[Closed] 29ers - Bike park capable?

A mate of mine rode Aston Hill recently on his Stumpy 29er FSR (130mm F&R) and reckoned it was as quick as his 26" 160mm enduro, BUT, he said he lacked confidence getting it off the ground in any major way and felt nervous on some of the drops and nowhere near as much 'fun'. With that in mind I am sure that if getting down quickly is your thing, then a burly 29er is fine, but if you'd rather mess about and have a little more security if you get it slightly wrong, then a 650B 160mm machine would be ideal.

I rode BPW on my Bronson and it was the perfect bike for there, but it's also as easy to take on 50km rides than his Stumpy 29er.

I like getting both wheels off the ground on some nice rolling table tops etc, but again It wouldn't ruin my day if I didn't get in the air at all! Just fast fun turny trails are what I like the most. I really enjoyed the likes of A line when I was in Whistler, don't have and won't be buying a DH bike though.

Have a look at the Specialized Enduro 29.

My MEta AM29 was built with BPW in mind I rekon. It's a beast there !

Go to BPW

Hire a remedy 27.5 for half the day, and a remedy 29 for the other half

Decide which you like the best

Have a look at the Specialized Enduro 29

Wouldn't be a fan of Spesh. But thats for another debate 😛 .

I have taken my Turner Sultan to BPW a couple of times (125mm rear and 140mm Pikes) and it has been awesome. Taken it down all the blacks no problem if not ideal and fast as anything on the blues and reds.

Here's some footage of a Cove Shocker (unfit rider) and a Nomad (slow rider) getting in my way

I've hammered my HT 29er at Bike Park Wales and FOD downhills and had a great time. It's also the most confident bike I've ever attempted to get air on, which is saying a lot as I'm fuggin useless at that kind of gnar. Modern mountain bikes , even XC ones, can handle a hell a lot more than most people can throw at them and still be fun.

Since you already ride 29ers, in the interest of adapting easily and transfer skills from one bike to another, I'd say its probably best to stick to a 29er for your 'play' bike.

BPW - uplift truck rack is made for 29, will take 26 with a bolt.

if 'you' couldnt ride a clown bike there, they would have bought different trailers.

I used my Canyon Nerve 29er (120 front, 110 rear) at BPW and it wasn't holding me back on the reds, didn't do many blacks but that's more down to my ability that the bike's.

Although not BPW, I smashed all my PBs on anything that was downhill related at Cannock over the weekend and I wasn't even trying due to a cold. First time I'd been on my T129S and it was so much more planted and confidence inspiring than even the 29er hardtail I had before it.

Like others have said, try them out. Give us a shout if you fancy testing a Smuggler or a Scout (or both) at BPW...

Interesting to hear all the replys so far. Many people getting air time on their 29ers?
I'd like to also hear from more Transition and Nukeproof owners as those are what my local bike shop has.

Cheers.

Give us a shout if you fancy testing a Smuggler or a Scout (or both) at BPW...

Thanks, I'll see how I get on, might just choose to take the risk and buy something before I head over.

I have a banshee prime and it's the most confident I have been in a bike both on the floor and in the air.

Took my On One Codeine (130mmR 140mmF) there and it was a hoot. Easily keeping up with people I'm usually as quick as on bikes like a Tracer 275 and an Alpine 160.

My camber evo jumps a treat, 29ers not being able to jump and not being fun is rubbish spouted by people who are scared of anything new.

Just come from a Mega TR to the camber, prefer the camber in the air and for fun.

Would have zero qualms about riding the camber flat out on the blues and reds at BPW, some of the bigger drops on enter the dragon, id be wincing for the bike, im sure sturdy wrists would see it done though.

Smuggle looks to be a real good bike, will be perfect for what you're looking at.

PS im a BMXer looking for every little excuse for doing anything other than having both wheels on the floor, rolling in a straight line.

might just choose to take the risk and buy something before I head over

You won't go too far wrong with the new Transitions but you might like to throw a Pyga One-Ten into the mix too.

There were a fair few people on 29're out in the alps this summer.

They were having fun 🙂

PS im a BMXer looking for every little excuse for doing anything other than having both wheels on the floor, rolling in a straight line.

Is it just me or did you word that last sentence wrong? lol! 😆

Nukeproof tr275 here. Runs 150 front 130 rear on those new fangle dangle wheels (clues in its name I suppose). I absolutely love it! Had it four weeks and unfortunately have only managed 3 proper rides on it. I do like to get the wheels off the ground and it feels mighty stable. However I would say its not as easy to manual as my old 120 travel xc spesh. Whilst cornering though it feels that planted you could almost get your knee down.

