I’ve been riding 29er’s now for about 7 years and do love them but can’t help feeling the need to see what all the fuss about 650B is.

I’m interested to hear what peoples experiences of doing this are. Does it make a big difference to the ride etc or is it all just marketing bull?

I know it’ll all boil down to individual choice. However, I would still like to hear the thoughts of those who have made the switch and those who have tried it but not been convinced.

Cheers

Well I went from 26 to 650b when I changed bikes however my new bike is lower and longer than my last one so that’s where I’m seeing the differences if I’m being totally honest. If it was an exact swap of wheels then I would be able to say one way or the other for certain but there’s so many differences between the two frames and the travel that I can’t do a like for like comparison.

Yes my new bike is faster overall but that’s mainly down to the different style of frame than the wheel size if I’m being honest, although I was out with a good mixture of guys at the weekend where there were 29ers in HT and FS my 650b FS and 3 26ers and I was rolling for longer on fire road descents without pedalling than the 26ers but not the 29ers.

I’d just say get a test ride on one and see for yourself but try and get one that’s the same as you are already riding to be able to compare the differences. Geometry, travel and tyre choice are probably more of an influencing factor than wheel size alone.

😀 🙂 😕 😡 👿 😈

In the process of, I guess, would be my reply.

Currently I have a 26er FS that I have a love/hate relationship with.
A 29er HT which is very XC and I really enjoy, although I had to choose between reach or standover in the size chart. Seeing I wanted it to cover mile munching, family rides and tow path stuff I sacrificed a little in standover so the reach felt right.

I like most of what the bigger wheels bring but still am looking for a bike that has all the appeal of my old steel rigid retro MTB (that is currently out of action) but with modern feel. A playful character when asked but nice to ‘just ride along’ on. Moon on a stick perhaps?

I was torn between a steel HT 29er or 650b but have ordered a Soul 275 which I am hoping (for my bank account sake) ticks those boxes!

Hopefully this thread will also reveal I’m heading in the right course!!

I rode one at the weekend.

It felt just like a 26″ to me, if it wasn’t for the fact it had massive logos on the tyres I’d never have known.

So do you ride 26 or 29 currently weeksy? If 29 was the response on any more technical stuff noticeably better than on the 29er?

NormalMan – I’d be interested to hear your thoughts when you are a bit further down the line.

Fatlad,

I ride 29 normally. It’s hard to equate how much better on tech stuff the 29er is, the 29er is a much higher spec and an FS, the 27.5 was low spec (Carrera Titan) and a HT.

However, when back on the 29er I didn’t notice any issues with turning/handling compared to the 27.5, however, that is likely to be as I was back on my own bike rather than one I barely knew.

I did a split training session on one, so a few intervals on my 26er, a few on a comparable 27.5, there was enough difference/improvement to warrant being interested, certainly better than any 29er I’ve ridden.

Just bought a new bike for my wife which has 27.5 sized wheels.

You might have a bit of a wait OP. The Soul is out of stock for at least another 6 or 7 weeks I’m told.

I’m still not sure if I’d prefer the Solaris either. But the Soul got the nod as I can keep all 3 that way!

Being crazy busy work wise is great for funding bike buying but not for demos. That said, I never find a demo and then living with a bike match up much for me anyway.

It’s essentially a load of bull.

There’ll be no kittens left on planet Earth at this rate

It’s essentially a load of bull.

which 27.5″ bikes have you ridden?

It’s essentially a load of marketing bull.

Fixed.

…but can’t help feeling the need to see what all the fuss about 650B is.

😆

Currently have all three wheel sizes.

Essentially…

27.5 feels like 26 most of the time.

27.5 has a little more grip than 26.

26 accelerates marginally faster than 27.5.

27.5 rolls over things marginally better than 26.

26 is marginally stiffer than 27.5.

All the above are barely noticeable.

Both 26 and 27.5 feel quite different to riding 29.

I’m 6ft and purely from an aesthetic point of view, proportionally on my bike I like 27.5. My other half is 5’3″ and I’ll be rummaging through the spares to keep her gorgeous 26″ wheel Dialled PA on 26s for as long as possible.

