Aubergine 

There’s gooood beer in Fietsbob’s town.

Philly Tandem

I'd say that the cool new thing is bikes that can run either 29" or 650b+ (oversize) tires. It's actually a pretty good idea, as it gives you options. 29" and 650b+ are basically the same outside diameter, so it works (mostly) with a few trade offs. With some many different wheel/tire sizes out there, I think perhaps the bike shops and manufacturers finally saw the need to slim down the "standards" for everyone's sanity.

Personally, all these wheel and tire sizes are making me crazy. I have 26" and 700c touring bikes, and a 650b and 29" MTB. Too many spare tubes and whatnot to keep track of! If the convertible 29"/650b+ design had been out when I was buying I probably would have gone that route for flexibility.

alan s 

As long as you have disc brakes, you can run any size wheel/tire combination that fits the frame and fork. I use 26” and 29” wheels on my Troll. The larger the diameter, the higher you’ll be off the ground, so there could be slight difference handing.

fietsbob

and the steering trail changes .. , that will change the handling, too.. since the 2 lines cross above the ground.

bigger wheel = more trail , smaller wheel, less..

JonathanGennick 

I like that sort of flexibility. I've run three sizes -- 700c, 650b road plus, and 26er mountain -- on my Priority Continuum commuter bike. Each time my pedals got lower to the ground, and the handling with 26er tires was reminiscent of a BMX bike.

CliffordK

I'm not sure how the whole 26/650b/29 thing will shake out. Is Walmart adopting the 650b standard yet?

26 will still be dominant in the young kid's market which shouldn't be ignored.

As far as I can tell, there is still a better 700c tire selection than 650b.

I suppose I'd still tend towards 700c for touring, but I'm not leaning towards super fat tires on a touring bike, or any bike that I'm riding, unless I choose to do a John Wayne tour, and then I'll likely build up a bike specifically for that ride.

3speed

I don't think it will shake out, and I think it's still soon for box stores to have crap bikes with 650b. It's a slow trickle down thing. "29ers" were cool for a while before box stores got crappy versions of them. If anything, I think they'll be coming up with a new size soon. It's all about having something "new" to market these days. Buy hey, maybe there's another "new" old size that's been done before that they can bring back again. High volume 700c was done on MTBs in the Early 90s, and I believe 650b has been done on MTBs before. Surely there's something else left to remarket. It's too soon to do a push for 26" again.

I just built up a bike originally designed for 700x42 max tire size, but I went 650b. So far I'm happy with it. It'll be used with tubeless 650x2.2 knobby tires for off-road tours and slicker high volume 650b or 700c tires for commuting and paved tours. As pointed out, with disk brakes swapping wheel sizes is a pretty simple thing. I still don't feel the need for through axle on this bike, though. I just don't see a need outside of MTBing.

fantom1 

I like thru axles for touring bikes. Stronger and stiffer is a good thing for loaded bikes imo. There aren't any functional detriments, aside from speed of changing a wheel, which is nearly moot for touring.

That said, I wouldn't buy a new bike just to have them. If you are doing some serious expedition riding through Africa or something, then maybe going with a more standard part is better, not so much for the skewer, but for the hub imo. My next bike will definitely have thru-axles and discs.

jefnvk

Yes. Wally World sells all three in their "mountain bike" line.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/27-5-Mens...Blue/157414365

willwebb

Can someone help translate the marketing lingo from Kona about the thru axle on the Sutra LTD? KONA BIKES | ROAD | SUTRA | Sutra LTD

"12x142mm, 12x148 and 12x157 rear axle standards provide two major advantages to the Kona rider: the 12mm diameter of the rear axle provides the rear hub and frame with a stiff interface, while the 142/148/157mm outer diameter of the hub allows the wheel to be quickly and properly positioned in the frame before the rear axle is inserted. For 2017, you’ll see the 12x148 Boost standard in the mix. Boost spacing provides more tire clearance at the chainstay yoke, while the rear wheel is stiffer and more durable relative to a 12x142 thru-axle."

I get the stiff interface and the proper positioning that they're highlighting. I don't get how the three different standards (142, 148, and 157) fit in to the particular bike. And, what is the "12x148 Boost" standard?

Thanks!

JonathanGennick 

The text looks generic to me, and possibly you'll find the same text used for other bikes in Kona's line. There will only be one hub width on the specific model you're looking at. The 12x148 Boost is up and and coming in mountain biking, and is what 12x142 should have been from Day 1 (for mountain bikes). The LTD has 12x142, which is what I believe will be the standard for road bikes for a reasonable future.

Edit: That very same blurb appears for the Hei Hei Trail: https://www.konaworld.com/hei_hei_trail_cr_dl_275.cfm

Tourist in MSN

The most recent bike I built up was last spring. The frame could be had with 12X142 through axle or a conventional 135mm rear hub. I chose conventional rear hub.




It sounds to me like the marketing department was allowed to take control over engineering. After reading the above, I am now convinced that I will stay using 135mm hubs for the rest of my life if at all possible.

Darth_Firebolt

Just an FYI - Walmart, Dicks, etc HAVE started selling bikes with cheap rim brake, single wall, freewheel, bolt on 27.5 wheels. I've had 3 in my shop in 2018 already with tacos for back wheels.

AlanK

This sum up my very cursory perspective on TAs. I'm looking at getting a new touring rig after not cycling for my years. I was initially tepid towards disc brakes, but have warmed up to them mainly because they reduce wheel wear (I still think good rim brakes perform comparably to discs).

TAs seem like a good idea. While it might be difficult to find a replacement in remote locations that probably won't be an issue unless you're really careless. Other than that their advantages far outweigh the disadvantages compared to QR. For touring cyclists the additional 100g and few extra seconds to change a wheel are inconsequential.

Darth Lefty 

fietsbob

the 'Robert Axle Project ' allows a BoB trailer to be towed by a TA bike..