A couple weeks ago we asked mountain bikers to share their thoughts about the 27.5/650b wheel size and after crunching the numbers we put together this infographic to tell the story. We were shocked at the results and have come to the conclusion that not only are 27.5″ mountain bikes here to stay, they’re going to be even more popular than 29ers.
After talking about 27.5 for a couple years–will it, or won’t it take off–there are two trends emerging that lead us to the shocking conclusion that 27.5 will eventually take the largest share of the MTB market. The first trend is Trail/AM riding is becoming the type of riding most mountain bikers want to do (61% currently). Part of this is thanks to the improvement in equipment (lighter bikes) and also the fact that more aggressive–but rideable– trails are popping up all over the country (thanks IMBA!).
The second trend is toward specialized (lowercase) mountain bikes for different riding styles. We don’t know if it’s a powerful marketing message or just basic math driving this, but more than half of mountain bikers (51%) agree that 27.5″ mountain bikes are best for Trail/AM riding.
Add these two up and you get that the majority of riders like to ride Trail/AM and they agree that 27.5″ bikes are the best equipment for getting the job done. The number of mountain bikers who say the next bike they’ll purchase will be a 27.5″ (48%) confirms this.
Other interesting tidbits: 60% of mountain bikers think the standard should be called 27.5 (for mountain bikes, anyway). And those who have actually ridden a 27.5″ mountain bike don’t see the new standard as hype and are more likely to buy one than those who have not test ridden yet.
Thanks to all who contributed to this survey. What jumps out at you from the summary data?
