Thats the thing getting parts. I recently wanted to get some rim brake wheels...ugh that was a pain.

People say that you can still get this or that...and yes you can, if you look at the bottom end of the craptastic market, but I really don't want to put a low end boat anchor fork or some cheep heavy flexy rims on my top end frame that I love to bits, I want the good stuff.
You have to like hit up ebay for NOS that may or may be legit, or go 2nd hand which could get you something good, or get you someone else's old crap that needs a rebuild more than the stuff you're replacing.
On top of in these parts of the world, either people figure out early that there was going to be a demand for old parts, or they just wanted top dollar from the start, but stuff ain't cheap.

 

People say that you can still get this or that...and yes you can, if you look at the bottom end of the craptastic market...

I understand your point but the situation is not completely unreasonable. For example the rim-brake rims you're looking for, rim brakes have not been used on hi-end mountain bikes for a long time. What are you talking, over ten years? A lot of consumer products are no longer supported at that sort of age and many people would consider it a reasonable life span.

I hate waste myself and try to keep things running for as long as possible but it's hard to be too annoyed at the manufacturer for not making components that few people still want to buy. A few years ago Fox did a run of 26'' straight steerer forks with current tech in them specifically for guys like us. They were not cheap and I did wonder if they sold them all at full price. Most people with older 26'' bikes would not sink top money into a fork for them.

 

Fox still lists a couple 26" forks, with straight steerers and even old school QRs, but they're in the neighborhood of $8-900. From my research for my Turner, I can rebuild my King front hub from QR to 15mm TA, which would help a lot with how flexy it is, but still, would be into that swap for well over a grand and the rear end would still be a noodle, it's still a 9spd rear, so many outdated and un-supported parts. So now I'm looking at used newer, bikes because my money will go a lot further.

I don't know if any of you guys are into Fat Bikes at all, but they have gone through this big time over the last 10 years. Basically from birth, and now through 3-5 different hub "standards" and they have settled on 150/197.....for now.....

 

Fox still lists a couple 26" forks, with straight steerers and even old school QRs, but they're in the neighborhood of $8-900..

So, cost more than just about any bike you might put them on is worth?

 

Manitou and XFusion make 26" forks with straight steerers at reasonable prices.

 

It's been a good long time since I posted my feelings about my 26" AMHT vs my 29+ AMHT...I did a head to head review elsewhere, but since my thread here popped back up, I thought I'd do a long term review follow-up.

When I first bought my Stache, my intention was to keep it stock. I've never kept a bike stock, so I don't know why I thought I could do it this time, hehehe. The Stache now is built very similar to the Komodo regarding fork travel, wheelset, BB height, CS length. I still love riding my 26, but I'll let my review do the rest of the talking:

I did an "Apples to Apples" (mangos to squash) comparison today of the 2005 vs 2017 in the hardtail mountain bike world.

Subject 1: 2005 Freeride Hardtail (which today translates as "All Mountain Hardtail")

28.5#, Hope Stans wheelset, 32x150mm Rockshox Sektor fork 1x10 drivetrain, 26x2.4" tires, disc brakes.
68' head angle, 425mm chainstays, 625mm effective top tube

Subject 2: 2017 Trek Stache All Mountain Hardtail

28.75#, Hope Arc wheelset, 35x140mm Rockshox Yari fork, 1x11 drivetrain, 29x3" tires, disc brakes.
68' head angle, 420mm chainstays, 624 effective top tube.

On paper, they look very similar except for the obvious wheel size difference. Almost like you altered one to fit the wheels of the other.

Same 6-8mi trail, same direction. Very technical in places, pretty steep in places.

Results: What a difference 12 years of technology makes. You'd think the only difference would be the ability of the 29x3 to roll over bumps, and the acceleration of the little 26x2.4 bike in the flats and smooth climbs, but I assure you...it goes much deeper than that.

There's really nothing Komodo tackles that the Stache doesn't do better. The clown-wheeled bike moters up to speed very quickly on the trail & handles just as nimble but much more stable. Comfortably climbs where the Komodo spins out or runs out of gas, (comfort issue) obviously tackles technical terrain without trying, whereas the Komodo's pilot must carefully choose his lines as not to destroy the nice wheelset or veer off trail.

There are sections that I clean on the Stache 100% of the time that I've never cleaned on my 26.

Every time I get ready to ride, it gets harder and harder to pull the Komodo down off the wall. It's still a fun ride, but what a difference!

With the new Hope / Arc wheelset on the Stache, there's really no real life trail difference regarding how quickly it gets up to speed in comparison.

