[Closed] I rode a 29er at the weekend and...

Rode my 29er at BPW for the first time this weekend, it's a 120mm FS- it was much faster on the blues but on the reds it was slower than the five. Not sure if this was down to wheelsize or amount of travel. Either way, loved it!

I'm unconvinced that wheel size makes much difference tbh. I think the increase in rotating mass makes more difference and masks other effects.

Weirdo. It's a slippery slope, you'll be on a cross bike next and before you know it you'll be a full on roadie.

[quote=Simon dijo]Weirdo. It's a slippery slope, you'll be on a cross bike next and before you know it you'll be a full on roadie.

have you been following me or something? Are you that strange bloke giving me kudos on crap rides and ignoring my hard-won KOMs along the canal towpath?

😀

"I'm unconvinced that wheel size makes much difference tbh. I think the increase in rotating mass makes more difference and masks other effects."

did you read that before you posted it ? if so - read it again. Digest and come back with your realization.

Well if you didn't get what I meant, let me rephrase for the annoyingly pedantic.

I'm unconvinced that the decrease in rolling resistance is significant, being masked by the effects of the increase in rotating mass.

ah yes - so the wheel size makes a difference then.

whether thats a good or bad difference is up to you.

I like both my 29ers - been riding both 26 and 29 since 2004 - horses for courses depends where or what im riding what i take - but despite both being out out race bikes they both ride very differently.

If you're a wimpy non-technical rider like 'Moi', then I think 29 gives you that feeling of momentum on swoopy trails and over uneven ground. I think my brother's 26" Flux with it's wonderful DW link is a bit quicker & smoother downhill than my 29" single-pivot Spearfish. The Flux is the best 26er I've ridden. However, being a lazy rider, I'm happy to suck up the a slight sense of inferiority of a 29 downhill as I like the lazier cadence and the way it covers ground everywhere else. I even find I can happily ride a 29er rigid on 80% of my trails (admittedly it's Ti with 27.2 post): - that would be harder work on 26" wheels.

Weirdo. It's a slippery slope, you'll be on a cross bike next and before you know it you'll be a full on roadie.

Road bikes off road is the future Simon 😉

In all honesty, it more the complete normality of the 29er which I was surprised with. I've had a few quick goes on various 29ers since they started to make an appearance but this one just felt "normal".

Not all 29" are created equal though. I've rode some 29" that felt like a flexy canal barge, and others that feel like a bmx/monster truck love baby.

I rode a 26" Genesis iO, rigid SS for years and thought it was great. I have recently replaced that with a Singular Swift 29er, rigid SS and it rides a lot better in my opinion. I couldn't say if it is faster, I don't time myself but it suits me a lot better which may be down to the geometry of the frame as much as the wheel size.

I test rode a top-of-the range carbon, Santa Cruz Tallboy 29er and it was possibly one of the worst mountain bikes I have ever ridden. I'm not sure why that was but alexh's description of "flexy, canal barge" just about sums it up!

Same with me. Recently built up a Santon Sherpa and despite expecting some amazing differences it's basically a bike with slightly bigger wheels. Surprise surprise. Being tall probably helps it feel more normal for me.

I'm more than happy with it though and would probably never bother with a smaller wheeled HT again as it does slightly smooth out the bumps better.

Mine doesn't feel normal, it feels like a ludicrous gigantic monster truck. Good times!

I must admit I love my 29er but just for commuting and simple paths I would not take it to the lakes and I've gone the 29er > CX route but just gone back to the 29er and sold the CX as for my personal commute I enjoyed the 29er more especial blasting home down cheeky trails. 🙂

People ride penny farthings, to put it into context where did you ride?

Hired a 27.5" Clockwork today on the blue at Kirroughtree - felt really good, took a bit more manoeuvring on tight corners compared to my old Soul, but was a great bike.

But I really missed SPD's and a rapid rise mech....

It does to me at least feel that my 29er hardtail would feel nervy if I took it to the rough trails if I had the nerve.

Where as my 26er full suss feels perfect for a fair bit of rough.

I really gelled with my rigid dirty harry mind, it blew me away literally off the bike nearly it was silly light, got up to speed double quick and felt all around fantastic.

It is however taking me some time to adjust to ti 29er whether that be down to it being ss and pushing a hard gear ratio...
But it's early days, it certainly is not flexy.

I remember doing my paper round on a 29er and noticed my pay per hour increased 😉

I have a 2015 27.5" Clockwork, it's great. After a long time of non use i rode my 26" Cove Hj at the weekend, i prefer the bigger wheels but miss the popability of the chainstays (440mm on the Clockwork), but the Orange does bite well on steep loose climbs. The 2016 Orange hardtails are all going slacker & longer, whilst retaining their lengthier than most chainstays.

I rode a 29er at the weekend and...

DaveyBoyWonder - Member
...it felt completely normal.

I'm an average height (5'8") and jumped straight onto a lovely little Clockwork 29er and immediately felt at home.

Also sums up why a test ride is a good idea along with trying different things

You can't just compare wheel sizes. Most 29" out there are aimed at xc (more coming out with an am style now).

I'm very happy smashing my canfield yelli 29" at pretty much anything trail wise, but it's got geometry to suit that.

