now ive only ever ridden 26″ wheels (apart from when a child!), this got me thinking whilst out the other day on a rather techy section or two of stuff we only really do when its dry (and boy was it super dry and fun!)

now these techy, rocky, rooty, narrow descents are tricky enough with 26″ wheels, they are twitchy require a good bit of committment and a tiny bit of skill to some extent (some mates ride it and some mates get off and push completely)

it just got me thinking whilst i was actually going down the said techy sections, how much harder/terrible it would be on a 29″ wheel, the wheel id imagine would get stuck often in divets, it would be harder to maneuver the front end when it gets really steep and techy and as stupid as it sounds also seeing over the front wheel when its pointing down to see what lies ahead (due to its mahooosive size!)

are all my worries dumbfounded? will i die if i ever have to get one?

seriously starting to think its now the end of 26″ bikes, especially the ‘decent’ branded stuff anyways 🙁

i can see the advantage racing for 29’er 27.5′ etc, but when it comes to AM type techy stuff i dont see any advantage at all, if anything i see it as a hindrance, trail centres i can see the advantage, most of the trail centres would be fine with them, as they are mostly smooth and not overly techy (bar the odd one)….im thinking for more like the riding of the sweary northerners (which is similar to the techy sections from other day we did to give you some idea what i mean), cant imagine how much trickier it would be on a 29er getting in some of those tight nooks and crannys!

im not ranting as such, it is starting to become apparent that in another year theres going to be no decent 26’ers left

It’ll be easier, for the same reason it’s easier on any other surface. Mainly as the wheels are less likely to drop into a ‘hole’.

I don’t ride a 29er, but riding buddies do – and they ain’t slowing them down…

And don’t get hung on wheelbase either, as my large 26er is longer than some of their small 29er’s.

Not got one -yet ,but isnt one of the good points of 29ers their ability to roll over divots and not get bogged down in them ?(So ive been told)

29ers are prone to wheel explosion, if they survive they are actually very good, but there’s always a chance, 27.5 however have no record of wheel disintegration when faced with technical trails, one to ponder

Mine hasn’t slowed me down. The only downside I could see to my riding since getting one is tight switchback tyoe stuff. I would prefer to 26″ wheeled bike for my next trip to the Alps for instaance (if I ever get to go again).

st – Member
Mine hasn’t slowed me down. The only downside I could see to my riding since getting one is tight switchback tyoe stuff. I would prefer to 26″ wheeled bike for my next trip to the Alps for instaance (if I ever get to go again).

and this is exactly the sort of stuff i mean! hooray my thoughts are’nt dumbfounded after all!

but seriously that is what i meant stuff like the alps with tight switchbacks and off piste peak type stuff

i guess its a case of you’d get use to it and probably never look back, just maneuvering the bike id imagine to be a whole lot harder

im going to have to give one a try i reckon, its good to hear you all have adapted and by the sounds of it made you quicker if anything

like i said this is only my thought process the other night, not any truth in it just what i thought it may be like, sounds like i could be totally wrong though!

I seem to be clearing tight steep stuff better on my 29er than my 26er. Having better grip and more wheel in front of me seems to help especially when the surface is loose. It might have a larger turning circle but for me the greater ability to head where I want more than compensates for it.

i guess its a case of you’d get use to it and probably never look back, just maneuvering the bike id imagine to be a whole lot harder

nah, it’s just a bit different.

in my humble opinion, my wagon wheels help on Sheffield’s cheeky tech.
– a bit more grip, a bit more stability, a bit more rollability, a bit less nervous.

it’s a bit like… going from 685mm bars, to 720’s, not really a massive change, but (just) enough to notice, you might like it, you might not…

Oscillate Wildly – Member
now ive only ever ridden 26″ wheels (apart from when a child!), this got me thinking whilst out the other day on a rather techy section or two of stuff we only really do when its dry (and boy was it super dry and fun!)

