On Jun 7, 12:51 pm, pb <pbridge...@aol.com> wrote: > Absolutely fascinating set of comments on that web page! I was very > interested by the reticence of Specialized -- I thought their response that > dealers wouldn't want to stock three wheel sizes was reasonable and > pragmatic, if a bit conservative ... but those folks are very smart.
I agree that Specialized is very smart, but I think a different dynamic is at work: Specialized and Trek are the big leaders in 29" mountain bikes. They jumped on that boat early and now reap the rewards. 650B (sorry, I refuse to call it 27.5") is an attempt by those who missed the 29er boat to usurp that movement. Of course, Specialized hopes 650B is just a passing fad, and they can go back to selling their 29ers. Specialized is in a catch-22: Jump onto the 650B bandwagon, and they legitimate the whole movement. Sit it out, and they risk missing the boat. Currently, they are hedging their bets. (At first, they said "No way, it's stupid," now they are beginning to sound more open.) I would not be surprised if they had two lineups in preparation for 2014 – one without 650B and one with 650B. At the last moment, they would decide what to do based on how things are playing out. The technical merits may be there, but that rarely is what drives the industry. Oh, and I couldn't help but laugh when I read that 650B wheels were used on "French cruiser and city bikes." I guess the wonderful randonneur bikes of the 1950s look like "cruiser bikes" to modern mountain bike journalists! Jan Heine Editor Bicycle Quarterly http://www.bikequarterly.com Follow our blog at http://janheine.wordpress.com/ -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
