Too much hype? Interesting reading in this [url= http://bikemagic.com/news/guest-blog/are-29ers-the-future-the-industry-answers-the-big-question.html ]article about the 29ers from an industry point of view[/url]. Not sure I'm convinced...
For XC I'm inclined to say yes, my next MTB purchase will definitely be a 29er.
Think it's past the "flash in the pan" stage, but still very much media led - you don't see too many out on the trails. I think 2012 will be make-or-break year for the mainstream.
I love my Scandal 29er and when I'm back in the market for a new FS rig will definitely look at 29ers as well as 26ers.
Try a few and see if you like them.
im too short (5'7) so not for me
For me and xc yes.
I'm racing in more xc races, getting bit fitter as time goes on and competitive streak coming through. From back to back testing of my Rush with my brother in law's Giant XTC29er I know I'm way quicker on 29er hardtail.
Need to save some funds as swapping from 26 to 29 seems expensive, new wheels, forks etc...
& Bit confused by sizing though. Just need to test out more 29ers.
I agree that it is an industry / media led trend but i do have a 29er and i do prefer it to my 26" bike... However, i wont be selling my FS 26" bike just yet.
It's nice to have a new option to try out, lets just hope 26" dies out in favour of 29" as i dont think that would be a good thing.
Interesting to see what 650b stuff will be coming out in future, as mad as it may be to have yet another wheel size i do think that 650b is a good compromise between 26 & 29"
I'm 5'7" and finding the Scandal 29er to be pretty much ideal for much of my riding.
I expect the most difficult people to convince of the 29er are those, like me, who've grown up riding 26ers ... people new to, or rediscovering, MTBing will probably be more open minded ... I should probably test ride a 29er one day, just to see
Yeah 650b is probably the future, they just needed 29ers as a stop gap so people thought there was enough difference to make it worth upgrading from 26" for.
Nope, hover bikes are the future.
(I've got a 29er, don't really notice the difference riding it now - just feels like my bike)
just as mountain bikes didn't kill cross bikes, disc brakes didn't kill rim brakes and full sus never killed the hardtail; 29ers won't kill the 26" wheel.
The bike press seem to think it's some gladatorial death match of wheel sizes.
I've got one of each and guess what - they both do different things. shit-a-brick, rally cars don't win formula 1 races, formula one cars don't win the WRC.
For xc yes.
Your height has nothing to do with wheel size.
Hopefully be getting a 29er ready for the Easter hols.
they're merely another option for the future, most everyone i know with a 29er has read the media hype, tried one and then made their own minds up
How much of the increase in 'popularity' of 29ers is due to customer choice, and how much is down to bike manufacturers adding more 29ers to their range at the expense of the traditional 26er? (i.e. is the customer starting to be pushed into trying/buying a 29er)
I'd love to try it, but I also really want to know - are they really quicker over the ground for the same enegy input. I'm yet to see anything that'd convince me. If not, then it's just a different feel and I'm loath to spend £3500 just to get a different feel!
im too short (5'7) so not for me
Rubbish. Willow Koerber and Emily Batty both chose to ride them this year at 5'2" at 5'3" respectively.
I bought a Swift on a bit of a whim, not so sure about replacing the Pitch with a 29er, but for everyday MTB'ing and XC rides I don't think I've ridden a nicer bike. Only things I'd change, standover is comprimised byt he frotn wheel/fork height, I'd rather it was rigid specific to lower the top tube/headtube by 2". Obviously not possible with suspension, but as it's a rigid bike it bugs me.
No.
If I was riding trailcentres every weekend then I'd have another one but on the twistier, muddier, natural stuff we have locally my swift felt crap
Rubbish. Willow Koerber and Emily Batty both chose to ride them this year at 5'2" at 5'3" respectively.
Although have you seen the set up of Emily Batty's bike so they could shoehorn her on to it?
EDIT: Here..
[img] 
[/img]
do those two posts not contradict.
if standover height is compromised by wheel/fork height, then 29rs are suited to taller folk. or folk whose riding doesnt warrant any standover clearance perhaps
If I were in a position of buying a new bike I would consider one, however I would have to try on my local trails before shelling out any sort of cash, but I can't see my LBS having a 26er and a 29er in a test fleet with the way money is atm.
