Many of the latest MTB forks are 29er only, leaving buyers with fewer 27.5 options

Following last week’s announcement that the new Formula Selva V mountain bike fork will not be offered in a 27.5 version, a frustrated reader emailed Singletracks. “It’s a shame a person cannot get [the fork], considering many people much prefer 27.5 over 29 wheels,” they wrote.

Though plenty of mountain bikers love to ride their 27.5 bikes, demand for new 27.5 bikes and compatible front-end components has been declining for years. However, the decline appears to have accelerated over the past year or two, and as a result, component supplies are becoming more scarce. We reached out to Formula and other fork brands to understand what’s happening, and why.

Fewer 27.5 options when it comes to the latest forks

By all accounts, the Formula Selva V is a refined, high-performance mountain bike fork with all the modern features riders demand, including a reliable, low-friction air spring and even an integrated fender. But unlike the previous-generation Selva forks, it’s only available in a 29er chassis.

“We’ve seen 27.5 sales drop markedly in the last year or so, so when it came to making a mold for the Selva V lowers (which costs about half a million euro), we had to think hard about whether it was worth investing in something we’re seeing dwindling interest in,” according to Formula MTB Communications Manager Sim Mainey. “In the end we decided it wasn’t financially feasible.”

Cane Creek Product Marketing Manager Will Hart confirms that his company has also seen demand for 27.5 forks take a nosedive.

“The popularity (and sales) of 27.5 forks fell off the edge of the earth a couple of years ago when the meat of the industry moved to 29-inch wheels,” he said. “It happened fast, and the sales numbers could not be ignored. We’re running out the parts and won’t plan to make more.” A note on the Cane Creek Helm II fork product order page says, “All 27.5 forks are final sale“.

Earlier this year, Fox revamped their mountain bike fork lineup in a major shakeup, and in the process, quietly phased out 27.5″ forks for most applications. Based on a check of the Fox website, none of the latest XC or trail forks are offered in a 27.5 size. It’s not until you get into the all-mountain category that you find a single 27.5 option, the Fox 36 Factory Grip X. Singletracks reached out to Fox for confirmation but did not receive a response.

RockShox updated their SID SL and Reba forks just last month, and while the cross-country SID SL is only available for 29ers, the new Reba Gold XC/short-travel fork is available in both 27.5-inch and 29-inch sizes. The brand continues to offer several other forks in 27.5″ sizes as well, including the Pike and Revelation.

At least for the time being, 27.5 Formula buyers still have excellent options available. “The Selva S, C and R are all still available in 27.5 though, so we do have that option available in the lineup,” Mainey said. Not only that, select 27.5 Formula forks are compatible with the all-new V air spring, giving some owners a path to upgrade their 27.5 fork internals to take advantage of the latest and greatest.

Jenson USA currently shows more than a dozen 27.5-inch forks for sale, and nine out of 19 of them are listed as “last chance closeout,” priced at 30% off or more. Across the board, the lack of available 27.5 forks is particularly pronounced at the shorter end of the travel spectrum.

Why 27.5 forks are disappearing

Over the past several seasons, enthusiasm for matched, 27.5 wheels has shifted to mixed-wheel bikes. Many riders have found they can get the best of both worlds with a larger, 29-inch wheel up front and a smaller-diameter 27.5-inch wheel in the rear. Mixed-wheel bikes fit a wider range of riders than 29ers alone, and many bike brands have embraced mixed-wheel over 27.5 in their lineups.

Riders converting a 27.5 bike to mixed-wheel will need to upgrade their fork, which adds to the demand for high-end 29er forks. It also adds to the supply of used 27.5 forks for sale.

Though mixed-wheel may have killed 27.5-inch forks for some brands, there’s a chance that mixed-wheel bikes could actually save them. Or, at least ensure that a few decent 27.5 forks are around for years to come. Youth and kids bikes are going mixed-wheel too — for example the Giant Faith and Commencal Clash — and these bikes make use of a 27.5″ fork paired with a 26-inch rear end. The full-suspension Faith comes with Giant’s own Crest fork, which doesn’t help fork brands sell more 27.5″ forks, though the Clash features a 27.5″ Fox fork, at least for now.

Will 27.5 forks disappear completely? Almost definitely not, though it appears unlikely brands will bring back or expand their 27.5 offerings anytime soon.