It climbs any trail with less effort, carves any curves more fun, descends and drops with more confidence.

26" will still get ridden. I still love my Kinesis baby. But as a long term 26" staunch hold-out... I'll eat Crow and say it is inferior in every way.

Though I still ride it.

 

pilot must carefully choose his lines as not to destroy the nice wheelset or veer off trail.

This is why I love mountain biking. Learned on the technical east coast trails, and the challenge of making it on a difficult section was and is the appeal that brings me back. I get it, that for some it is speed, comfort, ease that matter more... but there are many ways of enjoying mountain biking (it has always been that way). It's just sad that the industry started to dictate what this sport should be like.

 

Well I'll throw in my $.02... I rode in the late 90s/early 00s on a stump jumper 26er. Then came a long stretch where I didn't mtb at all. Early last year I test rode (and ultimately bought) a used '08 Surly KM 29er. I d4mn near flooded the basement when I first rode this thing. I was truly impressed.

To give a background, I AM a retrogrouch. I drive a stick shift truck, ride a 1975 Honda motorcycle and I don't give verbal commands to my electronic devices. So this isn't coming from a trend-chaser by any stretch of the imagination.

I then pulled out the old stumpy some months later (that had been sitting in storage for years) and gave it a spin. It somehow all of a sudden felt small to me. Then again, I built up a 26er touring bike (surly LHT) two years back and that feels soooo fun to ride (not on technical stuff, but on roads and gravel).

So I guess what I've concluded is the 29ers CAN be bad a$$. And 26ers can be bad a$$. It's never apples-to-apples because two bikes with two different wheel sizes are automatically geometrically dis-similar to begin with.

You can most definitely count me in the save-the-26ers camp. But I'll stop short of bashing the 29ers. Yea sure, the bike industry is about making money. But 29ers have their place.

I'm still not so sure of my stance on 650b, as I've yet to try one, but my sense is I prefer a bike to be brilliant in certain aspects rather than mediocre in all of them (i.e. give me killer rollover or killer nimble-ness, not a compromise in both)

I'm also going to throw in the previously echoed prediction that 26ers, and 2" tires for that matter, make one hell of a comeback, likely by 2025. It's like horror movies - they're in they're out. they're in they're out.

 

I tell ya what's the shiz on a 26". Wheelies, manuals, nose manuals. All forms of trialling, street riding tomfoolery.
My old school dmr trailstar is such a wheelie ing feind!

 

I find my handlebars plenty stiff as it is honestly. I worry about trying 35 bc I already get sore hands from my thomson bar. Something that doesn't happen on my enve bar.

 

What cracks me up about this conversation is that, except for maybe the quill St (and I'm pretty sure I saw that on Universal Cycles), most things that were to of the line when they were produced for 26 are still available. Maybe not the exact model but a reasonable equivalent.

A couple of years ago, at the age of 44,I got into downhill and decided to buy a DH bike. I went with a 26 2012 Jedi. World cup fork, cane creak shock. Maxxis tires, code brakes, Stan's wheels and saint drive train.

I've had no problem upgrading/cross-grading parts. Bought NOS wheels (the same ones Cam Zink rides) for $200. Can still get the same Maxxis tires but switched to Magic Mary's. Got new brakes and a newer shock. Rebuild the fork (which is 7 years old at this point) with no difficulty. Handle bars are 31.8 so that's not an issue, but if you're running an older standard and can't afford the stem to go with it, maybe you should look at your saving plan again.

Yeah. Bikes cost allot. But given the bike is 6 plus years old, from a boutique brand, I wouldn't expect to be supported forever. And 6 to 7 years has to be 18 to 21 in the automotive world. I have a 16 year old car and I don't expect to be able to get current standards for it.

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Yeah. Bikes cost allot. But given the bike is 6 plus years old, from a boutique brand, I wouldn't expect to be supported forever. And 6 to 7 years has to be 18 to 21 in the automotive world. I have a 16 year old car and I don't expect to be able to get current standards for it.

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I see what you're saying but I think this attitude towards replacing stuff, generally speaking, is, to a high degree, a product of the industry's intentional planned obsolescence. They WANT us to dump our things and buy new ones.

On the other hand, we as consumers are not entirely innocent, as a whole.

I can replace anything on My 1975 Honda cb750 motorcycle (albeit not always OEM) because they garnered a very strong following and a lot of folks still own them and upkeep them instead of tossing them for the latest and greatest. Similarly, and for the same reasons, I can get all the support I need for my 2001 toyota pickup.

