I don’t think 26 inches will go away entirely. I started riding a unicycle in 1981. At that time the “26 inch” 650B was very popular. Before it was then replaced in the early 90s by the 26 inch mountain bike size (559mm diameter). Now what used to be called 26 inches (650B, I rode a 44-584 tire) is now called 27.5 “. It’s exactly the same dimension. The bike industry has invented something” new “that wasn’t new at all. There were always tires to buy for this size. The only new thing is that it is now called 27.5 “instead of 26”. So I think that 26 “will never go away. In the bike sector, however, it is the case that 29” has now established itself clearly. Itss certainly exciting what will happen in the future. 3 “tires are also being offered less and less. The popular sizes are 2.60” max. 2.80”
I hope that if the 26 inch tire is made obsolete that it’s a slow process. Not only do I ride a 26 nimbus muni but I ride a mid 90’s GT talera Mt bike with 26 inch rims. I love both of them and I am not planning on giving up either anytime soon. I feel there are still alot of bikes out there being riden with 26 inch rims that will still provide a market for standard widths it’s those 2.5 to 3 inch widths that may be challenging to get. I say stock up now
Well we can always relace to a new size rim and then 3D print stantion spacers to extend the bearing down to accept the new sized tire and rim in our old obsolete frames, So There !
Tires unfortunately age sitting on the shelf too…
Your right, but only after sitting a good long while but they will last year’s… I have tires in my collection I have swapped after several years hanging in my garage and they are fine. I bet there are alot of 36 riders that wished they bought an extra tire to have as a spare before the pandemic shortages. Nothing wrong with having an extra tire or two around.