Looking at a new hardtail for racing on next year and am considering a 29er. Anybody use them for xc racing (up to 2 hours)? How do you get on with them? Any feedback appreciated!

people have been racing 700 c wheels for decades…….they call it cyclo-cross !

The aptly named XCracer.com 29ers raced 29ers this season in the BMBS national events and seemed to do pretty well. There weren't many other big wheeled bikes on the start line apart from them however.

Check the rules for the races you want to enter allow them.

race my singlespeed scandal for xc and it's pretty good – prefer it to my previous 26er.

it's not really about the bike though is it! 🙂

Depends on the course. I raced my Scandal a few times but it deffinatly struggled on the tight twisty stuff.

Seen some at local races, one series in particular suited the 29er singlespeeds.
At other races they have looked slow and cumbersome, someone I raced with commented on how slow he had been through a particulary tight and twisty course.
It's a tough one. Three racers I know took up the 29er mantle, but ended up going back to 26.

Think what you'll need is advice from someone that isn't sponsored or supported to ride a 29er!
There's loads of info out there on the pro's & cons – I looked into it originally for bike-fit reasons; I'm leggy so was looking for a 'longer' bike – thats not top-tube – and the early 29ers did that to accomodate the bigger wheels, i.e. for once i hoped to 'sit-in' the cockpit rather than 'on-top'.
Manufacturers seemed to cotton-on to that and made attempts to move them away from the 'only for big lads' objections and have started making bikes that are shorter, e.g. Superfly.
Personally, for UK-type XC I don't see the point and again I know I'd be getting 'stressed' by the extra weight of the wheels & tyres – extra weight where it matters. Yeah, lighter options out there now from Stans etc but all-round tyres are still a tad lardy! Also, imagine what happens if your tyres are picking up muck, even more rotating weight.
They may work well in on the 'ski-slope' / up & down type XC courses you get in the US.
I'm not anti-29er but I don't know anyone that races one successfully in UK or Europe (but they may be someone out there I don't know) that isn't sponsored – free bike etc. Again, IMO if most race spec'd fullys are lighter then why bother?

my best ever results have been on 29ers. i like them.

OK, no real feedback there hungry monkey 🙂 Was that solely down to the 29er? Do you ride both std & 29er on the same track to get a comparison?
Again, I'm not anti but trying to provide constructive info so the OP can make a buying decision.
Would i ride one personally? Well no I wouldn't but as i don't really see what I would gain, apart from weight that is! (but I'm a weight-weenie).
I ride a light full-suss but if I was technically better & had better all-round fitness (core etc, etc) I'd ride a standard HT for short 1.5-2hr XC – probs what manufacturers don't wnat to hear is it?

The two variations have obvious pros and cons, the 29er is clearly not a 26er that has evolved. I think really no one can tell you what to do here, you probably need to find out for yourself.
I've had a count, at one point eight of my fellow riders including me were using 29ers in conjunction with a 26er, now only one of us still has a 29er?
I can't help think, 'it's not the bike' and 'horses for courses' which of course contradict each other!

A 29er might suit you, it might not. You need to try one rather than just buying one as a replacement for a 26er. They make different sense for different people. For me, I get a better-fitting bike in my size – it just happens to roll better etc for me. I'd also take the 'not so good for tight' claims. My Scandal has the old geometry forks on and doesn't handle that well in tight turns etc. I have ridden the new geometry Fox forks and the handling is so much better. As design for 29ers gets tweaked they get better. Regardless, you might not like them. I'm now 29er only and haven't looked back.

How are the rules regarding racing 29ers in the UK?

The one event I did this year, the Merida 103KM in Denmark, stated that 29ers were not allowed. Is this common?

I race my 29er and I am never going back to a 26" wheeled bike. I am in Denmark but I have raced in the UK and there isn't much difference. I thinkthey roll better over ruts and rough stuff so I think you gain a bit there, but it may not be as quick through really really tight single track.
I am 6'3" and I have never felt so well ballanced on a mountain bike as on my 29er and now that I have some good wheels, I think I have found the ideal platform for me in a 29er hardtail.

