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Just built up a new Transition bandit frame in 26er with Hope pro2 Evos on Stans Flow, all new 2x10 XT drivetrain with the new E-13 TRS+ chainguide, Haven stem and Haven carbon bars, RLT Ti Revs. Now all this cyber talk and magazine articles is making me doubt my choice, please tell me I'm wrong.
Yeah...they are good
How much for your wheels? 😆
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You've made a dreadful mistake.
they aren't magic, it's still all about the rider, enjoy your bandit!
bikes are bikes mate......enjoy what you got, cos one day you wont be able to. 8)
I just can't believe you've made such a fundamental mistake. Have you no close friends who might have let you know? I bet they're all whispering behind your back now.
It's all about choice isn't it.
Try a few, see how you feel about em.
For some people they're the be all and end all, for others they're the work of the devil. I'm indifferent, a good bike is a good bike and wheel size doesn't matter.
I do however REALLY want a go on a Whyte 929 though, but that might just be cos it looks so damned cool!
29" is just a wheel size that lots of different bike designs use, from xc to burly long travel things, it's not magic nor is an all encompassing panacea for riding woes. Don't worry about, just ride the best bike in world...the one that makes YOU smile, everything else is just distraction and falsehood.
I can't believe the bike shop had you over like that, selling you an obsolete frame. Fortunately for you Im a collector of retro bits and bobs and I could stretch to £450 if it is pretty much unridden 🙂
I would love to have your new bike mate, i would also love to have a new carbon 29er hard tail. If you like riding your bike on your regular trails then you made the right choice, i like different sorts of riding at different times, sometimes on the road as well, i wouldn't use either mtb for that. The point being different tools for different jobs, it's not that bigger deal imo.
Has no-one told you?
29er is dead.
27.5er is the new 26.
You mAde a huge mistake.
29ers have a lot going for them. I no longer ride 26ers... But just enjoy your bike.
What are these 29ers you talk about??
Charlie been up and down your site and loving this canfield screamy yellies!
I've just put that into Google translate but it can't recognise the language
No easy way to say this ...but .."you f****d up"..........hth. 8)
Ah well will just have to enjoy what I have and beating the pants off two guys in our riding group on 29ers, by the way the bandit is a hoot! Perhaps Santa(the wife) will bring a 29er hardtail frame to give me something to compare with.
I was so worried about making the same mistake and having read this it has redoubled my determination to go for a 29"er. If I were to go 26" then surely I would be simply throwing my money away.
Unless I got a 650b that is, which may be an even better idea... they are even newer.
Horses for courses. What sort of riding do you do IMHO I find 26" better for the rocky stuff and 29" for the flowy
Maybe it's just because I've pringled my 29er wheels on rocks
As said it's a bike enjoy it for what it is and not what folk on here say what you should ride because of the size of the wheels
That Bandit is an awsome bike. Wheel size won't make any difference to how you enjoy it.
26er's are making a come back now the heavy marketing is over and the realism is setting in. Just be glad you didn't spend loads of money on a 29er discovering is only as much fun as your 26er.
An don't be fooled by people who have bought a [i]different[/i] 29er bike to thier original 26er - two different bikes/frames aren't equal regardless thier wheel size.
Since this debate consists almost entirely of unscientific subjective comparisons of apples and oranges, let me throw in mine.
Over the last couple of weeks I've done decent length tests on a 29er hardtail, which I didn't like much and a 26" Orange Five, which I loved. So, there you go, proof conclusive that 29ers are rubbish 🙂
Cheers,
Andy
I recently bought a new hardtail..the salesman tried to sell me trek 29er which i took for a test run..got to say i realy didnt like it it just felt numb and very odd? i just cant get used to the look of them either there just wrong sorry chaps its a nil pois from me 🙂
I'm about to sell my Spark 40 and Pipedream H/T with a view to going 29ist.........or, maybe, 27.5ist (Kryton57, I may need some help with indecision, here....... 😉 )
There are good and not so good 29er bikes out there, and good and bad 26ers out there as well.
I reckon you've bought yourself a great bike in the Transition Bandit. It's not only about wheelsize, get out there and enjoy your new bike 😀
toxicsoks - Member(Kryton57, I may need some help with indecision, here....... )
Easy. You need a Niner with the RDO fork (Or Reba if you're going soft). I was looking at a One9 last night after my revelation to Single Speed.
It's not about what you have it's about what you do with it.
🙂 just don't demo one for a few days,( specially the bandit 29 er)
Don't worry, all is not lost.
Just buy some 29er wheels, cut the spokes down and fit some 26er rims - best of both worlds
Matt Page won the cyb enduro saturday on 650b's............ 8)
and he would have lost in any other sized bike FACT
650 b is gonna rock , your bike sounds ace though, enjoy
Cheers sputnik it is ace just having trouble getting a rubber queen to seal properly on the front leaking air over a few days, any tips anyone?
You running a non UST tubeless with sealant? I'm doing the same, just keep adding air and take a pump when out riding to top up if needed, keep adding sealant. After a couple of weeks it stopped leaking.
I’m still laughing and pointing at you for making such a fundamental error of judgement..
See this gap:
That’s a finger pointing and laughing that is.
(secretly it’s all tosh, you’ve got a great bike, you just need to ride it hard and fall off it now and forget the last part of your sentence.)
