[Closed] dropping 3 bikes into 1 - 26er or 29er? (WID?)

I keep wondering this and deciding I can't be arsed to figure out the issues and compromises to have just one but will be watching...

Instinctively I feel 29r but I'd want to be able to be singlespeed a well as go geared and that's where it gets tricky as the compromise of a rohloff and a custom build to accommodate it is 😯 expensive so the alternative would be swapping the drive train on and off regularly.

yeah the issues i'm thinking about when considering this are front gearing that would give us road / mtb range, effectivley thats going to mean a triple.
specifically built up road rims on mtb hubs (for the width on the rear) EDIT:with discs obviuosly.
& off the peg mtb wheels
switch the cassette between the two wont be an issue, and can run a narrow range if running triple up front.

wondering as well - 2 seatposts, 1 for mtb with mtb seat, 1 for road

and now i am wondering about the faf of it all

You could get a frame capable of taking both 700c and 26" wheels. I have a On ONe C456 which can take my 700c wheels with small road tyres, as well as my Mtb 26" wheels with big 2.5's. There are a few 27.5" forks that could take either size too!

Then you can run either and get the benefits. If you run 1x10, then just have two narrow/wide front chainrings in different sizes, with no shifter and manually move the chain between them for either real wheel size.

...or just run 2x10 and make the rear cassette choice work for the road, or off-road. IE: close ratio on-road, and range extender on the MTB wheels. Means you could run slightly larger front rings......

prob i got with the 2 x rear cassette is chain wear

i thought rear mtb hub widht was bigger than road? so some 26ers can take road hubs? or are we still talking custom 700c wheels with mtb hubs?

Chain wear ? A new chain is £15, who cares if it lasts 6 months or 2 years if it costs £15 to replace ?

I've taken my 29er hardtail on a couple of group road rides and it's got more than enough speed (even on 2.25" Rons at 30psi), it's definitely quicker than my 26" FS bike that preceeded it, and XX1 still offers sufficient top end speed. The position is still a bit nasty IMO, much prefer drop bars on the road, but if you can look beyond that then go nuts.

Not entirely sure I'd bother with two sets of wheels though.

@weeksy
wouldnt you'd get chain slip on the other cassette , if you were to use one cassette more than the other - for example commuting every day on the roady cassette...

A good 29er HT will be a superb replacement for a CX and a 26in MTB in my personal experience.

Keep the road bike though.

Or is it a space issue?

as the compromise of a rohloff and a custom build to accommodate it is expensive

When I spoke to Enigma about a similar full custom built EGO 29 frame they reckoned I was looking in the area of £2500 for the frame.

I think if I were to have only one bike then it would be a rigid 29er which could run gears or a Rohloff. Maybe a Stooge if they decide to make a smaller size and even better if a Ti version comes along.

I'm sort of there at the moment, I have a Salsa Vaya which with a swap of tyres will do (most) duties, i.e. with 25mm Continental GP4000s it's been a great sportive bike, but with some 40c WTB Nanos it's been mostly* great off road. Also ideal for touring and commuting duties. I should have stuck with the stock triple up front but instead went compact which does feel a little undergeared off road but in reality hasn't stopped me getting up much.

I'm thinking now that I'll be expanding into traditional hardtail MTB and 'proper' road bike.

*not best suited to steep and tech obviously, as I've discovered to my cost after over-committing to a stupid steep roll in to unexpected 1ft drop to flat 🙁

@weeksy
wouldnt you'd get chain slip on the other cassette , if you were to use one cassette more than the other - for example commuting every day on the roady cassette...

You shouldn't, if you replace the chain religiously. It won't do wonders for the longevity of the cassette though.

When I spoke to Enigma about a similar full custom built EGO 29 frame they reckoned I was looking in the area of £2500 for the frame.

I think if I were to have only one bike then it would be a rigid 29er which could run gears or a Rohloff. Maybe a Stooge if they decide to make a smaller size and even better if a Ti version comes along.

Sod that, you could build a super light carbon 29er hardtail that would be better at just about everything for less money!

I got robed buying a pair of 26" wheels for my old klein, I was going to put slicks on it and use it as a road use bike.
Got me to thinking
In the man cave there was a pair of 29er wheels with slicks on so before I went for another set of 26" Mtb wheels I tried the 29er's. 5mm to spare and it rides great.
Just got to get a pair of 26" with off-road tyres and it's a 2 in one bike.
(All ready have spare discs,cassette......)

So yes as has been said already get a frame that will do both, works for me.

@weeksy
wouldnt you'd get chain slip on the other cassette , if you were to use one cassette more than the other - for example commuting every day on the roady cassette...

I've done 1500+ miles on my chain this year, from BPW to road commutes to generic trails, depending on the weather it's different wheels day in day out... sometimes 3 months on 1 set, then 6 weeks on the next.

When I swap I have to tweak the indexing fractionally using the bars adjuster, but that's it..never slips, misses etc.

The thing is that worn chains will generally just bugger a new cassette in double time, it's putting a new chain on a worn cassette that causes slipping.

tbh - i wouldnt mind running triple
esp. if it would be used for touring with panniers / racks etc.
then there is no issues about chains...

