Perhaps I’m just getting more used to seeing them or the latest geometry helps their appearance but I’m having thoughts these may have benefits for my type of riding. I’ve booked a test bike from my local leisure lakes store but I was wondering if anyone has bought one (not just tested) and after living with it for some time, and regrets making a purchase? I noticed someone in the classifieds asking for a swap for a turner sultan and it made me rather conscious that this might be a regular scenario.
Thanks in advance for any opinions (from people who have actually ridden one thanks!!)

I demoed one, liked it, but not enough. Felt a bit awkward.
That said, the same demo bike is up for sale in my LBS and I’m tempted somewhat, ‘cos it did some things really well.

I got rid of all my 26″ MTBs within a few weeks of buying my first 29er. 6’4″ – XC riding, local & big welsh days. Also taken mine to Luchon w no problems.

Would you ask if anyone had owned a 26er and hated it?

Just like 26ers they’re not all the same. The wheel size is only one part of how it’ll feel.

Go out on the test ride. Then try a few others too.
That way you’ll be able to make your own mind up. 🙂

I got rid of all my 26″ MTBs within a few weeks of buying my first 29er. 6’4″ – XC riding, local & big welsh days

Me too.

Ask again in a couple of months once I’ve bought mine…

SSS has a point. I’ve bought several bikes I’ve, we’ll maybe not regretted, but sold on after a relatively short period of time: namely a heckler, a motolite and a vf2. All 26ers.

Love my Cotic hardtails though.

And there is a similar thread here but it’s bit like preaching to the converted on that particular forum I guess.

Getting any bike has its risks…

I’ve owned one, sold it, test rode others but never really ‘got’ it. They do do everything everyone says they do but its just not for me!

singlespeedstu – Member
Would you ask if anyone had owned a 26er and hated it?

Just like 26ers they’re not all the same. The wheel size is only one part of how it’ll feel.

Go out on the test ride. Then try a few others too.
That way you’ll be able to make your own mind up.

^This

Could I predict the same old shite engaging debate?
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/anyone-bought-a-29er-and-hated-it

Or this one.
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/has-anyone-gone-back-to-26-from-29

Opinions here http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/who-has-actually-tried-a-29er-then

I test rode a lot of 29ers and really disliked quite a lot as they felt efficient but uninvolving and dull. luckily there are more and more good ones available now that aren’t like that.

I got rid of all my 26″ MTBs within a few weeks
of buying my first 29er

I always find that a bit odd and I know it’s quite common. Sometimes after riding my 29er and loving it, I think about swapping my 26″ bikes for 29ers but then I ride them and remember why I don’t. They’re still brilliant and just offer different ride characteristics to the 29er which complement it perfectly.

I’d hate to limit myself to just one type of bike.

Interestingly, I can’t abide by certain 29ers. I couldn’t get on with a Scandal and I tried a Swift and didn’t like that either, but I’d never ride another 26″ bike again. That’s not to say that either are bad bikes; just that the way they rode didn’t really suit me.

i test rode 2 29ers, a trek x-caliber which felt like a tank and a stumpjumper which was probably the best hardtail ive ever ridden, so you really need to try lots of bikes to get a good idea-the case 26s are no different…theres good and bad…

It was the epiphany that I no longer had to put up with looking like a bear on a circus bike that lead me to get rid of my 26″ bikes.

There really was no place in my world for them anymore. I dont ride dirt or DH, or 4X or Trials or anything where a smaller wheel would benefit me, so there was really no need to keep them having found out I could get 29″ stuff.

This is a 20″ frame 26er:

so you’re fashion driven, basically 🙂

Im super fashionable me. 😉

that’s not what I said 😉

You can ride a 26″ bike & dislike it. Takes time to get to know a bike properly. Wasnt an instant thing with my 29er. Was looking to go back to hard tail, less time to ride, nasty crash riding beyond my capabilities on the FS, were just a couple of reasons. Steel 29er fitted the bill. First ride was with 90mm stem, tyres I’d not tried before, suspension too long etc. Wasnt exactly bowled over, but felt like there was something worth pursuing. Best part of a year later its got 50mm stem, different tyres, rigid forks. Its about as perfect for me, & my riding needs right now, as any bike I’ve ever had.
You’ve got to look at what you need/want from a bike, & narrow it down accordingly. There are plenty of 29″ wheels aimed at different riding styles these days. Just trying one 29er & basing your decision on that, even over a few rides, is a bit restrictive.