now these techy, rocky, rooty, narrow descents are tricky enough with 26″ wheels, they are twitchy require a good bit of committment and a tiny bit of skill to some extent (some mates ride it and some mates get off and push completely)

it just got me thinking whilst i was actually going down the said techy sections, how much harder/terrible it would be on a 29″ wheel, the wheel id imagine would get stuck often in divets, it would be harder to maneuver the front end when it gets really steep and techy and as stupid as it sounds also seeing over the front wheel when its pointing down to see what lies ahead (due to its mahooosive size!)

are all my worries dumbfounded? will i die if i ever have to get one?

seriously starting to think its now the end of 26″ bikes, especially the ‘decent’ branded stuff anyways

i can see the advantage racing for 29’er 27.5′ etc, but when it comes to AM type techy stuff i dont see any advantage at all, if anything i see it as a hindrance, trail centres i can see the advantage, most of the trail centres would be fine with them, as they are mostly smooth and not overly techy (bar the odd one)….im thinking for more like the riding of the sweary northerners (which is similar to the techy sections from other day we did to give you some idea what i mean), cant imagine how much trickier it would be on a 29er getting in some of those tight nooks and crannys!

im not ranting as such, it is starting to become apparent that in another year theres going to be no decent 26’ers left

You could go crazy and actually try one?

seriously starting to think its now the end of 26″ bikes

aye sure! you are all getting a bit hysterical about this, no?

I’ve said this before, but the differences you are concerned about with 29ers are real, they are just a whole lot smaller than you imagine. Yes, it rolls over stuff a bit better, but rougher trails are still rougher than smoother ones. Yes, it’s a hair harder to loft the front wheel, but with it being bigger and rolling over stuff better you don’t need to loft it quite as high anyway. Yes it’s a hair harder to turn, all things being equal. But all things never are equal and other factors (head angle, bar and stem length etc) make just as much difference as wheel size. Really, it’s just a bike with a 10% bigger wheel.

If you do go 29’er, can you try to do it in less threads than it took to choose a tyre??? 😈

ahwiles – Member
i guess its a case of you’d get use to it and probably never look back, just maneuvering the bike id imagine to be a whole lot harder
nah, it’s just a bit different.

it’s a bit like… going from 685mm bars, to 720’s, not really a massive change, but (just) enough to notice, you might like it, you might not…

in my humble opinion, my wagon wheels help on Sheffield’s cheeky tech.
– a bit more grip, a bit more stability, a bit more rollability, a bit less nervous.

cool, cheers for the info – like i said im open minded about it, it was just my way of thinking being so use to 26″

it sounds like it may be all in my head! i still dont actually see that many out (other than at a trail centre), and i wondered if it was because of where we ride, or whether because people just arent sold on it yet, it seems people are sold on it and its just a case of they have good quality 26″ers they still enjoy

its still looking like you wont have much choice in a year or two though

ivandobski – i wont try one just for the sake of it, ill continue to ride mine till i sell it / it breaks or i fancy a change, and when that time comes im sure ill try all the version available

dantsw13 – Member
If you do go 29’er, can you try to do it in less threads than it took to choose a tyre???

awww looks like i have a admirer 😉

i know i know, cant believe i got that indepth about tyres

just imagine what tyres and what 29er threads will happen in a year or two from me!

29ers will be old hat by then!

probably true, although im really not sure there is anwhere else they can go wheel size wise – but no doubt something will come along!

i’ve tried many 29ers and still haven’t found one i like, the last one i tried was the second worst bike i have ever ridden, tried 650b too and could not notice any difference at all from a 26″ didn’t notice visually until i spied the size on the tyres either.

I think your thoughts are definitely dumbfounded

may be unfounded though

How many people have taken a 29er to the Alps and what were your thoughts ?

OW, I hate to get into the wheel debate, but it seems quite a number of the big companies are behind the inbetweeny size of 27.5 for all mountain bikes, sheck out the Santa Cruz on the home page for example.

I took a 29er to the alps. Switchbacks that tight were new to me anyway. It was fine. And I didn’t die. The people at the chairs sometimes struggled to get my bike on properly though.

