MBA wheel size shootout

[doismellbacon]

Anybody else seen the March 2012 issue of Mountain Bike Action? They did another wheel size shootout. Amazingly enough 650b wins the day this time. Now that the writing's on the wall they had to do another story to reverse the last year + of them saying 650b is dead and going nowhere....
what a bunch of tools
...they did get it right this time though

[AZ]

What are you doing reading Mountain Bike Fiction?

[doismellbacon]

Yeah, I'm asking myself the same thing.....
I'm happy to report that it wasn't purchased with my money... a coworker brought it to lunch today.

[deuxdiesel]

I also just read it, and it was the best apples to apples comparison yet. They tried to eliminate all the variables except wheel size, and did a pretty good job of it. I've been riding 29er's for 6 years now, and 10 years before that on 26" wheels, which I always thought were missing something. I'm glad 650's are coming on strong now- more choice is alway better.

[IF52]

You mean the article mentioned in this thread?

http://forums.mtbr.com/650b-69er-new...-a-764720.html

[doismellbacon]

Yes, that's the one. You know, now that I think about it their earlier shootout was favorable toward 650b iirc, just wrong in predicting that it would not see wide spread adoption...so, maybe they deserve a little slack.....
Naw....still tools

[Cary]

These are the same guys that spent years saying 29ers were inferior to 26 inch bikes. They suddenly changed their tune when 29er sales took off. Their articles are for one thing only, add revenue.

[mtnbiker4life]

I don't think we need MBA to justify what we already know about 650B. I just got back from a killer ride on my 650B HT......and was thinking why I rebuilt my 26er FS bike

I remember an issue a few months back where they questioned 650B and just held 29er on the highest regard. In fact, they had a qoute in the article from the Niner Bikes owner who said 29er wheels would take over the world and 26er bikes would be bought at department stores.....I wish I could find that quote.....it reminds me of those extremist who predict the end of the world.....just wacky, man just wacky.

I found the gem............

Chris Sugai, owner of Niner, is quoted in Feb 08's MBA saying:
"Twenty-nine inch wheels will supplant 26-inch wheel bikes by 2017. In ten years, all mountain bikes sold from $1000 to $1500 and above will have 29-inch wheels. There will be holdouts, of course, and 26-inch wheel bikes will be sold at places like CostCo and K-Mart, but the 29er will take the place of the 26-inch bike as far as the average mountain biker goes."


.

[doismellbacon]

The only thing I need MBA for is to remind me how retarded standard weights are relative to the metric system.

[campaleches]

These are the same guys that spent years saying 29ers were inferior to 26 inch bikes. They suddenly changed their tune when 29er sales took off. Their articles are for one thing only, add revenue.

That is exactly why I find the article very promising for 650b. MBA goes with the wind, and it seems the wind changing..

[@Jamisbikes]

29er wheels would take over the world and 26er bikes would be bought at department stores.....

.

I believe you can get a 29er at Walmart now....

[chainsawgeoff]

Chris Sugai, owner of Niner, is quoted in Feb 08's MBA saying:
"Twenty-nine inch wheels will supplant 26-inch wheel bikes by 2017. In ten years, all mountain bikes sold from $1000 to $1500 and above will have 29-inch wheels. There will be holdouts, of course, and 26-inch wheel bikes will be sold at places like CostCo and K-Mart, but the 29er will take the place of the 26-inch bike as far as the average mountain biker goes."

Even if he ends up being absolutely right, and that's a big if, he comes across as being pretty arrogant and ******y about it.

Here's another article with a few gems of his in there. It's not a total waste, the Norco engineer had a lot of intelligent things to say.
Pinkbike's Burning Question - Will the 29er Replace the 26-inch Downhill and All-Mountain Bike? - Pinkbike.com

[r1Gel]

What are you doing reading Mountain Bike Fiction?

plus one

[Houndog45]

Interesting article in the latest Mountain Flyer Mag on 26/29.....

[Diesel~]

The only thing I need MBA for is to remind me how retarded standard weights are relative to the metric system.

Back when I used to subscribe, that used to tweak me to no end.

"The seatpost is 10 3/4" long". Huh? Have you ever seen a manufacturer list a seatpost size in inches? Is that close to 350mm? 400mm? Am I supposed to bust out my calculator while reading this POS mag, just to relate the content back to the industry standards?

I finally cancelled my subscription when Roland Hinz donated a good chunk of cash toward CA Prop 8.

-D