Every year at the start of the bike season (around springtime), manufacturers put out the theme for the year’s merchandising push.

This year it seems to be: 29ers are here to stay. So get yours now!

(There’s a subtext as well, which is: Get ready for the 650b Revolution! 650b being the tire size splitting the difference between the standard 26er and the 29er.)

We at BikeIntelligencer have puzzled over all the hot talk re 29ers since it first stirred the pot back in the day. We in fact had the pleasure of riding with a WTB (Wilderness Trail Bikes) 29er pioneer a decade ago on Sunday morning rides with Keith Denebeim’s Tam Valley Bike Club.

Over the years we’ve seen a number of friends, colleagues and riders we respect get 29ers for their main steed. And here’s the bottom line: Nearly all have gone back to 26ers.

The exceptions have been folks falling into 3 categories:

1. They are sponsored riders paid in part to promote bikes that happen to be 29ers.

2. Their favorite rides are tailor made for ‘niners.

3. They are tall.

The other folks — the ones who bought 29ers with their own hard-earned cash just to see what the buzz was all about — have just about to a rider abandoned or shelved the big wheels.

When we ask them why, we get a surprising variety of answers. But they all militate toward a common theme, which is: Lack of versatility. 29ers are great bikes for certain specific purposes, which can include racing but mostly involve classic cross-country (XC) singletrack.

The problem is, most riders don’t ride just XC. Most riders in fact do a lot more with trail riding (aggressive-trail, freeriding, or downhill), where things like maneuverability, quickness and handling are paramount. It may seem like a joke to point it out, but so far 29ers haven’t made it big in slope style, 4-cross, enduro or downhill competitions. They aren’t even the bike of choice in World Cup XC events, although some riders have done well on them.

We go up to Whistler every summer and have yet to see much evidence of a 29er boom there. Out on the trails in NorCal this summer-like winter, we have noticed an uptick in 29ers. But they’re hardly a threat to displace conventional mountain bikes.

We stopped and chatted with the owner of a spanking new 29er on the climb up Mount Tam a month ago. Why had he gotten a ‘niner? “Curiosity.” What did he think so far. “It’s…OK.” It was hardly a ringing endorsement, although he did say he’d not had enough ride time to adequately evaluate it.

Another facet of the ‘niner buzz that frustrates us is the broad generalizing about the bikes with little quantitative basis. Commentary after promo commentary hints that the bigger tires make riding over obstacles easier, forward momentum stronger and ride stability greater. While those may be observationally true, we have yet to see any scientific substantiation.

In that vein, we were intrigued to see the 29er versus 26er shootout in the most recent (No. 23) issue of Mountain Flyer magazine by racer Michael McCalla, who compared similarly set up bikes over a variety of terrains for time and power output (wattage).

McCalla’s startling conclusion: No quantifiable difference between the two. Interestingly, McCalla experienced the same feedback that 29er evangelists promote regarding ride feel. But none of it translated into any actual ride advantage.

McCalla’s findings may have surprised us, but they mirror our own reaction to 29ers. We’ve ridden fully rigid, hardtail and full suspension versions of 29ers and always had the same response. They feel great for the first hour or so. Then they feel OK. Not long after, their idiosyncrasies start to make us hanker for our familiar mount.

We do think that 29ers are great for taller riders (6’2″ and above). A big powerful guy like Dejay Birtch thrives on a Niner, and not just because the Niner brand sponsors him. We can see why the (tall) maestro, Gary Fisher, was so stoked at the idea in the first place.

And for specific terrain — flowy, not-too twisty or technical singletrack — 29ers are a hoot for just about anybody. But are you gonna do drops or hucks and jumps on a 29er? Is a 29er suited for your favorite downhill? And what about having to buy spare 29er everythings, like wheels and tires and tubes? Ka-ching!

We’re firmly in the camp of “to each his (or her) own.” Just because we don’t ride 29ers doesn’t mean we hate them.

But when someone starts talking 29er Jesus to us, we have to smile and shake our heads. They’re just wasting their time.

A friend of ours, citing the Church of Big Hoops, put it well in a modified Christian hymn. Feel free to sing along!

Hoop of ages, spin for me
For a slightly higher fee.
Though the weight is kinda high
And the roll out burns the thigh.

29ers rule the day
Just get in the line and pay!

Unlike past Interbikes, no major breakthroughs like VPP or DW-Link or rad shocks or tubeless tires headlined 2009. In fact, nothing really headlined 2009. This year was not so much about new. It was mostly about improved.

A better drivetrain from SRAM. An HD helmet cam from Hero. New tires from WTB. Better lighting systems, lighter wheelsets, iPhone bike apps, a bladder that tells you how full it is from Camelbak.

And a great t-shirt from Thule.

All nice. But not earthshaking.

Much of the subdued aura at the Sands had to do with the economy, of course. The bike industry isn’t being hammered as hard as, say, the auto industry or housing sector. In fact, there are bright spots, including increasing ridership, commute penetration numbers and respectable sales of mainstream bikes. And although final numbers are not yet in, organizers who were expecting a drop in attendance feel the headcount may actually prove to be higher this year than last.

