[Closed] Road bike Vs 29er

I reckon tyres will make the most difference. Slicks on the 29er will be fast - but if it's for fitness wouldn't high rolling resistance be better?

I know [url=

Bigham[/url] rides her 29er pretty much all the time for fitness work

Sounds like you want a CX bike.
29ers are shit on the road.

[url= https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3833/10501031496_87d0f6c418_c.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3833/10501031496_87d0f6c418_c.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/gZWwPb ]Jump[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/18504429@N00/ ]multispeedstu[/url], on Flickr

But quite nice off road. 😉

I have no problems commuting and doing fitness work on my 29er. Did about 70 miles on it on Saturday afternoon. Lock out forks.

I really only change my tyres, I'm running down the hard plastic Geax tyres which came with the bike at 60 psi but will get decent suitable road tyres once they are dead.

Still love to take it off-road every chance I get.

what the Mincer said ^ 😉

Sounds like you want a CX bike.
29ers are shit on the road.
But quite nice off road.

Unqualified statements are shit in forums 😉

Any bike is fine 'on the road' if it is just for fitness. Arguably, the more horrible it rolls, the better. But in reality, some nice smooth tyres are a lot more pleasant. I like running Super Motos, means you can float about off road as well as on road, just have to watch out for mud.

Unqualified statements are shit in forums

The statement is qualified though.
That 29er [b]is[/b] shit on the road. Specialy with 2.5 Minions back and front. 🙂

Ah ok X-)

I have a 29er, road and cross bike. The 29er is bearable but draggy and slow. I'd rather ditch it to ride either of the other two. If I really wanted one bike to rule them all,I'd choose the cross bike (and it's the cheapest of the three).

You will fine on a 29er, I had and now selling a 29er Mk 1 Scandal carbon forks.....using big apples slick things fine and dandy as I am significantly faster/happier on a 29er full suss with 2.1/1.9 mtb bike tyres for linking road work/off road and just enjoying myself.

You may be slightly faster on the kaffenback but it will not be massive I would have thought......

Something like a Kaffenback should be ideal.

Slower bikes aren't as good for training. If you train on a faster bike it's easier, but you can jsut go faster and therefore further, which is more fun 🙂

I'd also recommend a cross bike. I've got a hardtail 29" and just picked up today a cyclocross single speed.

I have a HT 29er which I rode a 100 mile sportive on with halo twin rails. It was "alright". Get a cx they are ace!!!

Could just bung cx tyres on the kaffenback tbh

Small knobble tyres on the kaff sounds like it would be ideal for what you want.

Schwalbe CX comp are dirt cheap and great.

29er is great for the road. I did a low key 100km sportive on mine just stock knoblies etc and it was better than good. So I used it for all my evening/night training this winter, still with low pro knoblies fitted.
I might even do winter audax's on it.
The biggest downside is you can't get low on one, so headwinds just have to be accepted and roadies with their nose on their wheels will descend faster than you. Otherwise good.
I'd recommend bar ends though.

Opinions eh. See I think cross bikes are just shit road bikes and shit mountainbikes, so yeah does both, but just a bit shitier than the real thing.

Oldgit has it right about a 29er being ok for road miles, especially the point about bar ends. Get some fast-rolling, hard-wearing knobbly tyres and you'll be fine everywhere. (I can't imagine you'd be faster than on a 26er with similar tyres though.)
I've commuted on a 29er with knobblies at 30 psi, a CX bike with knobblies at 45 psi and a road bike with 25 mm tyres at 90 psi. For the same effort (a steady cruising pace), the road bike is about 1 mph faster than the 'crosser, which is about 1 mph faster than the MTB, so you won't die or be late for everything riding a 29er everywhere.

Cross bike-ish things are great in the Peak, Rob. Brilliant for linking up back lanes and stretches of bridleway and surprisingly capable off road if you're prepared to use a bit of finesse.

I see it this way: cross bikes aren't as fast as road bikes on tarmac, but you can ride stuff off road that a road bike wouldn't go near. Equally not as good off road as a mountain bike, but a hell of a lot faster on the road. It all depends which direction you come at it from.

