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Surprising stat: significantly more 27.5 bikes on the trail than 29

5120 Views 23 Replies 16 Participants Last post by RS VR6, Nov 29, 2021

richj8990

Discussion Starter · Nov 12, 2021

The upper link is the original video comparing 27.5x2.6 vs. 29x2.4 on the same bike. Worth watching for sure, but it's the bottom link, where he took a tire size poll of all riders subscribing to the upper video on the channel, that is so shocking. Remember that this is not a perfect cross-section of all riders in the world. Is was an Instagram poll, and since the narrator is in the UK, there may be some UK bias in the results compared with the number of USA riders and other countries voting.

Skip if needed to around the 4:50 mark on the lower video. 8625 chose 27.5; 5144 chose 29. Wow, I would have thought it would be the opposite stat! That's almost 63% choosing 27.5, at least as of 2018...maybe that has evened out a bit since then, not sure. However, since 27.5 came out several years after 29, who knows, maybe it's still picking up momentum in sales. Bottom line is that 27.5 is here to stay. They are not like 26 frames at all. And they are FUN. If you are not racing, who cares if you are 1 second slower on a 3 minute DH segment, if you are having loads more fun on a 27.5. It would be interesting to see what the vote is now after so many riders currently have a boosted frame where they can switch tire sizes. Lastly, Neal to me is the best MTB video narrator I've seen. Very talented rider, very helpful and has thorough, objective explanations in his video commentary.

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1 - 20 of 24 Posts

006_007

· #2 · Nov 12, 2021

Was mullet an option? That is the future

Reactions: 1

BadgerOne

· #3 · Nov 12, 2021

006_007 said:
Was mullet an option? That is the future

And the past. And the present. Hell, SC just released a mullet Chameleon.

Reactions: 1

noapathy

· #4 · Nov 12, 2021

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ocnLogan

· #5 · Nov 12, 2021

I mean, the video is 3 years old.

At least around here, I almost never see any full 27.5in bikes on the trail. Not that I have anything against them, just saying they don't seem to be super common. That, and, honestly there haven't been many full 27.5 bikes released in the last while. With what, the 5010, Scout, and... the new Giant Trance X (?) being the only ones I can think of offhand. Everything else seems to be full 29'er, or mullet.

Personally the most noticeable thing to me, is bike components on sale. I find that the places I've been watching for parts, almost ALL of the advertised deals, have been for 27.5in components. Mostly forks, wheels, and tires.

I just barely took this screenshot from Vitalmtb. Given I can't scroll in this view, but of 6 forks with "deals" on them, only one was a 29'er (a Pike, in long offset guise). All others were 27.5.

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Which I take to mean that 27.5in sales aren't all that great at the moment (at least for the front half of bikes

).

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Mebaru

· #6 · Nov 12, 2021

We are talking about gravity riding, there is a vast majority of 27.5" bikes where I ride. There's still a lot of 26" too, mostly 8-10 years old downhill bikes - these are popular among younger riders who can't afford a new modern bike. Most seasoned riders around me still ride 27.5" and don't like 29" for many reasons. I think 29" enduro bikes is more popular among new riders with new bikes. For example, in a mtb crowd I ride with, I'm the only one with 29" bike.

jeremy3220

· #7 · Nov 12, 2021

ocnLogan said:
I mean, the video is 3 years old.

That's the key. A lot of brands didn't even have a 29" enduro or aggressive trail bike until the last 2 or 3 years. Giant had no 29" bikes in those categories at the time.

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Bikeventures

· #8 · Nov 12, 2021

The meme cracked me up

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evasive

· #9 · Nov 13, 2021

Mebaru said:
We are talking about gravity riding, there is a vast majority of 27.5" bikes where I ride. There's still a lot of 26" too, mostly 8-10 years old downhill bikes - these are popular among younger riders who can't afford a new modern bike. Most seasoned riders around me still ride 27.5" and don't like 29" for many reasons. I think 29" enduro bikes is more popular among new riders with new bikes. For example, in a mtb crowd I ride with, I'm the only one with 29" bike.

I switched to 29” in 2006 and for years, I was the only person in my group on a 29er.

Now I run a statewide enduro series and all my friends who put it on with me and most of the riders I know are on 29ers. That includes the shreddiest ones.

Flyer

· #10 · Nov 13, 2021

In Colorado (from Denver area to Summit County/High Country) I mostly see 29ers now. Around 4-5 years ago, I was seeing maybe almost 40%-50% 27.5ers but not anymore. They are all pretty much 29ers. I used to even see some 27.5+ bikes back then. Now...I see one every month or so.

stripes

· #11 · Nov 13, 2021 (Edited)

Still riding 27.5. Still don’t care of 29ers. I’m short, so I’ve never felt comfortable on them. If i have to in the future, I’ll find a custom frame manufacturer.

Shoot you can still find 26” parts if you look.

jay_paradox

· #12 · Nov 13, 2021

I have yet to even try a 29er...I probably should. When I rejoined the world of mountain biking I made a pretty fast decision on a pivot switchblade with 27.5+. At my height of 5’6” and riding style the bike has been great. Coming off an 15-20 year old intense Uzzi slx I couldn’t believe how much better it was.

