Thinking of giving a 29er ago,is there any of you that would not go back to a 26 wheel? Is it worth buying a Diamondback mojito to just try it out as they are only for 250 quid fully rigid I know but the reviews on mtbr seem to rave about inbred 29ers rigid .I am going to need a 19 or 20 inch frame (36 insideleg)so would like to know peoples thoughts.
Thanks in advance

I wont go back to diddy little 26″ wheels.

Im 36″ leg too, and originally rode a 21″ Scandal (great bike) but now have a 19.5″ Ti29er.

On-One are currently doing a barginicious 29er wheelset for £99 including SB8s ot Nevegals.

Then just grab a s/h frame and fork and use whatever you’ve got lying around in the spares bin to build up a SS or geared ride.

69ers is where it is at. Free rolling of a 29er without the effort to spin it up to speed.

Free rolling of a 29er without the effort to spin it up to speed.

Only if you wheelie everywhere (assuming the 29er is on the front) as while the front wheel is not driven it is accelerated when the rest og the bike it.

29er extra effort to accelerate is negligable (I have little enough power as it is so I would notice) and they carry speed through corners better than 26″ wheels…and yes they can fit round switchbacks…its a 3″ bigger tyre not a tandem with BOB trailer!

SSP

Still find my 69er more nimble than my mates 29er and more rolling that my 26″

If I can get ice spike tyres for my 29er, I’ll be saying goodbye to my 26″ bikes.

Yeah, I know it’s early in the year to be thinking of this, but it seems to take ages to actually get the tyres in.

Stoner did I read you post right, Kenda do the small block 8 in a 29″ version?? got some 26″ and they are absolutely the nuts in summer conditions, would love them on my 29er.

Re OP : Do it. Only thing I would suggest if a move to carbon fibre forks if you’re going for am off the shelf rigid. Mine knocked the crap out of my wrists until I did that, now you wouldn’t really know you don’t have front suspension in respect of ride comfort.

Yep SB8s come in 29er. I have a pair (got from SSP I think he used them in the Himalyas! 🙂 )

really good on the dry hardpack up here in the malverns.
Bit draggy on the road though IMO.

I still prefer my 26er wheels for really technical stuff, stiffer and more direct feeling. But for singletrack blasting, my Dos Niner is bloomin lovely.

I’m getting the feeling you all wouldn’t go back to 26 inch wheels! Is there a comfort advantage as well with 29er’s?

Dont know if Id call it a comfort thing, but the easier rolling of the front makes for a smoother ride with rigid forks compared to equivalent on 26″.

Having a bigger bike for my frame (6’4″) also means that I guess my cockpit layout is just a bit more comfortable too and you dont have to annally violate yourself on the saddle nose when climbing to keep the front wheel down.

sold all 26er stuff now. can’t see me wanting to ride one again. to answer your question regarding comfort, i used a thudbuster on my 26ers but don’t need to now. i have tried rigid forks too and its comfortable enough but i find suspension increases confidence, speed and fun.

Sh## just to throw a spanner in the works a mate is selling his SC blur!!!!! Argh !!

wouldn’t go back 🙂

they do roll over stuff easier, they are comfier (well, the good ones are) manufacturers seem to have fingured out how to get the handling spot on now so there’s fewer and fewer barges out there…it’s all coming along nicely!

Can’t see me going back as well, just need to find some 29er tubless Racing Ralphs. Anyone seen them around yet?

I just did quite a long ride on my 29er, in full on XC mode, and it looked after me admirably, not a whisper of a moan from back or bottom. It’s done Peaks, trail centres, short course XC with nothing but tweaks to the cockpit (bars’n’stem).

I’ve never done a ride like that before and the bike looked after me admirably, but with the modern 29ers having had the steerer angles, forks etc sorted it’s plenty zippy in the singletrack. I’ll be using it on the legendary singletrack at the BrightonBigDog race later in the year. Can’t wait!

I also have an inbred 29er SS and it’s similarly fantastic. Have a P& rigid SS and the inbred is not precetably more ponderous or slow out on the trail: gears, forks, bars stem and tyres all make much more difference to the feel of the bike.

I’ve just made the decision not to go back to a 26er having spent 2 months riding my budget 29er. It’s been a tough decision to sell my SC BlurLT in favour of a £125 hardtail frame but the 29er just feels right, more stable on technical stuff, better rolling on the open trails and so much more fun in the singletrack plus much more traction when climbing plus it just rolls over stuff. The decision was cemented last week when i rode the Blur again on some singletrack and couldn’t string 2 corners together and just couldn’t settle on it.

My advise, get a cheap hardtail 29er and try it against your current 26er and see what you think, i found it a revelation. 😛

FWIW i got a Viper 29er from CRC for approx £125 and for the price i don’t think you can really go wrong with it, picked up a set of minutes for £250 from CRC as i couldn’t face going back to rigid forks and a 2nd hand set of wheels although i believe that the on-one retards are good value for money, i love the build and can’t wait to get to 24/12 later this month to thrash it round Newnham Park 😉

i have just got back from a weekend riding in the lakes.
rocks, rocks and more rocks…..
i think i will stick with 29rs from now on.

I’d stick with 29ers but I just can’t ignore all the negative coments on here from folks that have never ridden one….. 😉

Don’t Try It….

….I did and now I am Hooked

I bought an old single speed 29er with Carbon Switchblades for a laugh and I am LOVING it!