Cheers bikebuoy! Well it was What Mountain Bike's connoisseur's choice, 4.5 out of 5, so can't have made that big an error of judgement, but then again I'm no expert. 😀
[url= http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8291/7782602916_c0c405bbcd.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/rocketdog/7782602916/ ]29ers explained[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/rocketdog/ ]rOcKeTdOgUk[/url], on Flickr
anyone remember when trek released a few 69'er bikes a few years ago without all the marketing ? they bombed big time .
move on a few years and add millions in advertising and bought off magazine reviews and suddenly they're the 2 wheeled second coming .
aggressive riders tend to hate them ,mountain roadies and beardy types seem to love them and the audi set buy them because the internet said their what the cool kids ride .
40% more inertia and 37% less stiffness for a given wheel weight does not turn a bike into a 2 wheeled miracle no matter what bikeradar says .
b45her YOU'RE MY HERO!!!!! 😉
It's an easy mistake to make, it's not like the subject has cropped up on here twice a week for the last 3 years or anything!
My bro bought pretty much the same bandit as you, it's an amazing bike, just enjoy it.
From the Surly Blog on their site, enjoy.....
Some answers to just about any bike forum post I’ve ever readThursday, June 16, 2011
posted by Skip Bernet
If you think your bike looks good, it does.
If you like the way your bike rides, it’s an awesome bike.
You don’t need to spend a million dollars to have a great bike, but if you do spend a million dollars and know what you want you’ll probably also have a great bike.
Yes, you can tour on your bike – whatever it is.
Yes, you can race on your bike – whatever it is.
Yes, you can commute on your bike – whatever it is.
26” wheels or 29” or 650b or 700c or 24” or 20” or whatever – yes, that wheel size is rad and you’ll probably get where you’re going.
Disc brakes, cantis, v-brakes, and road calipers all do a great job of stopping a bike when they’re working and adjusted.
No paint job makes everyone happy.
Yes, you can put a rack on that. Get some p-clamps if there are no mounts.
Steel is a great material for making bike frames - so is aluminum, carbon fiber, and titanium.
You can have your saddle at whatever angle makes you happy.
Your handlebars can be lower than your saddle, even with your saddle, or higher than your saddle. Whichever way you like it is right.
Being shuttled up a downhill run does not make you a weak person, nor does choosing not to fly off of a 10 foot drop.
Bike frames made overseas can be super cool. Bike frames made in the USA can be super cool.
Hey, tattooed and pierced long shorts wearin flat brim hat red bull drinkin white Oakley sportin rad person on your full suspension big hit bike – nice work out there.
Hey, little round glasses pocket protector collared shirt skid lid rear view mirror sandal wearing schwalbe marathon running pletscher two-leg kickstand tourist – good job.
Hey, shaved leg skinny as hell super duper tan line hear rate monitor checking power tap train in the basement all winter super loud lycra kit million dollar wheels racer – keep it up.
The more you ride your bike, the less your ass will hurt.
The following short answers are good answers, but not the only ones for the question asked – 29”, Brooks, lugged, disc brake, steel, Campagnolo, helmet, custom, Rohloff, NJS, carbon, 31.8, clipless, porteur.
No bike does everything perfectly. In fact, no bike does anything until someone gets on it to ride.
Sometimes, recumbent bikes are ok.
Your bikeshop is not trying to screw you. They’re trying to stay open.
Buying things off of the internet is great, except when it sucks.
Some people know more about bikes than you do. Other people know less.
Maybe the person you waved at while you were out riding didn’t see you wave at them.
It sucks to be harassed by assholes in cars while you’re on a bike. It also sucks to drive behind assholes on bikes.
Did you build that yourself? Awesome. Did you buy that? Cool.
Wheelies are the best trick ever invented. That’s just a fact.
Which is better, riding long miles, or hanging out under a bridge doing tricks? Yes.
Yes, you can break your collar bone riding a bike like that.
Stopping at stop signs is probably a good idea.
Driving with your bikes on top of your car to get to a dirt trail isn’t ideal, but for most people it’s necessary.
If your bike has couplers, or if you have a spendy bike case, or if you pay a shop to pack your bike, or if you have a folding bike, shipping a bike is still a pain in the ass for everyone involved.
That dent in your frame is probably ok, but maybe it’s not. You should get it looked at.
Touch up paint always looks like shit. Often it looks worse than the scratch.
A pristine bike free of dirt, scratches, and wear marks makes me sort of sad.
A bike that’s been chained to the same tree for three years caked with rust and missing parts makes me sad too.
Bikes purchased at Wal-mart, Target, Costco, or K-mart are generally not the best bang for your buck.
Toe overlap is not the end of the world, unless you crash and die – then it is.
Sometimes parts break. Sometimes you crash. Sometimes it’s your fault.
Yes, you can buy a bike without riding it first. It would be nice to ride it first, but it’s not a deal breaker not to.
Ownership of a truing stand does not a wheel builder make.
32 spokes, 48 spokes, 24 spokes, three spokes? Sure.
Single speed bikes are rad. Bikes with derailleurs and cassettes are sexy. Belt drive internal gear bikes work great too.
Columbus, TruTemper, Reynolds, Ishiwata, or no brand? I’d ride it.
Tubeless tires are pretty cool. So are tubes.
The moral of RAGBRAI is that families and drunken boobs can have fun on the same route, just maybe at different times of day.
Riding by yourself kicks ass. You might also try riding with a group.
Really fast people are frustrating, but they make you faster. When you get faster, you might frustrate someone else.
Stopping can be as much fun as riding.
Lots of people worked their asses off to build whatever you’re riding on. You should thank them.
I think we all just like bikes....
Cheers Ruffrider
Ruffrider, I more than just enjoyed that... It was THE answer to ALL of our questions, thank man!
Ruffrider did anyone ever tell you you're a genius! Well said man.