On the other hand, maybe quill stems and 25.4 stems are going extinct because everybody bought into the threadless and 31.8 (whether you think they're better or not)

Call me crazy, but I love friction shifting 3x9 drivetrains and i fear for their extinction too, if not enough people buy them.

For now, though there are only a handful of new 26ers being sold, wheels, tires and compatible suspension options are still plentiful. I think that Whether this remains the case depends to a large degree on whether or not folks all dump their 26ers for 29ers or continue to keep their 26ers and replace the relevant components.

Having said that, I'm trying to offload my 26er mountain bike for the simple reason that I want a hard tail, so maybe I'm just feeding the monster too.

 

You guys should check out the frame building forum, there's a guy there making wooden bars. Probably could do them in 25.4mm.

 

Sorry should have said out of date tech rather than obsolete, if you upgrade bikes every year, or every ten years then you're good to go, but if you want to upgrade you frame every few years, then things will be more interesting if they keep up with all the changes.

 

Kinda glad I ran across this thread. I’m just entering the sport and I’m choking at the prices of new bikes. All 27’s and 29’s of course.

I think I’d rather lay down small bucks for a slightly used 26er. And partly because I wanted to race cruisers after BMX but never did.
Call me crazy!


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All of the wheel sizes available for us to choose from and ride upon are great.

Riding 26" has become quaint, vintage, retro, and trialsy. Fair enough.

26 is fun and remains a good way to ride with style.

One positive aspect is that you sit a little lower, and can get under some stuff, especially with a seat dropper, that you can't on a taller set of wheels.

Another aspect is that since they are smaller, they can be lighter.

Yeah I suppose there are some great 26" frames to find, buy, build and ride out there.

Some titanium hardtail frames with disc brake mounts are floating around out there. I'd consider some of these finds to be among the best out there.

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Is that a homegrown?

 

It's a 26" 853 steel Airborne track end single speed. Sorry, it's a bad photo for the details. I'm not sure of the vintage. Believe it's from around 2000. It has V brakes.

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on the 25.4 handlebars..... I have 620mm wide bars and cant seem to find anything much wider in 25.4......I run lights on my bikes because I am mostly an urban mountain biker and commute to work for more ride time... I ride 26ers because I can keep costs down plus I got my bikes for free or very cheap

 

Just bought and installed a new 710mm wide 6061 aluminum Soma Odin handlebar with 25.4 center. Did my third ride on this today. Very pleased. FWIW



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what width you were you on before?

Just bought and installed a new 710mm wide 6061 aluminum Soma Odin handlebar with 25.4 center. Did my third ride on this today. Very pleased. FWIW

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I made the jump to 31.8 to get wider carbon bars. Went from 640mm to 740mm Renthal Fat Carbon Light. Taking them on first trail ride tomorrow AM.

 

Whats a 29er?

 

a large wheel size that is in fashion at the mo. Not better than a 26er.

 

Ideal wheel size could also be a function of leg length, and the type of riding you do.

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I broke my derailleur cable on my Enduro 29 (2017) and "had to take" my old stumpjumper evo 26" the weekend.
And wow! had forgotten how fun that bike was! It just so fun to handle in tight corners and technical descends, so easy to lift and throw the bike around. With the Enduro you just roll with the bike.

So now I looking into if I can afford to upgrade the fork and start using it on trail riding and keep the Enduro för Downhill.

 

Sure, 26-inch wheel bikes are fun to ride. So are 27.5 and 29-inch wheel bikes. The 26-er is in no way better than it's newer, larger-wheeled cousins, though most of the difference is due to improved frame geometry on the newer bikes. If you have a 26-er that you enjoy, then great. Go out and ride it and have fun. Just don't pretend that it is a better bike.

 

The 26-er is in no way better than it's newer, larger-wheeled cousins, though most of the difference is due to improved frame geometry on the newer bikes. Just don't pretend that it is a better bike.

Professional downhill mountain bikers still use 26" for a reason. They will go over anything bigger or faster than you would or could.

 

Professional downhill riders still use 26" wheels?

 

I bought my 26er HT because it was cheaper than the other options with bigger wheels. And I suck at trail riding, decent road bike rider - but slow and sucky off road. That is pretty much the honest answer for me.

I went through a thing with the road bikes when I started riding. Bought an older inexpensive (ish) bike (aluminum and full 105 used but loved) and rode rode rode. Got in with a bike shop and got sucked in to needing the next new awesome stuff with each new bike- carbon this and that and better components. Spent a lot of money and not sure it really "upgraded" that much.