Are there XC racers still riding 26 inch wheel bikes and do they win races? If they do then there can't be that much difference. The old military bikes in Sweden are 28ers I think so its not that new having off road bikes with big wheels and big tyres.
[img] 
[/img]
This one looks cools.
[img] 
[/img]
if standover height is compromised by wheel/fork height, then 29rs are suited to taller folk.
Depends on the bike, that Trek has a tiny headtube,which presumably isn't possible with steel or conventional aluminium tubes.
or folk whose riding doesnt warrant any standover clearance perhaps
Maybe, depends on your view of standover clearance, it's a bit like a helmet, you're better riding without a helemt on a bike designed to ride well, but you prefer the helmet and standover clarence when things go wrong.
Personaly, I don't see the point of massive stanover clearence if it comprimises the rest of the bike (i.e. I wouldnt run 26" wheels just to get standover) , it only bugs me on the swift as it's rigid but doesnt gain the stanover that a rigid specific frame would have.
If I was riding trailcentres every weekend then I'd have another one but on the twistier, muddier, natural stuff we have locally my swift felt crap
I do the opposite, I ride my Swift on the local singletrack and take the Pitch for trail centers, one mans meat etc.....
Are there XC racers still riding 26 inch wheel bikes and do they win races?
Theres an interview in one of the mags with an XC racer (Oli in ST maybe), where he states he sees no advantage in 29ers or FS bikes, he also coincidentlay rides for a company that doesn't make a 29er of FS bike.
Are there XC racers still riding 26 inch wheel bikes and do they win races?
Julien Absalon for one, although he may becoming 29er curious.
Depends... for XC as said above... Yep.
for Trailcentres etc... Nope.
My 26" Bionicon wipes the floor with my 29er when it gets bumpy/rocky.
I've not tried a 29er FS to compare i admit... but i can't see it doing the job as well unless built with DH geometry.
The smaller ones do look awful, so I can see why the wee men would avoid them for that reason. Same as a 26-inch wheel bike isn't that aesthetically pleasing with an extra large frame.
Yes...no...maybe.
What was the question?
Looking at Emily Batty's bike, I wouldn't like the terrain to get too steep!! 😯
I dont buy it.
Every manuf. is marketing 29ers including making too short racers use them when they look ungainly at best. Once 29er sales drop off then they will push 650b as being better for whatever reason Gary Fisher thought of 20 years ago. Dont forget, 69ers were the best 5 years ago, high & steep freeride bikes the best 5 years before that.
Phat bikes wont be marketed much as the 'LOOK @ ME' riders like to be thought of as anti-hero's.
Are there XC racers still riding 26 inch wheel bikes and do they win races? If they do then there can't be that much difference.
Yes, more or less everyone apart from Jaroslav Kulhavy!
It's just another option, they'll have their place, and I suspect they'll be massive in XC racing this year, but I can't see one or other taking over.
weeksy - Member
Depends... for XC as said above... Yep.for Trailcentres etc... Nope.
My 26" Bionicon wipes the floor with my 29er when it gets bumpy/rocky.
But what 29er do you have? You can't really make a worthwhile comparison about rocky terrain between a long-travel 26" bike and presumably a hardtail 29er
Dont forget, 69ers were the best 5 years ago.
No they weren't. There were one or two, mainly bodged, never even close to the popularity and pedigree that 29ers already have.
I think this is a better read...
It's just a bike... the wheel size isn't really that important. For the racers out there it comes down to seconds gained or lost per lap, and if wheel size really matered that much then all the 29er riders would be winning and the 26er riders would be whining... as it would actually be an fair/unfair advantage... which doesn't seem to have happened. The rider is more important than the wheel size.
My next bike will probably be a 29er, because a lot of brands seem to be reducing their 26er HT ranges. While they look less ridiculous these days, I'm still not sure I'm tall enough make them work (173cm)
Andy
I bought a couple of US magazines recently (Switchback and BIKE), neither reviewed any 26" bikes, all 29ers, seems they've made their minds up on the other side of the pond.
