26 Inch MTBs Aren't Dead
 

Words & Photos: Don Speden

With the rise in popularity of all things carbon and techy, we have recently been presented with – god forbid – another new tyre size. 32 massive inches of reduced rolling resistance and increased contact area. Not wanting to indulge in one-upmanship, but heck for 31 years I’ve been regularly riding my replica Penny Farthing with 51 inches up front. Its tiny back wheel could even qualify it as a mullet!

As the bicycle industry delights in reinventing old designs and marketing them as something new, the popularity of collecting 26 inch MTBs seems to just gain more and more traction. The Facebook group ‘Classic, retro, old or shit mountain bikes’ became so popular with posts from all over the world that it was forced to rebrand as ‘Classic, retro, old or shit mountain bikes (New Zealand content only)’.

A lot of NZ riders still remember the golden days of the early MTB clubs and races that cost just $25 to enter. Many of those clubs still exist but the racing format has drastically changed to suit modern times and the hi-viz police. The weekend format typically involved arriving Friday night to the race venue, pitching a tent or bunking down in a cheap motor camp cabin, and then hitting town in search of alcoholic beverages and fellow riders. An early rise on Saturday morning for the hill climb race was a guaranteed hangover buster. The downhill followed, with riders wearing motocross body armour like forearm guards etc and the occasional full face motocross helmet with homemade splatter paint job and fluro Oakley stickers. Once at Ōhau I even spotted a full-body wetsuit.

Saturday lunch break was the chance to whip out your allen key and remove both your outer chain rings for the afternoon entertainment – otherwise known as observed trials – on some pretty crazy courses. With your 24 tooth Onza buzz saw and your seat post dropped as low as it would go you were ready for action. Modern mountain bikers would say WTF at the size of the logs we attempted to ride over. The obstacles that can be ridden on a stock 26 inch MTB have to be seen to be believed. Photos from the observed trials are rare today as too many people were laughing uncontrollably and drinking, also with reduced control, to be worried about documenting such a spectacle.

If the race venue wasn't a ski field with a lodge bar, it was a short trip into town (club juniors with driver licences were popular) in search of a pub or fish & chip shop and bottle store. It was not uncommon for the cycling hijinks to continue late into the night or even early morning. The serious cross country riders slept far away from the racket, or in the nearest town. It was all part of the mission – which was to enjoy a weekend away with other like-minded mountain bikers who were all into a new sport that was growing by the day.

For those keen riders who made it to the start line Sunday morning not all bleary eyed and hungover, the cross country race was the main event. For others it might have been the Saturday night party! The local clubs and communities who organised those early races put on fantastic events. Entrants would proudly wear their souvenir T-shirts until they were threadbare, or save them for future bragging rights on a yet to be invented Facebook. The number of fantastic 26 inch bikes I know of that were kept (for whatever reason) is amazing – gathering dust in the back of a garage until their owners enthusiasm eventually hit a renaissance with the onset of 29ers.

It seems that even some younger riders are discovering the joys of a 26 inch bike, be it steel or alloy with rim brakes, no suspension or even early basic suspension designs. Facebook groups are the perfect place to show off your latest restoration, garage sale or market place find. Rare bikes and NOS (new old stock) parts are still affordable compared to other hobbies. They are frequently traded among riders searching for that elusive part to complete a build so they can hit the local single track on their retro ride.

If you are new to fixing and maintaining your bicycle, 26 inch MTBs are a great place to start as they require fewer tools and are a lot less technical by design. If you have the chance, add some retro 26 inch wheels to your fleet to experience what it was like when mountain biking was ‘the latest new thing’ and bicycle technology was basic. All the required parts are still available and you’ll build on your riding skill set, mastering the basics without hydraulic disk brakes and long travel suspension. Of course you won't be able to land those huge drop offs at warp speed, but it will add new intrigue to your local single track.