But high-end bikes are pretty much dead in the water. And they’re the ones with the fat margins that make the money to fund R&D that leads to tech advances in the marketplace. The big bike manufacturers will deny cutbacks on skunkworks and blue-sky projects, and the boutique makers will say they’re still full steam ahead. But if you talk to the suppliers and vendors and even shop rats, you hear a different story.

You didn’t see a whole lot of new models at Interbike this year. There was the downhill 29er from Lenz we discussed, and Santa Cruz’s Tallboy carbon 29er, and Ibis’ HD (longer-travel) Mojo and some random others. We expected Turner to have prototypes of the DW-Link RFX available at the Dirt Demo, but it’s another tell (as they say at the Vegas poker table) on the state of the business that Dave did not roll this baby out. Giant and Trek didn’t even show up.

The biggest Top Secret whisper-whisper hubbub had to do with battery-sensored “smart fork” suspension from Cannondale. Remember earlier this year when electronic transmission was the next big thing? Like, where did that go?

This is no slam against the bike biz. Everyone’s hurting, so it only makes sense to lower expectations. And a lower-key Interbike is in some ways a more enjoyable Interbike. You could focus on the social aspects and networking instead of running around trying to absorb tons of new goodies that manufacturers were vying for your attention span over.

So even if 2009 goes down as one of the ho-hummer Interbikes, it hardly means the show wasn’t worth it. This is bike fever at its best, even in hard times. And besides, there’s always next year.

First, a reality check. When manufacturers and PR types talk about the 29er revolution, they’re mixing marginal data with speculation and hope. I have yet to see an industry figure for 29er adoption. There’s another revolution in mountain biking going on, too, having to do with tubeless tires. For loose yardstick purposes, keep the tubeless “revolution” in mind in evaluating the 29er revolution.

I can’t see most downhillers, who are compact guys and gals between 5-9 and 6-0, getting much advantage from a 29er. But someone who did come to mind is the all-time greatest, Steve Peat, a big guy with shoulders broad as Texas who tosses a conventional 26-inch downhill bike around like it was a BMX.

It’d be interesting to have a guy of Peaty’s dimensions (6-2, 200 lbs) try out the 29er DH. Or even the new Santa Cruz Tallboy 4-inch 29er for that matter (Peat rides for SC). If Peat smokes the field riding a 29er then I’d say yeah, we have a winnah!

There’s no question that a 29er is going to roll faster and cover more ground than a 26-inch bike. If downhilling were just a matter of point and rip, then yes, by all means, a 29er would belong in your quiver. But downhill courses are among the most technically demanding racing a rider can do. There’s lots of twisting and turning and braking and railing. It’s a big question-mark whether the gyroscopic advantages of going 29 translate into an arena modeled for 26-inch competition.

Here at Bike Intelligencer, we’re keeping an open mind. We’ve ridden 29ers and like them. We don’t own any. But we have friends who love the things (for awhile; after the honeymoon, most relegate their 29ers to specific trails and types of riding), and who are all over six feet tall. We may yet see the light. After all, we are just a tad over 6-0. And out of the seven bikes we own, one does actually really truly sport tubeless wheels.

The belt drive gets a thumbs up. Some folks questioned my skepticism about the Gates carbon drive system, pointing out its proven service for motos, lawnmowers and the like. I say give me a year with this thing on a mountain bike in the rainy, the muddy, the cold and the rocky Pacific Northwest and I’ll have it cryin’ like a baby lost its mama…

Reynolds is showing off an 900-gram carbon wheelset for the princely sum of $6,000.

Lennard Zinn tried out REVL, a new brand of carbon brakeset, 115 grams, “very powerful.”

What happens when the carbon “revolution” meets the 29er “revolution”? The Ellsworth Enlightenment, for one.

Cyclelicio.us has an interesting take on magnetically cleated pedals. Yeah I’m skeptical ’bout them too ;^)

Then there’s wood, which may be the future new retro improved lighter stronger bike material we are always ready to embrace …

Fluidride Cup, No. 3, courtesy of PinkBike. Cool vid by Andy Tran.

BC Bike Race, Day 2, courtesy of Bike magazine.

Bicycles and Icicles: Cool blog this time of year. Downright cold the rest of the year.

Mountain Biking 198 conducted a poll on your next bike’s chances of being a 29er. Here are the results. I have a feeling they’re skewed. With all the mountain biking I do, I see nowhere near a third being 29ers. The only time I see a 29er at all is strictly XC riding, and flat at that. They don’t do so well on the steep tight switchbacks, and they ain’t much on jumps and drops either. They’re fine for certain riders (esp. tall ones) and certain applications, but they’re like the frame equivalent of going tubeless. They’ll stay on the margins, more power to ‘em.

I almost got a Knolly Delirium T, but it’s a bit of a tank and it cost way too much. Now Knolly has marked ‘em down, by as much as $1k they say, so if you’ve been waiting, check it out. The name makes my Top 10 of all time btw.