It’s pretty much a given now that the 26 inch wheel is dead when it comes to trail bikes. With more and more DH bikes running 650b ready for the World Cup this year, will the 26 incher become a rarity on DH bikes in the next couple of years too.
There’s no doubt that 650B DH bikes will be available next year, if not sooner. When it comes to racing, it’s simply time for free! The handling characteristics are similar to 26 inch, but with the added rolling bonus of the larger wheel without having to do anything drastic to cope with 29 inch wheels, which are way too flimsy to run on DH rigs in any case.
We’ve seen a couple of 650B test DH rigs on the bus, and luckily they do fit in our trailers pretty well! We predict the biggest hurdle for 650B will be getting the majority of punters to accept that it’s the way to go, especially if they’re doing any riding against the clock.
On a plus side, we reckon eBay will be full of rad 26 inch wheel rigs on the cheap! What do you reckon? Let us know on our Facebook or Twitter!