Have had an Scandal 29er for about 3.5 years. At the time it was bought for xc riding and 24hr races. It was great. Nowadays I’m riding my road bike more, and simply razzing about in the woods and meeting mates at Bike Park Wales for the day. All of which the 29er is not really suitable for. I find it too steep up front, 100 travel fork beating me up, not low slung enough and a bit too planted. Not nimble enough.

Funds are tight as started my own manufacturing business a few years ago and it hoovers up spare cash. So I am considering swapping for a second hand 26″ steel framed hardcore hardtail. I used to have a Dialled PA and loved it. I am wondering if something like a Blue Pig is going to be the way to go. Only really considering hardtails. Budget may stretch to the base model Sonder Transmitter…

My only concern is going from the bike weels back to smaller ones and maybe a rougher ride at the back.

Any similar experiences, of anyone swapping from big wheels back to small?

If the geometry is the issue rather than the wheel size, why not just look for a more appropriate 29er frame? Loads of fun options available these days.

29er geo has moved on incredibly since the Scandal was designed.

Each to there own but i would hate to go back to 26 now, it does feel very small when you have ridden 29 for a prolonged period.

Ok, good points there. And I think that’s what I’m worried about, the wheels feeling small. Pootled around on a mates whyte 905 650b this week and that didn’t feel too small…

I have played on a friends Yelli Screamy, albeit and XL and it still felt really steep and high even with a 120mm fork. What is around that is more modern than that? Ideally steel and not keen on how the Parkwood’s look.

Chromag rootdowm maybe an option
Stooge……hilarious bmx like hooliganism…I have one and so impressed with the silliness of it
Last steel hardtail

Had a scandal and whilst okay never really liked it…..Ritchey p 29 on paper looks staid it is an absolute blast, beautifully balanced and more capable than one would think with 120mm fork, had one and sold it

650b and 26, imo most riders couldn’t tell them apart. So if you are worried about the wheels being too small I think you have answered your own question

Old 26 bikes are as cheap as chips, there will be plenty to chose from. I never left 26 and see little reason to change. I actually have a brand new unused PA waiting for me to get of my @rse and build up with old/new parts. Ride what you want to. FWIW a second hand PA frame sold on here for about £70 recently, the last two 26 Soul frames I bid on went for £185 and £245

Kona honzo?
New ragley bigwig?

Rootdown, Honzo and Big Wig all look good – it does make sense to stick to 29 after so many years on the big wheels I think. Even riding around on my mates Whyte 905 650b I was a bit like ‘Where has the front wheel gone’.

Yes, the Damn Stooge. I would friken love on. Really into the geo and look.Have had a car park test on one with a 29+ front tyre fitted and thought it was ace. BUT surely high speed descending such as at Bike Park Wales is going to be tough going without a fork? That is the only reason why I have stayed away. Although I have ridden both a standard Jones with Fat Front and a Jones Plus on my local woods trails and both were lovely…

That new chromag primer looks very promising too

Stooge I have has a carbon fork (on one) and 26 X 4inch 45 north husker du on the front, on trail centres really is good and relative fast, held back by the inept rider but on proper Rocky natural routes there it is slower.

Fast vs fun ?????

Yes it is ‘tougher’ than my Yeti sb95 but makes you choose better lines.

Rigid fork in a hardtail for me works better than 150 mm fork for me

Probably require a decent test on a Stooge then. Anyone know of any in the South West?

Root down back end is built for huckers, for UK riding I’d personally be looking for something with a little more yeild at the back for long ride comfort.

If money is tight I would either

a) stick to 29″ wheels and just swap the frame.

b) get a bargain 26″ hardcore hardtail. I bought an old kinesis phase 5 frame for £40 built it on a tight budget it is absolutely brill!

sillyoldman – Member
If the geometry is the issue rather than the wheel size, why not just look for a more appropriate 29er frame? Loads of fun options available these days.

Is all you really need to read.

That said 26ers are dirt cheap second hand. But does it have to be steel? There are a lot of bikes that would do what you want that are steel, but a lot are other materials too and why lug an extra couple of lbs around?

If you’re on a tight budget then it’ll be easier to do with 26″ wheels. Good strong stiff 29″ wheels cost more or weigh a ton, and the greater A2C height on 29 demands a stiffer (and usually more expensive) fork. And I’m guessing there are more burly 26 forks on the used market with so many changing to 27.5 full-sus, whilst hard hitting 29 forks are a more recent phenomenon.

If your Scandal has a sensible build then the forks and wheels will be totally out of their depth on any of the new breed of hardcore 29er hardtails.

Went from a Kona Unit 29er to a Genesis IOID alfine which I then singlespeeded. The biggest difference was really the fron suspension not the wheel size. The Genesis handles slightly faster and was the first 26 inch wheeled bike I’ve owned.