I'd stick fattish, fast-rolling cross tyres on the Kaff and see how it goes. Stay off the main roads, give bridleways a go - we managed a 50 mile plus route including Cut Gate on crossers last year and rode nearly all of it - and have fun.

I'm in a similar predicament. I have a racy steel roadie but a few too many near misses have put me off so I'm now thinking about a Kaffenback that'll cope with a bit of mild off road as well as the odd road loop when there isn't much traffic about.

I have ridden long all day rides cover 70 miles plus on my 160mm 26" mountain bike with proper tyres. If all you want is fitness, then just ride what you have, it's more mental issue you have thinking something else would be quicker, but you won't be any fitter riding it.

A road bike will get you many miles quicker. A cross bike similar but with brileways, towpaths and BOATs thrown in.

You don't say what your current bike is. A XC race bike (with 29 or without) will get your around quicker than a trail type bike but not as much as a cross bike. But if you want to ride rougher terrain might be a better bet.

I personally don't like small skinny tyres on mountain bike as it lowers the bb too much.

I've got a big bike, a HT 29er and an old gas pipe french touring road bike, and if I had to get rid of one the road bike would be gone straight away. I probably commute as often on the 29er as on the road bike to hit the trails near work in the evening, and tbh it's just as quick on conti x-kings as the road bike is on slicks. The only reason I don't get rid of the road bike is because a set of mud guards and slicks for the 29er would cost me more than the road bike cost to buy.

IMO if you're restricted to two bikes get a 29er and ride it on the road when you have to, low profile knobblies will be fine on and off road in anything but the muddiest weather.

Last year I put some CX tyres on my 29er hardtail and used it for touring and road use.

This year I've gone and got a full on road bike and the difference has been ... disappointingly small

The road bike feels faster, but when I look at Strava the difference is only about 0.5 mph over a long run. Other factors (wind, fitness etc) clearly pay a part, but even so. Plus on the 29er I was far more inclined to do fire roads and the like, and less nervous about the state of Sheffields roads

So yes, if limited on number of bikes, a 29er hardtail is very versatile

Ride your road bike off road more (assuming some tough tyres)... more fun then it should be.

2" tyres will be way slower on road than your road bike Rob, about as slow as your mtb without the suspension.

Normal 29er gear ratios are a bit low aren't they, even if you throw on some 1" slicks? Even I can spin out 38/11.

That said, it's probably the best 'one bike' choice - the CX bike is to compromised off road for my taste.

I'd just put some 35 or 40mm Landcruiser tyres on the Kaffenback. Although they are a bit heavy I think they roll really well on and off road. Plus they're cheap and have good puncture protection.

I'd get a CX bike. Its what I use for the road, and its faster than my old road bike, but you can also have lots of fun off road.

Can anyone recommend a CX bike that could take a rack, guards and a seat tube mounted baby seat?! It's a minefield out there. Kaffenback looks as though it doesn't have clearances for wider tyres and looks more road oriented.

Would favour a 29er but the seat tube angles make it tricky to get a mount for the baby seat on.

Maybe a hybrid instead of either?

My do everything 'Road' bike is a 29er Inbred with rigid forks, discs, flat bars and bar ends. The relatively long stem is flipped for tarmac duties. Out on the bar ends, I'm lower than many roadies on their hoods so it's a good compromise. Gearing is cheap and cheerful, with 26/36/48t chainset and a compact cassette, probably 11-25. With light and lively wheels on for the summer, it's a wee flying machine and will do the 3Pistes sportive this June. In winter hack/commute mode, it runs the old Reet'ard wheelset so can take larger tyres.
It's also done some Alps without disgracing itself among the carbon bling bikes yet takes 35mm cx knobblies on the summer rims for fun off-roading. It's taken a few changes to get it just right for me but I think this is a brilliant way to road ride if you don't actually race. Fast enough to be fun, comfortable enough that you want to ride it lots.

If you are not commuting and time does not matter I would get the 29er, more versatile and if you other bike is bust you can still get out.

I got a rigid Karate Monkey at the beginning of the year for almost exactly this.

Rides with a bit of tarmac, gravel, singletrack, dirty lanes etc,

With fast rolling tyres, it's been ideal.

Stage 1 complete - conti cyclocross sport tyres bought, one on, one to be collected tomorrow.