Is the 26" touring/bikepacking/expedition bike dead or going away? ECR vs Troll

[PirateClimb76]

So, have seen several thoughts floating around, and one from the local bike shop when tinkering with which way to go when building up a Surly to do some bikepacking and possibly light expedition biking with, where the size 26" is slowly going the way of the Do-Do.  I know Surly keeps it alive with the Troll, and a few I've come across (names escape me) but not may as it seems 27.5 is the new 26??  (or so I've been told, maybe wrongly so??)

So, I'm looking for knowledgeable  input into this.  I'm a shorter rider (5'-7", just shy of 30" inseam) and I'm befuddled when it comes to the Surly ECR 27.5+ bike and the Surly troll??  I know the 26s I've had in the past have,..well,..pretty much rode like crap.  But the fear is, if ever I get a chance to go overseas (beyond heading up to Canada as far as biking outside the US goes), I have a feeling that unless the 27.5 gains more popularity in Europe, I'd be better off with a 26" troll?

[Vigoroflife]

I think 27+ would be great


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[chrisx]

27.5 is winning the wheel size wars.  Note, I did not type a + or type plus.  27.5 x 2.1 is slowly creeping into shops world wide.

Is not Europe a modern up to date place_

If you are going to the mountains of Peru or the jungles of Guatemala, 26 is still what you can buy, without a long bus ride to Pa Capital.

[Boris_159]

I faced this same problem recently and debated selling my Ti 29+ Jones Plus in favor of a troll. In the end i decided to keep the Jones but if i had it to do again from the start i would consider 26" and a 9 speed drivetrain (if i couldn't afford a Rohloff). 

You don't need to get that far off the beaten path to run into places where bicycle shops have never heard of 29+ or 11/12 speed drivetrains. On a recent four month European trip, I couldn't find any 11 speed parts in Hungary or Slovakia.  These aren't exactly third world countries. Most small towns don't have a bicycle shop at all so a hardware store may be your only option.  Obviously you can pack more spares to counter act this but that is more stuff to lug around. 

Another thing to consider is the inevitable packing of the bike onto planes trains and buses. Our bikes are huge and we have to Frankenstein 3 bike boxes into two just to fit our bikes into boxes for air travel. Getting a loaded plus bike onto a train can be a lot of fun as well. I've had to put them underneath busses also which would have been a helluva lot easier with a troll.  You can plan to your heart's content but sometimes things break or visas run out and you need to hop on a bus.

In the end I decided to stay with the Jones because I spend way more time riding it than I do packing it.  On the trail it is literally the perfect bicycle for me.

Don't forget the troll will take 26x3 tires, haven't tried them myself but that's what i would run. Also look into the tumbleweed prospector. They literally built a bike around this problem. It's a bit pricier than a Surly though. 

I love my Jones and decided to look at parts sourcing delays as an opportunity to explore a town for awhile if we need to FedEx something. I guess I'm arguing for both sides at this point but the riding and the people is the best part of traveling.  The bike is just your tool.

Good luck!

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