[Closed] Persuade me that I should try a 29er

You remember when we all knew 26 bikes were bad at stuff, you know like all of them were the same because the wheel size meant that?

Just go ride some bikes, my last choice came down to 2x 650 & 2x 29r it came down to discount.

I've got two YT's, one in 27.5 flavour, the other a 29er.

Go and ride a new 29'er.  They do work well now.  Not like when they first came out.  Quality does cost money though, so you can still get heavy, flexy wheels.  My wheels are bloody expensive carbon fibre DT Swiss things.

Also the geometry has now been sorted, so they flow, turn and ride better.  I'm 5 foot 9 and ride a large YT Jeffsy 29'er.  It looks fine and rides fine.  Recently thrashed it round CyB no issues with tough riding.

Back to back with its 27.5 version its really hard to tell the difference to be honest, so don't get hung up on looking for a 29'er.  Just get a bike that is right for you.  My other YT is a 27.5 Capra, which is also brilliant.

Just go try some. Seriously. I was the same; hated the idea, had ridden an old Fisher and it was awful, thought it was just magazine hype.

Got the chance to borrow a Stumpy Evo back in 2012 (140mm front and rear), rode it for a week and came to the conclusion that it feels like cheating. So much easier / safer to ride at a similar pace to a similar travelled 26" bike. Scarily faster when pushed!

I now ride similar travel 29er full suss bikes and for me, they are faster. (I've still also got 650b hardtail and the old 26" bikes). Never found any of them any trickier in the tight / steep / twitchy stuff. I'm 6'2" though so like Greg Minaar has said, it's nice to be riding a bike that finally feels like it fits you.

Few more thoughts here:  http://www.wilkoed.com/2018/05/wheel-size.html

mikewsmith +1

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they don't turn, jump or manual. they're pretty rubbish.

I had a Kinesis FF29 and I've now got a Cotic FlareMax. Two more different bikes it would be hard to find. Pretty much the only things they've got in common is the diameter of the wheels and the fact that there are two of them.

Just try one and see if YOU like it, what does it really matter?

I would echo the sentiments that a modern "trail" 29r does not ride the same as an old XC 29r.

Once I tried 29ers, I found them so much better, I couldn't go back to 26.  650B feels like 26 to me.  It may not be the same for you, but it's got to be worth a try to see for yourself?

1. Difficult on tight terrain

2. Heavy

3 For CX/XC only

4. Bendy wheels

5 Compromised geometry

None of the above issues (and only 1 and 2 are relevant in practice) come close to outweighing the benefits imo.

Nah, keep yer blinkers and live in the past. It’s your loss not mine (shortarse).

ive three (sorry four) 29ers (albeit 2 in B+ guise), prise my SolarisMAX’s from my cold dead hands!

😉

I'm sold on 29" wheels. Of course there will be shit bikes with 29" wheels, but the same can be said for 26" & 650b too.

29" wheels stall less on technical terrain which helps compliment me! Give a modern, well regarded bike a whirl and see what you think.

I went 26" 140mm forked hardtail to 120mm full suss 29r.

The FS is lighter and faster just about everywhere but takes a bit more manhandling in the tight stuff.

They are very different experiences but unless I'm riding with the children the 29r is always the bike I reach for for a proper ride. I know it's a cliché but once it's rolling it holds speed so well and for the more flowing type of trail I normally ride it's just the job.

I rode a 650b bike for the first time a couple of weeks ago that was great too.

I think maybe you need to not think in terms of wheel size these days and more in terms of what bikes suit your purpose, brand/aesthetic preferences and budget and then pick one. I'd almost ignore wheel size although for a pure lightweight map crossing bike I reckon 29r is more likely to give the right blend of ride characteristics and for dirt jumping you're better off at the smaller end.

Just go try some.

Scratched the 29er itch recently with a Boardman MHT 8.9 on our C2W scheme.

My only regret is I did not go to wagon wheels years ago , bloody love it!!

Going to be test riding a Solaris Max in October.