In my opinion BPW isn't a traditional freeride bike park eg Whistler Bike Park. Apart from the black runs, it doesn't have massive tables or doubles or huge drops and isn't stupidly steep. Any mountain bike including a hardtail XC race bike will cope with BPW no problem. Sure something with relaxed geom or more travel is going to be more fun, but any mountain bike can cope with BPW.

The Transition bikes should tick the boxes you are after. With their shorter travel bikes the philosophy is to make bikes that are fun to ride and they don't get too caught up in trying to pigeon hole the bike into a niche eg, AM, Enduro etc.. Its a mountain bike, it goes up hills and downhills and hopefully you'll have lots of fun riding it.

If it is practical for you, try and take up the offer of a demo. They are usually not too expensive and gives you peace of mind the bike is correct for your needs.

I have a yeti sb95 29er, and its fine on jumpy trails.
A well sorted 29er, like the transitions, will eat up bike parks no problem.

This topic should have been titled "michaelmcc - bike park capable?"

Only you know the answer to this.
(Or only you can find out)

I've never ridden BPW but I've ridden a Smuggler. The only riding I can think of that I do that the smuggler wouldn't like is Fort Bill WC track, but then my dh bike didn't enjoy that much either.

IMO what you lose in 'fun' you more then make up with in every other aspect. My 29" 140mm FS is a more capable bike then the 26" FS it replaced.

IMO what you lose in 'fun' you more then make up with in every other aspect.

Can you elaborate? 😛

This topic should have been titled "michaelmcc - bike park capable?"

I've spent about six weeks in the Whistler bike park, but I heard the ones over here are a bit of a different riding style, in some ways anyway.

Can you elaborate?

Yep. When I went from my 26" 5 to the 29" I initially missed the often stated benefits of 26" as in the 29" didn't seem to want to play in the same way, it just got on with it's job. Areas where I'd be flicking the old bike about through seemed to now just get sailed through and the bike, although ace just didn't seem as much 'fun'. At this point I expected my next bike to be 650b.

I recently tested a 650b 5 and have temporarily gone back to 26" over winter and can not wait to get the 29" back up and running. My rose tinted specs have fallen and even though the 'fun' or 'flickable' element is back that accounts for no more then 10% of my average ride. The other 90% I'm missing the stability, ability to cover rocky, lumpy ground without getting bogged down and most of all the speed. Back on 26" it feels like a nervous dog that hesitates and needs prompting to make progress + have a go at terrain where as the 29" is like an excited Labrador, always wanting to go faster and tugging at the lead.

Just out of interest, are you back on the 26" Five or some other 26" bike?

29ers - Bike park capable?

Yes, rode my Yelli Screamy at BPW and had a great time.

If I was going to buy a boingy play bike I would probably buy 650b just to make it more different from my 29ers. But I probably won't.

If you have any questions about a PYGA then please do get in contact info@r53sport.com

Have you seen the recent review of the 110 PYGA done by SingleTrack ?

If you are looking for a 29er Banshee Phantom is another one to consider.

29ers are bike park capable AND big top capable.

AND big top capable.

??

Big top capable.

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We all know 29ers are gayer than 10 consenting adults males making love to five consenting adult males but that doesn't mean they go all limp wristed because the gound gets a bit bumpy and jumpy. If you could ride a bikepark on a positively hetro 26 then 29 will be much the same (only a bit more camp).

I'm hoping to take my new RM Instinct BC to BPW at the weekend, first time I've ridden a FS for years, not sure it's the place to start after such a long time off FS but we'll see.

Just out of interest, are you back on the 26" Five or some other 26" bike?

To be fair I'm not back on the 5 but on my 2007 Clockwork which is a different beast. Saying that, my pal bought the 5 and I've recently been back on it and the same rules apply.

not sure it's the place to start after such a long time off FS but we'll see

you'll be absolutely fine the blue and red graded trails are not DH trails just XC descents. Most if not all obstacles can be rolled and the trails I rode were not steep so it was easy to control your speed. Really good, fun place to ride a bike.

I know a few people myself included who have ridden BPW black runs on a fully rigid 29er. Ok admittedly not all that fast, and I prefer the 150mm full suss. But the bike I ride most often there is a 29er hardtail as the sandy mud at BPW really destroys suspension when its wet.

So really any mountain bike is fine, it just depends on what sort of ride you want. Blue runs are boring on full suss to be honest, blacks are best not done on hardtail, reds take your pick.