MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
I just dusted off my 2007 Kona Heihei in readiness for Mayhem, haven't ridden it in maybe 3 years (there was still liquid sealant in the tyres though!) and I'd almost forgotten what an absolutely amazing bike it is. Incredibly fast, not just up but along too. I shaved 6 mins off my local hilly training loop, getting round in 38 mins compared to 44 last time on the 5, but the surprise was I was actually slightly slower up all the steep climbs. On the rolling singletrack and fast descents I was going so fast I surprised myself coming into some corners and had to remember to cool it a bit.
However, it got me wondering. I love the bike and would not consider doing anything to it BUT it's an XC race bike, and if what I read is correct most of the competitors are now on 29er, aren't they? It seems to be universally accepted that 29er is faster for XC racing, but how much? If I am aiming to say come top 10% in Master or for the podium in Open, am I actually at any kind of disadvantage? A few seconds per lap isn't going to matter, but a minute or two is I think.
Looking at my frame then, the rear triangle is made of bolted together pieces, the chainstay + dropout are one piece and the seatstay is another. Theoretically, one could fabricate two similar but slightly longer pieces, and accommodate a larger wheel. Fit a 29er fork and Robert's your mother's live-in lover, as they say. But 29er geometry is different isn't it? Could a satisfactory result be achieved?
bb height would be much higher than on a 'proper' 29er, partially defeating the object.
huge faffage of 'fabricating' bits!
Some will be on 29ers and some will be on 26ers. Any slight gains you might get from bigger wheels will be more than offset my completely screwing the geometry.
you will plod along unable to overtake as other jump in front of you ...ok no more
In answer to your question No idea
You could have spent these wasted minutes trainging! Isn't that more likely to help you hit your objective?
Plus, wrong question. Red bikes are faster - forget the rest (apparently as mine is black)
People are still competitive on 26" wheels, although admittedly they're far less common these days.
That said, I'd suggest that the former is a tougher aim than the latter here:
If I am aiming to say come top 10% in Master or for the podium in Open, am I actually at any kind of disadvantage?
But 29er geometry is different isn't it? Could a satisfactory result be achieved?
If you don't mind silly tall BB heights, huge wheelbases, and ponderous handling then yes... It would still be a bike, you could ride it!
Personally, don't worry too much. Good preparation is far more important than the bike you're riding at Mayhem.
There's a lot of 29'ers out there nowadays, but there are also still rather a lot of 26'ers.
There are advantages and disadvatages to both IMHO and I only own 29'ers now, but for how I ride and the palces I ride I prefer them.
If you start playing with your Heihei, you'll probabl screw it up completly.
Why don't you try a hlaf-arsed effort and see if 650b wheels will fit your current set up?
Granted it will still raise the BB by 1/2" - depending on tyre size, but it "might" work.
Oh yeah, top 10% in Masters woudl be tough, that is assuming that you're nto already in the ball park.
Obviously, training is key, I'm not trying to find a quick easy solution that doesn't require hard work.. obviously.
There are two questions:
1) How much faster is 29er, really?
2) Would it be possible to convert a bike and still keep reasonable geometry?
Two separate questions I suppose.
Sorry mol, poor joke on my behalf. But seriously you are a few days away aren't you? Just go with what you know this year (next week?) and then possibly change next year?
last serious XC event I saw (2 days 100km) had about 70% on 26" including some of the top 10.
Like other things it's not the size but what you do with it
IMO 29ers are faster, but not by enough that a faster rider wouldn't win anyway regardless of kit.
1: about 14.89% faster, but depending in your AJK threshold training being 17.35% and no more, of your low BHP modelled zone 2 limits
2: probably a bad idea
Think of it of the Heihei's last hurrah, enjoy new bike next year
But seriously you are a few days away aren't you?
Oh.. right.. of course I'm not anticipating rebuilding my frame in the next four days, should've made that clear 🙂
I'm just curious, that's all.
That said, I'd suggest that the former is a tougher aim than the latter here:
Yeah, probably.. depends on the race I suppose, plus I've no idea where I am nowadays, it's been so long.
Hmm.. seems that there may be zero or three minutes a lap in it.. depending on how rough it is... hmm..
Dunno if this has been posted before but
http://reviews.mtbr.com/26er-or-29er-which-was-faster-at-the-24-hours-in-the-old-pueblo
Interesting.
