Nae trolling, simply telling it as it is.... I was a massive cynic until I bowed to the pressure of my dealer.... Quite simply, 29" is much better up here in the highlands of Scotland...
recently test rode a 2012 Specialized Epic Comp 29er
very, very surprised about the ride quality and performance, especially in the tighter stuff, did not feel like a big wheeler unless bunnyhopping
handlebar was lower than on my 150mm travel 26" wheel all-mountain bike
the only previous experience of 29ers was riding an Ellsworth Evolve FS at Forest of Dean last winter, which felt really sketchy with odd geometry that did not suit the bigger wheels
who cares
Just read the whole thread, they are not hard to spot.
I love all my 29ers. I don't give a shit what everyone else rides.
Everywhere I go people are always asking me about my bike, so I think there is plenty of interest out there.
For whatever reason the UK seems about 5 years behind the rest of the world in terms of the 29er movement.
In winter here I find 29ers are hard work and I often go back to my 26er.
29 wheels are generally a little heavier that 26, but a mud coated 29 wheel is way heavier that a mud coated 26.
Maybe thats why they've been a little slow to catch on around here.
[img] http://www.rotorburn.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=189997&d=1292506697 [/img]
What's the benefit of a 29er then? I can't imagine that big wheels are any good on singletrack. My racer certainly wasn't!
chips are better than mash
Cream mash is better than mash.... 29" is better than 26" dependant,but in general...
yeah but would you have a cream mash butty?
Lol @ billy. Inference is negligible t o my OP...
There's a time and a place for everything
Ride and let ride
I'll try one just for you but if I die I wont be happy
I still ride 26", but in comparison, its sshit. .
Nah I don't need a wannabe cyclocross bike. I already have a cross bike, will stick to 26" and keep well clear of the fashion "emperors new wheels" marketing driven must have that 29ers are!
I don't care if bigger wheels are faster/smoother/easier - are they more fun?! BMX and jump bikes suggest not...
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Oh well, looking forward to tomorrows necrophilia.
kudos100 come for ride fella and borrow one of the fleet
I'd love to mate, but don't you live op north?
Why would you want a bike with small wheels? That's why I don't have a 29er, and ride one of these instead:
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I'd love to mate, but don't you live op north?
nah middle of the country with strange local folk that talk in a comedy regional dialect.
29 = clowns bikes
Just as a DH is better for going downhill, a trials bike is better for doing trials on, 29ers have their natural abilities and drawbacks... There are of course good and bad designs out there, the good designs hide or at least mask somewhat the inherent drawbacks of bigger wheels, whilst also accentuating their natural plus points.
At best, a 29er is just another bike. You still have to pedal it, and steer it. For the kind of riding that many people find they do most of the time, they find the benefits of a 29er outweigh the drawbacks. For plenty of people, they still find they prefer the inherent qualities of 26" wheels on their bikes. People still ride 20" wheels on BMX's and 24" wheels on dirt jump bikes after all, the latter of which took some while to get universally accepted as a standard anyway.
Mountain bikes will NEVER move away from 26" wheels, but we will see more acceptance of different sized wheels within the sport than has previously been experienced, for the inherent qualities they bring. I've ridden good and bad 29ers, as I have 26" wheeled bikes. It's just a different wheel size, it's like the difference between a hardtail and a full suspension bike, both of which are still perfectly valid for their different reasons. 29ers are not some kind of magic revelation that one day we will all be riding all the time. If they were, it would have happened by now, after all they've been around for a decade or more now!
What is more worrying though is the level of "musthavenewshinythingthenjustifyitontheinternetitis" that is apparent on this forum... If you need a specific sized wheel to make you a better rider, or to ride a certain bit it trail well, save your pennies and spend them on a skills course or two, as you're obviously a shit rider! Any half decent rider knows they can ride a bike with any sized wheels and enjoy it!
END THREAD!
😉
on road 29" or 700c
ITS THE SAME THING dont listen to the marketing men
nobody really needs pointing out that it's all good and it's all fun and it's all bikes! 🙂
nobody really needs pointing out that it's all good and it's all fun and it's all bikes!
I did point that out in post 4, but folks like to grumble and piss and moan for a long while on narrow minded track world, it's like the daily mail and immigrants, but with 29er's.....There to blame for everything you know!
and I still ride 26"............. 🙂
29ers are ace.
The idea that one wheel size if good for everyone in all situations is nonsense and that is what the MTB world was pushing until 29ers turned up.
36ers are nice too. Obviously not in every situation but imagine them on long towpath tours with a nice tweed get up and many pub stops.
