The Future of wheel sizes on Hardtails

Who Should be on what size wheel?

  • Everyone on 26

    Votes: 9 12.0%
  • Everyone on 27.5

    Votes: 10 13.3%
  • Everyone on 29er

    Votes: 15 20.0%
  • XXS - MED 27.5 / LG-XXL 29er

    Votes: 9 12.0%
  • XXS - Med 27.5 / MED- XXL in 29er (MED in both wheel Sizes)

    Votes: 32 42.7%

  • Total voters
    75

knobbyhead

Next off the Island.
I went from 27.5 to 29 on a hardtail and I really like the bigger hoops. I'm on a medium.

How about 27.5 + on a hardtail?is that dead?
 

Ian F

Well-Known Member
I went from 27.5 to 29 on a hardtail and I really like the bigger hoops. I'm on a medium.

How about 27.5 + on a hardtail?is that dead?
Most higher-end hardtail frames can run either 27.5+ or 29er wheels. I plan to run my Chameleon mainly with 27.5+. But much like the 27.5" wheel Nomad, there will always be a market for bikes that take straight 27.5" wheels (and not + or 29).

Oddly enough Intense built a prototype 29er DH bike way back around 2010 or so, using a modified 951 frame and a Dorado 29 fork. The problem back then was the wheels and tires just weren't available for aggressive riding. I even bought a first year Niner WFO and a Dorado 29 with plans to build a DH bike out of it, but ran into the same issue: no wheels or tires at the time.

Ratboy was the last to win a World Cup DH race on a 26" wheel bike.
 

Andypowerful

Well-Known Member
Everything old is new again. Wonder how these would handle some DH.
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