The thing with 29ers is that, while the actual differences are tiny, visually it is enough that you can tell, which means that you bring all your prejudices to the table. If, like b45her, you don’t want to like it then you wont. If you think they should be better then, surprise surprise, they feel better. Since there is no way of doing a blind test you can never really be sure if what you are feeling is real or if you are just looking for it.

It’s no good saying that you have an open mind. You don’t. You have a preconceived notion of what a 29er will feel like and that’s the way it will feel, at least at first. Ride one for a few weeks and you soon forget about the wheel and just ride.

It’s not that the differences aren’t real, but the differences between a bike with a 68 degree head angle and one with a 69 degree head angle are real too, but once you’ve made your choice then you just get on with it.

650B is visually close enough to 26″ that you may not notice and even if you do you probably don’t expect it to feel very different, so it doesn’t.

after snapping countless spokes and dinging more than a few rims in the alps i cant imagine the damage i would do to a 29er. ive seen at lest 5 people in the last few months carrying their big wheeler’s down the mountain with pringled wheels, in fact the very first 29 i ever saw (about 5 years ago) was a chap that asked me how difficult the “black run” on whytes level was, i told him it was pretty simple apart from the rocky bit towards the end and let him go, a few minutes later i set off to find him dazed at the side of the trail with both his wheels bent in half, poor guy was down for the bank holiday weekend too and it was only friday evening.

I ride 29ers. They have similar wheelbases to 26ers of a similar type. Sometimes the 26 has a longer wheelbase, sometimes the 29. The variation is to do with the bike design, not the wheelsize.

I am a lanky git tho, there’s no shoehorning required to make the wheels fit.

They’re no worse/better round tight stuff than a 26 that fits me. The difference in acceleration is a function of wheel weight – which is itself a function of cost mostly. Wheel strength is also related to cost.

Just buy some nice wheels and it’s all good*

IMO 29ers for AM/Enduro use make a lot of sense, especially at my size. They make the bike handle rough ground better whilst making it no worse to climb (actually, better – roll over stuff better). Exactly what you want for that sort of thing.

*yes, I could get lighter, as strong 26″ wheels for the same coin. But I can get strong enough, light enough 29er wheels for a price I’m happy to pay. As it happens, my 29er wheels are all lighter than the equivalent 26s they replaced.

Yes, the wheel thing is another red herring. OK, all things being equal, a 29er wheel should be heavier, less stiff and less strong than a 26″ wheel. But all things aren’t equal. Chances are that whatever 26″ wheel you are riding there is a 29er that is just as stiff, just as strong and just as light (plus a darn sight stiffer, stronger and lighter than an OEM wheel from five years ago). It will just cost a bit more and it’s up to you to decide whether it’s worth it. But, again, the differences are all much smaller than these endless debates would make you believe.

even wheels weighing exactly the same will carry more inertia and therefore accelerate slower and want to turn less in a 29″ size. most of the weight is in the rim and tyre, its the old holding a bag of sugar at arms length effect.

But roverpig, that can’t be right, apparently 29er wheels bend in half at the slightest whiff of a rock leaving the rider dazed at the side of the trail 🙄

@b45her: The same argument is true of fitting a bigger (heavier) tyre, but it doesn’t seem to provoke the same debate. You fit the tyre that best suits the type of riding you do. If you had a 10% bigger wheel you might choose a different tyre, rim etc, but it’s still the same idea. I dare say you can make a 29er wheel with a lower rotational inertia than whatever 26″ wheel you are currently running if that really matters to you. But, as I keep saying, it’s only a 10% difference. Your own strength varies by more than that from day to day and over the course of a ride.

@Yetiman: Good point. What am I thinking 🙂

depends which magazine you read dont it ….

seems to be firmly divided into the “has ridden 29er camp” and the “i dont like change round here me” camp looking for excuses not to.

roverpig you are talking nonsense, it s physically impossible to make a larger wheel stronger and stiffer than a smaller one with similar components. they are called the laws of physics and they can’t be changed with any amount of marketing or advertising.

Despite it being Friday I’m in a rubbish mood due to only getting 3 hours sleep last night, so I’m biting 🙂

@roverpig, perhaps heavier tyres don’t provoke the same debate as more of us have had experience of light v heavy tyres and we know the difference they make on the flat and in climbs – a lot.