That proto 36er keeps getting posted whenever the 29er debate comes up.
Are there any others in existence or is that the only bike out there?
charlie- when are you getting some more Nates in? really need some fat knobbly love in my life
Hugor, yes
[url= http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6145/6097935952_1cb943410a_o.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/25655510@N02/6097935952/ ]August 26th - Rode A 36er Didn't Like It[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/25655510@N02/ ]Johnclimber[/url], on Flickr
29ers have heavier wheels so are better for training on 😆
sticking to my 26er Epic, Specialized made a big mistake with only 29er Epics this year,
RD.
That Black Sheep rides suprisingly well.
Though i'm not sure what it has to do with 29ers.
i'm not joking. they are not as common as media make out
To be fair, their prevalence is a recent thing, for 2012 they are a hell of a lot more common, a huge number of people I know are changing for next season. Specialized don't even do a 26" hardtail over £1000, nor any Epics, that's a hell of a step!
I'm intrigued to try one sometime, but happy on 26 for now!
26" is dead
No its not and it never will be, what utter pish!
(Thats coming from a long term 29er convert)
The black sheep it 36er does ride very well... Quite fancy one. Wheels from the unicycle world, frame from. Eeeer
NATES due with me at the end of this month.
we all know 29 durrs are the biggest skill compensators out there. if you can't ride a bike then you buy a 29 so you can at least have something to talk about.
Specialized don't even do a 26" hardtail over £1000, nor any Epics, that's a hell of a step!
I think it's this sort of thing that will require a change in the mindset of many of us towards the 29er concept. Even having one of my bikes as a 29er my natural attitude towards them has still been that they are a good choice for folks stuck between buying a hybrid and a mtb but erring on the off road side of the fence, albeit in a wheels on the ground bridleway riding kind of way.
My experience of mine is that the other differences my 29er has to my other bikes (differences in distances between contact points, geometry, frame material, drivetrain, tyres, bar width etc etc) are as much if not more influential in the way the bike feels than the size of the wheels. The only people who I think can truly say they have judged the difference for themselves are those that have ridden identical models from the same manufacturer on the same terrain on the same day where the only difference is that one is the 26" and the other is the 29er version. For the rest (and that includes me) the other variables are too noticeable to make informed comment.
Specialized don't even do a 26" hardtail over £1000, nor any Epics, that's a hell of a step!
And in a way Specialized will be the 29er test bed, if they start to re-introduce 26 epics and stumpy HT's back into the range within the next 24 months we will know that 29 hasnt worked with the mainstream UK mtb'ers. Im not sure any other manufactuer has taken such dramatic steps to influence 29ers into their range.
I think ill wait a while before jumping on the 29 wagon, ride quality aside it looks like ill have to save up at least £4,000 to replace my epic anyway spec for spec and that'll take me years...
Bike prices hmmmm thats another topic 🙁
Or how about: "29ers: Bike companies invent another niche to make you think you need another bike. Once you've bought that bike you can't say 'actually it's not so different' so you start to spout pro 29er guff to make it look like your not just a slut for a shiny new toy"
Discuss.
29ers are a meme.
no one told me oh well!! 😈
"just a slut for a shiny new toy
You know me so well
You know me so well
I'm including myself in that slutty category too.
Just ride a bmx and you will soon realize how slow and cumbersome 26 feels. You wouldnt want to go any bigger! ;O)
nah middle of the country with strange local folk that talk in a comedy regional dialect.
Sounds right up my street. If you send me an email worldeliteAThotmailDOTcom we can try and sort something out. 😀
And in a way Specialized will be the 29er test bed, if they start to re-introduce 26 epics and stumpy HT's back into the range within the next 24 months we will know that 29 hasnt worked with the mainstream UK mtb'ers. Im not sure any other manufactuer has taken such dramatic steps to influence 29ers into their range.
not sure about this, Specialized have 26 and 29ers in the more popular bikes, Stumpies and the like,
Epics and HT Stumpies are not so popular, as a manufacturing mass producing company do you tool up for 26ers and 29ers on your less popular ranges, if you do prices will go up and your becoming a batch producer, more inventory more hassle, plus 29ers will provide an opportunity to upgrade existing customers,
Specialized probably made this strategic decision several years ago, luckily they won the XC World Cup and Champs using a giant, but at the same time one of their top riders, who looks like he was forced to ride a 29er, performed below par last year,
Does anyone really care what other people ride. 😕
I couldn't give half a shit personaly. Though i do find it funny that there can be so much hate directed towards something as daft as a wheel size.
Are they really that much more [i]fun[/i]? Cos frankly, that's what we're all here for.