Hungry Monkey

I currently ride a 650b Banshee Rune. There is no difference at all.

What don’t you like about the 29er that you think might improve with a 27.5er?

I have a Titus Fireline 29er which is great and a Cannondale Prophet which is also great. Strava times for climbs edge more in favour of the 29er but are more to do with what I am feeling like.

I am sure that a 27.5 may be a tiny bit better for some things than the Prophet and a tiny bit worse for others.

In my experience the things that are worse about the 29er are that it is not a easy to handle in the air and although it does get airborne it likes to come down to earth as soon as possible, I worry about the wheels being weaker so don’t want to take it off big drops and I think I overshoot some corners.

Are these the things you want to “fix”?

Whether it is marketing crap or not, surely there’s no great disadvantage?

(I’m looking to get a new bike sometime in the next 12 months. To take the place of a 2002 Kona hardtail with a massive 80mm travel. I’m assuming I wouldn’t find a 27.5 noticeably inferior)

I don’t feel that there is a noticeable difference between 26 and 27.5 but as discussed on our club ride Saturday the step up to 29 is very noticeable.

What you are saying, pimpmaster jazz, does make me ask a question or two about my decision.

For eg. I was out on my 26er and did find myself missing big wheels (sorry kittens but I did) and the next day, same route on the 29er but never thought ‘I wish my wheels were smaller’ at any point. My only issue, like you state is that of asthectics, which aren’t helped by the larger frame size / poor standover clearance. (I’m 5’11” and a half! BTW)

Essentially…

27.5 feels like 26 most of the time.

27.5 has a little more grip than 26.

26 accelerates marginally faster than 27.5.

27.5 rolls over things marginally better than 26.

26 is marginally stiffer than 27.5.

All the above are barely noticeable.

I’d wager that you can only notice the difference at all if you know what wheelsize you are riding. Take away any visual clues and I reckon it would become pretty much impossible for most normal mortals. I mean, how are you supposed to detect a “slight increase in grip” when grip varies so much with the condition of the trail, tyre pressure, wear etc?

I currently ride a 650b Banshee Rune. There is no difference at all.

have you ridden a 26″ version of the rune?

My 650b cotic soul rides really nice

Hungry monkey

Yes, no difference, other than a higher BB

You know what the actual diameter difference between 26″ and 650b is?
No it’s not 1.5 inches…
It’s actually only 25mm. That’s less than 5% bigger.
You really think anyone can notice that?? (hint: no, they can’t).

For me, a 650b hardtail is a step back from a 29er.

I bought 2 bikes recently.

They both have 650b wheels.

They are (very) good bikes that are better than the 2 26ers they replaced. This could be due to the wheel size, or that they’re lighter, stiffer and have better geometry and suspension.

I dont care why they are better, just that they are.

I’d wager that you can only notice the difference at all if you know what wheelsize you are riding. Take away any visual clues and I reckon it would become pretty much impossible for most normal mortals. I mean, how are you supposed to detect a “slight increase in grip” when grip varies so much with the condition of the trail, tyre pressure, wear etc?

Fair point. I can only tell that there’s a difference by riding both the 26 and 27.5 bikes within a reasonable amount of time and down familiar trails which I’ve ridden in most conditions. For the record, I run my tyres around the same pressure (25-30psi).

On that note, there is a difference (and personally I prefer the slightly bigger wheels on the wooded trails I ride darn sarf) but it really isn’t much.

Could I tell the difference otherwise? Honestly? Probably, yes. But it really is minor. And I’ve been riding mountain bikes for over 20 years.

What you are saying, pimpmaster jazz, does make me ask a question or two about my decision.