Hi Parisroubaix,

I have had an Inbred 29er for a few month now after years of 26er hardtail and have just gone back to another 26. Some things have been mentioned already here or in other threads. I’d still like to share my quite recent experience. Hope it helps! Just for info: I like fun CC flat singletracking, I can bunny hop but that’s about it, I don’t do DH, bike parks, rocks.

My 5pence then:
– 26 is great, 29 too
– in the end it comes down to personal preference
– and riding style and type of landscape you ride in and height
-> so have the test ride really…

BUT some shared experiences might help to have a few pre-conceptions of what the difference might be (or are pre-conceptions a bad thing? in this case?)
– from my experience the difference is not huge-huge
– it might be more down to non-29er induced differences when people describe their 29er experiences (incl. me)
– i.e. the difference between two 26er with different character can easily be bigger than between a 26 and a similar “spirited” 29er
– 29er (by trend) seem to be great for steady, efficient long distance CC type riders
– 26 is great for more technical, fun-oriented riders (then again fun is in the hands of the beholder, isn’t it? Grip and comfort can make a ride more fun, too, for me it’s the chuckability that makes the fun)

Pro 29er:
– the GRIP! in corners and uphill (and no, I didn’t have exactly the same tread pattern on both bikes but Nobby Nics on the 26er and Spec. The Captain on the 29er might be close enough)
– I felt – and also read this from other experiences – that 29er give more confidence due to their grip advantage, maybe also due to tendency of longer wheelbase
– concerning all the stuff on momentum/pace and comfort I can’t really say that this was so much different for me (again difficult to compare if there is more than just wheel size as a variable)

Pro 26:
– I just loved the way my old 26er wriggled away beneath me when I got back on it after 2 month 29er
– it’s more chuckable, more playful, more agile, more UNDER you, more fun (and my 26 is an old steep but long CC geometry, not a bike park funster and heavier than the 29er!)
– as they say you sit ON a 26 and IN a 29
– while the latter might feel more confidence inspiring to some I don’t mind sitting ON and ABOVE the bike as it seems to give me more control
– it also felt like the 26er (at least with my bike) just has a tighter turning cycle and needs less persuading/pushing around tight bends

SUMMARY
I’d have both. If pressed I would prefer the 26 for my fun-biased CC riding on tight, twisty singletracks.

But I am already looking at getting a 29er again to go alongside the 26er. In which case – contrary to the 29er-SS-rigid wisdom – the 29er might become the geared race and tour stead and the 26er the SS fun woodster.

Enjoy! Whatever you choose to ride! 😉

I felt – and also read this from other experiences – that 29er give more confidence due to their grip advantage, maybe also due to tendency of longer wheelbase

larger contact surface due to the larger wheel. think of the contact patch of a tennis ball compared to one of those gym balls… not quite to scale, but you get the idea!

I’ve owned a 29er and found it hard to like 26″ after it.

However there’s good 29ers and there’s the other sort.

(I prefer to ride rigid hardtails so 29er makes more sense to me)

alpin:

larger contact surface due to the larger wheel

showing willing, but you’re wrong on detail I’m afraid…

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/bicycle-tires-puncturing-the-myths-29245/

Wheel Energy’s analyses of tire contact patch have confirmed that 29in tires don’t have a bigger footprint than otherwise identical 26in ones. While the total area is the same, the shape of the patch is longer and narrower on 29ers, though.

Its the different dimensions of contact patch which give the better grip, not the size.

FFS, the amount of blinkin threads like this recently, you may as well ask “has anyone tried a red bike and hated it” It’s a pointless question.

if you are interested, take lots of them for a demo and see if once suits you and your riding.

It’s just a flippin bike, not some magical, mythical dandyhorse that’ll save the world and make you more attractive to the opposite sex (or same sex if you’d prefer)

Just like 26ers they’re not all the same. The wheel size is only one part of how it’ll feel.

