Folks,

I currently have a Cotic Soul which over recent months has started beating the crap out of me. I’m keen on trying a 29er and was wondering if users of the big wheeled beasts would recommend a hardtail or small bounce full suss. Also what bikes are you guys and gals running?

Cheers,

Ed

Why has it recently started ‘beating the crap’ out of you? Riding different trails, less fit etc?

What he said.

And it depends.

USE suspension seatpost helps, plus you can pretend its a dropper.

I’m thinking a Giant 29er could be good, think thier Anthem 29er gets very good reviews? The ‘longer legs’ of a 29er coupled with full sus seems like it could be a great combination.

Depends what you’re doign on it. I find my 29er rolls over bumps/roots/rocks better than the 26″ equivelent*, but on drops they’re both the same**.

It’s just the same as buying a 26er IMO, decide where/what you’re using it for and pick the best comprimise, usualy the least travel you can get away with or the most you can ride without being inefficient. Or buy what you want to ride (let’s face it a hardtail is for having fun or being cheep, rarely the fastest option). I’d love a Spesh Epic 29er or similar, but bought a Swift as I wanted a rigid singlespeed for the winters.

*I guess if you look at the dispacement of the bars/saddle/pedals as the bike moves over a rock the amplitude is the same (bike rises over the obstcacle), but the time period is larger for the 29er (as the wheel hits it sooner and leaves it later) thus acceleration and therefore forces on hands/bum/feet are lower.

**as you’d expect, the time period and amlitude here are set by the suspensions available travel, spring rate and compression damping (almost) independantly of wheels size (unsprung weight and tyre volume having small effects).

Recently bought an Anthem 29er…Now I’m wondering if I’m ever going to ride any of my other bikes ever again……..

I’ve just changed from an Anthem 26er to Anthem 29er and love it,feels better down hill than the 26er and seems to smooth the trail out more,so a lot less tiring on a long ride.I’ve also got a Giant Reign but i find myself taking the 29er where I would norma :Dly favour the Reign.I think for shorter rides a hardtail 29er is ok but for all day epics full suss is best option. 😀

I was one of the many who didn’t think I would like anything as much as my 26″ anthem, but a test on a Cannondale Flash 29er ruined that! So much so after battering the Ministry of Fun and Finance for weeks I have one due in the New Year……..
As she has insisted I sell a bike to help pay for it, I figured I needed a better spec than planned….

Might regret that choice for a week or two.

I’d always thought a FS 29er would be a bit of a handful, till I had a go on a Trek Rumblefish. Probably the fastest bike I’ve ridden. Lovely. Given the choice though my SIR9 gets my vote.

This is why you need more than one bike, if you can afford it! 😉

I have a Soul and a Rigid OO Scandal 29, love both but I think a 29er is well suited to my local trails. I love having both and have ridden the Scandal down some pretty steep, moderately techy stuff in the Ochils and it coped brilliantly! Felt like cheating, but was obviously rather slow compared to a FS or non rigid 29.

I reckon a Solaris with 100-120mm travel would be very capable. If I was starting again, that’s what I’d probably buy…

BTW, I managed to build the Scandal for around £600, mostly from the classifieds on here and could have done it much cheaper if I was more patient. Maybe worth considering rather than punting the Soul…

EDIT: BTW, I recommend the USE Shokposts for long off road rides, bikepacking, etc. but don’t bother with one on the Soul, as generally I’m out the saddle much more on that.

I’ve ridden both a hardtail and a full sus 29ers. In the end I went for hardtail. The 29″ wheels makes a real difference so I was happy with that. There is of course the costs element to think about. I’d rather go for a better spec hardtail than a worst spec full sus every time. You can always use carbon bars and seat post to reduce trail buzz or even a sus seat post.

Thanks for the replies guys.

To answer the first couple of posts. I live in Chester and generally ride Llandegla for a quick blast and then Marin, Coedy, Penmachno etc. I’m fitter than I’ve ever been and ride as hard as I can (full Degla black in 1 hour 12 mins today).

I’ve been thinking about swapping the Soul frame for a while now and was tempted on getting a short travel full suss 26er like a Giant Anthem, Santa Cruz Superlight or Turner Flux as I was literally going to swap the parts over and save on new forks, wheels etc. However, I’ve been chatting to a buddy and I’m now keen on a 29er which is why I was keen on hearing peoples thoughts about full suss v hardtail.

Cheers.

We’ve got a med anthem 29 you could demo (just down the road giant dealer 😉 ).Or you can stare from afar at my Yelli…… (no touching).

Like Rorschach, I’m local. Welcome to try my s-works 29er..

But there’s no gears on Daisy’s 😥

Cheers for the offers gents but I’m 6’3. Rorschach where are you based? Alfs?

au contraire, it has one perfect gear 😆

I switched to a Ti 29er in the summer, Burls hardtail. Set up fairly racey and light and 100mm forks on the front. I’ve had it up big mountains in Scotland and never wished I was on a full susser for a second though I have felt the need for a slightly longer fork. I wouldnt change as it suits 99% of my riding as is but if you want more of an all round bike maybe get 120mm forks. Certainly wouldnt bother getting a susser for all day comfort reasons, just isnt a factor for me on a big wheeler.

You do see a fair amount of people at races on full-suss 29er so some people clearly prefer them. With me I’m just glad not to have the hassle of maintaining bearings and a shock, have had my share of headaches over the years, glad to see the back of them.

After numerous racey 26 HT’s over the years I went to a mid spec 26″ Epic (Anthem didn’t suit me) and was faster than I’d ever been and the shocks and pivots were problem free for the 18 months I had it, earlier this year I swapped to a 29 XTC composite HT (tried a few similar but found the XTC best fit and most fun to ride)! I find the XTC 29 slightly more harsh/stiff than the Epic but ultimately quite a lot faster for a ride of less than 3 hours or a race, I suspect that the most of the increased speed come from the significant weight reduction when compared to the Epic but it does seem to roll slightly more smoothly so the big wheels make some difference to me. This Autum I tried a 29 Epic and it felt great but too much bike for 99% of my riding, for some reason a 29er with 100mm travel felt like a pretty cooshy trail bike.

I still think that the fastest and most enjoyable way around the races and trails I ride would be a super light (and therefore very expensive) S-Works 26 Epic – best of all worlds, for me!! Once the cost is taken into account the 29 HT’s make a lot sense.