i like the kona but jamis dragon 650b .

You aint got nuffin on me

who cares, its got wheels, chuck it down the hill 😛

I dream of the day when I can be as certain about anything good a troll as TLR is about everything

recently test rode a 2012 Specialized Epic Comp 29er

very, very surprised about the ride quality and performance, especially in the tighter stuff, did not feel like a big wheeler unless bunnyhopping

handlebar was lower than on my 150mm travel 26″ wheel all-mountain bike

the only previous experience of 29ers was riding an Ellsworth Evolve FS at Forest of Dean last winter, which felt really sketchy with odd geometry that did not suit the bigger wheels

I love all my 29ers. I don’t give a shit what everyone else rides.

Everywhere I go people are always asking me about my bike, so I think there is plenty of interest out there.
For whatever reason the UK seems about 5 years behind the rest of the world in terms of the 29er movement.
In winter here I find 29ers are hard work and I often go back to my 26er.
29 wheels are generally a little heavier that 26, but a mud coated 29 wheel is way heavier that a mud coated 26.
Maybe thats why they’ve been a little slow to catch on around here.

chips are better than mash

yeah but would you have a cream mash butty?

There’s a time and a place for everything

Ride and let ride

I’ll try one just for you but if I die I wont be happy

Nah I don’t need a wannabe cyclocross bike. I already have a cross bike, will stick to 26″ and keep well clear of the fashion “emperors new wheels” marketing driven must have that 29ers are!

I’d love to mate, but don’t you live op north?

nah middle of the country with strange local folk that talk in a comedy regional dialect.

Just as a DH is better for going downhill, a trials bike is better for doing trials on, 29ers have their natural abilities and drawbacks… There are of course good and bad designs out there, the good designs hide or at least mask somewhat the inherent drawbacks of bigger wheels, whilst also accentuating their natural plus points.

At best, a 29er is just another bike. You still have to pedal it, and steer it. For the kind of riding that many people find they do most of the time, they find the benefits of a 29er outweigh the drawbacks. For plenty of people, they still find they prefer the inherent qualities of 26″ wheels on their bikes. People still ride 20″ wheels on BMX’s and 24″ wheels on dirt jump bikes after all, the latter of which took some while to get universally accepted as a standard anyway.

Mountain bikes will NEVER move away from 26″ wheels, but we will see more acceptance of different sized wheels within the sport than has previously been experienced, for the inherent qualities they bring. I’ve ridden good and bad 29ers, as I have 26″ wheeled bikes. It’s just a different wheel size, it’s like the difference between a hardtail and a full suspension bike, both of which are still perfectly valid for their different reasons. 29ers are not some kind of magic revelation that one day we will all be riding all the time. If they were, it would have happened by now, after all they’ve been around for a decade or more now!

What is more worrying though is the level of “musthavenewshinythingthenjustifyitontheinternetitis” that is apparent on this forum… If you need a specific sized wheel to make you a better rider, or to ride a certain bit it trail well, save your pennies and spend them on a skills course or two, as you’re obviously a shit rider! Any half decent rider knows they can ride a bike with any sized wheels and enjoy it!

END THREAD!

😉

nobody really needs pointing out that it’s all good and it’s all fun and it’s all bikes! 🙂

That proto 36er keeps getting posted whenever the 29er debate comes up.
Are there any others in existence or is that the only bike out there?

Hugor, yes
[/url]
August 26th – Rode A 36er Didn’t Like It[/url] by Johnclimber[/url], on Flickr

RD.
That Black Sheep rides suprisingly well.
Though i’m not sure what it has to do with 29ers.