Interesting question. I've still not seen one out on the Surrey Hills trails. For sure the bike industry like any other loves the next "new thing", that's business. Bottom line none of will know until we try one, I'll certainly take the opportunity if available. What I would say is no matter how much better it covers the ground if it's one iota less fun on the downhill twisty singletrack then it will be a "no"
EDIT:
I bought a couple of US magazines recently (Switchback and BIKE), neither reviewed any 26" bikes, all 29ers, seems they've made their minds up on the other side of the pond.
That's because those magazines are driven by their advertisers
The future has even more options to either confuse or help you find the 'perfect' ride. That's good if you're in marketing, have a lot of opportunity to try bikes out or are realtively wealthy and open minded. For many others, there's sod all wrong with carrying on riding what you already have and like.
been riding 29ers for a few years now. my opinion is that i ride all types of terrain a bit faster with more control and in more comfort on a 29er. clearly some people do just fine on 26ers and want to stay on 26ers.
i find it strange that 2/3 years ago most of the stuff written about them in u.k. magazines was negative. fast forward to now and they are loving them. i don't think the bikes have all miraculously improved, so there is a lot of media hype going on at the moment.
My Scandal is good for longer rides and trail centres. Glentress red and blue are ace on it. Do a lot of commuting on it as well.
I took it to the Alps in October as well, which was ace. Bottled one step-down and one switchback I'd ridden on my Prophet, and had ti take stuff a air bit slower, but otherwise all good.
I still love my Soul, especially for a quick blat through local woods and the Prophet definitely has its place. If anything it's replaced the short travel FS 26er.
A risk of turning this into a showmeyours thread, here it is.
[url= http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7146/6744562707_3b8168c3b8_z.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/stu_n/6744562707/ ]2012-01-22 Big Pink after red route[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/stu_n/ ]Stu_N[/url], on Flickr
Will trail centres just increase the size of the features they have (rock gardens etc) to make the trails ride as they previously did when people had 26" bikes...
Hmmmmmm!
Interesting question. I've still not seen one out on the Surrey Hills trails.
You're not looking hard enough. We had one (of 3) with us on Sunday, and there were a couple of others at Peaslake that I noticed.
Liam Killen seems to have switched according to the article on his third place at the Sunshine Cup on the BC website. http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/mtb/article/mtb20120221-Road-To-2012--Liam-Killeen-Finds-Form-At-Sunshine-Cup-0
Rubbish. Willow Koerber and Emily Batty both [s]chose[/s] were paid to ride them this year at 5'2" at 5'3" respectively.
FTFY
I've a 26" Camber that never gets taken out to Glentress now that I've got 10.5kg 29er HT. The world has gone weird - my touring bike with drop bars has 26" wheels while my MTB has 700c rims! I didn't see that coming 5 years ago.
FuzzyWuzzy - Memberweeksy - Member
Depends... for XC as said above... Yep.for Trailcentres etc... Nope.
My 26" Bionicon wipes the floor with my 29er when it gets bumpy/rocky.
But what 29er do you have? You can't really make a worthwhile comparison about rocky terrain between a long-travel 26" bike and presumably a hardtail 29er
Exactly.. .and that's my exact point.
the new santa cruz nomad 9 / tallboy lt will be the game changer and may set the tone for the next few years trends....
I'll be looking into the 29er string when I'm in the market for a hardtail later this year but it will still suffer from the same faults compared to a 26" hardtail in that it will be uncomfortable over rocky/rooty terrain so I'll keep the stumpy for that 🙂
Schmiken - Trek make a decent range of 26" bikes, including the Top Fuel as ridden by the Flueckiger brothers, they have riders on both wheel sizes.
Plenty of pro riders are particular about their grips or their seatpost - you're unlikely to get one on 29" wheels unless they want to be. It's why things like FS/discs took so long to infiltrate. Arguably 29ers have been adopted more quickly - first victory last year, I reckon we'll see more than half the field on 29ers for 2012, that's quite a turn around!
FWIW I still ride a 26" bike, but would definitely consider a 29er.
Are 29ers really the future?
They are the past revisited. [img] 
?w=291&h=404[/img]
what's the best way to sell new bikes when everyone is inclined to buy them 2nd hand - market ones that you can't get 2nd hand. 29ers.
