[Closed] Thinking about a 29er

Wait a little while to get the wheels go for a singular you will honestly not regret it 🙂

Hope you dont mind, can i jump on here with a 29er related question...

I had a go on a friends on a dirt track and it was great, but i was told it looked massive with me riding as im only 5'7", the question is are there any vertically challenged people riding 29ers and how do you get on with riding them offroad?

Skankin_giant - Have you tried/looked at the Gary Fishers? Having ridden a selection of 29ers I find these are fantastic handling. All the benefits of the bigger wheels and no draw backs. And a range of prices!

Bontrager wheels are good value too from @£200 a pair.

fingerbike - We sell plenty of 29ers to "shorter" riders. In fact the sizes we sell out of quickest is the 15".

Matthew

Had a look at a gary fisher, looking for something steel and SS really

fingerbike - Member
Hope you dont mind, can i jump on here with a 29er related question...

I had a go on a friends on a dirt track and it was great, but i was told it looked massive with me riding as im only 5'7", the question is are there any vertically challenged people riding 29ers and how do you get on with riding them offroad?

I'm 5'3" and ride a 29er you should be fine!

**** me trio25 can you see over the front wheel 😉

IGMC

The singulars are very nice... I really liek them.
If you have deep pockets the Niner SIR9 is the finest frame ever (IMO as a rider, and again IMO because I sell them, and also in WMB top ten bikes of the year review)
We can do a sweet deal on the older salsa El Mariarchi (the one with the extra tube).
Surly karate monkey is damned nice, very ultilitarian.
... and we have loads fo tyres, tubes, wheels, rims and all the other oversized bits

... and we have loads fo tyres, tubes, wheels, rims and all the other oversized bits

The niners really are nice. It's just a real shame they don't do a 26" model 🙂 (yes, i'm basing that on my own 29er riding experience and i'm tall so according to the "official 29er fan"'s facts I should have loved them...)

Clink: yep, Halo freedom come on spin doctor hubs that are qr and 20mm compatible...

Here is the blurb....
The Spin Doctor Universal front hub uses 2 huge 6804 Industrial cartridge bearings, and runs on a Flex Free 20mm internal aluminium tube axle, with screw-in regular 9mm QR compatible ends.
(It is also supplied with 20mm T-axle adaptors, for use with T-axle forks, so you never have to worry about fork compatibility again.)

let me know if you fancy some.

Just stuck racing ralph 2.4s on my SIR9, and returned it to rigid, looking forward to a ride to the pub, and it has started raining.... Grrrr

bigsi - Member
**** me trio25 can you see over the front wheel

When I stand up!

😆

Kona Unit or Big unit.Good deals on 09 konas at the mo.Probably have some framesets at paligap..I got 2!

i'm also thinking of a 29er but not sure what to do.

does anybody in brizzle have on i can have a go on for a lap round ashton court? single speed or geared.

If it's for riding Bristol, I found that there's no way a 29er is better. Too slow steering for the singletrack and slower on acceleration. On the other hand, if it's for enduros then they can be spot on.

29r are crap if you are small....
stick to the kiddies bikes shorties...... 😉

Does 6'5" count as short? 😉

i was planning on longer trips rather than short singletrack blats like ashton court, it was only mentioned as a test site.

In that case, you really need to try one on that sort of ride as Bristol riding is different to pretty much everywhere else and won't show up a 29ers strengths. I found the slightly easier rolling helped on long rides though I still wouldn't get one unless it was for racing because I simply found riding it less fun.

Too slow steering for the singletrack and slower on acceleration

Didn't I say that it'd be good for an enduro?

Bigger, heavier wheels will always steer slower...

Depends what you are comparing really clubber. My 26er with normal q/r revs at 130mm on it seems to turn slightly slower than my 29er with a maxel & 100mm forks. I can also ride it quicker through singletrack as it rolls quicker so less need to pedal so more able to move around on the bike rather than pedaling. As well as all this i can get lower onto the bike on the 29er as my centre of gravity is more in the bike than on it. So IMO i feel it is slightly slower to accelerate but a bit quicker even in the singletrack once up to speed.

Sorry but explain that centre of gravity bit. By my reckoning you're saying that a bike handles better if it's got a higher cog since your own weight is more in it than on it... Doesn't seem to fit in with what anyone else would say or in fact that physics would suggest - ie a low cog results in better handling.

Although I am on the 29er side of the fence, and have not run a 26er for several years now... not all 29ers are equal. Some of the early ones were slow to steer, but many (especially Niner) have the geo dialled and you really lose no steering response on a good 29er.

You can ruin any bike with the wrong stem length, bars, and fork height. Its pointless having a 29er Vs 26er debate unless you get two bike side by side and test them both.

If all 29ers are rubbish then WMB would not put the SIR9 in the ten best bikes of 2009 (especially considering its a 3 year old hardtail, not some clever new fancy pivot'd thingy).

I race, I ride mountains, I ride bristol singletrack, I ride cliffs, quarries, Afan etc etc... and could not wish for another bike, my SIR9 is simply damned fine. And my shorter mate "crashy" is equally happy with his 853 Dekerf 26er.

I have a gary fisher paragon, and I use it for long rides and to get to and from work. It's great for both as once up to speed it just keeps going. Thinking of doing the SDW in July and will be using it if I do.

