Would it be too much to ask for a photo actually in focus? Yes. It would.

Last fall I resumed my love affair with mountain biking and discovered the joys to be had on 29″ wheels. Since then, while I wasn’t paying attention, everybody else in the shop purchased a 29er of their very own. Strange, as I’m usually the first of us to succumb to New Bike Fever. In truth, I took my time selling my old 26″ bike and squirreling away money for a new bike because I was conflicted: 29 or 650B.

I’ve written (and deleted) a bunch of words related to my angst, but they wandered all over the place and kinda made me carsick.

In short, I am the proud new owner of a Jamis Dragon 650B. Why? I wanted steel. I wanted a suspension fork. I’ve been reading quite a lot of good things about 650B. And, honestly, I like bicycles that are a little bit off the beaten path. I wanted to want a SRAM drivetrain, but I confess to clinging to the familiar in this regard. Mountain biking is, for me, too mentally taxing to waste a few electrical impulses wondering about which button to push. I had those strange Shimano brake/shift flipper levers for a while. Then I switched to trigger shift. Then, because I didn’t really understand what was going on, I changed from a (bleeping) rapid rise rear derailleur to something normal. All of this in less than six years of (ahem) fairly infrequent MTB riding. It’s a miracle I can shift a mountain bike at all.

How is it? Great. I love it. A couple of buddies and I went to Fort Customer this morning, and I had just a super time. It was a quiet, slightly overcast and humid morning. My friends were moving along well, but weren’t trying to set the world on fire. I loved hearing the little gasps and sighs of the fork and the purr of the American Classic freehub body. I’m not a technically gifted mountain biker by anyone’s measure, but I’ve never felt so comfortable in corners. It was just a fantastic experience. Then I did a lap of Al Sabo with my daughter (now there’s a series of words that’ll just about bring tears of joy to a father’s eye) and couldn’t help thinking how much better things were on my new green bike.

What would I change? Not much. I did put a flat bar on the bike along with a set of Schwalbe Racing Ralph tires, both of which I like a lot. I’m very satisfied with the Loop fork, SLX drivetrain, Elixer 3 brakes and American Classic wheels. Am I faster? Probably. I’m a whole lot more comfortable in corners and downhill, which (one hopes) would translate to faster overall. If not, I’m cool with the increase in comfort and greater sense of control.

If there is a downside to 650B, it’s the lack of support from parts manufacturers. The Loop on this bike is the high-end 650B suspension fork. Don’t look for competitors as they do not exist. Likewise, there are between six and ten 650B tire models out there. One of these tires will almost surely fit your needs, but the absolute smorgasbord of options (as seen in 26 and 29 variants) does not exist… yet. The buzz at trade shows is that 650B is gaining support. Word is that RockShox will have at least one fork next year and that at least one major bike brand will have a 650B bike in 2013. Stans and Velocity already make great 650B rims.

Will 650B be the next big thing? I don’t know. I’ve thought about this a lot and I’m not sure that I care. I have good wheels, a good fork and good tires. Maybe I can’t get an Easton or Mavic wheelset in 650B, but I can get a super-awesome alternative. If you’re super explicit and picky about your stuff, you should probably either wait a little bit or go with a more established wheel size.

If, on the other hand, you have a bit of flexibility and (perhaps) daring, I can recommend a certain Shamrock Green bicycle that’ll almost surely slap a big goofy smile on your face.

This is not the big, goofy smile.

I’ll say it: there are a LOT of good fluid trainers out there. We sell a few brands and are often asked, “Which one should I buy?” As with bikes, it depends on the person and the budget, but here are a few things that I’ve learned and experienced.

Blackburn Fluid 2

This is the least expensive fluid trainer we sell, but it has a lot of stuff going for it. The frame is incredibly stiff and sturdy. It has adjustable-height legs, which have two benefits: One is that it’s easy to adjust the trainer for an uneven floor; the other is that you can adjust the overall height of the trainer for different size tires/wheels and/or you can set the rear tire very close to the ground so that a block under the front wheel is unnecessary. The resistance unit on the Fluid 2 has a distinct feel compared to the others. It has almost zero flywheel effect, so  no there’s coasting if you stop pedaling. Instead, you stop. Ryan likened it to riding a cyclocross bike on the grass as opposed to a road bike on smooth pavement. It’s not bad, but it is a bit different. Like all Blackburn products, it’s covered by a lifetime warranty. Very nice.

CycleOps Fluid2

This trainer is technically known as the “fluid squared,” but that’s a bit tough to type. This is one of the legendary fluid trainers. The frame is stiff. It has very nice adjustments for an uneven floor. It’s very easy to load and unload your bike from the trainer with the bolt-action mounting system. The resistance unit is very good and has a nice freewheel action. It’s worth noting that CycleOps fluid trainers had a reputation for leaking. The resistance unit was redesigned around five years ago (if memory serves) and I haven’t seen or heard of a leaking CycleOps trainer since. This is one of the standards and is a real workhorse.

Kurt Kinetic Road Machine

Another workhorse, this trainer has two main selling points: realistic road feel by virtue of a heavy flywheel on its resistance unit and a leakproof fluid unit. The latter was a bigger deal when fluid trainers tended to leak. I’ve put many miles on Road Machines over the years and find that it’s a terrific trainer. If there is a weak spot with this guy, it’s the mechanism used to adjust the tension of the resistance unit. The threads can strip with extended use. The good news is that Kurt replaces the offending parts without fail, so it’s not much of a weak spot. This trainer also lacks adjustments to compensate for uneven floors, but that’s nothing a scrap of wood or cardboard won’t fix.

CycleOps Jet Fluid Pro

A newer model from CycleOps, the Jet Fluid Pro has all of the features of the Fluid Squared plus a few more. Notable is the fact that this trainer can actually handle a 29er rear tire while the others require the installation of a smaller road tire on the rim.  Frankly, I don’t think this is a big deal in someone’s home, but it sure is handy in a bike shop. The method used to snug the resistance unit against the tire is a new and interesting design and is very handy if you need to swap bikes in and out of the trainer on a regular basis. If you’re a one bike/one trainer person, it won’t matter much at all. Still, this is a nice trainer.

Which one should you get? It’s all in what you want. The Blackburn is the least expensive of the lot and will serve you well. The Fluid Squared and the Road Machine are, as noted, tried and trued designs. They have slightly different pros and cons, but on the whole they’re just really good trainers. The Jet Fluid Pro is very impressive and would be an excellent choice if you need to swap bikes in and out of the trainer on a regular basis.

With any of these, all you need are a fan, some water and a stack of movies (or downloads) to help pass the time.