I have front wheels in both sizes, bits and bobs too. The missing things are the frameset and a rear wheel (hubs awaiting their fate). Should I stick with 26″ as I always have so the fork stays or sell it and get a 29er? I’m 5’7″ and bored.

ur too short for a 29er.
there u go – buy yourself a 26er.

Erm – that’s often repeated nonsense IMHO. (I’m 5’9″ and own 3 29’ers now – 2 of them SS)

Try a 29’er to see if you get on with the longer stays. That’s the only potential downside to them generally speaking.

Just like with 26″ bikes though, there are good examples and bad examples, so while there are some nice 29’ers out there, there are also horrible bags of spanners available.
😉

My problem is my location – Eire. The bike shops local to me (within 60 miles) don’t really know what a 29er is, they seem to think a 69er is a guy who likes giving when being given.
I ride a 69er nowadays but fancy a change for an occasional commute of 50kms each way. I don’t want gears as there’ll be plenty of time on hand, besides – why not? I can’t buy a roadbike as the space is short so I could flog a frame (bike) and replace it with another one.

29er, rolls better, less need for suspension – helps keep it simple.

Stick to UK brands and you won’t go wrong for the frame. On-One Scandal, any SIngular, Ragley etc

Well, fine. Are Kona Units any good? Might get one locally rather cheaply.

A few upgrades and a pair of Race Kings and it’s an ideal mixed terrain commute bike.