男
jawry said:
Must be my age.

Still have a Cannondale Prophet, Gemini and a Santa Cruz Heckler (all obviously 26")

Those in the know - how long are decent consumable going to be available - tyres, tubes etc (yep, still run tubes....shit, my ear hair is showing)????

I have seen the light - I'm looking at a 26" frame with a tapered head tube and a 12x135mm rear - at least i'll be able to get a nice Maz350CR or similar to go on it.

So, if this bike is going to see me through the next 2 to 4 years - am I gonna be able to buy shit for it???

Just tell me to buy a 27.5 already........

jawry

p.s. finally shuttled the new/old Tambo downhill track on the weekend. Great up top. Does anyone know if there are plans for the bottom? Pinball/Ricochet was fun (but not as much as the top) and there is still shit loads of elevation left at the bottom.
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CRC will have 26 inch in their clearance it's for a long long time.
 
Ideate

Ideate

Senior Member
There will always a market for 26" for dirt jumpers and similar so there will always be 26" stuff available. DH and trail bike orientated stuff might be a different story though especially for the higher end stuff like someone said already.

For example, you can only buy Mavic Deemax in 650b from crc now. I think you'd start to have a hard time trying to buy them in 26" now (unless it was second hand).

Another example is the relatively new minion ss which only came out in 27.5". I haven't read but they might be making it for 26" though.. But obviously they prioritised 650b.
 
Hellyeah

Hellyeah

Likes Bikes and Dirt
jawry p.s. finally shuttled the new/old Tambo downhill track on the weekend. Great up top. Does anyone know if there are plans for the bottom? Pinball/Ricochet was fun (but not as much as the top) and there is still shit loads of elevation left at the bottom.[/QUOTE said:
No plans, just ride the first section until the fire road easy walk back up top from there and
it's Hella fun
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Z

Zaf

Guest
The only things you need to worry about are tyres, rims and forks when it comes to wheel sizes; and there's still plenty of high quality 26" tyres, wheels and forks floating about. I'm still running my SB66c, it's in no rush to die and i'm in no rush to give it up. I don't think i'll ever buy a new bike that's 26" again, mainly because the market has stepped away from it, and newer tyre options and such are no longer being supported (no Minion SS, Wide Trail, Crossmark II's, Agressors, etc. for 26"). But depends on your needs, for XC there's still Ikons and Ardents in that diameter, and for the heavy duty stuff Minions are everywhere.

My advice would be, if buying new, get 650b or 29er (whatever suits), it'll be better supported into the next 2-4 years; but the beauty of the decline in 26" is that prices have plummeted on them and their associated gear. You can scope some seriously good deals on high end, second hand 26" bikes, simply because they're missing an inch in diameter.

The main reason I'd be getting on the 650b's and 29ers is not because of the wheel size, but that these newer geometries are absolutely on the money with how they ride and that's what wheels sizes they're available in.
 
mint355

mint355

Likes Dirt
Zaf said:
The only things you need to worry about are tyres, rims and forks when it comes to wheel sizes; and there's still plenty of high quality 26" tyres, wheels and forks floating about. I'm still running my SB66c, it's in no rush to die and i'm in no rush to give it up. I don't think i'll ever buy a new bike that's 26" again, mainly because the market has stepped away from it, and newer tyre options and such are no longer being supported (no Minion SS, Wide Trail, Crossmark II's, Agressors, etc. for 26"). But depends on your needs, for XC there's still Ikons and Ardents in that diameter, and for the heavy duty stuff Minions are everywhere.

My advice would be, if buying new, get 650b or 29er (whatever suits), it'll be better supported into the next 2-4 years; but the beauty of the decline in 26" is that prices have plummeted on them and their associated gear. You can scope some seriously good deals on high end, second hand 26" bikes, simply because they're missing an inch in diameter.

The main reason I'd be getting on the 650b's and 29ers is not because of the wheel size, but that these newer geometries are absolutely on the money with how they ride and that's what wheels sizes they're available in.
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Wow Zaf that really is some great info.... Captain Obvious strikes again!!!!!
 
S

spoozbucket

Likes Dirt
I do sorta wonder if tyres will go off if they have been in shops/distros for a while. I know Maxxis tyres go pretty shit if they have been sitting for a while, I have also had new Schwalbe casings crack pretty quickly but that could have been because Schwalbe are just shit tyres........Continental Black Chilli seems like it last forever in storage.

If you do store tyres it pays to keep them in a garbage bag to keep the UV light(or something) out, read it in Dirt Mag many years back.
 
franco cozzo

franco cozzo

Likes Dirt
spoozbucket said:
I know Maxxis tyres go pretty shit if they have been sitting for a while,
If you do store tyres it pays to keep them in a garbage bag to keep the UV light(or something) out, read it in Dirt Mag many years back.
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havent heard of garbage bags? makes sense to keep them out of light/ in dry conditions. if new folding tyres i leave them packaged in the parts box inside the house & not the garage which gets hot and sometimes a little wet from backyard run off
my main issues with maxxis is they lose radial trueness if not fitted / inflated over time....even if i treat them good and dont place anything on them they seem to distort when not being used? dunno if anyone else has experienced this?
 
jarrod839

jarrod839

Banned
Was talking to someone in a well named company the other week and he was telling me that all companys will cease production of 26er components within the next two years. And on projected stock levels produced will most likely be around 2 years supply after this time.

Think the biggest problem will be sourcing tyres and tubes in the next few years.

Will always be a second hand market for other stuff.
 
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