I've been racing the slush cup in Denmark and have done several other events over here and never heard about that rule.

I can't really imagine it being enforced, I guess it was just to keep CX bikes out.

Amazingly I saw a guy riding with long pointy tri bars for a mtb time trial recently which was insane becuase there were riders everywhere.

to be more objective about this:

i race xc on my singlespeed same set up as i use for big days out and 24 hr racing.

i used to use a 26" inbred but changed to a 29er scandal about 9 months ago. losing a couple of pounds through rim tyre frame choice.

this year i've done several gorricks, mayhem (team) 24/12 (solo) the sdw (single day)

in the gorricks i have only found the 29er to be an advantage – on several occasions i have gone through pumpy sections (tunnel hill was it?) and over taken geared 26ers or flown into loose corners with a lot more speed held the speed and exited with more speed than 26ers – i put this mostly down to the bike – ir's definatley not down to skill.

good through any rutted sections also (unless the rut is the same diameter as the wheel – but there will be a rut this size for any wheel.)

mayhem isn't to twisty so was pleasent on wagon wheels.

24/12 there were a couple of tricky corners – one sort of cut back to the left behind a tree on a very short sharp incline – i got round it a couple of times but had to dab the majority of laps whereas the 26ers infront behind me seemed to manage ok.

overall i think that the extra weight to accelerate ythe wheels is negated by the fact you can take so much extra speed through corners beacues of the bigger wheels. the roll over things better (particually noticible on really rooted sections)

I like mine and i am quite biased for big wheels but only because they seem to work fofr me.

HTH

Thanks for the feedback guys. I have ridden a 29er in the past for a few hours and got on pretty well with it. However, I also have concerns in regard to the twisty fun stuff just becoming a bit of a ball ache and the extra weight of the wheels etc.
Ummm, suppose you don't know till you try!

Highjack (Sorry)

Odd Job and Swedish Chef are you comming to SSEC2010

http://ssec10.blogspot.com/

You should because we are thinking of having a Tax on small wheels !

In terms of twisty courses, it depends on the 29er. I have had an On One and ridden a number of others including Singular Swift and my own Jones and they ride very differently. The On One rides very stable but slow in comparison to the other two mentioned here. The Singular for me is almost 'twitchy' it steers and reacts so fast, where as my Jones is(was) in the middle, steered as fast as my 26in wheeled bikes before but was stable too.

Manufacturers are only really just getting round to designing bikes specifically to address the different challenges 29er wheels bring as well as providing some advantages.

What about low down kick i.e sprinting out of a corner?
I'm not arguing one way or another, but does the small wheel have the advantage here.

I will give the 29er the big up for it's rolling speed, off camber traction and ability to roll through small hits.

The bloke that rides for/with Singular Sam and Sam himself fair fly on theirs..

tax on small wheels,,, discrimination

my whyte preston SS bike has a 24" front and 26" rear,,,, ,,

Do they still make 26" wheels?

Next thing you'll be saying people are using gears 🙂

tinsy – Member

The bloke that rides for/with Singular Sam and Sam himself fair fly on theirs..

That'd be Steve Webb – yes he is pretty fast.

Bristol Bikefest 3rd in solo overall, 1st SS
Mountain Mayhem 24- Singular team 1st in SS category
Singletrack Weekender – 4th, fastest XC, unfortunate puncture in DH
10 at Kirroughtree – Singular trio (Steve, Dom, Sam) 2nd overall
Thetford 6 Enduro – 2nd overall
Summit MTB summer series – Series winner and won each of the four races he rode
Torq in Your Sleep – 1st overall
Dusk 'til Dawn – 2nd overall

As always though, the best way to choose is to try one yourself rather than rely on the inevitably biased opinion of people on a forum. Personally I wouldn't ride a 26" wheeled bike by choice again.

Sam, I did the last round at Summit, you was challenging Steve for the win if I remember rightly.. (I let Steve through on the line so I didnt have to do another lap as was riding without lights and it was getting real sketchy!) ((and I was just plain knackered))

"not good on tight twisty stuff" that's total b@llshite, can't tell the differance really if anything the 29 is quicker!

