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What's happening with the 29er market!? So confused

72K views 463 replies 156 participants last post by  FireLikeIYA 
#1 ·
I read this in another thread and am wondering what you guys think.

Anyways here's what Giant is saying about wheel sizes
"Can we expect to see 29 and 26-inch wheels eventually disappear in Giant's consumer-priced bikes in the near future?

· 26-inch for sure, but 29-inch will be dependent on market feedback. That said, if the market progresses the way we believe it will, 29-inch will be phased out in approximately two years....again, totally dependent on market feedback."

Taken from - 650B For Giant's 2014 Elite-Level Mountain Bikes - Pinkbike

As someone who has been looking into 29ers for my next XC race bike this is a bit troublesome. I know they're just talking about the Giant line but I would guess that other bike makers have the same thought process.
 
#5 ·
I know I have said this a lot, but if 29ers leave the market, bike brands do not know what their customers want.
Some want 26", some want 29", sheep want 27.5", etc.
 
#6 ·
29er's are here to stay and I believe 26" isn't going away anytime soon (as a whole).

I do think however, bike manufacturers wish there was one wheel size or at least certainly not 3 wheel sizes. Maybe Giant is just putting nasty rumors out there in order to try and control what people start buying.
 
#180 ·
Maybe Giant is just putting nasty rumors out there in order to try and control what people start buying.
They don't need to. They make money no matter what's sold. Remember Giant is the largest bike manufacturer in the world. Just because your favorite bike company's name is on it doesn't mean they built it. It's probably a Giant.
 
#7 ·
Giant has nothing better than adequate in the current marketplace. And no innovative models- some are falling behind the development curve with steep head tube angles that are twitchy. So their 29 sales may not seem enough...
The rest of the world is just beginning to jump on board.
Things are rolling and 29 will roll over this.
 
#9 ·
Giant may be retarded and think of getting rid of 29ers but id bet they are the only ones. Trek is probably laughing histarically at them right now cause I see ppl buying trek 29ers all the time. Just ran into a couple at trails today that just bought trek marlin 29ers brand new yesturday and today was their first ride on them. I see 29er hts over anything else out here. So it'd be serious hit to dealers here to loose them.

Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using Tapatalk 2
 
#11 ·
Most new riders buy in the 29ers (I was no different) and hard tails make the more logical and more affordable choice for somebody getting in the sport.

Even the more experienced riders seem to be switching over to 29ers.

Not that I think any wheel size is better than the next as they all lose something to gain something. However to me the 650b makes the least choice.

Would manufacturers like to be able to sink all their R&D in to one wheel size? Sure, it is easier and cheaper but lets face the facts if they stop making one, they are just handing business over to the companies that are still making them.

That all being said, be ready for 32" because I don't think that is just going to go away either. It may take a few years, but it will be the next big thing.
 
#12 ·
I bet Giant "want" to go to 650...saves having 2 wheel sizes and makes a lot of geo possibilities easier to make and design....can get a little of both worlds, but obviously they'll only do it if people want it..."market feedback". My guess is people will still prefer 29ers with a few falling elsewhere. I don't think they are commenting on the 29er market in general but more on what they'd like to do and if the market will let them.
 
#14 ·
"We have not killed 29 in 2014...but we do have plans to phase it out over time."

Read this article at Bike Magazine about Giant exiting the 29er segment.

I thought it was strange for such a large company to pre-announce the demise and the end of life of current products.

"We are fully committed to 27.5," explains Giant's Global Marketing Manager, Andrew Juskaitis. "We are not introducing just one or two models. We are not testing the waters here. We believe so strongly in what 27.5 has to offer that we've committed the majority of our 2014 line to 27.5-from sport to race. This is the boldest decision we have ever made in our company's history."

While Juskaitis notes that Giant will continue to offer 29ers in 2014, he maintains that 27.5 is the future for the company. "We have not killed 29 in 2014, but it is minimized," explains Juskaitis. "We are not going to turn off the tap entirely this year, but we do have plans to phase it out over time."​
 
#15 ·
Read this article at Bike Magazine about Giant exiting the 29er segment.

I thought it was strange for such a large company to pre-announce the demise and the end of life of current products.

"We are fully committed to 27.5," explains Giant's Global Marketing Manager, Andrew Juskaitis. "We are not introducing just one or two models. We are not testing the waters here. We believe so strongly in what 27.5 has to offer that we've committed the majority of our 2014 line to 27.5-from sport to race. This is the boldest decision we have ever made in our company's history."

