New bike no mans land
Just curious if anyone else feels the same way.
Why would anyone buy a new XC bike for racing in 2026, unless absolutely essential?
The uncertainty about 32 inch bikes and whether they will take over or not could make a purchase obsolete.
For example I have a Gen2 Supercal, Trek haven't released a new XC bike in years presumably due to the 32 inch switch and getting caught out at the wrong time.
My Supercal is still fine for local and even nation XC courses which are no where near WC level which always seem to get mentioned in relational to "XC becoming gnarlier", which doesn't apply to most of the user base.
I'm still curious about upgrading to a 120mm 29er FS platform, to make it more fun off the race course, however it seems a bad time to do it. This isnt helped by the new designs being integrated headset only, meaning 10k plus to make the bike work pain free with flight attendant, wireless dropper, electric shifting, power meter ect.