Much the same as OP - have hated every 29er I've tried over the years (being of a minimal stature didn't help) so had 2 x 26ers & a 27.5 in the garage.  Hadn't tried a 29er for a good 18 months or so but got told to throw a leg over a Spark - it was a revelation.  The geometry is spot on, it was fast & nimble & just didn't feel like a 29er.  When I got off I did just double check the wheel size it was that surprising.

Had to have one & it has replaced everything else already & the ease with which it rolls has even helped with my problematic back.

You really need to try one of this new generation, they really are very sorted bikes.

Try one they are bloody ace!  They are double bloody ace if you are considering hardtails.

Bikes like the SolarisMAX, Stanton Sherpa, Pipedream Moxie or Chromag Rootdown are literally NOTHING like the old racey 29ers of yore.

A good bike is a good bike. It’s wheel size matters little. Try some modern ones, you’ll be surprised.

Well, I used to love my two old school hardtails to bits. I had a quick shot of someone's 29r and didn't like it for above reasons. Their bars were very wide, too. Not nimble all the rest of it.

Fast forward a year or two, and I've got a 27.5/29r, and it's quite hard to go back to the older 26" bikes. I do, I still 'like' them but it's not the same. Lose a bit of nimbleness (but my bars are a decent width rather than full spread) but ability to roll stuff and ride over rough ground is superb. I'm not tall either, 5' 9" or so, and used to think the same that they were for tall folk only. They're not - suit me really well.

I don't do DH stuff though, so don't stress the wheels. XC really, and rigid forks.

Didn't someone famous say you should try everything expect incest and Morris dancing, some why not give it a go.

You might even enjoy the experience

I was on a 26r and my mate bought a Trigger 29. I had one go in it and within 2 months i had bought a 29r for myself. They are soooooo much more capable.

Youtube dredged up this for me the other day (as I'd been looking at Marin Nail Trails):

Joel Anderson rides XC

Ah similar to the RM one

You know how much I loved my Mojo3 Nick. And I sold that once I bought the 29er RipMo,

I’ve had a few 29ers - both FS and HT.  I’ve no real idea why I prefer them but I definitely settled on that wheel size after we abandoned 26 and experimented with 27.5 and 29.

Come and ride my RipMo. I reckon that might make your mind up 🙂

Ah similar to the RM one

to be fair, you could put those two on folding shopper BSO's and they would be faster and more stylish than you or I....

Come and ride my RipMo

You won't need to make that offer twice, we're due a ride at Antur or BPW aren't we, it's been ages. I think I'm ready for a Crabon Endroo Gnarpoon in my life...

Had similar reservations until a carbon Cube reaction appeared at a very good C2W price. I’d been sorta curious for a while, and like you seen a few decent looking 29ers pop up so thought I’d give it a go.

I havent had a full on xc bike for a long time - my riding is generally a bit more gravity orientated these days, so I was very curious how I’d cope.

The particularly **** Manitou m30 forks aside, the bike is an absolute hoot. It’s just like a big bmx - I can pretty much pick it up and place it where I want, which totally dispelled my fears of being difficult on tight terrain. It’s not heavy at approx’ 24lb and I’m not that tall at 5’11”. The wheels are qr front & 142x12mm rear and I do detect wheel flex despite the spike feeling tensioned properly and the wheels remaining true. That said, a little flex is no bad thing & helps to take the sting out of a very stiff frame.

Its good fun and has now made me want to try a decent 29” FS - i’d love to see that Curtis xr650 in 29er.

Having said all that, when I compare my times and speeds between my xc 29er & my Alpine 160 over a regular mixed terrain extended commute, I went quicker on the Alpine. It didn’t feel it but it was about 5 mins over 25km (20km off road) quicker.

The only explanation I can think of is that the Alpine is over-biked on much of the route but floats over the technical parts, making it feel slow, whereas the xc is slightly under biked on the techy fast sections (and does feel really quick & sketchy), making it feel fast. Either way, the xc 29er feels more fun despite it being slower.

I was pretty vehemently anti 29er for a long time. I'd tried Trek's early stuff back in 2008/9 and the speed uphill was impressive but they handled like dogs.