The onese I've ridden have all be fairly recent 29ers, not some of the original barges 🙂

I never said all 29ers are rubbish.

Have to see what the pennys say, getting married in 2 weeks so budgets tight, hence the Haro Mary look at things. also fancy the ebb route as will be going ss, got a bit stressed out with slidding droupouts.

I have a Salsa Mamasita and I LOVE it. I will never buy another 26" mtb. Got the frame from Wiggle and a great deal on forks and wheels from on-one. I think they were only about £125 for the pair. Not that lite, but are doing me fine...

I've just got a Gary Fisher Ferrous 29er and I love it. Its my first 29er and honestly not sure I will return to 26. Feels very quick, great traction, gives you the impression of being solid on the ground if that makes sense. I was concerned it might feel a bit cumbersome on tight singletrack but not a problem.

clubber - I'm not sure what you mean by cog ? If you mean wheel then i can see where you are coming from but all i can say is that it feels quicker. This could be to do with the fact that the maxel tracks better than q/r as there is less flex when comparing like for like (not 29er v 26er). Also its a slightly steeper head angle which should make it turn quicker.

In short its just the feeling that i get when i'm riding the two bike but as charlie has also pointed out

Its pointless having a 29er Vs 26er debate unless you get two bike side by side and test them both.

It certainly seems to be the latest trend on here for people who are bored of mountain biking and have to experiment with wacky bikes to try and make it interesting again. 😛

cog = centre of gravity (sorry, thought that was clear since I started talking about COG but I guess I should have been clearer)

Anyway, as Scotty said, "you cannae break the laws of physics". For a given spec level, a 29er will have heavier wheels, more rotating momentum, higher COG and more flex from the fork for a given travel and model. This inherently means that it requires more force to steer/change direction than a 26" wheeled bike and also to accelerate (and decellerate but bigger brake rotors usually make up for that).

You can of course play around with geometry to improve those negatives but my experience is that they never totally make up for it and for me, make them less fun to ride.

Of course, as I also said, there are other situations where those negative aren't a major issue and the positives (better rolling, better over rough terrain) far outweigh them. You just need to decide what's important for your riding rather than just jumping on the whole "29er is better" bandwagon.

but it is better really, innit.....go on, it is innit......

Grumm a fair observation...

However an issue not restricted to bikes and one that seems to keep the world going round

Got someone looking at my frame this weekend so one step closer, just need to sell the wheels and Forks, think im pretty set on a Haro Mary then upgrade to a Singular when the pennys come back in.

If I were you I'd go for the Singular to start with. I built up a swift last year and if you hunt around on the net you can get a good deal on Halo Freedom Disc 29er wheels. Its a really good versatile frame and although I've not ridden a Haro Mary I doubt it can compare for quality or the way it rides. Plus you'll get excellent support from Sam at Singular Cycles. I know I'm starting to sound REALLY biased but I think my Swift is the most fun bike I own, plus it can be run with gears or single speed.

And don't worry about the nay sayers who reckon a 29er is crap for Bristol. I run mine single speed around North Devon and seem to cope with the hills...sort of.

I never said 29ers are crap for Bristol only that I don't think that they're as good as 26" and also that it's not where a 29er will shine so not ideal to base a test ride on...

I'm only a "nay sayer" because I've tried several and despite expecting to like them, was disappointed overall for the riding that I do and like.

Sensitive lot, you 29er riders 😉

Yea would love to go straight for a Singular but the way im thinking i can buy a complete bike for about £30 more then the singular frame only, and then save the money and upgrade later. plus i can put the parts left from my p7 split onto my clockwork.

29er's are fine in singletrack esppecially ashton court you just need to ride them for a while and your riding style adapts (I live in Briz BTW )

As for SS around here there is pretty much nothing you cant ride up on a ss the rolling countryside out and around Bristol ,Cotswolds ,etc is just perfect for 29ers too

And like i said you wont regret getting a swift the rest of your bike collection will get dusty left in the garage.

And like what was said before with a singular Sam is always on hand with the best advice and customer support if you about at the weekend he has a tean at MM and there will definately be something you can get a ride on

"Sensitive lot, you 29er riders"

I wouldn't say we're sensitive. Riding a bike with big wheels, only one gear and no suspension probably makes some of us more thick skinned (or should that be strange?) than sensitive.

😉

Horses for courses really.

Clubber says he didn't get on as well with a 29er as he does with his 'normal' bike. I prefer my 29er to my 'normal' bike.

When i built mine up i didn't know if i was going to get on with it or not, i certainly didn't try it because i was bored with riding bikes, but i love it. A guy i ride with who is about the same height as me tried one previously and decided he didn't feel it was for him and so still rides 26er's.

Try it, you might like it but if you don't try it you won't know and there's always a good market for 2nd hand 29er kit.

Might be able to afford the singular route now, just looking at the price of wheels, On-one looking like the best deal atm anyone know of anything else, still need to shift the RS Revs, Frame and wheels of my P7

On-One wheels are probably the cheapest, though maybe you could re-build your hubs onto a new set of 29er rims?

I'm amused at the statement that 29ers aren't suitable for Bristol. I was at the SSUK07 in Bristol and I had plenty opportunity to see the performance and handling of the Singulars as they kept zapping past my 26" bike on the twisting rooty bits.

The next bike I bought was a Singular. 🙂