What's your preferred wheel sizes ? And of course... WHY ?

Circular

because, well… Meh, roadies.. 😛

running 29ers since before it was cool 😉

Full 29" because it feels faster than the 27.5" and 26" bikes I had before.

Don't like mullet as it means I can't put part worn front tyres on the back and would need more spoke lengths. (I only need one spoke length for Hope Pro 4 hubs and 29" Stans Flow MK4 rims - 290mm.)

Both bikes are mullets, its the future lol

26"

Because "ride what you've got" and it's all I've got.

Plus I kinda like the old guy on an old bike vibe - especially when I keep up with the youngsters.

Mullet for me.

But “ride what you’ve got” is the right attitude.

33 1/3

26" because thats whats on my bike.

29 as it rolls faster than 26/27.5

When i first tried my mates 29 it was a proper revelation. I was in the market for a new bike the next week.

Never tried mullet so cannot comment but the idea sounds good in my head.

26.
Short arse.

APF

Mullet for me. Definitely a Goldilox moment.

27.5 always felt slow. 29 always felt a bit too big and slow at the rear end.

27.5 out back is flickable. 29 up front tracks well.

Having tried them all, I have no preference. I’m riding a bike, not a wheel.

tomhoward - are you seriously saying you can't tell the difference between 26, 27.5 and 29?! You would happily ride any of the three (or four if you throw in mullet)?

I'm still rocking a 27.5", I rode a 26" until 2016 and found moving over to 27.5" in tight berms and switchbacks the bigger wheels definitely felt less maneuverable. I'm open to 29" though as it seems 650b is getting phased out/will only be used for mullet bikes. So no real preference really as long as it puts a grin on my face but next bike will probs be mullet, keep eyeing up those Santa Cruz Bronsons whenever I tell myself I don't need an eeb

I can tell the difference, I’m saying there’s more to how a bike rides than it’s wheel size.

My 29er hardtail, with its 410mm chainstays, corners quicker than longer stay-ed 27.5 FS.
My 190mm/165mm 27.5 bike is more of a monster truck than my 160/140 29er in the rough.

Understood. Maybe the questions is 'all other things being equal' which wheel size do you prefer....

tomhoward – are you seriously saying you can’t tell the difference between 26, 27.5 and 29?! You would happily ride any of the three (or four if you throw in mullet)?

The important thing isn't the wheel size. It's the contact patches and how they interact with the centre of rotation of the forks (both the back wheel and the front) as well as how this relationship changes during the turn, suspension movement, rider position, etc.

If you want to go down the rabbit hole, Motorcycle Dynamics by Vittore Cossalter is a good start.

But yes, if I was doing a blind test swapping between 26" and 27.5" wheels I would struggle to tell the difference. Especially if different tyre brands were being swapped in and out.

Changing tyres dwarfs the difference the extra 12.5mm rim size makes.

29'' because i am very big.
and a very big bloke on a very big bike makes far more sense than a very big bloke on a very big bike with small wheels.

29er, although the stooge is set up as B+ as I want the cushioning of the 3" tyres and 29+ was too much.

I went 29er ages ago on an on one codeine (which was pretty naff looking back), it got nicked and I bought canyon spectral 650b which was on the face of it a better bike but I just didn't like it that much. I persevered but it was a massive backwards step, whether it was psychological or not I could feel it hanging up on stuff more. Last 3 FS bikes have been full 29ers and I can't see me going back, I have the option to mullet the Druid but no interest with how it rides as standard.

29 but it doesn't like me once the stack height gets much north of 600mm (easy for most small/medium 29er FS frames over 100mm travel)...its a weird thing but I just get lower backache with too high a front end so my enduro bike is 27.5

27.5 and 700c because that is what I have. 29er wheels are not going to make me any faster, stable or better. Next MTB I buy will be 27.5 only because they don't make 26ers any more.

General riding 26", but with 4"+ tyres.... Tons of grip and loads more fun.

Bike parks 29x2.6, but only because the 26x4 doesn't fit in the uplift

I think so far 29er - because my favourite bike so far in terms of full size is my transition sentinel. It keeps momentum up well, doesn’t get slowed so much in rocky stuff as previous 27.5” bikes (Bird Aether 7 / Aeris 145 LT / Boardman Pro FS) for the most part and yet it’s still fairly playful.

I’ve got a 27.5” wheeled hardtail and love that for its extreme playfulness and use it for different riding than the sentinel.

I’ve only had a quick go on a mullet so far but it’s was higher travel / more plush then my Sentinel so can’t comment yet.

So I like all of the wheel sizes I’ve tried!

I don't care.

If I was buying custom and had a choice it would of course depend on what the bike was for but usually on the smaller side. This is just because top speed is not my aimand where I ride / live.

I quite like the idea of a mini mullet hardtail for fun but don't have the time to ride the bikes I have so not spending the money.

