26 aint dead yet

[wavike]

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?

That'll explain the new 26er crossmark UST i put on recently. Thought I had a major buckle in the rear, nope just the tire. Picked up a Ardent race and all good. It does seem to be hard to source tires now. haven't had to worry about other parts as yet.

 

[Zaf]

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.

Which company?

 

[jarrod839]

Which company?

probably shouldn't say.

 

[Zaf]

probably shouldn't say.

Maybe just whisper it, or give a clever clue. Like a rhymes with...?

 

[jarrod839]

Maybe just whisper it, or give a clever clue. Like a rhymes with...?

will keep it quiet as not sure if i was meant to be told or not.

But when you think about it could u imagine the production costs to continue producing a 26er product 4 to 5 years from now then sell onto the middle man then the consumer when everythinh has moved to 650b or 29er.

 

[BT180]

will keep it quiet as not sure if i was meant to be told or not.

But when you think about it could u imagine the production costs to continue producing a 26er product 4 to 5 years from now then sell onto the middle man then the consumer when everythinh has moved to 650b or 29er.

Makes sense. Santa Cruz have virtually eliminated the 26 inch bike from their line-up. Out of 13 models, only the Jackal remains 26inch.

 

[The Duckmeister]

will keep it quiet as not sure if i was meant to be told or not.

But when you think about it could u imagine the production costs to continue producing a 26er product 4 to 5 years from now then sell onto the middle man then the consumer when everythinh has moved to 650b or 29er.

Well try mentioning to your supposedly knowledgeable contact such relics as 22", 26 x 1 3/8" (not the same as the familiar 26"!) and 27", among a few other oddities. While undeniably rare and limited in range, bits for these are still around despite these bikes not seeing the showroom floors in decades. Our beloved 559 will not totally disappear for a while yet.

 

[stewyh]

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.

26" DJ bikes are outstanding value for money. I've built up two recently (another on the way) for no reason other than the frames/parts were dirt cheap or free. So by default I started to do some DJ riding which I'd not done much of before. Taken the STP out on the trails a couple of times and it's a more than capable trail bike. If the going is smooth and twisty it hammers along like a champ. If it gets rough and rocky though... wow, like riding one of those mechanical bulls. :dance:

 

[Ultra Lord]

I was reminiscing about my old blu kona cowan that faithfully got me through the first 4 years of "real" riding, on everything from skate parks to dj to belting around the bush bouncing off everything. Seing a tiny root and using that to launch myself as far into a rock garden as i could, using all 100mm of marzocchi drop off 4 suspension goodness to stop me getting bucked off. Silly, stupid, shit eating grin inducing fun.

How good was the junior hardtail class at dh races! Kids spending more time going arse over tit than actually riding. The guy who stacked the least in his race run was a shoe in for 1st.

So then i saw a transition pbj in blue and YUP! Shuddup and take my money.

It doesnt make sense. And i think thats the appeal.

 

[spoozbucket]

I was reminiscing about my old blu kona cowan that faithfully got me through the first 4 years of "real" riding, on everything from skate parks to dj to belting around the bush bouncing off everything. Seing a tiny root and using that to launch myself as far into a rock garden as i could, using all 100mm of marzocchi drop off 4 suspension goodness to stop me getting bucked off. Silly, stupid, shit eating grin inducing fun.

How good was the junior hardtail class at dh races! Kids spending more goin arse over tit than actually riding. The guy who stacked the least in his race run was a shoe in for 1st.

Saw a transition pbj in blue and YUP! Shuddup and take my money

It doesnt make sense. And i think thats the appeal.

Haha, a few years ago I saw a bloke riding my first proper MTB and I regret not offering him a fist full of cash for it. It had Marzocchi's first ever air fork(I think) that bottomed out metal but I had so much fun on it that I want one to hang on the wall, same reason my DH bike sits untouched.

26" should probably die though, 650b is, just, better.
I do however think the only time(for me) that a 650b is any benefit over 26" is when I'm getting tired and climbing over roots, any other time there is SFA difference. So I'm looking at just getting a slacker 26" frame which should make the bike as capable through the chop as a 650b bike, no point in having a bike that's good in the boring bits.

 

[Ultra Lord]

On a trail and race bike yeah i can understand, but for bikes like the pbj and "park" bikes i can see how they work. Theres still a place for 26.

 

[floody]

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.

Somehow I doubt it.

It's not even hard to buy spares for things that were obsoleted 20 years ago. It would be suicidal for the aftermarket industry also.


Anyway all the wheel sizes have their merits, things change, time moves on. Won't be much different to owning a 1" headtube bike in the late 90s.

 

[pink poodle]

^ or an early specialized big hit with 24 inch rear end...

 

[Jado]

I have gone to 27.5 a while back for my off road activities, but i commute everyday and decided to support the "26er ain't dead" movement and built a high end-ish CrMo mountain bike for the road. After a while the Easton wheels that i migrated from my old bike needed replacing and rang round shops asking about 26 wheel sets. Picked up a set of American Classic All Mountain wheels for insanely cheap.

I'm not going to go with the commute crowd; i have a lairy bright 26er in a pack of road bikes, 29ers and old and low ball 26ers. I'm supporting the 26er movement - and loving it. 26ers are the bikes that i learned everything on; i feel it's my obligation to build a high end custom 26er and ride it in the busiest of places as homage to the standard

 

[sufferthesinglespeed]

I have gone to 27.5 a while back for my off road activities, but i commute everyday and decided to support the "26er ain't dead" movement and built a high end-ish CrMo mountain bike for the road. After a while the Easton wheels that i migrated from my old bike needed replacing and rang round shops asking about 26 wheel sets. Picked up a set of American Classic All Mountain wheels for insanely cheap.

I'm not going to go with the commute crowd; i have a lairy bright 26er in a pack of road bikes, 29ers and old and low ball 26ers. I'm supporting the 26er movement - and loving it. 26ers are the bikes that i learned everything on; i feel it's my obligation to build a high end custom 26er and ride it in the busiest of places as homage to the standard

Big thumbs up from me.
I like it when good things are cheap.