Thats it really. I'm looking towards a new bike (26 inch wheel hard tail at the mo. Orange gringo with 80mm forks. I love it in many ways but the bars should be higher and slightly further away and the forks are cr*p. I think the angles are too slack for a modern fork, even another 80mm one.)
It will mainly be used in Bedfordshire so Woburn and Chicksands
I like to whizz along the twisty single track (well I tink its whizzing if, you were you watching you might think I'm limping home with a puncture). Is a 29er good for this sort of things? I expect the bike will go to real trails and trail centres as well
I'm 6 foot 4. Hence the thought that a 29 er might be good for me. Oh and my road hack was better of road than I could ever imagined, on one inch slick tyres. But the wrist wouldn't allow that now
It's frame size not wheel size that counts here. You can tweak things with different length/angle stems, bars and seat posts. Compare the reach between steerer and seat post on your shorlisted bike frames as this is probably the most crucial measurement.
Try and get clued up with as much info about frame geometry and matching this to your physical dimensions.
Also ride the bikes you have shortlisted.
Finally, find a shop that has the expertise and time to get things right for you.
I swapped to a 29er at Xmas and it's been great. Sold my 26er.
Try a 29er if you can, they just 'fit' so much better for taller chaps.
I went for a rockhopper which was a cheapish way of getting into the 29er thing but rode a Full Suss Niner the other day and didn't think it was any better than my hardtail.
Look on Ebay and buy the lovely green Dekerf 29er that's there - should be just the job!
Thanks guys
Spongebob yes I'm spending alot of time looking at geometry.
My thought is that its the longerchain stays that will help. That way you can kep your weight centred
Yes the rockhopper is tempting. The Haro Mary perhaps even more so. There are some good deals about,it has a better fork and to my eyes only needs better brakes to be the real deal
My standard ebay search doesn't include dekerf! I'l have a look
Anyone gone 29er and regretted it
Anyone gone 29er and regretted it
Not me, best thing 6'4" me ever did.
Started with a 21" Scandal, now on a 19.5" Ti29.
29er works well for shorter people too 🙂
6'2" on a large singular swift.
i like my 29er (scandal) does anything that the inbred used to. It is a excellent bike for 'wheels on the ground mile munching' It's not the right bike for hooning off things in the woods - but i have another bike for that.
although at your height the wheel is probably proportianatly the same as a 26 to me at 5'10"
I'm 6'5" and do a lot of similar riding (Bristol singletrack). I've tried all sorts of bikes, including several 29ers now and several different setups and always come to the same conclusion - 29ers are great for fast, open riding but are just not as good at really twisty riding, particularly where you have a lot of corners that you have to pedal out of to keep speed up. No matter how you set 29ers up, I always just find myself wishing for the lighter steering, shorter wheelbase and quicker acceleration of a 26" bike.
If I was racing enduros seriously or lots of really rocky trails then I'd be riding a 29er as I reckon it's quicker but for singletrack riding I stick with 26" wheels simply because the bike rides better and ultimately is more fun.
Thanks Clubber I was sort of coming to that conclusion from user reviews. I'll shall try and get a ride on one...
i went through 4 29rs about 18 months ago, then thought they were crap and sold them all.
i bought a heckler, which i did not get on with.
i sold that and now own a f/s ventana 29r and a all rigid steel 29r.
i love em both..........well for now i do 😉
What Clubber says. I quite like 29" but overall I wouldnt have one exclusively - they do still feel cumbersome in the tight stuff.
try one - on your own trails if possible and make your own mind up.
Whyte 905 in large size would be my recommendation.
Nothing wrong with a Singular Swift for that.
Give Sam a shout he's not that far from you sure he can sort you out with something to try you will not be disappointed 🙂
Don't find any problems at all in the twisty stuff on my 29ers but it does take some time to adjust to a different riding style. Wouldn't go back to 26 now.
I'm 6'5, and tried a 29er for the first time at the weekend in Laggan. Liked it much more than I thought, but was slow and cumbersome at tight corners etc, over rocks was great, and very fast at fireroad climbs. (19"(?) Kona hei hei 29er btw)
Whyte 905. I'm sure that would be perfect. But I'm hopping to spend less
Perhaps a p7 with vanilla r up grade?
29er only here at 5'10". I think twisty stuff needs a slightly different approach than on a 26", but they both work. As several people have said they rule (IMO) on more open trails.
