27.5 vs 29 which and why
 

in market for new bike always had 26 mtb tried buddies FS 29er and was very impressed i remember the 27.5 birth years ago liked the idea but never able to ride one.
live in nwnj very technical trails .
All things being equal which size is the way to go?

All things are never equal.

How tall you are and whether you're gong to run plus-size tires makes a difference.
I'm 5'10" and I run 27.5 X 2.8". It's dreamy.
If I was going to run 2.4" tires, I'd go 29er, but plus-size tires on 29er rims make any bike feel gigantic to me. If I was a tall fellow, I might feel differently.
All that said, I can't imagine not running plus-size, so it's 27.5" for me.

It depends on your trails and riding style and such. I am currently running 650B on my hardtail but have plans for 29ers in the near future just to try them out. The 650bs roll fine on the trails around me but I don't know that one is better. I think people are passionate about what they have but I don't know if one is better though it might be better for certain trails You could run a mullet set up 650b at the rear and 29er at the front!

im 5'10 as well legs not long 29er felt huge...but rode well.

I mountain biked a ton in the 90s then not again until last year. I got a 29er and it was an absolute revelation compared to what I was used to.

The larger wheel do occasionally have problems with low speed obstacles I can't get around but can't quite roll over. I occasionally have some trouble whipping the bike around super tight corners too. I have found it to be better 95 percent of the time and only occasionally would a 26" hold a debatable advantage.

I wonder if the 27.5 just splits the difference?

How about a bike that can handle either and just get two wheelsets?

Agree with the turning ability. Longer wheelbase on a 29" makes for slower turning, but it's doable and I've learned to adapt. I like everything else about the 29" Chisel I ride, faster, rolls over stuff easier. My 16 yr. old Stumpjmper feels like a tank in comparison.

Yeah, I love the advantages of 29" wheels and tires -- great rollover, great traction, and they hold momentum well -- but the 27.5" size has been a revelation. They have 90% of the 29er advantages, but they accelerate faster and don't make me feel like I'm steering an ocean liner. We have lots of tight, woodsy singletrack around here, and smaller wheels make the bike feel more "flickable."

im a fan in concept of 27.5 in theory..
29 er seems great for fire roads double track stuff but
i live in techical single track land.

I've seen guys rail in very tight singletrack on their 29ers, so the shortcoming is most likely my own skills. But I've always thought that 29ers were best suited for six-footers and taller people; I like sitting "in" the bike, and big wheels put me more "on" it. And with the advent of plus-size tires (which I'm 100% sold on), the differences are more evident. 29+ is just too much wheel for me, but 27.5+ is Goldilocks.

in my mind i agree....love my old beast 26..but new stuff looks amazing..29ers just for me 30 inch inseam feel weird on it.
27.5 maybe the golden goose.

As for the height concern. I'm 5'8". I like my 29er. It is a big bike but not crazy.

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I'm one of those people that really doesn't care. I've had everything but + bikes and liked them all, currently have two 27.5ers one a FS and one a HT. If I were buying a HT today I'd go 29er. If I were buying a FS with some travel 130mm or more I'd go 27.5er while I"d go 29er if I wanted more of a XC full squish bike.

I notice the manufacturers are starting to slowly elminate 27.5 from their line up.

Specialized eliminated 27.5 from their full suspension bikes for the 2021 line up as did Scott and Cannondale.

This

Dont make the mistake of spending large coin on the next 26'er as far as obsolescese

i dont think 29" wheels are going anywhere

(Im 5'8" == i got used to mine in short order

I liked my 27.5 bike. The current crop of 29ers has a LOT of stack especially as the travel gets longer.

But I can see the writing on the wall.

I keep hearing about the death of 27.5, but there seems to be plenty of 2021 models: Santa Cruz Nomad; Trek Remedy, Roscoe, and Session; Kona Process and Big Honzo; Polygon Vander; Giant Stance, Trance, Fathom, and Yukon; Pivot Mach 5.5, Mach 6, and Switchblade; Ibis Mojo; Mondraker Summum; Surly Karate Monkey; Niner Rip; Diamondback Release; Marin Riftzone, etc.

Not playing devils advocate, just saw this response and do not actually know the answer as i am killing time at work -- but of the bikes you mentioned, how many are 27.5" + (plus format 27'ers) as opposed to just 27" ? Asking because i noited the Trek offerings. Roscoe is a "plus" sized bike and the Session is a DH bike

DH technology moved a bit slower than trailbike sizes the last go around it seemed

At one time Giant was all in on the 27.5 size and that's all they had. Over the past few years they have been slowly phasing 29ers back in and the 27.5 models are in decline.

With that said 27.5 tires and wheels will be around for a while but the amount of product options available at a good price point for 27.5 will decline.

Yeah, I didn't delve that deep. I was just observing that for a wheel size reportedly in decline, there seems to be plenty in production, so I wouldn't reject a bike that I otherwise liked out of the fear of impending obsolescence.

To use an extreme example: ever seen a monster truck roll over vehicles? Those huge tires can go right over them. Picture trying to do that with your family vehicle. Of course, the difference between a 26-27.5-29 inch tire isn't that drastic, but you get the idea. Which will work for you? Guess a lot depends on how well the bike is designed for the wheel size it's using. And the height and proportions or the rider will enter into whether the rider feels secure and confident on the bike. We used to ride mainly mtn.bikes, with 26" tires. I have a feeling my petite wife, who was a very good off-road rider at one time, would not feel confident on a 29" tired bike. Possible she might, but our ancient 26" are still going fine, and don't get used nearly as often now.

Many of these are running 27.5+ tires in a 29er frame/ride height. The rims of those are too wide for “regular” width tires and they’d be scraping the pedals too. The 27.5+ Roscoe is the same frame as the 29er X-Caliber with a longer travel fork. Some others are just old models; the Release is from 2016.

There is still a subclass of current 27.5 bikes that is intended to be more nimble than the equivalent travel 29er, but they are not the flagship. The Mojo and 5010 are the poster children.

Lack of sales for 27.5 vs. 29 will eventually be the demise of the 27.5 offerings.

Good thread here. I’ve got a Frankenstein 26er hard tail. I’ve only road 26ers
off road. Time for a new mountain bike. Want a full suspension but need to settle on suspension travel and wheel side. COVID has delayed the search trying to get test rides or find a rental. Anyway I’m beginning to think a 27+ with spare 29 wheels is the way. I managed to squeeze a 2.6 on the front and 2.4 on the rear of my 26er. I like the ride, float on soft stuff and traction for rough off road.

Wheel diameter doesn't matter much, I have them all. Frame geometry effects the feel much more. Wider tires are better until they get too wide and heavy. Your local terrain will de life what you prefer.

When i wanted to get back into MTB a few years ago, I was dead set on 29er. I had never ridden it before but decided that's what I wanted to do. I settled on what I decided was a 'decent' 29er and loved riding it. I'm not a huge dude but the road riding on the way to trails, and then my favorite escarpment trails were all fun to ride, I just thought maybe I needed a slightly less aggressive tread because of the amount of road biking I was doing. Bike was eventually stolen, and when I eventually replaced it I wasn't willing to spend the same money and landed on what I consider a 'mediocre' replacement, but now 27.5. I was a little wary about moving down in size, but wasn't hung up on it. So far I must say it rides quite nice, and does seem to accelerate easier in some conditions. Again, I wonder if this is the ideal rubber, but the size seems to be good, and overall probably more appropriate for my riding.