The cycling industry works years in advance, with designers and marketing teams talking about 20 while you sit waiting for that 2011-model year bike to finally go on sale at your local shop. The point is that there will always be detractors when it comes to anything new - those who were around when front and rear suspension began to appear can attest to that - but that the advantages presented could be worth the growing pains. No, neither are better everywhere, but the very same can be said of 26'' hoops. While there is still plenty of unfounded hate, especially from younger riders who somehow assume that larger diameter wheels don't have ''soul'', 29 inch wheels are here to stay and offer certain advantages in certain situations over 26'' wheels, as do 650B wheels. We may reminisce fondly about the good times that were had, but no one wants to change their cantilever brake pads every other ride during the winter, pull the lowers off of their Quadra 21R fork to pour out a half cup of rust coloured water, or use tires with a rubber compound similar to what hockey pucks are made with. the answer is that most of them weren't great, and we'll likely think the same fifteen years from now about the bikes and gear currently in our garage. Look back fifteen or more years ago and ask yourself which components and bikes sucked.
While it can certainly be argued that is the price to pay for technology moving forwards ( physics does prove that 650B wheels have a slight advantage in roll-over and attack angle compared to 26'' wheels), one could also claim that the slight advantage in performance isn't worth the wholesale change that it requires, which leads us to the reason those aforementioned tinfoil hat-wearing riders often cite for 650B wheels being around at all: new gear to sell to the buying public. If you doubt that will happen, you only have to look to the past for examples. That's bad news for diehard fans of the 26'' wheel who want to purchase a new bike, because although there will likely always be manufacturers using the proven, smaller diameter wheel, most companies will be focusing their resources on the 650B market - it won't be long until we see some forks, tires, and wheels being offered in only 650B sizes. That means that if you plan on spending more than $2,000 or so on a proper mountain bike with between four and seven inches of travel, you'll likely be looking at 'tweener wheels whether you like it or not. At this point it is pretty obvious that the large majority of new mid-travel bikes, meaning many of the rigs that riders around the world spend their time on, will be sporting 650B wheels for 2014, with the figure only growing for 2015 and beyond.
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