Mugs.
magazines was negative. fast forward to now and they are loving them. i don't think the bikes have all miraculously improved, so there is a lot of media hype going on at the moment.
To be fair the magazines a while ago had decided unequivocally that a trail bike had to have 5.265" travel front and back, 723mm riser bars, their favourite saddle and be in blue. Anything that remotely veered from this view was derided.
Maybe they just started riding again without prejudice. Though as they probably only get 29ers to ride these days that might help too.....
Or the bikes could have evolved?
5 years ago 6" travel bikes were heavy and slow in comparison to those of today. Doesn't necessarily mean that attitudes have changed, just that bikes have.
I don't really get all the "they're everywhere, OMG, WTF!!!!!111one!!!!!eleven1111!!!" attitudes - someone said that on BikeRadar last week. Of the last 10 MTBs they'd reviewed (then) 3 were 29ers: one racey hardtail, one racey FS and one trail FS, so pretty diverse.
Of the remaining seven 2 were steel bikes with Alfines. So actually there's more reviews of steel Alfine equipped bikes than 29ers. I'd say that's a smaller market segment too.
I'm not sure why people struggle with the concept that there is a diverse range of 29ers (increasingly so) - just as with 26" wheeled bikes there will be some better than others. Because you've tried one bike doesn't mean you can say that no 29er is any good for you. A bit liking riding a TT bike once and then saying that road, CX and tri bikes are terrible.
I'd love to try it, but I also really want to know - are they really quicker over the ground for the same enegy input.
On certain very specific ground then yes.(Straight stuff with a poor surface). Mostly, no. I have 5 MTB's, Stumpy FSR, Epic, Stumpy Hardtail and Soul are 26", GF Paragon is 29". For most stuff the Epic is by far the quickest, for steeper, rockier stuff the Stumpy FSR is best. For throwing around the woods the Soul and stumpy hardtail are fastest.
The 29er gets taken out for long rides on byways such as the North Downs way. It's the least used of my bikes, not because it's bad (it isn't) but because it's not got the hooligan character of the Soul, the nimble speed of the Stumpy hardtail or the comfort and "get out of jail free" of the FS bikes.
But most of all I just don't notice that it's different enough to get excited about riding it, it just feels like a slower, duller version of my other two hardtails.
Having said that of course all 29ers are not the same just as all 26ers are not the same, but it would be the first bike I'd sell if I needed cash and I wouldn't be looking to replace any of my other bikes with a 29er. BTW I am 6' tall so it should work for me.
Need to save some funds as swapping from 26 to 29 seems expensive, new wheels, forks etc...
what's the best way to sell new bikes when everyone is inclined to buy them 2nd hand - market ones that you can't get 2nd hand. 29ers.
They are one of the most Obsoletest trends of recent times; great for bike companies; frustrating for the average joe who thought he was up to date.
Still haven't tried one myself. What works best on the trail is all that should really matter.
what's the best way to sell new bikes when everyone is inclined to buy them 2nd hand - market ones that you can't get 2nd hand. 29ers.
Mugs.
I bought mine secondhand, not sure where that leaves me in your tin foil hat obscured world view.
I own a Scandal 29er Hardtail and a Heckler with coil shock and 160mm fork, so two extremes really.
I genuinely believe it is "horses for courses" I find that on the 29er it is not just that big wheels seem to roll faster, but that I can get away with tyres with much less of a pronounced grip pattern and thinner in width for the same level of grip, so that helps them to roll faster. When riding along flat terrain, once up to speed, then i can watch myself clearly putting in less pedal strokes in compared to friends on 26er wheels.
But if the terrain is tight, twisty and technical downhill, then the long fork, smaller wheeled Heckler is a lot quicker in the turn and doesn't need to be "muscled" round the turn.
I bought mine secondhand, not sure where that leaves me in your tin foil hat obscured world view.
you'll have wasted less money than others?
at least it's my obscured view and not one someone else has forced down my throat... 😀
There's nothing much un-nimble about my 29" Karate Monkey compared with my 26" hardtail. With a short stem it just feels like a very decent hardtail. I don't notice a lot of difference between it and my 26" hardtail, other than that the latter looks sillier because it's got small wheels on a huge frame.