29", because I like the controllability. I had 26" since 1990 , and still have one in the garage. When I ride it it feels weird, and not in a good way.

Would like to try a mullet 29/27.5

29, cos that's what the bike came with. Before that, 26, for the same reason

Two of my bikes, the hardtail and the enduro bike, are 27.5 but the trail bike is 29. I prefer the stability and conservation of speed of the 29 so that would be my choice. When I bought the hardtail I was hesitant to go 29 back then and when I bought the enduro bike it only came in 27.5 (they released a 29 version a few months later...) otherwise I'd be on 29 already!

I'm not a very powerful rider or confident on steep tech so any help with those is welcome and that seems to be what 29" wheels give me.

On my first 29er having previously ridden 27.5 wheels on my last 4 bikes (travel range of 140-165mm rear).  I can't say i find it any harder to move around than the 27.5 bikes, and as a comparator the last 2 27.5 were Bronson's and the current is a Megatower so the suspension platform is the same, I'm also not tall at 5'10 but not had an issue with buzzing the rear wheel.  I'd not go back to purely 27.5 as the 29er feels quicker for no noticeable disadvantage, but I'd happily try a mullet to see if it is any better for me.

Was at BPW the other week and riding behind a mate who had decided to take his old 26er DH bike as had not ridden it for ages.  He's a quicker / better rider than me, but I had no trouble keeping up with him down rougher tracks like rim dinger and he said that he felt the 26 wheels noticeably hanging up vs his usual 27.5 wheels.

“The important thing isn’t the wheel size. It’s the contact patches and how they interact with the centre of rotation of the forks…”

I agree it’s foolish to oversimplify but I’m pretty certain that a 29” front wheel (with similar tyre) rolls over rough stuff with more ease than a 26” front wheel. It’s harder to detect this on the back because of how the rider’s momentum pulls the rear wheel over things rather than jamming the wheel into the ground as happens up front.

26”
The only MTB I’ve got….

27.5" because I was happy with 26" and didn't want bigger 29" wheels. I don't buy bikes often.

because, well… Meh, roadies.. 😛

running 29ers since before it was cool

Not really - using a 700c rim but that doesn't result in a 29" wheel - with a road tyre the wheels on road bike are about 26". I used to have 26" mtb wheels and 700c road wheels for my hardtail - because they were the same diameter.

29er. The wheel size has prompted companies to make bikes in a size that compliments the wheels.

I finally have a range of options in XL that are appropriate XL's that fit me correctly.

I've seen a measurable upturn in performance as a result.

Edit: what @ton said.

I tested 27.5" and 29" Bird Zeros back to back. Both were great bikes but the 29er felt slightly quicker, had a little more grip and smoothed out the rough stuff more. I went into the test rides wanting the smaller wheels but the bigger ones won me over. Unless you're wanting a certain model of bike that only comes in the smaller wheel size I don't know why you wouldn't at least try both. I couldn't be bothered with a mullet.

Circular

Deserves credit!!

I have 29er HT and 27.5 FS, and previously a 26 HT & FS. Now, it might just be me and a fundamental lack of fitness, allied with zero balance and total lack of any skill whatsoever, but I notice no difference at all. I keep reading about speed etc. Means nowt to me.

Mullet and 29 fs and 29 ht

26", because that's what God intended us to ride.*
Even my road bike has 26" wheels.

* Not really, I'm just a short arsed cheapskate. And those are my good points.

I'm not sure I have. a 'preferred' wheel size tbh. I'm liking 29" on my FlareMAX for the rollover and general confidence, but equally my hardtail's on 650b+ and I get on fine with that too, especially on rocky stuff.

If I ride 26" now it feels a bit choppy by comparison, but I rode it for years without it being an issue and I suspect that mostly you simply adapt to whatever size wheel you ride regularly. I spent a day on 29+ once and that felt faintly ridiculous, like being on a hovercraft, but equally, I'd get used to that too and a standard 29er would start to feel a bit small, maybe.

Not saying there's no difference between the way different wheel sizes feel and handle, but it's how you relate to them that matters and the brain's pretty good at adapting.

26".

It's all I've got, and I still have three unused pairs of tyres to wear out.....

29+ or 27.5+.
I like plus tyres so either wheel size in at least 2.8 please.

I’m also not tall at 5’10 but not had an issue with buzzing the rear wheel.

I think the tyre buzz issue is rider dependent, I am 6'1"+ and have buzzed a fair bit on 26" before, I just move around a lot o think!

29, just prefer it.
Have got a mullet hardtail and it feels good too.
Had a 27.5 and it felt good too, but smaller. But then the frame was smaller.

(“circular” isn’t a size so credit is undeserved.)

29er. I'd say I prefer it* but I've never actually ridden a bike with 27.5/650b wheels!

*I can say I prefer 29 to 26 though.

16".

I find the 29er wheels a bit too tall and dont fold down that well on my Brompton.🤔