For eg. I was out on my 26er and did find myself missing big wheels (sorry kittens but I did) and the next day, same route on the 29er but never thought ‘I wish my wheels were smaller’ at any point. My only issue, like you state is that of asthectics, which aren’t helped by the larger frame size / poor standover clearance. (I’m 5’11” and a half! BTW)

There’s some great articles out there about wheel size (including one that talks about the benefits of a smaller wheel in alpine environments where there’s a lot of stop/start riding), but for me it came down to the following:

I bought a 29er because my 26er was uncomfortable getting to the local decent trails. The 29er got there far more comfortably, but I found that once on ‘decent’ trails I wasn’t having as much fun.

I went back to the 26er but kept a 29er SS for local riding (one hour blast / night rides – that sort of thing) which works for me, in my local environment (can you see where this is going?)

Recently I bought a new long travel bike, and was aiming to stay 26″ with an Alpine 160 to maintain the ‘fun’ element and have plenty of kit crossover, as well as use in ‘bigger’ mountain environments. As it happens I went for an Ariel and 650b for a number of reasons, future-proofing being just one. However, the Ariel is now my go-to bike for practically everything.

I guess it comes down to what you want to do.
[list][*]If you’re bagging South Downs Way records, then a 29er is the only obvious way forward. [/*]
[*]If you prefer fast, open descents to twisty, turny tech then I’d still look at a 29er (unless you’re under 5’8″).[/*]
[*]If you want an adaptable bike to use at Bike Park Wales and in ‘proper’ mountains that can climb and descend, then I’d suggest going 650b.[/*]
[*]If your riding is purely in mountainous environments where long, technical, backside-on-wheel descents are normal, then personally I’d stick with 26, or look at 650b if you’re taller.[/*][/list]

But these are very much my suggestions, purely based on what I’ve recently ridden and owned. 🙂

?If you want an adaptable bike to use at Bike Park Wales and in ‘proper’ mountains that can climb and descend, then I’d suggest going 650b.

LOL my MetaAM29 is awesome at BPW, it also climbs sweetly and flies around singletrack.

Pretty much bought my 29er for similar reason pimpmaster jazz, a fair amount of my riding needs linking by short tarmac sections or bike paths. Can’t say it hasn’t been fun though, but that might have more to do with love/hate issue with my fs than anything.

Then, of course, that picture of the Soul puts a smile on my face.

I think I need to hide from the internet for the next few weeks! It’ll be less stressful! 🙂

LOL my MetaAM29 is awesome at BPW, it also climbs sweetly and flies around singletrack.

You have a bike that you like – I’m very happy for you. 😉

I think I need to hide from the internet for the next few weeks! It’ll be less stressful!

Amen to that. 😆

I bought a Saracen Zen frame cheap from my LBS and am slowly building one, using “bargain” parts. Will let you know how it goes…

Whilst some may say I’ve been duped by the hype.

I have ridden 29ers for years, took a Horsethief to the Alps / Lakes / Scotland.
Loved every minute of every ride.

Changed my Trail full suss to 650B and prefer it.
2.4 Continental Mountain Kings come up far bigger than any 26″ tyre ever did. Wheels are stronger than 29.

For me it is the best compromise of fun and rolling on a longer travel chassis full suss.

Short travel and hard tail are best as 29ers.

I think my feeling on wheel sizes on MTBs is you want the biggest wheel size that will fit within a geometry that works for you – the main issue being excessive bar height when you have long forks and big wheels – and whilst keeping wheels light/strong/stiff enough to not make a bike feel too sluggish, break too easily or imprecise and flexy when you’re pushing on.

If the tyres had been available in the ’70s I think MTBs would have started out big wheeled with no suspension and then smaller wheels would have come in to fit longer travel suspension and increase the wheel strength for harder hitting bikes.

My 27.5 bike keeps overtaking 26ers when rolling down fireroads so unless I’ve got particularly good bearings and non-draggy brakes there is some difference even if it’s showing up most obviously when it’s least relevant – and I’m running knobblier tyres than most.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/nzHkFL]IMAG3723[/url]

There’s a time and a place for them.

I beat a guy on a 29er in a race yesterday with my 26er, who in later conversation told me I should buy a 29er as it’d be much faster.

Go figure.

Maybe he meant faster than you already are, not faster than him.

That was an easy one, harder riddles please.