Well, that's good news for me. It means I'll really have to keep my 26inch Enduro, which I really love, until the dust settles and the industry/the market decides which wheel size is really here to stay.
I do get the concept, wide and light probably feels really good on a 150/160mm bike with short enough geometry. Great pinch flat resistance, good rollover, floatation etc.
But as a consumer there's no way I'll splash big dollars for a carbon rocket with industry standards all over which might be obsolete in the next model season.
I used to be an early adopter. Tried lots of bling stuff in my bike shop days. Had to send in a lot for warranty, but always had the fresh stuff.
My tricked out Carbon Enduro really spoiled me - it is light and mighty durable. So I'd want something at least as light AND durable. And because I bought it at the end of its 26" product life cycle it also is really refined.
Everything on it is dialed. But I probably couldn't use anything short of the brakes and the saddle on my next bike as a carry over.
Rims are the wrong size and width, hubs will probably be too 15x110, 148boost rear, high rise bar won't work, shock and fork nope…
Of course I knew that 26 was already kind of a dinosaur, but I really didn't expect it to fade so fast in the LBS shelves. At least over here in Germany, if you want some decent tires in the good compounds or a wheel set etc. you will have to special order it.
That's really bad for the local dealers, they can NOT stock all the special stuff and variants anymore, there's so many different standards.
I don't get how anyone makes profit. So many R and D costs, stocking, tooling etc.
Slow the product cycles, produce in bigger numbers and sell all of your produced goods?
Modern Enduro bikes are FANTASTIC, they are so versatile, it is mind boggling. But customers are starting to delay their purchases, because they are more and more confused. Spending 8000$ on a bike won't even buy them two seasons of state of the art.
Of course you can say: however long it works for you it will be a great bike. While that's true, I believe there's a tipping point where even pretty laid back customers will feel hosed?
I do have more money to spend on bikes than a couple of years ago, yet I find myself just riding more and more and care less about my equipment. (I'm still a gear whore, but I regularly wear out parts now, not because they are weak, but because I ride a lot.) and then I replace them because I have to, rather than because I want to buy something new, just for the heck of it.