Tried this on my whippet last weekend and it was a bit of an eye opener. Originaly i bought the carbon forks to try and see if the reduced weight was worth it over the harsh ride. With the lighter bi ike,sub 20lb, i changed the 18/32 to 16/32 which i had found just a little bit hard if you were not on it fully, but with the bigger wheel and lighter weight it seemed to fly up hill, on any drop offs where the 26″ wheel might drop in and you would think ‘oh s__t’ it rolled through them, the only negative was a tendency to understeer slightly but this is not too much of a problem. I rode it at Cannock and did all the blacks apart from the one at the side of the hill on the first downhill (upper cliff?) the only time it was uncomfortable was at the bottom of upper and lower cliff on the stutter bumps. As a note with a 445mm axle to crown fork the geometry is exactly the same as when i ran it with the 120mm rebas. Just orderd a Stans crest rim and fairly light tire to get it below 19lb[img]http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh307/superhondaman/whippet29_zpsed37e4bc.jpg[/img]

Very nice…..are the forks 29er?

Exotic Carbon 445mm axle to crown i got them with intention of fitting 650b wheels but found the 29er fitted without altering geometry

looks good, don’t forget to factor in the extra weight of carrying 2 spare tubes 😉

Now that I like…

I’m taken with the concept of a 69er

I ran my rigid bike as a 69er over the summer and it worked very well, noticeably more comfortable. I changed back to a 26″ wheel for the winter as that wheel has a dynamo hub but I’ll go back to the 29″ wheel once the clocks go forward.

Nice, 69ers are all that I’ve been riding for the last four years. If it was possible to get something like those Exotic forks with more offset (55mm rather than 38mm as they probably are now) that would go a long way towards curing the slower steering. Still, you soon adapt to the slightly different feel.

I’ve never carried two tubes BTW, just a 26″ one 🙂

Looks better with with the 26″ front wheel.

Also don’t forget to factor in the weight of your drink.

Looks nice. I did this with my 26″ Inbred SS and liked it. I now have a 29″ Inbred SS. All three variations were good – just better at different things. Without doubt, the biggest change was the extra cushioning you get from a 29″ front wheel when running rigid.

How much harsher is the ride? I’m thinking of going 64er for my daughter with carbon forks rather than the frankly rubbish and heavy 24″ forks she has.

I tried my (26″) inbred as a 69er with a 445mm (26″) rigid fork. I found that while it was fine, it just wasn’t different enough to be worthwhile. YMMV depending on what/where you ride.

Looks very nice. I have a very similar setup on my XTC and I really rate it. I did make me buy a 29er though 😆

With spare tubes I just use 29″ tubes, they’re fine and saves weight 😉

I run my sovereign as a 69er on occasion singlespeed rigid
Probably my favourite incarnation of the bike. Handles Cannock and the Forest of Dean without issue

Scandal looks good hondaman. I tried this very briefly years ago on my Inbred and didn’t really like it but having got more into bikepacking and just riding lately I tried it again and really like it. I used to run my saddle too far back, too short a stem and bars a bit too high which I now don’t and I think that is why it now works for me.

Only carry a 26″ as this will stretch to fit 29er rim. Run tubeless and hevent had a puncture since the Dyfi last year. The ride is harsher at the front but you ride it different. What i might lack on the down’s then is more than made up for on the ups, it just fly’s up them!. I come from a motorcycle trials and moto x background and they gave up on running 18″ rims back and front decades ago 18/21 is the norm and i think that this thought is right for bikes too. Its the marketing that pushes the 26er 29er and maybe 27.5er on us. For me i think running a 27.5 or 650b in the rear would really work well and the whippet can do this easily.