Go out on the test ride. Then try a few others too.
That way you’ll be able to make your own mind up.

Based on my personal experience, this is very good advice.

In the end I guess a lot depends on the type of terrain you mostly ride on, and your style of riding.

I really like my 29er hardtail, compliments my other bikes (all 26ers) really well. If I was limited to just having one bike, which had to be a hardtail, I’d probably go 29er.

I agree Bowglie, this was a really good piece of advice and I had presumed that 29ers might all have a certain feel. Pity people like tazzymtb can’t keep away from posts others actually find quite helpful.

😆

you still ask a dumbass question though, just test some and see if they work for you.

wheel size is irrelevant 🙄

It’s good advice to go and demo done and see how you feel. I tested x2 29ers this week, first time of trying them and also back to back rode a similar 26. Really interesting and still not sure what to think… I recognise a few of the things people have highlighted as differences but so far couldn’t say I am convinced a 29er is better or worse, just different.

The question I am continuing to return to is: what do I want out of my next ride? Only one person can answer that one.

Edit: mountain Trax near Swinley have quite a few you can demo currently.

has anyone owned a 29er and hated it?

Why not try one and form your own opinion instead of buying a bike based on the opinions of others – may as well save time and get an Orange 5 🙄

stop being an old grumpy knickers tazzy!!

you riding your silly wheeled bike this week pop? You missed young slappy today, i think with a bit of arm twisting you may have a race partner!

oh and I’m not wearing any knickers, just a leopard skin thong 😉

wheel size is irrelevant

it might be less important than some think but it’s surely not irrelevant

buying a bike based on the opinions of others

it’s more about narrowing it down, isn’t it?!

In the real world you will neither have the time nor the LBS (bike as demo available) to have a complete picture by testing all the relevant bikes in 26 and 29 guise. So most of us who are in the process to go 29er will want to narrow it down somehow. And if it’s only to spend the time testing more efficiently by choosing test bikes that are most likely to suit.

When I finally bought my 29er I knew that it’s still trial and error to some degree even though I had done some research here and elsewhere. BUT the research definitely helped me to decide whether a) 29er would suit me at all b) to narrow the choice down to maybe 2-3 bikes/frames.

😐 😕 🙂

Hated my Unit but loved it’s paint job.

Liked my Rig. Liking my Big Kahuna monstercross.

P.S.: The whole thing about “just go and test some bikes” is not the ultimate cure some make believe.

It took me at least 3-4 rides and one stem swap before I got to grips with if and how much I liked my new 29er (actually true for every new bike irrelevant of wheel size). So going for a test ride is good, but I am not sure it’s the one and only solution and it’s certainly not the end of all threads “should I go 29er?”.

And why should it?

😛

Buy, ride, don’t like, sell, buy, ride, don’t like, sell, buy, ride, like, keep, enjoy 😉

Well said Hock! If wheel size is irrelevant we wouldn’t have 29ers in the first place.

Parisroubaix, your comment regarding Tazzymtb is completely unnecessary because as like ssstu and others that comment on 29ers, they actually know what they are talking about through experience. What is clearly evident is that the number of threads being started around this subject is increasing in numbers and by using the search function on this site, the information you seek is already well documented.

For me, the 29er is great apart from the minor irritation of being still a bit more expensive for rubber etc.

What the 29er gives me personally is… more speed XC. You could also call it ‘easier’ speed for teh same effort.. but in simple terms, for me it’s a bit quicker… 5%-7%.

The other thing it gives me is the abilty to move over ruts/tracks easier. A lot of my riding is along trails that have also been carved by vehicles etc.. So you can end up getting cuaght out in a rut, the 29er seems to be better at doing this.

I also find air-time (whilst only small) seems more controlled and safter than on my previous 26″ers.

Tazzy- struggling on tuesday but if anyone was our wednesday I would be up for it- failing that it will be next weekend.

Anyway- everyone as they were- bring on the 29er haters!

By the way I hated my first 29er – a rig but have since had a swift and lynskey and fink theyre ace- no small wheels in the shed anymore!!

metalheart – Member

Ask again in a couple of months once I’ve bought mine…

i’m asking