I havn’t touched by “luxury FS” since!

I can’t say I’ve been over-impressed with my Unit but I’ve maybe not tried it enough. I should get my 26″ hardtail back soon which will make for an interesting comparison. The frame is 1.5lb lighter though so it’s not exactly fair…

I’ve still got a geared 26er hardtail, which didn’t get a lot of use anyway, but I 69’nd my Love/hate and really liked the more stable cornering it offered, so I put together a Karate monkey from second hand parts and it’s definitely my favourite bike at the moment. I’d like to buy/build a nice geared hardtail 29er before getting rid of the 26er, but it’s going that way.

FWIW I’m a relatively short 6 footer with 34in inseem

sorry for the hijack but Ton did you take the Chumba ?

If so how was it compared to the Stifiee on the climbs and when pointing downhill and what travel forks are you running on it?

Sorry again for the hijack but i can’t get this frame out of my head, an itch i may need to scratch 😕

29ers all have a policy of never letting on about how much better than those little baby wheels are so they’d never tell anyway.

Okay – god’s honest truth:
[list=1][*]I think it really depends how ‘big’ you are[/*]
[*]It depends what trails you ride on.[/list]
I ride a 29er but almost all of my trails are fast rock / gravel / grit and I ride virtually no roots / grass / gnarly / jumps.

I’m happier on a 29er. I’m 6’3″ by the way.

I’d say borrow one or do a demo day if you’re intrigued. Don’t buy a cheapo bike – it’ll not do it justice.

si, i did, but i have not finished the build yet…so i do not know what it rides like yet..

So whats left to change on it then Ton ?

waiting for some whites forks to land.

What travel are they going to be and where do you source your 29er stuff ?

Would be interested to hear your thoughts once its built up as you want it 😉

130mm white fluids
2.3 wtb stouts
kris holm rims
pro2 hubs
hope m4 brakes
750mm nukeproof bars
syncros stem
pig dh h/set
slx 22/32 c/set
x9 gearing

allgood stuff

Sounds good, let me know what its like with the new forks on once you’ve given it a thrash 😛

Ill never go back to 26 wheels.

29ers are harder to wheelie! Thats the only negative thing I found with mine. Also if I’m picky they are harder to get in the back of a car, If you dont have a rack!. Tyres are more expensive they never seems to be any deals on them.

Stoner – Member
I wont go back to diddy little 26″ wheels.

Im 36″ leg too, and originally rode a 21″ Scandal (great bike) but now have a 19.5″ Ti29er.

On-One are currently doing a barginicious 29er wheelset for £99 including SB8s ot Nevegals.

Then just grab a s/h frame and fork and use whatever you’ve got lying around in the spares bin to build up a SS or geared ride.

there also doing a 29r frame for £99 😉

Seth – Try Chevin, i got 2x Bonty MudX’s for £30 last month 😯

I always felt like I was perched on top of my old 26″ bike. My 29er fits perfectly (I’m 6’1″ tall)and is much more comfy for long rides because of this. Couldn’t go back to riding ‘kiddies wheels’.

To echo some other comments on this forum it is a complete pig to fit in the back of my car and is hopeless for wheelies (or it mught just be me who is hopeless at wheelies!)

Just to add some balance…

I’m tall – 6’5″ – so in theory 29ers should be perfect for me. On that basis I’ve tried several now but in short I’ve always ended up a bit disappointed by the experiences.

Now, don’t get me wrong, they do have advantages on rocks and in terms of slightly better rolling (if you believed what some people suggest, you’d believe that they they’d add 5-10 mph to your speed whereas i’d suggest that it’s generally 1mph absolute max) but the simple fact is that I always find them less fun. Of course that’s totally subjective but I kept wishing that I was riding a 26″ bike as I always felt like I was trundling along on top of a gate. On the other hand, if I was into racing enduros then I’d probably get one.

Doctor “Well, you will make a full recovery.”
Patient ” Will I be able to play the piano?”
Doctor “Yes.”
Patient ” Good , ‘cos I couldn’t before!”

It’s the way I tell em!

There is a point to this. I could never wheelie with a 26″ wheeled bike and still can’t on a 29er.

edit- It seemed to make sense originally

Matthew 😉

pft, 29″ers are rubbish, they dont roll nearly as well over stuff as 30″ers, 31″ers, 32″ers, 33″ers, 34″ers, 35″ers, 36″ers…….
and the wheels are stronger on 28″ers, 27″ers, 26″ers, ……

26″ers roll over stuff loads better than 24″ers

errr, ive forgotten where i was going with this antiniche comment….

187cm tall here. I like them both, & tbh can’t tell *that* difference between them (Heckler & Swift), beyond the obvious suspension differences.

I’m 6’3” and am strongly considering selling my only remianing 26er. Think you should definately give one a try if you are tall, and you’re in to normal riding rather than rad stuff.

I’ve had a ss rig 29er for about 18months, and rode my 29er Scandal for the first time at the weekender. The rig was fun, but the Scandal is the best bike I have ever ridden. With gears you can really appreciate some more of the benefits – I was amazed by the traction while climbing on steep stuff, the front wheel doesn’t lift too easilly. Yet with a shortish (70mm) stem and wide flat bars the bike is lovely to jump about and maunual – I was clearing the doubles etc.

Maybe demo one?