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I have just been reading the 'dilemma thread - 29/26' and in it a couple of blokes mentioned how their wives had managed to go much faster on 29ers.
Now I am pretty slow on my 26er and its quite boggy and gnarly where I ride, so I frequently dismount and walk.
Is a 29er the way to go for me, would it really make much of a difference?
A lack of confidence means that if bumps look too deep or roots too tall and there is no way around, I will walk them.
I know I should really try a 29er but Lbs isn't about to let me loose in the my local woods for a couple of hours.
thanks
Ps If there is anyone in NW London and wants to do a ride or something, feel free to mail me
I don't appear to be significantly quicker than my 26er mates, but that could be more of an issue of rider fitness and skills. I do appear to be more capable on boggy/muddy ground where I do think 29ers are better, and slow technical climbs where I seem to be able to clear them more often despite them having better skills than me - but again I can't say for sure if that is due to the wheel size difference. But then again I don't appear to be at any disadvantage compared with them on the down hills, rock gardens and twisty technical trails. Personally if you've got a decent 26er and are not looking to change it for any other reason then i'd struggle to recommend to anyone to change their bike purely for a wheel size change. Whatever advantages and disadvantages there may be due to wheel size, it can easily be overcome with rider skills and fittness.
I would think of wheel size as much as to suit rider size than terrain / riding style.
May be the wrong bike for you but what you describe to me sounds like a lack of skill.. What bike is it?
absolutely agree with the lack of skill - I have none, I can just about ride in around.
The bike is a boardman pro ht 2010, which I am fairly certain is more capable than me.
I find 29ers are much quicker on open going.But in tight woods 26ers are still great.Also you get sweet FA nowadays when you try and sell a 26er.
I find 29ers are much quicker on open going.[b]But in tight woods 26ers are still great.[/b]
So are 29ers...!
Some of my favourite bits of my local trails are tight twisty singletrack and my Solaris is brilliant.
How tall are you Sam?
5 11 and thinking about it, it would make sense for me to get a rigid 29er and that way swap things around with my cx bike at a pinch.
It's definitely worth considering, but the answer will depend on you.
29ers can be fine in tight and twisty trails, but if there's a lot of speeding up and slowing down they can start to suffer. They rely on momentum for some of their advantages.
I wouldn't swap back to smaller wheels for my local riding up in the north, but when I come back to Hertfordshire I miss my 26in bikes a bit.