Somebody give this man a biscuit, sterling work…

Neko Mulally tests a modified 29 inch Scott Gambler

I think there is huge potential for a downhill bike designed from the ground up around 29″ wheels. It could be a great tool for certain tracks, maybe more than you would think.

Makes you wonder about 29/27.5 doesn’t it? Seems like bar height isn’t a problem for many riders but fitting in that big wheel at the back is a challenge!

I do think you get more than half the benefits of 29in with a big front wheel.

Carrying speed on the flat was the main loss I noticed, which isn’t gonna be a huge issue in WC DH!

There are some interesting big travel enduro 29ers coming through, it’s only a matter of time before they appear on the dh circuit

Haven’t the athertons been testing trek 29ers?

They already have, Mitch Gruffalo’s had a couple of goes at the worlds on a modified enduro (I don’t think he’s completed a clean world cup run on one though), Aaron Gwin won Sea Otter on one (though, whether that counts is open to debate), Luke Strobel won something in america that looked like it was about 50% proper dh track and 50% kamikaze…

And Intense and Trek have had a go at it in the past, though things have been pretty limited with parts I think- people end up using Manitous, trailbike tyres etc, pretty shonky. Fox have a prototype 29er 40 though and there’s a few proper dh tyres and protos out there too, and #enduro rims got good enough to DH on so it’s all taking away the excuses. Once the parts are decent maybe the bikes can be decent.

So now there’s

and unsurprisingly

Supposedly Rachel Atherton’s been spotted on that one though there’s no pics I’ve seen…

This was the Rachel Atherton 29er pic from Whistler this summer…

They’d have to be well-proven as winners before they’d sell in any numbers though, eh?

Probably better get the most succesful DH racer in the world to ride one eh 😆

DH is too sexist to allow Rachel to sell bikes.

How much is a dual-ply 29er tyre weighing then?

Does whatever supposed advantage 29 gives over 27.1 outweigh the extra weight of rim and tyre?.

I think the answer to that is a firm “maybe”.

1250g and 1300g for the Minion 2.5s I have so weirdly that’s lighter than the claimed weight of the 650b Minion 2.5s. They’re folding bead so I guess that saves some weight… I think possibly they have a wee bit less sidewall than my old 26 dualplies but they still totally feel like a DH tyre.

I suppose that’s a G4 or G5 on Rachel’s bike there, can’t really see.

Looks interesting, but been done nearly ten years ago by BCD

http://m.pinkbike.com/news/2087-BCD-Racing-29er-Carbon-Fiber-DH-Bike.html

Looks interesting, but been done nearly ten years ago by BCD

You’re right it was. I can’t imagine why it didn’t catch on….

Bin dun

I am 6 foot, though with only medium length legs, and I get arse-rubber contact on the steep and gnarly on my 120mm travel 29er. I imagine that might be an issue with 29″ wheels for DH, even if you sorted the frame clearance issues.

This needs to be done by degrees, 29er front with a 650b back end….that’d rock I reckon.

greyspoke – I am 6 foot, though with only medium length legs, and I get arse-rubber contact on the steep and gnarly on my 120mm travel 29er. I imagine that might be an issue with 29″ wheels for DH, even if you sorted the frame clearance issues.

I have similar issues at 5.10 but its forced me o ride more central and more over the front which is generally turning out to be more beneficial.