Protest the 29er!

That's 29" mountain bikes, for the uninitiated: meaning that the wheels on the mountain bike are actually 29" in diameter rather than the standard 26".

Supposedly, they are better for riding off road than the mountain bike that typically has 26" wheels because the beach cruisers that were originally converted back in the 1970's to be the first mountain bikes came with them. So, it was a standard that was an accident and was never changed. So some marketing genius figured 30 years was a good period of time to wait and change the standard: for what benefit? Oh, the bike companies can sell a new line of bikes for bike shops to carry (in inventory!...remember, the bike makers make money off the interest that the shops pay on inventory!...just like car makers to dealers.)

While I don't know all the advantages of this larger wheel diameter, I do know the disadvantages associated with this larger, and more importantly, different wheel diameter. The larger diameter wheel will negatively impact your ride, our environment, and the economic well being of bike shop owners.

First, 29ers degrade your ride. Not the individual "ride and feel" associated with a bike, but rather your riding experience. 29ers make it more difficult for a large cycling group to benefit from common components. Imagine being out in the wilderness riding your bike with some friends, and a few of you have flats. Imagine you're the only one with a different wheel diameter. You've lost any potential 'economies of scale' by selecting a non-standard tube, tire, and wheel, as everyone in your mtnbike party will have extra tubes and such, but nothing to fit your goofy bike. So, 29ers add complexity to your ride and decrease the potential benefits of shared/common components associated with a group.

Additionally, 29ers are horrible for the environment. Sound a bit extreme? It's not. When Gary Fisher, Joe Breeze, and pals decided to use what was available, not only was this the best decision for the need to share common parts on the "Repack Downhill", but it was also the best thing for the environment, at that time and now. Gary and Joe were recycling old bikes and making them more relevant to their specific needs. Simple modifications allowed them to do amazing things back then. To re-create a new wheel/tire diameter would only make things more complicated (less mechanical quality) and reduce the amount of material that was being reused. By changing standards we've only increased the level of complexity and waste associated with the bike industry. If you want to go simple and green: stay with a 26" wheel.

Bike shops are going to financially hurt from the added complexity of another wheel diameter and product type. Nowadays, with multiple tire, wheel, and tube diameters, we've ensured that bike companies have to make and carry a greater level of inventory of stock, at least twice as much, but more than likely it has some exponential effects. These effects would be seen in the multitude of different bikes available in not just pure 26" or 29" wheel sets, but also combinations of wheel diameters like 29/26. Sound crazy? It is, especially now that China has to make more bikes, tires and tubes. As magazines advertise and market these new products, how many perfectly good 26" bikes will end up in the landfill because of the limited benefit associated with riding a wheel that is 3" taller than the previous standard. And ultimately, bike shops will bear the cost of maintaining increased inventory of parts and bike products associated with the bike manufactures' decision to complicate the bicycle market.

Again, this has negative economic, environmental and ride qualities for all cyclists. Protest the 29er!