I'm down to 2 bikes now. A decent full sus that can do uplift days, local dh trails and a full days ride, and a 29" ht that i use for the local forest and more xc style events. (although it's now sat on 27.5+ wheels atm)

It's about picking the right bike for what you ride.

I was not bothered about 29ers until I rode one that was the right size and fit for me and the penny dropped. I then bought my own and became a convert.

I've ridden plenty of 29ers and 26" + even some 650b bikes since and every single one has reinforced what I think about each wheel size. For this reason I'm in the process of splitting my last 26" modern bike.

Those who say it's more about the bike then the wheels.... Rubbish. Each wheel size is different with the difference between 26" and 29" the most noticeable. Which characteristic you prefer is up to you but they are all different and that's down to the wheel size.

I'm an average height (5'8")

In Lilliput perhaps 😛

I still think it depends what you ride.

Average trail, sanitised or xc stuff there is no doubt 29" has obvious benefits.

As the trails get more technical and you verge towards dh, I really dont think the benefits of roll over are there, or are limited. You rely on your skills of body position, hopping and popping more.

I took a demo Niner WFO out to Cannock Chase yesterday and loved it! I'm upgrading to full suspension from my current Whyte 901 650b HT and the difference was night and day. How much was down to wheel size is hard to fathom as there were plenty of other variations to consider (rear suspension, better components, wider/better tyres, increased travel, etc) but I found it better in every way... Almost! Popping over ruts/boulders whilst climbing was a little trickier and I couldn't quite get the hang of drop offs which I'm guessing is due to the increased wheel base and might get better with experience. Either way, it's opened my eyes to the 29ers.

Rode an orange alpine 29 in france for 2 hours and it was great fun, in a straight line, over choppy ground. Wasn't a fan of the unwillingness of it when it came to turning.

Getting back on my enduro 29er felt like a bmx!! Amazing what a few changes in geometry can do (HA/wheelbase)

Do you recommend the Enduro 29 then mikeep?

alexh - Member

Average trail, sanitised or xc stuff there is no doubt 29" has obvious benefits.

As the trails get more technical and you verge towards dh, I really dont think the benefits of roll over are there, or are limited. You rely on your skills of body position, hopping and popping more.

Mmm, don't agree really, on simple stuff the advantage is smaller imo. Bit of extra ease of speed, is all. But turn it up a bit especially on the sort of trails where you can't avoid all the hits and that's where it starts to earn its salt. Basiaclly at the point where usually I'd be smashing rocks and burning travel, I'm still skipping just that little bit better. Taking it up to fort william next week hopefully so that'll be an interesting test but compared with a longer travel 26er I reckon it's got some big advantages.

I'm not totally sold on it yet, it still feels relatively clumsy, especially trying to pump or even just soak fast rollers (like, frinstance absolutely everything in the tweed valley where the trail goes over the tree seed lines, bumpbumpbump)

My 29er, the wheels feel absoutely enormous and unwieldy. But since's it's only adjusted for 100mm forks, they've kept the angles steep (71 HA) to offset this - presumably this is what keeps the handling sharp.

One thing i do find is when ive pushed my 29er the front wheel will washout alot worse.than.any 26" bike ive rode.

One thing i do find is when ive pushed my 29er the front wheel will washout alot worse.than.any 26" bike ive rode.

Doubt it's specific to 29ers as the El Mar is by far the best balanced bike I've ever ridden. You can sling it into any corner and if you lose grip you'll just drift perfectly. It's ace in the mud!

If you are washing out pay close attention to your bar height, you may want to lower it as they get a bit high on a 29".

Monster truck is definitely the right term for my Codeine after now having had a proper ride. It's definitely a noticeable change for me and for the better.

@stinkytrooper

Do you recommend the Enduro 29 then mikeep?

If you plan to race enduro or ride gnarly trails then yeah, It's a great bike.

A bit too much for trail centers or tame trails.

@DaveyBoyWonder: you can have my Yeti Big Top 29r for £900 if you fancy?

http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/light-build-yeti-big-top-29r-2103-new-low-price-free-tyres

I just bought one - untried (never ridden a 29r, although have done the 69r hardtail thing) - just sized it up in the shop yesterday, picked up this pm...I hope it does ride well or I am going to get some serious **** off mrs g-d...

After months of prevarication I appear to have taken a rash leap into the unknown. Can't wait to get out on it now.

OP you're a little late to the party...

mikeep - Member
@stinkytrooper
Do you recommend the Enduro 29 then mikeep?
If you plan to race enduro or ride gnarly trails then yeah, It's a great bike.
A bit too much for trail centers or tame trails.

I'll be riding trail centres mostly with the occasional uplift day. I'm hoping to progress to DH when my skills (and nerve) increase so I'm looking for something that is capable to do both. Not sure whether to just get a dedicated trail bike now and maybe get a more focus DH setup later or just get the all singing 'do it all' bike now. If things weren't confusing enough, I've just thrown 29ers into the mix! HELP!

The Big Top sounds cool - I am actually going to get a 29er I've decided!

My Curtis is going to be sold, along with my Pashley 24MHz and I'm going to get probably a Clockwork 29er as an occasional XC race bike, arseing around thing, putting kids seat on the back etc bike.