Times have changed. At the end of last year I got a Trek Stache which is a real riot, and off the back of that got a Transition Smuggler. It's vastly capable, and very good fun. It was actually more poppy and lively than my Transition Patrol, which is 27.5". It's also not much slower, which is a surprise since it's got 50mm less travel at the back.

I used the Smuggler for local trails in the woods and it was fine in the twisty stuff, but also big mountain riding in the Lakes and it handled stuff like Dollywagon Pike and Kidsty Pike admirably.

I sold it earlier this year as I'm moving to Scotland and planning to ride more big mountains and the Patrol is better at that, but because of the geometry and not the wheel size. When that dies I'll replace it with a big 150mm 29er.

You won’t need to make that offer twice, we’re due a ride at Antur or BPW aren’t we, it’s been ages. I think I’m ready for a Crabon Endroo Gnarpoon in my life…

Crabon Endroo is what I’ll be calling our next pet 🙂

Yeah we are. Normally do my birthday but didn’t work out this year. I’m off for a quiet pint* with the boys tonight, so I’ll see if I can wrangle some dates for early sept. Even in my hands I feel the RipMo might be a bit of a laugh at Antur 🙂

*followed by many less quiet pints and possibly falling asleep in the pub doorway

Try one for sure I bought a enduro 29 back in 2015 and was mocked by most of the people I ride with but after eventually trying it they have all bought 29ers since. Ive just ordered a new Transition Sentinel as I fancied trying the new offset malarkey

I went from a 26" giant reign to a 29" Orange segment to a29" Geometron G13. My hardtail is an orange clock work bodged with 26" wheels

1.Difficult on tight terrain

Nope. Took a ride or two to adapt but they are both fine

2. Heavy

Nope. Similar weight on my giant and geometron. They both get used for the same stuff

3 For CX/XC only

I'm off to the  fortwilliam world cup track on my g13 on a few weeks. It won't be the bike that slows me down. I bumped into Ben Catho up there last year and he was on a 29" banshee that he used for guiding and coaching on the dh track.

I wouldn't have taken the segment to ft William, it only had 110mm of travel.

4. Bendy wheels

See above!

5 Compromised geometry

See above

6. They’re for tall people

I'm tall, I love 29". Some of my tall mates love 27.5" some of my short mates love 29".

There is no right or wrong answer to wheel size, loads of different flavours in both. Give them ago, you might like it, you might not 🙂

I am 5'6 and ride a XC 29'er without any problems so not just for tall people they don't have to be heavy either mine is the lightest bike I have at 8.5kgs.

I do find it harder to accelerate than my 650b and it is less forgiving if I get it wrong.

I am getting another one soon.

My 29er, a slightly out of date Remedy 29, is the best bike I've ever ridden, hands down- not just because it has clown wheels, it also has decent geometry and awesome suspension. But the wheels definitely help.

It wasn't a eureka moment or anything, i bought it because it's a great bike not specifically because of the wheels (though I did pretty much decide not to get a 650b bike because if I was spending a fortune to change wheel sizes, I wanted to at least be able to see the difference). But it really clicked as far as wheel size when I was doing some race at innerleithen and did the full minch moor-pre spacker- pro spacker descent. Starts out pedally and boneshakey, gets steep, is long- usually by the end I'd be basically hanging on and surviving, no more. On the big wheels, it never really felt easier but it just added up to that bit less fatigue, which meant I could keep riding harder. And enjoying it more, more importantly.

I have a 29er yeti ascr and a 650b trance. I use to have and enduro and an anthem in 26er flavour. I can't really tell the difference.

I've had bad 29ers and bad 26ers though.. It's not the wheel size that matters, it's the complete package

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MBSxAAJ_2SI

Bike right now a 29er mountainbike, a 27.5 trail bike and an 27.5 PLUS all mountain bike (but bike this one with 2.6 inch rubber - not 2.8 or 3).

They are all fun and fit into their "niche".

Yes - makes sense to try a 29er.