Sure it was little lighter, rolled a little easier, looked massively better. But I don't race really - just an occasional for fun so what difference did it really make. I like to tinker and spin wrenches though so the idea of upgrading parts is fun.

So that's what I did. Bought a used and no so loved bike and and upgrading it and loving on it a little bit. And just riding as much as I can to improve my skills and enjoy myself. It hasn't been the cheapest way to go in the long run I am sure but it has been fun and my technical skill is still by far the limiting factor.

 

What I really don't get is the 27.5" size.

It's like the manufacturers killed 26" and created 27.5" just to be able to sell/start over on a market flooded with good cheap 26" parts.

I've moved on to 29" since a few months just because my old bike (Rocky Mountain Element) is a late 90's/early-mid 00' build and it was time for something new.

 

27.5 may not be the wheel size for you, but for a lot of people it works very well. I am short and I ride steep, technical trails with a lot of tight corners. The 27.5 wheel is perfect for me. I am not saying that 29ers are no good, and I will likely own one someday, but right now I am really enjoying the smaller wheels

 

26, 27.5, 29. And what about boost 148?

I've never thought these kinds of changes come about primarily to force people to buy more equipment. But I agree that it does drive more sales.

As one who rides them all, (except 29+ so far), 26 is still a good format. Going from 29 one day, and 26 the next, or vice versa, even on the same trails, is fine.

Okay, maybe if it's all about average speed, then 27.5 is faster, and 29 is fastest.

Here's something I think is a benefit : 27+/29 bikes. Some bikes can be run as 27+ bikes and 29ers with just a wheel change. Each tire size changes the handling.

Yeah, more tires to sell and buy and wear out.

My wife rides X-small frames. She has a 29" X-small hardtail that rolls and fits.

Yeah, they sell more tires.

Dddddddddddddd3dx,*[emoji2518][emoji2518][emoji2518][emoji2518][emoji2518][emoji846][emoji846][emoji2518][emoji2518][emoji2518][emoji2518][emoji846][emoji2518][emoji2518][emoji2518][emoji2518][emoji2518][emoji2518] a lot of 26" tires that need to be used m4éï

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My view on this subject is 'Choice' If i want to buy a 29 then fine, a 650 fine or the 26er. then i can. Talk of killing off one or the other is mad. I remember they said that about analogue watches when the digital came out. Now who is still king? If you pay big money you buy a round face with hands. The cheap give away watches are the digitals. Lucky some companies still make high end 26er kit. Long live Extralite. As i'm happy to ride a 26er. And maybe people will come back after seeing this whole 29er thing as a marketing ploy to sell bikes.

 

i beg to differ on the watch thing:

https://www.timepiece.com/casio-g-s...31&pkw=&pmt=&plc=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIibHplb_V3gIVD6rsCh3X_gmqEAkYAyABEgKWpPD_BwE

 

Interesting comments... ultimately the big wheel revolution was an industry conspiracy to disrupt the way things were, and make money on it. The bicycle industry is much more consolidated now than they have ever been, and all these "big fish" can lean on others to make things happen. The rest of the smaller players have to go with the flow. To me the unsettling part of what is going on is that there is no one out there who would be willing to build 26ers with "modern" geometry, that would allow folks to swap their old bike components onto the new frame and have a "modern" bike (this is an oversimplification). I'm concerned about the industry's willingness to abandon older technology that not only works - but works well, only to support the new thing. The way they are leaning on racers in the road cycling to use disc brakes is a good example of what I'm talking about here. Discs on a road bike won't make you go faster, but they sure will make servicing your bike a lot harder, and more expensive...

I admit that I'm not an early adopter, and I loved the 8 speed because it worked great, but then switched to 9 speed and that was fine, though the chain would break more often, then came 11 speed and 2x and 1x and the importance of ratios faded as the range became king... I'm still on my 27 gears and completely happy. I don't even know why people switch to 1x or 2x, front derailleur gets set up once, and that's it - at least on my bikes... my problems will begin as all the parts I'm using start wearing out to the point of having to be replaced - but I've got 7 bikes at least and bunch of spares - so I think I'm set.

 

The way they are leaning on racers in the road cycling to use disc brakes is a good example of what I'm talking about here. Discs on a road bike won't make you go faster, but they sure will make servicing your bike a lot harder, and more expensive...

Tests have shown that disc brakes can improve downhill times, especially in foul weather. Aside from that they're just better, and ime require very little service.

There are still lots of frame builders who will make exactly what you want for a reasonable price.