What a Difference 5 Years Makes in MTB 11

sspomer
5/4/2015 9:12am

Isn't it fascinating how 5 short years can seem like an eternity or a flash in the pan? MTB's ubiquitous, standard 26-inch wheel has gone from everywhere to nowhere. I'm not here to argue the merits of one wheel size over another, that's been done to death. I'm here to marvel at how fast the change has taken place. Most major MTB brands don't make or market a 26-inch-wheeled mountain bike anymore in 2015. They've all gone 27.5, they continue with 29 and we're now also seeing the introduction of the Plus-size wheels in both 27.5 and 29. You can't even find 26-inch wheels on $100 bikes in Wal-Mart anymore, and now our journey to the Darkside is complete (it's May 4th, had to drop a Star Wars reference.)

When I first saw the new Trek Stache 29+ bikes at Sea Otter a couple weeks ago, I couldn't believe the height of the wheels and tires. I've been a monster truck fan since I saw Bigfoot at the Silverdome in 1984 and I remember that one year, long ago, when Bigfoot's Bob Chandler and crew put 10-foot tires on the blue beast. It looked ridiculous, it wasn't very functional, but they did it. My first impression of the Stache 29+ bikes was kind of like that - "Well, they did it, I guess."

Trek crammed that massive rim and rubber combo into the frame and the bike still looked kind of "normal" because the wheelbase and chainstays were "normal" when compared to most average mountain bikes. The layout reminded me of my old Superco Charger on steroids. The purple Stache 7 29+ was Grave Digger with pedals;  kinda cool, but nothing I'd ever want to ride. Then after 3 days in the Sea Otter pits, the whole Plus thing was what became the aesthetic norm because it was everywhere. When I got home and saw my 26-inch Stumpy EVO from 2012, it looked like a clown bike, but in reverse. The wheels looked so ridiculously small. After you see Bigfoot with the 10-foot tires, even though it's goony, the regular Bigfoot looks like it'll high-center on a parking block.

Not too much later, I had a dream where I was on a section of rocky trail on my 26er. There was a hole in the rocks that would have sucked the front wheel into it, just big enough for the 26. If I fell in the hole, a 1000-foot drop awaited. I walked it because I hate heights. Dreaming about 26-inch wheels being too small is f'ing weird.

Prior to the dream, I thought I should test the Stache 7 29+ with those huge-ass wheels. Why not? What have I got to lose? It could be fun, it could be horrible. I'm the perfect demographic for the bike - a mid-life-crisis-aged male with family priorities who doesn't ride as much or aggressively as he used to and wants to try the latest thing in MTB. Trek responded, a bit surprised that Vital would test a bike like this, and they obliged. I should see the bike soon enough.

As a result, I've been researching these monster trucks and wanted to compare an average hardtail in a similar price range from 2010 to see how different they were to these new wagon wheelers. My mind was blown and the photos show the differences.

The 2010 Trek 8000 compared to the 2015 Trek Stache 7 29+.

I'm pretty nervous to try the Stache 29+ because, what if I like it? MTB sure has changed a lot in 5 years. -gordo

Related:
Vital's Voice
Plus
Trek
29+
Hardtail
11 comments

View replies to: What a Difference 5 Years Makes in MTB

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syngltrkmnd
9 years ago
When the latest new doodad gets trotted out by bicycle marketing wizards, the first thing I ask myself is "What would a dirt bike do?"

For that reason, I get fatter rims and fatter tires. I'll certainly never run rim brakes again. I get dropper posts that allow for better standover, I get shorter stems, and wider bars. But hardtails? Meh. Not so much. I'll wait until there's a fun version of this that has squishy bits front and rear. A Slash M'Stache, perhaps?
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skelldify
9 years ago
The answer is "Not as much as the bike industry wants you to think it has."

Every time I see something silly, like fat tires, or electronic shifting touted as the next big thing, I'm happy because I could care less about that crap. The industry is clutching at straws trying to come up with new crap. Once there's a crazy new frame material, or some huge leap in suspension design, then I might feel like my 3 year old bike is outdated. I don't see that happening any time soon.
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Ahab
9 years ago
Here is how it is being trumpeted on another internet mountain bike web site, one I do not frequent but get spammed by constantly, and whose link about this bike I clicked on because of this Vital story:

"...there’s a growing flock of riders who’ve traded their racing numbers for huge backcountry exploration, and often find themselves in primitive, nasty terrain wanting the operational simplicity of a hardtail with the comfort of a full suspension bike. I can’t think of a more capable, and – most importantly – fun bike for the job of backcountry exploration than the Stache 29+.

It brings together the best aspects of a full suspension bike, a hardtail and a fat bike into one extremely functional machine that can swallow terrain whole while allowing its rider to cover huge mileage. If the trend of riding continues in the direction backcountry exploration, then bikes like the Stache might well be game changers."

There you have it. A "backcountry mountain biking" bike. The answer to a question no one (or at least a very small, micro-niche of people) is asking.
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rph21
9 years ago
Other than the cleaner front chain single ring the Trek 8000 looks much nicer!
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Nicholast
9 years ago
And to comment on your point about mountain bikes changing in the past five years. About six ago I got into a pretty heated internet argument -- because those never happen -- about 29ers. I made a statement about not being interested in 29ers as trail bikes until they abandon their then modern XC geometry and slacken out like 26" bikes were starting to do. Specifically, I wanted a 66 degree head angle; silly-slack even for 26" at the time. And for that, I received a dissertation about why that will never happen because of trail and how "dead" the bike would feel along with a bunch of others supporting the same. Now, my last two 29ers have had 66 degree HAs and they are wonderfully playful bikes. Goes to show that sometimes we as mountain bikers get a little too stuck in certain mentalities and resist change because of misguided perceptions (i.e. this new thing is just a marketing ploy to sell more bikes).
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Nicholast
9 years ago
I'm pretty nervous to try the Stache 29+ because, what if I like it? MTB sure has changed a lot in 5 years.

This only adds to your credibility as reviewer in the demographic you mentioned. Too often, it seems reviewers unintentionally fall into wonderlust. It occurs completely subconsciously by mistake, but it occurs because you guys are on the latest and greatest that no one else has. It's nearly impossible to resist this pitfall... unless you are at least a little skeptical before even trying it. It's much tougher to change minds than support existing opinions. Just make sure you don't enter this test with too much anti-big-hoop bias.
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sspomer
9 years ago
i don't have anti-29 bias. i love the enduro 29. had a blast on it at whistler two summers ago. could barely tell i was on a big wheel and enjoyed how the braking bumps didn't feel quite as gross on the bigger wheels. anti fat bike bias? i just hope i can get on the stache without a step stool haha
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anotherbikerguy
9 years ago
i remember when i was hoping to buy a trek 8000. didn't have enough money at the time, but looking at it now makes me nostalgic for high-posting steep singletrack on my aluminum 26" hardtail... good times.

after three years with a dropper post, i sometimes wonder what would happen if i tried to go back.
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