I really still see relatively few 29ers around Surrey Hills and I don’t recall ever seeing one in the Alps – not a scientific study I admit. Thanks for Alps feedback, I hadn’t thought about the “will they fit on the lifts” question

EDIT: @trail_rat – I’m firmly in the camp of I like my 26″ bikes which have tons of life left in them and the garage full of spare bits (tyres, frame etc) so am in no mood / position to buy a totally new bike with different wheels

29ers don’t make switchbacks and techy section more difficult. I’ve never broke a spoke or Pringled my 29er wheels and I’m no lightweight and like jumps and drops, and most of this sort of stuff is down to the rider. Some are harder on kit than others – being mechanically sympathetic is a skill in itself. The only busted up wheels I’ve seen out on the trails are 26 inch wheels, so they are not completely robust either.

If you don’t like big wheels then just say so and stop making bs up to try to justify it.

roverpig you are talking nonsense, it s physically impossible to make a larger wheel stronger and stiffer than a smaller one with similar components.

But I quite deliberately didn’t say “similar components” or even similar price. It’s a rather pointless argument and I doubt we disagree really. Obviously moment of inertia depends on mass and radius (squared) and if you increase one and want to keep the inertia the same you’d need to decrease the other. My point is that there is a much bigger variation in moment of inertia between different 26″ wheels than there is between 26″ and 29er. You can think of them as two bell curves if you like. yes, the means are different but they overlap.

EDIT: @trail_rat – I’m firmly in the camp of I like my 26″ bikes which have tons of life left in them and the garage full of spare bits (tyres, frame etc) so am in no mood / position to buy a totally new bike with different wheels

so dont ….. i fail to see why its an issue that requires you to tell us 26 is better or 29 is crap.

bit like i dont see the need for dropper posts yet the mags tell us we are idiots for not using one. – i dont come on here telling folk with them its a stupid idea.

Where do you ride OW, I would gladly come out for a spin as it sounds like you have some fun trails.

I would also be happy for you to have a go on my 29er… on a ride it to try it not try to break it basis.

Be warned though… you might like it!

I ride an old 26 HT but have tested lots of bikes over past 12 months. On one occasion had the opportunity to test 3 26ers and 3 29ers on same tracks under same conditions. When it came to gnarly, rooty, steep stuff the result for me was very clear. The 29ers made it much. much easier. So my next purchase decision is very clear. But I am equally sure that others may get very different results. So its a case of suck it and see.

Sometimes the 26 has a longer wheelbase, sometimes the 29. The variation is to do with the bike design, not the wheelsize.

This

I’m in the ‘I tried a 29er and I liked it’ camp. It’s improved my technical riding, not limited it.

Weak wheels ? 🙂

Bought a pair of on-one track clinchers so i could run v-brakes on my Karate Monkey, this was the cheapest way for me to go.

Apart from normal riding SSUK SSEC and a Clunker classic, my 700c track wheels have been caned down the motorway section (from the big wall ride down) at Fort William, overwhelmed the v-brakes on standard pads doing that, good giggle though.
What else, did the MacAvalanche last year, rigid raided it, if my freewheel hadn’t died i would have got in group B, did worry a fair few Orange 5 and big hit DH bike riders.
And did a more normal domestic DH race, used Hans Dampf tyres.

I did expect to fold a wheel, so far i haven’t, looking at some lighter disc ready ones so i can run gears and disc brakes.

For DH racing will stick with 26″, for anything else quite liking 29″ i would like to try a 29″ susser in a DH race.

On the roll over things easier.
I found that at a certain speed the rigid bike does start to skim/roll over small things, this does have a feel of short travel suspension, however…. a rigid bike is still a rigid bike, the geo stays constant unlike a susser, and if you hit something large you can expect to feel the hit and hold onto the bars to hold your line, where as a dual susser will soak up most mistakes.

Haven’t been gentle on mine, maybe i am a smoother rider than i think, i don’t know, but haven’t folded a wheel or seen one folded.

Just try one out, you might like or hate it 🙂