Yeah, that´s right. I am almost sure that the 29er explosion is just a marketing manoevre. It has began hard to sell during the crisis a new bicycle. Small inventions do not help anymore. The only way is to come with a revolution. I don´t know how was it in Canada or the U.S.A. but after the end of communism era every bicycle dealer wanted to convince you, that you need a mountain bike with 26 inch wheels. A 700C trekking bicycle was just for the old mammas. Know the 29ers came and even it is almost the same bike it is much better. Now it is clear that you do not need a long travel 26 inch wheels bike but a new 29er....

There is one thing that wasn´t mentioned here. It is quite hard to find a functional geometry for the 29er fullys with 150 mm and more. Big wheels, low BB height, the same wheelsbase as the 26 inch bikes. That´s a big problem for all the suspension systems. Not all of them can be transformed for the 29 inch wheels with such travel like FR or DH bikes. Thatś why some big players are looking for a new wheel size (Scott, Schwalbe...)... like 27,5 where they can with less problem build a long travel bike.