If i didn't already own lots of 26" tyres and wheels and was starting from scratch in MTB'ing, i'm sure i'd demo a few.
But i do and i'm not so i haven't.
If you like open riding then 29 makes sense but for twisty, technical rooty stuff the smaller wheel seems to be more nimble.
Waiting to see a 29er fatbike...
I've been riding mine since I built it up back in November'ish last year, I have yet to come across any down sides to it.
The bike is a 100mm travel HT BTW.
It rolls quicker than my old 26'er, handles just as well, climbs better, is lighter (arguably it's alloy and not steel) and it at least as comfortable. It's superb on twisty rooty single track and handles Peaks descents & climbing just as well, personally I've seen it as a bit of a revelation.
It's got acres of stand over and descends way better than my 120mm travel 26" bike ever did.
The 29'er is a Chumba HX2 with Reba RL's and the 26'er was a Cover Handjob with Reba Races.
I think they are on the rise to be honest.
[i]If you like open riding then 29 makes sense but for twisty, technical rooty stuff the smaller wheel seems to be more nimble.[/i]
All other things being equal, I guess they would be, but as I said above my 29er runs with a much shorter stem... just feels like there's more inherent stability in the bigger wheel so I can run a very short stem for nimbleness without it feeling twitchy and uncontrolled. It's just a stock Karate Monkey but 80% of the off road riding I do is on pretty twisty stuff, and there's not much to separate it in the singletrack from my IF 26" wheeler, which I had custom built with the instruction to make it nimble.
schmiken - MemberRubbish. Willow Koerber and Emily Batty both [s]chose[/s] were paid to ride [s]them[/s] what ever they though was fastest for them this year at 5'2" at 5'3" respectively.
Fixed that For [b]You[/b] 🙂
Ride what ever you want though.
I for one coundn't give two *****.
not read this thread as 29ers have never really done anything for me...until i watched this:
650b will be the next wheel size pushed by the industry.
it's all bikes. That's all that matters.
Except if it's a road bike.
That's wrong. 🙂
You're all missing one key point- 29ers just look so wrong. They are as ugly as sin. I'd consider getting one to replace my granny's old shopper, but even then, I'm sure it wouldn't look as nice.
[img][URL= http://inlinethumb03.webshots.com/47298/2199294040036898833S600x600Q85.jp g" target="_blank">
peachos - what a big shock, an exceptionally talented uk BMX legend shreds a bike he has been given. Another shocker "riding with good style and creativity makes riding look awesome".
I never get this, is it really what goes through peoples minds, "they can ride like that because of their bike"? Doesn't it never occur that a good rider is going ride good on whatever bike you stick underneath them?
You can't buy skills or compensators, to gain anything in terms of riding takes time and hard work.
ade ward proves my point rather well.
GlitterGary - Member
You're all missing one key point- 29ers just look so wrong...
Always judged my bikes by how they worked for me rather than how they looked.
Probably why I build such ugly bikes 🙂
I think my singular looks lovely.
So there....
( blows a big rasberry)
Santa cruz have 2 new 29ers, they are soon going to be impossible to ignore
Oh well you can please all the people all the time , some people have open minds and others are closed,
My two pence, I have a Soul, 3x9 drivetrain and On One carbon rigid forks. I love it - fast, nimble etc.
Just built up an Inbred 29er SS to make my own mind up about it all. SS, Salsa Cromoto forks and mid range kit. Weight is the same as the soul (no gears) and I have to say I love it more than the Soul. NEVER would have expected that in a month of fundays. I really can't find a downside - apart from the tyres exploding obviously.
apart from the tyres exploding obviously.
It's the [b]wheels[/b] that explode you 29er noob. 😉
Well it was my [b]tyres[/b] that went.
I built the wheels, obviously they will be perfect.
8)
deanfbm - MemberYou can't buy skills compensator's,
FTFY.
er,yes you can,they're called 'full suspension mtb's'.....
😆
love the look of your 29er ade ward 🙂 26 or 29 or 650 still got pedals and youve still got to make them move! come on its all good 😀