While Juskaitis notes that Giant will continue to offer 29ers in 2014, he maintains that 27.5 is the future for the company. "We have not killed 29 in 2014, but it is minimized," explains Juskaitis. "We are not going to turn off the tap entirely this year, but we do have plans to phase it out over time."​
What is their share of the 29er market? % to total biz? Knowing these stats would quantify their "gamble". I suspect they are losing share and made a decision to do something drastic.
 
#17 ·
Funny this thread got started as about a month ago I spoke to one of the National Sales managers for Orbea and he made the statement "in two years 29ers will be gone" His reason was that the 29ers have not take off in the rest of the World like they have in the US and we are a very small market overall. I would say Giant and Orbea are getting killed in the 29er market and are laying their line on a pipe dream. I laughed at him but if that's true I guess I just bought my last bike as I will not go back down in wheel size. I find it hard to believe Yeti, Santa Cruz, Pivot, and Niner will ever quit building a 29" bike. They are all thriving because the big brands like Giant, Treck, Specialized all drug their feet getting into the 29" market.
 
#21 ·
Bring this topic up again when Santa Cruz does something that can be interpreted as dropping wheel sizes to mainly focus on one. Seems like people are misinterpreting things. To me, it looks like they are just trying to make their line-up more efficient, dropping things with low sales, maybe like their women's 29er models, 26 Anthem and HT, etc. and reintroducing their trail/AM 26 as 650b, which is a market they see to be worth targeting. Do people here find any Giant models to actually be desirable besides their 29er HT and Anthem, Trance, and maybe Defy road bike compared to the competition? Looks to me that Giant kind of wants to change that. I think it's not a bad business move, considering that 26" demand is getting picked up by niche brands like Knolly, 29er demand is picked by a lot of competition like Spec, Trek, Niner, and all the brands that used to be in the niche 26" market like Santa Cruz, Yeti, Intense, Turner, etc. 27.5 market is pretty wide open. I'm not sure who else has been successful in the 27.5 market besides Santa Cruz.

Why the focus on wheel size anyways? IMO, what makes mtn biking fun are the trails, not the bikes. Would be cool if we could buy new better trails. :D
 
#25 ·
One thing to think about is: picture yourself as a clueless newbie walking into a bike in the next year or two. "Here's three wheel sizes," the sales guys says, "the big one is good at some stuff but bad at others; the smallest is the opposite, and there's this size in the middle." I'd bet a lot of people will just hedge their bets and go with the middle compromise. Just my theory.
 
#28 ·
I read this in another thread and am wondering what you guys think.

[..again, totally dependent on market feedback."[/I]
Supply and demand. Companies should provide the supply for what is demanded. No demand. No supply. That is all he is saying. 26 is dying for the same reason.
 
#29 ·
Marketing is an interesting science. There are literally masters degree courses in college for it now when 20 years ago marketing classes were just a small part of a business degree.

For all the research and science of it, the success of any given marketing campaign is still guesswork and retroactive back patting IF you guess correctly. The Giant corporation most likely has some young new marketing guy who is more salesman than businessman that has them sold on his guess.

It may work for them. The profit margin of specializing in one wheel size and doing it well may pay off. This move by one company hardly translates to the 26 and 29 wheel disappearing. If Giant's strategy is successful you may see other companies follow suit by picking one wheel size, but the more successful Giant is with the 27.5 the less likely the next company will be to pick that exact size.
 
#31 ·
Marketing is an interesting science. There are literally masters degree courses in college for it now when 20 years ago marketing classes were just a small part of a business degree.

For all the research and science of it, the success of any given marketing campaign is still guesswork and retroactive back patting IF you guess correctly. The Giant corporation most likely has some young new marketing guy who is more salesman than businessman that has them sold on his guess.

It may work for them. The profit margin of specializing in one wheel size and doing it well may pay off. This move by one company hardly translates to the 26 and 29 wheel disappearing. If Giant's strategy is successful you may see other companies follow suit by picking one wheel size, but the more successful Giant is with the 27.5 the less likely the next company will be to pick that exact size.
Interesting.

Better to be the king of a small country than just one of many princes in a larger one?
 
#30 · (Edited)
I always thought that Giant made cool bikes, but their dealer network is not that great. Giant as one of the largest bike companies in the world does not come close to Trek, Spec., and Cannondale availability in the states.

They have all kinds of marketing about their in-house control of design to end product and superior carbon technology, etc. But, their bikes are difficult to find. My guess is companies like Giant and Scott have a larger presence outside of the US. If 29ers don't really sell outside of the US, I could see them giving up the wheel size.

As far as Orbea, mentioned above, I cannot think of seeing an Orbea mountain bike on a trail. My neighbor has one of their road bikes. I don't think their opinion has much weight in the US mountain bike segment.
 
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