Fashion is such a drag!

[padonbike]

Dear Sir,
In an effort to keep abreast of the current trend for perpetually changing wheel sizes, I thought I would swap out the current wheels on my bicycle for something more contemporary.
Having been rigorously assured by industry sources that plus is passe and minus is marvellous, I'm now running a 29 BB- up front and a 650b- behind.
Feeling incredibly relieved that my go-to choice for MTB wheels is right on the nose of the industry standard, I'm now keen to even try some "bikepacking".
However, no sooner had I made this groundbreaking wheel choice and I began feeling uneasy at neglecting the holy grail of offroad riding - gravel - so I've now fitted some 46mm wide gravel rubber, which I understand puts me right back at the cutting edge.
This all very good, but I'm having flashbacks to that traumatic breakfast incident when I mistook the butter for the I Can't Believe It's Not Butter: I no longer know what to believe.
Reaching a point of desperation, I reached for a tape measure and found that both "new" wheels now measure 26" x 1.85". I'm sure you can imagine my surprise and consternation when I realised that this is precisely what I started out riding three decades ago!
As I'm acquainted with at least one Professor of Wheelology who frequents your esteemed pages, I remain hopeful that your readership will find the kindness in their hearts to help with my dilemma.
Yours,
William Wobbly

[Bearbonesnorm]

Bad day Philip? Oh and don't even consider going bikepacking ... everyone knows you need a fat bike for that

[rando nomad]

Can I nominate this for post of the year?

[padonbike]

No, not a bad day at all. In fact had a rather good night out and a good brew up courtesy of the rather fine Bearbones stove.

[ZeroDarkBivi]

Just about to commit to one of these cutting-edge/retro bikes. Not only do they have comparable levels of traction and comfort to my first MTB purchased in 1991, but a narrower spread of gears, negligible reduction in all-up weight (including rider and gear), considerable increase in cost, and, most importantly, a new function; ADVENTURE. What's not to love?

I must be high on marketing crack.

[Gari]

I ride a CX bike and a drop bar bike with 48/50mm tyres, mainly on the same kind of stuff I rode on my first bike. Late 80s-early 90s, riding in the hills etc as there were no centres and the likes, great fun and always been my favourite form of biking. The fact that most modern adventure bikes are basically the same( 2in tyres, narrow bars etc) is no bad thing for me! And as has been mentioned already; less weight, better/stronger materials and updated geometry makes it a win/win in my view. We(me!) sometimes forget it’s just riding bikes.... a view that usually gets highlighted during these conversations.