As you know I need a new MTB frame that is the correct size and with Eurobike in a couple of weeks there are plenty of things to google at the moment. If you are a tekniknörd with a wallet to support it, 2013 is looking to be the year for you.

I like a good comparison test and this one at MountainBikeAction caught my attention. And what worries me is that basically every company that has leaked their 2013 lineup seemed to be 100% 29er. But according to the test the 29er is slow to get rolling, harder to stop and means that you can get away with bad technique when the trail gets rough. I got the feeling that 29ers were for fat lazy people that did not really care about skill and did not want too much excitement. Kind of like the people who buy Korean cars. This test was all for 27.5er while the good old 26er came last. It said that you have to be talented to go fast on a 26er.

There is basically no complete 27.5er on the market yet unless you can squish bigger tires on your 26er and probably Eurobike will show us a whole pile of new options. But it will cost. The first production year is always expensive because trend sets the price and not reality. Kind of like how an Autumn 2012 pair of jeans costs 1400kr yet an almost identical pair of jeans from last year would cost 700kr at an outlet. I don't think I can jump on the 27.5er trend in the first year unless it can work with the components I have.

So it looks like I will be continuing on a 26er if I can still find a frame in that size. I have the fork and the components already so this is the cheapest option until 27.5ers are available here and all the bugs are fixed. And while I am doing so I can pass 29ers going uphill, I can crush them in a final sprint and I can claim to have superb technical abilities for riding it through singletrack without falling. Plus, I get more training out of the whole deal. Yes, give me a 26er again.