I had 140 on the back before, they get VERY hot.
On the plus side they never seem to wear out pads as they’r always hot!
Wheel size does make a difference, energy (dissipated through braking)= force(of the brake pad)*distance (traveled by the rotors brake track through the pads), so the slower rotating 29er wheel (same speed at the circumfrance gives a slower rotation as the diameter’s bigger) needs more force (brake pad friction) for the same size rotor. I ran 140/160 on my 26er and 160/180 on the 29er and they feel comparable.
Wot FuzzyW said, I still scratch my head every time I (re)notice the 140mm disc on my g/f’s bike… Why, just why did anyone think there was a need to go smaller than 160mm? By all means try it, it’s you choice, but it seems totally pointless to me. Must remember to change her’s at some point
Why? If they work leave them. As Fuzzy said, no point spending moeny if they work (presumably they do, as it’s you nocticeing them visualy rather than her whilst riding it).