Re accelleration…its a simple forumula of gears only!

Otherwise 12" wheel Mini's would accelerate faster than 19" wheel ferrari's there are many other factors.

It is true to accelerate the same out of a corner you would need to be in a lower gear on a 29er in theory, that's easy, can't say I've needed to accelerate out of many granny gear corners so there are always more lower gears…just make sure you're in the right one, which will be a function of your fitness, weight etc…

I agree with Sam here, there is no right or wrong only what works for you.

SSUK was won on a Salsa 29er by Gee, who is now an Elite cat racer, who also is now racing a 29er geared Salsa this year………

over the last 4 years i have raced a 29er, a 96er, 650b, and this year back to 26"'s…. i have taken all the benefits of each one, along with what i want to ride/race this year, and ive decided on a 29er…….

Trev can you really call that 96er a bike can you 😀

Why not? i know you have this hate for Carver's Jase, but a few dodgy bolts that slipped through the net dont warrant such bagging….. ;0)

You will be pleased to know there is a very good chance i will have a Singular for next year….

Actually I don't think Gee can decide what size wheels he wants in his bike for next year, but he's always been a big advocate of 29ers on the SS particularly, and with 2 victories in SSUK from 2 attempts it doesn't seem unfounded!

I can really see the point if you're tall, but not otherwise, small 29ers look really daft!

its not about if they look daft, its about if they work for the rider Nick, Willow finished 3rd at the worlds 5ft3" on a medium frame, said that it was the fastest bike she had ever ridden………. some people like'em, some dont.

Willow finished 3rd at the worlds 5ft3"

For sure, if I was a sponsored Fisher rider I might want to praise the product too, good grief! 😀

@Chainline

Larger wheels have a greater second moment of inertia, hence will require more force to accelerate. This would be true even if you had the equivalent gearing which accommodated for difference in wheel diameter.

but if you have a choice of three Gary Fisher bikes, you choose one because its the fastest, correct? good grief! 🙂

There was a comma in between my statements, I can really see the point if you're tall, but not so much if you're short.

Totally unrelated statement: small 29ers look silly.

They have proved very successful this year in the US, just don't seem to have the same impact over here.

29ers have not taken off here as much as the USA in toto. Perhaps something to do with our always being right as a nation? Hardcore hardtail or nothing! Harrumph!

Anyone who says they are slow through tight trails is either too unfit, unable to ride quickly or hasn't ever ridden a good 29er.

They are brilliant – I have 2 – geared and SS, and 2 26" bikes which don't really get used any more. The 29er cuts the chatter bumps right out, it rolls over things so much more smoothly, you don't really notice the extra few grams (my 29er race wheels are 300g heavier than my 26" ones and the tyres are 100g heavier each, so 500g overall – not a huge amount). I'm using the geared one for racing over the winter. 2 races, one win and a 2nd so far.

Riding the 29er back to back with the 26" bike at Dalby this year, on the NPS loop, the 29er was faster. Far more control on the big rocky sections like Worry Gill, plus all the dropoffs look and feel smaller as the wheels are larger. Riding a 26" bike now feels like riding a BMX – the wheels keep disappearing into holes and all the trails feel less smooth.

I am seriously considering a 29er race bike for next year – I have a choice of 26 or 29 – and at the moment I think it'll be a 29er. The only thing holding me back is a lack of decent mud tyres for Mayhem and SITS – Schwalbe need to do the mud shark 1.5 in a 29er… And lightweight suspension forks – no 29" SID yet. Even so, I'll probably go 29er.

GB

OOOOOOH Trev (note the smiley)

No more carverness will pass these lips and as for the dodgy bolts i have no idea what you mean 😉

I just like your sense of humour good news on the Singular too 😀

Ha Ha, no probs Jase! 🙂

And Gee, who needs SIDS when you got these….

http://www.sram.com/node/40/brand/rockshox/src/cat

not much between thses and the SID XX.

and 29er mud tires? they are called cyclo cross tires…… 😀