How do you figure? The issue with chains is if you swap wheels - you'll wear your cassettes at different rates. So you go off touring, your chain gets worn, you then stick on your 'off road' wheels with brand new cassette and the chain will wreck it far more quickly than a new chain.

Triple/double/single makes no difference whatsoever.

You can have two chains - I've ended up doing that (race wheels/normal wheels on MTB), but it just means I never used my 'normal' wheels as it was too much faff to bother changing by the time you've realigned brakes and what not.

Sod that, you could build a super light carbon 29er hardtail that would be better at just about everything for less money!

Apart from going out to the garage to look at. 🙂

I've thought of this on many occasions, motivated mainly by simplicity and lack of space at home. I started a thread some time ago and got some good responses.

All bikes are a compromise to a degree. But, in the end, I've found my riding too varied for a single bike with two wheelsets.

I cycle almost daily on a mixed urban commute and I also do some longer weekend social road rides and occasional tours. For this: drop bars, a shorter frame, 29er wheels with discs and wide(ish) road or cyclocross tyres work best.

My MTB'ing is less frequent (once per week average) and mainly at a trail centre on my doorstep. A hardtail or rigid bike is fine, but it's going to need more than a swap of wheels to make any road-biased bike (MTB or not) meet my needs.

If I was riding less frequently, or on terrain that was less varied, I'd probably go with a 29er hardtail - but, as it is, it would be a compromise too far.

Apart from going out to the garage to look at

Nope, wins that contest hands down too IMO 😉

@njee20 "Triple/double/single makes no difference whatsoever"

well it does if you dont change your rear cassette because you have the gearing up front instead, that way you keep the same chain, cranks and cassette on all the wheels you use.... therefore no issues

Aah, I see, you're swapping cassettes. That's the other option.

I (like most) was assuming you had different cassettes on different wheels through convenience, not necessity. After all if you're on 10 speed with an 11-36 there's no really any reason to change for different types of riding. Yes you could get a closer block for riding on the road, but you won't get a higher top end, so it's not really worthwhile. Likewise you won't get a lower gear for touring.

Comes back to my point that even on XX1 I felt the gearing adequate for road riding in a group.

so i guess the million dollar question is
what very light 26/29 HT frame with rack mounts
and
what very light front fork with lockout

I'd definitely be going 29er, what's the budget? The rack mounts will be a sticking point I suspect, can't think of many light frames that have them.

SID fork, unless you fancy being quirky with a Lauf.

Although not light my Inbred 29er has rack mounts. Fork with lockout and light would be a SID really.

What about a Chinese ti frame like Turboferret had made? His was a road one, but even so, be a way to get everything you want. Otherwise do any of the off the shelf (Flyxii etc) Chinese carbon frames have rack mounts? Or could they add them?

I'd change tyres not wheels, just use big volume slicks (the 37/40c Vittoria Hyper tyres on sale at Planet-x are great)

If you run out of gears commuting, change to a 26/36/48t chainset.

Don't worry too much about pannier mounts, you can get racks that don't need them...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Axiom-Streamliner-Disc-Deluxe-Rear/dp/B004094HY2

get a nice 26" frame and 2 sets of wheels - 26 with mtb tyres and 700 with road or cx tyres. up front this won't work with rockshox but does work with any of my fox forks.
you can now get 700 wheels built easily with rear mtb spacing , or buy something like mavic speedcity. use the same type of rear hub for both wheels then you won't have to mess with changing brake/gear settings.
i think 700 wheels roll nicer than 26 wheels with slicks

speedcity looks good - saves also getting custom disk wheels made up for the MTB

ok , 26" thats lightweight but strong enough to tour on and take racks (not nec. rack mounts as per the posts above! thanks @HoratioHufnagel)

i wonder if you could go FS with a fully locked out rear shock
its DT swiss i think that do that, oooo a lovely carbon one
mmmm DT swiss up front too

ooo ooo ooooo (in the style of Comic Book Guy)
i'm feeling a shopping list coming on 🙂

An intresting thread

So a 29er frame with rack mounts what are the options?

Ampthill sadly I think the answer is very few. The on-one steel frames do BUT they are I guess not especially light being steel and built to a price point. No criticism of on one here my 456 is my favourite bike ever owned overall for its versatility and smile production.

Surly ogre/troll would be another option but I can't work out if it's too all round to be a good mtb (its not really clear from the marketing stuff) and the clutter of canti bosses would possibly annoy me but that's serious pedantry on my part.

I honestly can't say I have spotted many other decent (1-2k) quality complete mountain bikes or frames with rack mounts and I have been watching.

If someone wants to point some out though...

Edit: just reading that again I am actually not sure why I wouldn't just get the on one unless I had £500+ to drop on a frame.

german makes have them from what I could see

That's a fair point one of the Basic Canyons has them

Oh Cannondale do one

But neither is frame only

Mind you the Canyon less than some frames!

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i'm thinking i might go down this route! 3 bikes = 3 times the "new bits" each year - chain, cassettes , cables etc.
although i guess you could argue - 1 bike = 3 times more use = 3 times the wear!

ressurectify....
In Spain
saw 29er Ghost HT with full ortelieb panniers on rear, 3 water bottles, touring tyres , gps and little bar Bag

im liking this idea.