I am assuming all pro 29ers have ridden one. If you are an anti it would help if you mention if you have ridden one and if it was more than a lap of a carpark.
Bike Forum
who has actually tried a 29er then?
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Posted 8 months ago #
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Rode one for about 6 months mostly rigid geared, but also set up in semi-monstercross mode + for a bit with bouncy forks.
Allot of my local riding is very stop/start, sharp up + down, with the fun bits containing corners that are fine to get a 26" and 69er round but frustratingly too tight for that 29er. If I was riding more open flowing trails, would have probly persevered.
At just under 6' always found 69er's a better option. Really like the long contact patch + rollability over roots / moderate rocks / cutup, hoofed, braking bumped dry mud up front. But then having acceleration + a tight rear end on the bike.
Posted 8 months ago # -
As ever not all 29ers, like 26" bikes are the same. I would agree that older 29er probably not so good in tight stuff, but some of the newer frames are. Perhaps we need to forget the 26/29 thing and focus on individual bikes?
Posted 8 months ago # -
Sure you are right, be interested to ride Cy's take on 29ers.
Posted 8 months ago # -
I had a 29er scandal which I ran for a year alongside my only other mtb a cotic soul. I didn't really touch the soul for 6 months, but found myself neither over or under whelmed by the scandal and did try quite a few different set up to see if I could get it to really work for me. I just found myself enjoying the soul more when I did ride it, it just made me grin a bit more. Both bikes had their merits, so it term of 'betterer' I couldn't really say. I would identify myself as a roadie in biking labels, so don't really give a monkeys about 26v29er debate, I'm not really bothered what size wheels mtb's use. Had I tried a different 29er things might have been different.
I'm pretty sure from reading this thread that any none 100% gushing things I found about my 29er, would not be shared by rocketdog
Posted 8 months ago # -
Liking Ade Wards bike. It's quite similar to something I drew up last winter when I had a bit of time on my hands. I went for quite similar geometry and elevated stays to get the back wheel tucked in tight behind the bottom bracket. The chain stays were lower on mine with just enough clearance for a 36T chainring and the seatstays were done like the GT 'triple triangle' to give the frame a bit of top to bottom symmetry. Shame I never had the money spare to get it made.
Posted 8 months ago # -
I've never tried one; in a very real sense, there was nothing to try ...
The Peregrine had just come out, and it looked like the perfect frame for me, so that was that. Ordered, delivered, built and ridden, the Gryphon following on and built-up as a SS specific 29er, with my (700c) Fratello appearing in between them for long days ([almost] exclusively) on the road.
I've been riding 700c for years (and years
) anyway, far more than on 26", so there was no real change for me, other than being able to use tyres with more volume / more frame clearances. I'm a generally somewhat of a taxonomic lumper, so think of 700c & 29er as very much the same thing, they just have different adaptations to suit their environment, plus (stretching the biological analogy to breaking point 
) they can 'interbreed' etc by happily mixing components...). Over the next few months I am building another 29er, but this one will/should/could be a kinda conventional'ish MTB rather than a monster-crosser (hmm, at least in principle) - and this'll directly replace my poor old unloved 853 Genesis 26", (which hasn't been out of the house in 14+ months).
That'll leave me with just one 26" bike, and that's my old, and much loved Kona.
Posted 8 months ago # -
m pretty sure from reading this thread that any none er, would not29gushing things I found about my %100 be shared by rocketdog
Um...translation?
Posted 8 months ago # -
Forest Of Dean Enduro next weekend.
I'm just hoping there's lots of 26ers there.
I rely on people handicapping themselves by riding unsuitable bikes to make me look good in the results.Posted 8 months ago # -
Comparing my 29er to my Surly 26er, both fully rigid, I find you still feel the bumps on the 29er but they slow you down less. The Surly is easier on the wrists but that's more down to the more upright riding position for ploughing through winter slop. The 29er's definitely faster, particularly on soft sticky ground. The 'Plasticine Woods' at Mayhem was a good example of this, in fact one guy I passed commented that all the people he'd seen going fastest through that section were on 29ers. I'm looking forward to taking mine up to Thetford for the Dusk til Dawn next month. 29ers are harder work to lift the front wheel on though.
Posted 8 months ago # -
29ers are harder work to lift the front wheel on though.
not all,!with my short wheelbase and chainstays even i can get the front end up and it is well balenced for bunnyhops
Posted 8 months ago # -
29ers are harder work to lift the front wheel on though.
I've ridden 29ers with 17"+ chainstays that still hop and pop better than my 120mm forked, wide barred, 420mm stayed 26". Sooo much more to it than wheel size or CS length.
Posted 8 months ago # -
this is what 29ers are best for, as seen on todays ride
The Bridge Tibberton by rOcKeTdOgUk, on Flickr
Mug Shot by rOcKeTdOgUk, on FlickrPosted 8 months ago # -
ade - fair play for designing and getting a proto made; like what you've done there. First thought is that its a bit of an indirect load path from the bb to the rear axle; is it not a bit flexy?
Posted 8 months ago # -
Liking Ade Wards bike.
Me too - good work. I like the idea of shorter chainstays to get back some of the poppy ride feel. And on a geared version, the chainstays are clear of the chain so no slapping. The rear-end reminds me of a Whyte/Marin FS. I also wonder if you get noticeable lateral flex under pedalling - not necessarily a bad thing for an all-day riding bike IMO.
Posted 8 months ago # -
having spent only a brief amount of time on 29er's I was really surprised how much i liked it (SC Tallboy) - it felt like a dh bike for the trails, if you know what I mean, sitting so low relative to the axles and being able to blast through/over stuff like you had waaaay more travel. But without any disadvantage on the way back up.
It made me realise that 29ers aren't just for tall people, mile munching and 'wheels on the ground' riding, but that they make excellent bikes for aggressive trail riding, particularly if they had a bit more travel up front and less xc angles. I think designers have focussed too much on getting them to handle like nimble xc 26ers. As a result they have head angles so steep they look like they've been ridden into a wall. The tallboy felt more twitchy and agile than my mega, which was fine until it got steep and techy or when it felt like it wanted to tuck under when cornering hard (perhaps more time on the bike would solve this too though).
I'd defo trade some agility for additional steep tech and high speed ability. I also found coming from fairly slack am bikes that take a bit of extra manhandling on tight stuff that I found it easy to adjust to a 29er. I guess coming from more xc bike it would take more getting used to. Personally I'd love to ride one of the new Transition Bandit 29er or a Norco Shinobi, they do look like dh bikes for the trail
Posted 8 months ago # -
funny thing there is little lateral flex but there is some rearward, hence v2 is on it's way as i really want to try the new center drive gates belt ,and currently it's not stiff enough,so i have lowered the chainstays on v2
i have run this as a singlespeed and hub geared and it has been bullet proof, no problems with chainsPosted 8 months ago # -
29ers are harder work to lift the front wheel on though.I've ridden 29ers with 17"+ chainstays that still hop and pop better than my 120mm forked, wide barred, 420mm stayed 26". Sooo much more to it than wheel size or CS length.
Perhaps I should have mentioned that both my regular 26ers are short wheelbase woodsy XC bikes and are really rather good on anything trialsy.
Posted 8 months ago #
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