To be honest, given that both have similar geometry, they don’t feel so different. In your position i’d look for a cheap second hand 26 frame/bike.

Look for a cheap Parkwood frame. They were doing them for £80 a month or so back.

I loved my Scandal 29er but stripped it to build a slightly more modern geometry bike up for a friend with a Parkwood frame. Took it out for it’s test spin and instantly loved it. When she came to to pick it up she threw a leg over it and instantly had a big grin on her mouth and disappeared for a while riding it round. Was a bit of a risk but paid off and it’s a bit more poppy and responsive with the shorter chainstays (feels like it could turn on a sixpence) but more stable on the downs with the slacker head angle. Helps to have a nice short stem too (<60mm).

Have been looking into this some more recently. Short of a cheap second hand Honzo frame coming up, I think a Parkwood is going to be the simplest and cheapest way to go.

So a couple of questions:

I’m a whisker under 6′ with long legs and arms. Current Scandal is 18″ and I’ve always felt I could do with a little more room when using a 60mm stem. Would like to use a shorter stem if possible on the Parkwood. So will a medium Parkwood feel longer or should I go up to the large?

I see On-one selling a 27.5+ Parkwood. It looks like the Parkwood 29er frame. So does the Parkwood V2 have room for bigger tyres at the back?

Cheers

You’ll want a large. I believe the 27+ Parkwood uses the 29er frame.

Thanks Cheezepleez

I ride all three diameters back to back. Each has a different feel. The diameter of the wheel does not dictate the frame geo anymore. I can feel the difference between 26 and 27.5 much more than 29 to 27.5.
CHEAP FIXES
If you have a mate with a spare 26″ rear wheel, drop that on the Scandal and give it a go.

You can throw on an AngelSet headset to change the geo.

If you have frame clearance you can replace the 29″ with 27.5+ wheels and tires. It won’t change the geo, but extra rubber has a magical effect.

I’ve been riding and racing on a Ragley Bigwig all year and it’s an unbelievable bike for smashing around the forest and with the slacked out geometry it’s very capable in all applications. Over the Summer I took my Ibis Tranny 26 to Lake Garda and Finale (because it breaks down and fits in a suitcase) and found the adjustment back to 26 took a few days and still felt a bit unstable on the super tech above LG and the high speed flow trails at Finale. I always thought the Tranny was the ultimate hardtail but now would never consider getting back on smaller wheels again, particularly on a hardtail. People who are saying 26 is superior probably haven’t ridden one of the new breed of 29er hardtails. They are superior in virtually all situations unless you do a lot of dirt jumping as it’s a bit more sluggish in the air. You could transfer all your kit across but make sure you go for a 50mm or less stem and some good wide bars. The only downside I’ve found to 29ers is that big aluminium rims struggle to cope with proper riding and require constant trueing. I bit the bullet and bought some Ibis carbon wheels and they’ve been amazing, totally true after a year of giving it heaps.

Personally I’d be looking at the last cheap mk1 (they found some more) Stanton sherpa’s, decent TT/reach sizes compared to the Parkwood/bigwig (great frames if your a shorty)

Also have your ridden a 26er lately? My love of my life (bike wise) was sold immediately after riding a 29er through winter then stepping back on to the 26er, horrible horrible feeling

Julioflo-

I have a Mk 1 Dialed Bikes Morning Glory frame sat in the shed- as I remember it is a 19 inch. might be worth a try if you were interested in going back to 26 inch? (Some of us have never left…)It’s one hell of a hardcore hardtail.. where in SW are you?

Eviljoe – I had a 17″ Dialled PA at one point. A pink one! It was brilliant, but probably a bit too small looking back! Thanks for the offer, but I think this thread and the process around it has made be realise I want to stay on big wheels. And the simplest thing to do would be to sort a new frame, either a L Parkwood or Stanton Sherpa (thanks z1ppy) and put all my existing kit on it, then move to a 120mm fork when I can.

Based In Buckfastleigh

I have a 26″ hardtail and a 29″ hardtail. I ride both very regularly. Both are great. Swapping between the two is no problem.

If I were asked which I would keep if I had to get rid of one? Depends which I rode last probably as each time I get on either I think what a great bike it is…

I know I am fortunate to have the opportunity to have both

What I am trying to say in my opinion is it’s not the wheels but the bike as a whole. If you go back to a good 26″ bike from an average 29″ bike then you”ll love it. If you go from a great 29er to a poor 26″ bike you’ll hate it

I’m sure you’ll be able to get a cracking deal on a high spec 2nd hand hard core hardtail. I swapped from an ALU frame to an old school 456 summer season with 130mm forks, 66 degree head angle makes it loads of fun pointed down steep stuff or off jumps but front wheel still stays planted on climbs. Recently got a good spec 29er HT for a long distance race and although they are different the 26er is for me more fun (and that’s the main reason I bike)