What really intrigues me now is actually a mullet. That’s what I would like to explore next.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Reactions: 1

Flyer

· #13 · Nov 13, 2021

I am 6' tall so that may be why I prefer 29ers. I have a 27.5+ (3.0 tires) and it feels slightly different and feels slower than my 29er but it is different enough with the fat tires so I enjoy it enough. Santa Cruz still makes 27.5ers at least. I see those the most of all when I see 27.5ers.

Reactions: 1

RS VR6

· #14 · Nov 16, 2021

ocnLogan said:
I mean, the video is 3 years old.

At least around here, I almost never see any full 27.5in bikes on the trail. Not that I have anything against them, just saying they don't seem to be super common. That, and, honestly there haven't been many full 27.5 bikes released in the last while. With what, the 5010, Scout, and... the new Giant Trance X (?) being the only ones I can think of offhand. Everything else seems to be full 29'er, or mullet.

Personally the most noticeable thing to me, is bike components on sale. I find that the places I've been watching for parts, almost ALL of the advertised deals, have been for 27.5in components. Mostly forks, wheels, and tires.

I just barely took this screenshot from Vitalmtb. Given I can't scroll in this view, but of 6 forks with "deals" on them, only one was a 29'er (a Pike, in long offset guise). All others were 27.5.

View attachment 1956546

Which I take to mean that 27.5in sales aren't all that great at the moment (at least for the front half of bikes ).

Lol...those forks are still near $1k. Not exactly screaming deals.

Curveball

· #15 · Nov 16, 2021

ocnLogan said:
I mean, the video is 3 years old.

At least around here, I almost never see any full 27.5in bikes on the trail. Not that I have anything against them, just saying they don't seem to be super common. That, and, honestly there haven't been many full 27.5 bikes released in the last while. With what, the 5010, Scout, and... the new Giant Trance X (?) being the only ones I can think of offhand. Everything else seems to be full 29'er, or mullet.

Personally the most noticeable thing to me, is bike components on sale. I find that the places I've been watching for parts, almost ALL of the advertised deals, have been for 27.5in components. Mostly forks, wheels, and tires.

I just barely took this screenshot from Vitalmtb. Given I can't scroll in this view, but of 6 forks with "deals" on them, only one was a 29'er (a Pike, in long offset guise). All others were 27.5.

View attachment 1956546

Which I take to mean that 27.5in sales aren't all that great at the moment (at least for the front half of bikes ).

Apparently you haven't seen my son and I out on the trails.

ocnLogan

· #16 · Nov 16, 2021

Curveball said:
Apparently you haven't seen my son and I out on the trails.

Its true! My loss I'm sure of it.

I don't think I've run into any MTBR folks out on the trails yet.

But if I run into another Mezzer owner out here in the wild, maybe I'll strike up a conversation

. Although I'm pretty certain you and your son would be slowed down by me.

Curveball

· #17 · Nov 16, 2021

ocnLogan said:
Its true! My loss I'm sure of it.

I don't think I've run into any MTBR folks out on the trails yet.

But if I run into another Mezzer owner out here in the wild, maybe I'll strike up a conversation . Although I'm pretty certain you and your son would be slowed down by me.

What? There's no way we could ever keep up with our tiny wheels.

Reactions: 1

Bikeventures

· #18 · Nov 16, 2021

jay_paradox said:
I have yet to even try a 29er...I probably should. When I rejoined the world of mountain biking I made a pretty fast decision on a pivot switchblade with 27.5+. At my height of 5’6” and riding style the bike has been great. Coming off an 15-20 year old intense Uzzi slx I couldn’t believe how much better it was.

What really intrigues me now is actually a mullet. That’s what I would like to explore next.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm same height and recently got my first 29 bike after years of riding 27.5. So far I love it. I do think it's case by case, because there have been some 29er demos I didn't care for. My new bike is longer, slacker, yet I find tight corners are easier than my 27.5 bike. I guess geometry has improved that much after 6 years.

Reactions: 1

jay_paradox

· #19 · Nov 16, 2021

Bikeventures said:
I'm same height and recently got my first 29 bike after years of riding 27.5. So far I love it. I do think it's case by case, because there have been some 29er demos I didn't care for. My new bike is longer, slacker, yet I find tight corners are easier than my 27.5 bike. I guess geometry has improved that much after 6 years.

I bet I would like it if only for the fact I’ll be able to climb more efficiently on a narrower tire that rolls over rocks more easily. My challenge is not going downhill it’s uphill!

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evasive

· #20 · Nov 17, 2021

Bikeventures said:
I'm same height and recently got my first 29 bike after years of riding 27.5. So far I love it. I do think it's case by case, because there have been some 29er demos I didn't care for. My new bike is longer, slacker, yet I find tight corners are easier than my 27.5 bike. I guess geometry has improved that much after 6 years.

I had one of Banshee’s prototype Primes. They’re a small company so people tend to overlook or forget that they were one of the first to move toward what we now call modern geometry. Read reviews of the Spitfire from ten years ago: “trail bike with DH bike geometry.” Anyway, I went to Outerbike later that year (2012) and rode pretty much all of the 29ers competing in that space (120-140mm travel). I came away preferring my Banshee by a wide margin.

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