Words: Ali Todd. All opinions my own…

It’s odd, working with bikes. For me, it seems like 650B bikes have been around forever (nearly…that’s just the effect being in a bike office has), and 29ers even longer than that. The reality, though, is that most riders have never even seen a 650B bike on the trails. So why the take-off? Well, the sceptics insist it’s the media pushing the bigger wheels on the market, but the figures say differently. Clearly someone’s buying these bikes, or at least plenty of people are selling them. Notably, from 2014 at least, Giant.

Until now, 650B has remained a sidelined option, but Giant have taken a big leap of faith, or revolution of faith if you like. The 2014 range has just been released, and it looks like all roads meet at 650B. Aside from the Reign X and the Glory, which stay at 26”, and the Anthem X and Trance X, which stay at 29”; everything else is 650B. Giant say this is a good improvement for very little in the way of disadvantage, and it would seem to follow that with a company like this throwing their weight behind it, a huge take-off for the mid-size wheels is imminent.

So what do you think? Do you buy into 650B, and will you be getting one? The 650B bikes I’ve ridden have been nothing but good. Once a decent range of tyres make it into 27.5, I think they’ll be rolling faster than ever. So has Giant made the right move?