1) How much faster is 29er, really?
2) Would it be possible to convert a bike and still keep reasonable geometry?
1) if it was as black and white as "they are faster" there wouldn't be anything but 29ers left on the race scene, as it is there have been several World Cup/World Champs wins lately on 26/650b. There are some situations where they are quicker, under some riders.
2) No
If you want a 29er, do it properly, bodging your Hei Hei will not make you quicker, start thinking of new excuses.
Hah.. got plenty of excuses, not being fit enough is top of the list.
I thought it was universally accepted they were quicker, but it seems not. I didn't know about recent WC wins, so that's interesting too. Some links I read were from a few years ago, the most recent ones now seem to be a case of horses for courses, with 26 being easier if you need to accelerate and decelerate a lot or sprint about the place.
Nino Schurter rides 650b, and does rather well.
By my reckoning it's an extra two inches all the way round, yes? So if I had two inches spare clearance I could in theory fit 650b wheels in...?
Nearer 3" on the diameter innit, roughly?
lets face it - the winner would probably have won on a penny farthing.
i remember my mate winning a duathlon against some pretty big names in scotland on a nexus three speed shopping bike* vs ultra Aero TT bike with all the gear.
*in his defence he is a pro XC racer in tenerife that had flown over without his bike;)
I thought it was universally accepted they were quicker, but it seems not. I didn't know about recent WC wins, so that's interesting too. Some links I read were from a few years ago, the most recent ones now seem to be a case of horses for courses, with 26 being easier if you need to accelerate and decelerate a lot or sprint about the place.
You're also comparing a worlds XC course with a national (or maybe regional) track - there's a massive difference. Local races have to be easy enough for the Open/Fun category to get round, possibly juniors or the under 12's where they don't have a shorter course set aside. Therefore the majority of UK tracks (with a few exceptions) will be 'more open' as there's less nagery technical stuff to get over. You'll probably have a bigger benefit on a 29er at these courses.
World XC courses are only going to be ridden by elite riders and therefore will be more technical and thus you may have more benefits being on smaller wheels
Not a local XC race yesterday
[img] 
[/img]
Additionally - if you want a 29er buy a 29er. Your Kona with longer chainstays and a 29'er fork in the front will feel horrible to ride. And how much would a set of new stays cost? Couple of hundred custom made? So why not by a 29'er Scandal?
Hmm.. some people are saying that the rougher it is the more advantae there is with 29 so you can steamroller over the bumps...
On rougher ground possibly, in tight technical turns not so much (ie above where he's picking his line). I've ridden and raced both and I'd say that for fireroad/fairly open singletrack a 29'er is better. For nasty twisty stuff I felt more comfortable on the 26'er
I don't think any size wheel is going to steamroller the course above.
the simplest change is to make it a 96er/69er with a rigid 26" fork this is what I did to convince myself that 29ers were all they were cracked up to be. Only thing is that a 26er rigid fork will probably only have about 38mm of rake which isnt enough, so the low-speed turning will be a bit sluggish. [url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/fastfish_1x1/ ]Here are some pics[/url] of what I did to my On-One 4 or 5 years ago. Hope this helps,
pat
[i]last serious XC event I saw (2 days 100km) had about 70% on 26" including some of the top 10.[/i]
At the Selkirk round of the National Champs I didn't see many 26er's been ridden by the 'big boys'.
And this 29" front wheel you'll put in the bike, will it clear your feet?
My current thoughts after spending a couple of years on a 26 XTC vs 4/5 months on a 29 Stumpy.
Stumpy is faster over the journey but it's marginal and I still can't get as wild on the Stumpy when there's proper gravity assistance. Pretty much same geo/same stem length/same width bars/same tyres. Now, there's still a bit of carbon fear going on with the Stumpy and I didn't have Strava on the XTC, so maybe they're actually just the same....
the simplest change is to make it a 96er/69er with a rigid 26" fork this is what I did to convince myself that 29ers were all they were cracked up to be. Only thing is that a 26er rigid fork will probably only have about 38mm of rake which isnt enough, so the low-speed turning will be a bit sluggish
My 26er Inbred with a 29" wheel in the (old) 420mm rigid fork is brilliant. Really like it.